Birth story - Hollie and baby Tommy

*Trigger warning* - stitches, needles, blood, word contractions, 2nd degree tear and placenta complications.

I didn’t plan on getting pregnant as I was only 17 and it was a big shock but I knew I wanted to try my hardest to give him the best life I could. One of my biggest fears of being pregnant was having to go to hospital and get injections as I have a bad fear of needles and anytime I walk into hospitals I get sick but from being pregnant I got over that fear.

I had a low risk pregnancy and luckily didn’t get any morning sickness. I had leg cramping from about 20 weeks that would happen all through the night, my taste buds completely changed, one morning I woke up to brush my teeth and the toothpaste tasted like bacon, I thought it would go away overtime but it just got worse. Every time I sneezed or coughed I would pee myself and I tried so much to hold it in, it happened when I was out a few times lol. At my 28 week midwife app my bump was measuring 5 weeks behind so got booked in for a growth scan the next day, when they measured him they said he was measuring big so they booked me in for another scan 2 weeks later and told me if he was still growing big they were going to test me for gestational diabetes, but thankfully he was growing just the way he should have been. I have O-negative blood type so I had to get the anti d jab at 28weeks.

I was two days over his due date and was getting fed up, I had been doing loads of walking for the last 3 weeks, bouncing on my ball and taking raspberry leaf tea tablets as I didn’t like the tea.

The day I started labour I had no signs that labour was even close and I was booked in the next day for a sweep that I was dreading. I had slept really well that night as the warm weather was going away and I woke up and it was raining, I love rainy days and I actually turned to my partner and said “I hope he comes today because it’s raining”. At around 11am I had a nap until about 2pm and still no signs of anything. At round 4pm I had a bit of a sore tummy but I thought I was just hungry as I hadn’t eaten yet so I text my dad to start making dinner he replied with, ‘no make it yourself,’ lol because he was tired so I didn’t mind. I was going to go down and start making it but then the pains were a bit worse I still thought I was just really hungry lol. My partner was going to go home until he realised that he should just stay incase I started labour, thankfully he did.

I went to the toilet and I had bleeding but it was quite a lot and really red and because of my blood type I had to ring if I got any bleeding. I was in the bath at this point and I realised this was probably early signs of labour. I rang the midwife and they told me to come in so they could check the blood and because I was over due and just to make sure everything was okay. They said I would get sent home after to continue labour at home which is what I wanted. I said I would finish my bath then head up as it’s a 40 min drive.

I got in the car and my contractions were 2 minutes apart the whole way there, I was lying in the back seat just breathing and hanging my head out the window, it felt like the longest 40 mins of my life. I got to hospital and they told me to take a seat which I refused as I was in too much pain. They tried take my blood pressure but I just wanted to lie in a ball on the floor so they brought me in to get checked but as soon as I got on the bed I said I needed to go to the toilet to poo. One midwife was about to take me then another said she would check me first and when she did I thought I was going to be about 3cm dilated and she told me I was 10cm and I was ready for the delivery room. This was about an hour and a half after I got my first contraction and I was so shocked but also so glad.

I got the room I wanted and they started to run the birthing pool and they asked my boyfriend if my waters had gone yet as I couldn’t speak because it was getting more intense, soon as they asked him they burst everywhere all over my boyfriends shoes and everything. I got into the bath and kept trying to stand up as I was too warm but they kept telling me to sit down. As soon as I sat down I felt the urge to push and started pushing. I refused gas and air as I was just too eager to get him out, I didn’t want anything to distract me. I pushed for about 40 minutes and he was out. I had delayed cord clamping and skin to skin while I was still in pool.

I can’t believe how easy and positive my birth was and I’m truly blessed to have been so lucky he was born completely healthy. I stayed in the pool until I birthed the placenta then got onto the bed to get stitched as I had a second degree tear.

They then realised I had a-bit of placenta still stuck in me and were trying to get it out which was sorer than child birth. It took a while and they said I would need to go to theatre but I refused so they kept trying to get it out and were eventually successful. Afterwards they stitched me up, which took a while, by that point my partner was doing skin to skin with baby as I was moving about so much.

I stayed over night so Tommy could get all his health checks which was all good and I got another anti d jab. they tried giving me food the next day I refused to eat it looked gross so I had 24 orange kitkats which were amazing. I got discharged the next day at 3pm the home for recovery was so glad to see my own bed.

I didn’t really have much time to use all the things I learned within the course but the breathing really helped me. I did the course with my partner and that was the biggest benefit, the whole time he remembered all the things to comfort me and was trying his best bless him. I don’t think he would have had a clue on how to react or how to help me as he has autism and doesn’t react to stressful situations well, he was even running about helping the midwifes get my bed ready for when I came out of the pool, they loved him. The midwifes kept thinking this was my second child because of how well I did and I am forever proud of myself it’s so amazing what women’s bodies are made to do, we are so strong!