Birth story - Naomi and baby Charlie

Pregnancy

Fortunately, I had a very straight forward pregnancy, although I can't say I particularly enjoyed it... We didn't have any issues but I like being able to do everything myself and staying active, so the exhaustion towards the end really got me down, and moving house in the third trimester in a record heatwave certainly didn't help! I suffered with morning sickness from weeks 4 to 12 which I found rather unpleasant (due to a vomit phobia) but we got through it without too much drama. I had a Gestational Diabetes test in my second trimester due to a high BMI but luckily all was fine, and I sailed through the rest of the pregnancy with no issues. We also went on our honeymoon during the second trimester which was lovely; it was the perfect last holiday with just the two of us.

Labour & Birth

I was convinced we would go over our due date as both me and my husband (Chris) were 'late' babies, and we knew it was common for first time parents, however it turns out baby had other ideas! Looking back now I probably should have spotted the signs of early labour throughout the day, but I wasn't really sure what to expect and didn't experience any pain at all. Although, the day before I had a real 'nesting' phase and zoomed around the house getting everything sorted!

Monday 5th Sept:

I was really tired in the daytime and had a longer nap than usual in the afternoon along with some mild pelvic pressure. In hindsight, this was probably the start of labour, but I'd been experiencing similar symptoms throughout the last few weeks of pregnancy so just disregarded it!

9pm - Chris was working night shifts; just before he left I told him how I'd felt but I just planned on having an early night. After all, if it was the start of labour surely it'd go on for hours if not days, right?!

10pm - Still feeling tired but by no means in any pain or experiencing anything out of the ordinary, I went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Everything fine so far!

10:20pm - As soon as I stepped out of the shower I noticed a sudden surge that took my breath instantly. Realising this was definitely a contraction, I decided to start the timer just in case. They started coming very quickly and intensely, lasting around a minute with only two minutes in between. I tried to remember the up-breathing techniques but in all honesty it just went out the window as I wasn't prepared for how suddenly everything was happening! I messaged Chris to let him know I was having contractions but was still convinced I'd be going for hours before anything would happen.

11pm - I rang the midwife who advised to go in and be checked, so I rang Chris who came straight home from work. The contractions were getting very strong and I was struggling with the up-breathing at this point. Whilst still not knowing what to expect, I was worried I was just being a wuss and thought we'd just be sent straight back home!

11:40pm - Chris arrived home and managed to help me into the car inbetween some strong contractions, and off we went to the birth centre. I don't remember much of the journey there as I was trying to focus on my breathing but one thing that baffled me is the amount of speed bumps around the unit!

Tuesday 6th Sept:

00:15am - We arrived at the birth centre and I was struggling to walk due to the contractions coming thick and fast, but just about managed to get in and straight into triage. I was happy to be examined as the midwives were lovely and I felt so relaxed with them, and luckily I was 4cm dilated so we were allowed to stay!

01:00am We were put into a lovely room at the birth centre and the midwife started to fill the pool while I undressed with Chris's help. Within minutes of being in the room I felt the contractions change and instinctively got on all fours as it felt like my body just started pushing! Chris called for the midwife and I was able to get straight into the pool. I don't know if it was the transitioning or being in the water but I suddenly felt like the contractions were more useful and I was able to focus on pushing the baby down rather than just up-breathing which seemed to help. I tried a few positions in the pool as I really wanted to maintain the upright and forward stance, but in the end I felt much more comfortable just sat with my back against the side of the tub so I just went with it. It wasn't long until I could feel him wriggling his way down and then he started crowning. I can't say I felt much of the 'ring of fire'; I did feel a slight tear towards the top but it certainly wasn't overly painful.

02:27am - Our little boy arrived! I felt his head emerge with one big surge, then it was the most bizarre sensation as I could feel his body still wriggling around inside until the next contraction came to push him out! We had immediate skin to skin in the pool and delayed cord clamping as requested.

Third Stage:

Due to a high BMI it was recommended I have an active third stage which involved an injection to help birth the placenta. Unfortunately I suffered a large amount of blood loss and had to have a second injection to speed up the process, but none of it was painful, in fact, I hardly noticed what was happening as we were still having skin to skin cuddles.

I had three tears which required stitching; bilateral labia lacerations and second degree perineal, and I thought the stitching hurt so much more than the actual birth! The midwife was lovely and reassuring though and I was back holding our baby in no time. We had the classic buttered toast, which was amazing, and then had a little snooze while all the checks were done before we were sent home in the early afternoon.

It might just be an old-wives-tale, but I do think the weather had a part to play in bringing on the speedy labour, as it had started thundering and lightening just before my contractions started; and the birth centre usually only deliver one or two babies per week on average, but that night there were three of us in delivering at the same time!

I'm absolutely gutted we didn't get any photos/videos of the birth, but it all happened so quickly we didn't even unpack the hospital bag!