My Birth Story

Hello! Long time no see.

As you can see from the title I have a pretty big update. On the 12th of January I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I’ve really taken the time out to rest and recover, and I’m feeling much better for it. I can’t wait to get back into blogging and share some of my experiences with you.

It feels very strange to be writing this, as it feels like I announced my pregnancy yesterday. Now we’re here with my birth story.

This post has been a long time coming, and I can’t wait to finally share my story with you. I know that I’ll love having this post to look back on. I’ll try to keep it short, so I’ll be skipping over some details or we’ll be here all day.

This is My Birth Story.

Being Induced…

On the 11th of January after a few concerns I was asked to come into hospital to be induced. At this point I was 40+6 weeks pregnant, so I knew we had to get the ball rolling. Especially as we’d been sent for a scan the day before, and my amniotic fluid level was getting low and baby boys estimated weight was over 9lbs.

When we arrived to the hospital we were shown to our room and left to settle in whilst the midwife got everything ready. After the first pessary I was 2cm dilated and my waters could’ve been broken, but it would’ve been uncomfortable. So the midwife gave me another pessary in order to make the next stage easier. However she was 100% convinced that I’d be having my baby that night, as my body was reacting how it should.

Just before 12am the midwife doing the nightshift came in to see how I was getting on, and to see if I needed a third pessary or if I could go up to the delivery suite. However she asked us a question that neither of us were expecting.

“Have you been told about the risks of delivering a big baby?”

My heart sank straight away, as no we hadn’t. Nobody had even mentioned the word risk. It turns out we should’ve spoken to a doctor before the inducement began, but we didn’t. She informed us that the baby would be at risk of getting stuck, having to have his bones broken, shoulder dystocia and permanent nerve damage. The thought of them having to break his bones broke my heart, and I just couldn’t put him through that.

The midwife got the doctor, and I asked for more information on shoulder dystocia and the risks of having a c-section. Even though, I think I knew straight away that I’d prefer a c-section. I just hated the thought of him having to go through something that could’ve been prevented if I’d have gone with the section.

As I was no longer being induced I had to go on a ward, and fast until the operation.

On the Ward...

I got to the ward in the early hours of the morning, and it was hard. Jake had to go home, and I was left by myself as there weren’t any other women on the ward. I was having regular cramps, which were stopping me from sleeping as they were very intense. I’m not sure if they were contractions, but they were pretty awful.

Time kept passing and we were told that they weren’t ready for us just yet, and I was beginning to get fed up.I’d had nothing to eat or drink from 10pm the previous night and it’s now getting onto 5pm. I was beginning to feel unwell, and there weren’t any signs of me being able to go to theatre. In the end a midwife came to put me on a drip, as I needed fluids.

Then all of a sudden at 6pm a midwife came to let us know that they were ready now. We needed to collect our belongings and get up there now.

Going into Theatre…

This is where the nerves hit me, as Jake had to wait outside whilst I had the epidural and got situated. I’d never been in hospital before, never mind having a major surgery, so I was terrified.

Luckily the anaesthetist was amazing and kept talking to me throughout the whole thing. She really kept me calm, and made the experience better for me. I asked her if they could cover the door to the side of me, as I could see my reflection in the glass and I didn’t want to see the operation take place. So she got the surgeons to cover it up. Which as you can imagine, was a huge sigh of relief.

The C-Section…

The epidural worked, so Jake was able to come in and they got started with the operation. The whole thing was weird, it’s like you can feel it, but you can’t. I felt pulling and pressure. It sounds weird, but the best way I can describe it, is that it feels like someone is doing the washing up in your stomach.

When it came to getting him out, they struggled. I could feel the force and it was as if they were yanking at him, whilst pushing down on me. They managed to get him out, and I waited for the cry, but it didn’t come. Jake let me know that everything was fine, as he could see him moving, but I couldn’t see him, so I wanted to hear him. He finally let out a massive scream and the relief was like something that I’ve never felt before.

Once he was Born…

He had to go straight over for checks, and Jake was able to go and cut the cord. This is where the anaesthetist came over and started talking to me again, whilst | waited for my baby. She let me know that I did really well, and lost barely any blood, so the whole thing was a success. The other midwives in the room let me know that we made the right decision by having a c-section, as he didn’t want to come out and because of his size.

Noah was placed over my shoulder so his face was next to mine, as I was still unable to hold him properly. Seeing him and having him next to me was a feeling like no other.

I’m not going to go into my first night on the ward, as it was quite possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Having to care for a baby on your own when you can’t move is hard. Let’s just leave it at that…

There we have it, that was my birth story. It was hard, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m not sure what I did with my life before Noah came along, I adore him.

Thank you for reading.