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| Harriet |
Time flew by while pregnant with Harriet. The pregnancy plodded along with no problems. Everything was happening as it should. I had reflected on the birth of Heidi and had toyed with the idea of a home birth. I liked the idea of being in a relaxed environment, where the midwife came to me rather than worrying about getting to hospital. My last labour moved along fairly quickly so this one had the potential to be even quicker and we had Heidi to think of. Anyway, Christopher shot that idea down straight away. It was too dangerous and what about the mess?!
As I was working, studying and chasing a two year old around, I decided that something had to give so I started my maternity leave at around 33 weeks pregnant. This gave me more time to spend with Heidi so I could prepare her for the new arrival. I was also beginning to get very anxious about the birth and needed some techniques to calm me during labour. Cue Google, which is where I found out about hypnobirthing!
Im not going to lie. I was very sceptical! I had left it too late to book any classes and the chances of dragging Christopher along to any were slim to none. So I downloaded The Hypnobirthing Book:An Inspirational Guide to a Calm, Confident, Natural Birth on my Kindle instead. I was expecting lots of airy fairy stuff but to be honest the concept of hypnobirthing made... sense. I swiftly purchased a yoga/birthing ball and sat bouncing on it while watching the telly. I read a little bit of the book each night and practiced the breathing exercises before falling asleep.
The day before...
At 38 weeks and 2 days I had my 38 week appointment with the midwife. She did the usual, urine check, blood pressure and listened in on baby. Well, she tried to. Baby wasn't playing ball. She took about five minutes to find a heartbeat. I wasn't worried though. Baby was certainly alive and kicking! "He's really tucked up into your back," she informed me. She went on to explain that baby was back-to-back but not to fret, they usually turn before, or even during, labour. I felt really deflated. Heidi was back-to-back during labour and it caused a lot of extra back pain. I really didn't want to go through that again! I had followed all the recommendations in my book to encourage baby into the best position. It obviously hadn't worked!
Later that day I went out for a meal with friends from work to celebrate my 28th birthday. I was feeling very uncomfortable and my jeans weren't helping. Nevertheless, I had a lovely time catching up and I ate LOADS! I went home full to the brim, happy and relaxed.
It's time..
I woke up at 4am the next morning with pains. I began timing and went downstairs to bounce on my ball. This was it. Contractions (or surges!) every five minutes. I focused on my breathing with each pain and found I was coping really well! At 6.30am Christopher came down ready to go to work. I told him not to be so daft, todays the day! He immediately started panicking and aimlessly wandering around the house, while I did something practical and rang the birthing centre. Of course, they didn't want me! I was told to have a bath, breakfast and paracetamol and to call back when I was having three contractions in ten minutes, or when I felt I needed pain relief. Christopher and I decided it would be safer to relocate to my mums, who lives next door to the hospital, until my contractions were coming stronger. That way, we wouldn't need to worry about Heidi.
We arrived at my mums (who had told the whole world!) at 8.30am. But by 10am my contractions had fizzled out. Every 20 minutes, if that. I was starting to feel that I'd jumped the gun and just wanted to go home. So we did and, for some reason, we took Heidi with us. We chilled out watching the telly and had some lunch. I occasionally jumped on my yoga ball when having a contraction but only really noticed them when I moved around.
It really started kicking off at about 4pm. Heidi was tired and miserable. She kept asking to be picked up and was mauling me. I noticed my contractions were coming stronger, but still only every 9-10 minutes. I needed to concentrate on my breathing so I went upstairs and shut myself in the bedroom. The contractions were becoming really intense and it was taking all my energy to breath through. I kept checking the times. Still ten minutes between each but they were lasting longer. Another contraction began, I started the timer on my phone and began breathing deeply, willing myself to stay calm. That's it, ring the hospital, I've had enough! I was just about to shout Christopher when I dropped to my knees and felt a gush. I screamed. I banged on the floor. I did everything to get Christophers attention. "I'm pushing!" I screamed as he came through the door. The breathing techniques went out the window. I didn't get that far in the book!
The next few minutes were a bit of a blur. Chris called the hospital, had a short converstion and put the phone down. "Ok, I need to get you in the car." Seriously? "I'm not going anywhere! I need an ambulance!" Heidi was screaming at the bottom of the stairs. Really screaming. This is exactly what I didn't want! Thankfully, Christophers mum, Janet, turned up just as the babys hair came into view. I have no idea how she knew we needed her! She walked into the room and I pleaded with her to sort Heidi out. She reassured me that Heidi had been safely plonked in front of Cbeebies with a biscuit. In the meantime, Christopher was still flapping and I was still pushing. He eventually put the midwife on loud speaker, so we were all in the loop, but I carried on screaming for an ambulance regardless. After another push (and a lot of stinging!) babys head was out. There was a moment of calm. I stopped screaming. Everyone stopped panicking. All the pain had gone.
Then a horrible thought washed over me. What if this baby is as big as Heidi was? If the charts meant anything, this baby was bigger. What if it got stuck??? Im not daft. I've watched One Born Every Minute. There are no big red buzzers linked to a room full of midwives in my bedroom! There was nothing I could do but push with all my might and hope for the best.
So I did. And my beautiful baby popped out, no mither! Janet gave her straight to me for a cuddle. After a few minutes of faffing and phewing and high fiving, a little voice on the phone (the midwife) said "So... what's she had?" "Oh my god! I don't know!" I laughed. I had a little look and confirmed a baby girl.
A second later, as I was slumped up against the bedroom wall, not one, not two, but THREE paramedics walked in. And just as they were popping their gloves on, the placenta made its entrance, which prompted a quiet "Eugh!" from everyone. Its safe to say the cream carpet is ruined. The paramedics began to take control of the situation. They cut the cord and wrapped Harriet up in blankets before Christopher whisked her away to meet her big sister downstairs. The lovely lady paramedic helped me up and it was then I noticed a paramedic car and ambulance blocking the entire street. Lights flashing and everything! Honestly, all this fuss just for me! I hobbled downstairs and gave my Heidi, who was now sporting a huge smile, the biggest squeeze ever!
As it wasn't a planned homebirth, Harriet and I were taken to the maternity ward in the ambulance. And as it was rush hour, we even had the sirens on! We were both checked over. Harriet was a little cold but soon warmed up and I escaped with a couple of stitches. When we were finally settled and enjoying a much needed tea and toast, the midwife checking my obs casually suggested a planned homebirth next time. I couldn't agree more!
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| Harriet, born 2nd April 2014 at 5.20pm weighing 7lb 14oz |
I don't mean to frighten anyone with this story. Yes it was scary and I panicked, but my body did what its designed to do and I'm so proud of myself! I was in a position that suited me, not the midwives and just went with what my body was telling me. I don't remember any of the pain! The experience has not put me off having more children. It's just made me more adamant to try another homebirth!
Love and cuggies,
Alison x
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