Birth story - Tuesday and baby Dylan

*Trigger warning* - use of the word contractions, quick labour, ambulance called as midwives didn’t think they’d make it but they did!

Waters broke at 5:30am when I sat up in bed as heard my first son shouting for mummy! I called triage to let them know. They said see how you get on with contractions. New community midwives would start their shift at 8am so we were aiming for sending them after then! I was naive to think I would have enough time to have breakfast with my first son and get up for the day together! By 6am contractions were strong and I had called Grandad to come and get my LO, Zachary, so that he could have a fun day with them! Grandma was on her way home from a gym class and came straight over to help set up a few bits once she got back - not intending to stay for labour but everything progressed quickly that I was glad she was here. I’d called triage back again to explain Freya app said I was already in established labour so she sent out the night shift community midwives. I was so happy to find out one of them was the midwife I’d seen throughout my pregnancy. That gave me a sense of relief & calm that I’d got this!

So, community midwives were en route but they suggested I call an ambulance as they didn’t think they’d make it in time. My partner was still trying his best to fill the birth pool as that’s what I really wanted. My mum had even gone to the corner shop to buy bottled water to speed up the process and got two kettles from hers. But I think I knew deep down the water birth wasn’t going to happen this time. Contractions were getting stronger and I was feeling the need to push.

I got my partner to leave what he was doing and join me where I was to help me through each contraction. He attached the tens machine and this helped my focus as well as using the Freya app to count my breathing. Counter pressure helped here too for pain relief. My midwife arrived about 7:20am and mum helped her in with all her equipment. The second midwife arrived at 7:30 about the same time as the ambulance crew. Three cars on the double yellows outside our terraced house was probably a nightmare for everyone else that morning but I wouldn’t let them go park their cars!!

The Midwife wanted to assess me but contractions were too strong to lie on my back for long so we just decided to go for it - this was happening on the lounge floor and baby was coming on dry land not in the pool. Then my midwife took over the counter-pressure in my lower back and this really helped as baby was sitting on my perineum. I could then hold onto Ant and breath through the contractions. I was on all fours on my LO’s playmat with my head on the sofa. With the next couple on contractions I managed to push the head out then the body at 7:55am and my midwife passed him through my legs to find out he was a little boy and have immediate skin to skin.

The midwives were excited to see he had a true knot in his cord, they said he must have done a summersault during his 9 months inside! Very cool! He had all the blood from the placenta while having skin to skin. Then Daddy cut the cord so he could have skin to skin while I delivered the placenta. I wanted a physiological third stage but it didn’t look like it was coming so I agreed to have the injection when I delivered the placenta with the next contraction! The ambulance left at this point as all was well and they said this was the happiest moment of their day which was lovely.

The midwife checked me and decided I didn’t need stitches which was a big relief as I hate needles! I had about three puffs of gas and air while they checked me and that was it for the pain relief! The second midwife left soon after and my midwife wrote up my notes while helping me breastfeed. Once he’d had a good feed she gave him the vitamin k injection and weighed him to find out he was 9lb3! Two pounds more than my first son. Then she left us all comfy on the sofa to enjoy all the snuggles and let the morning sink in!

Mum had made hot drinks, toast and got my favourite flapjacks It was magical to just be at home in my own space straight away. I couldn’t wait for my other son to come back and join us and meet his brother.