Birth Story - Mia

After going ten days overdue with Harry, I was fully expecting to be the same with Mia. I'd returned to work part time after finishing my maternity leave with Harry, and so I worked on the Friday, then it was a Bank Holiday weekend, and I was looking forward to a bit of a break. So I wasn't too impressed when in the early hours of the following Tuesday, a week before my due date, I started having contractions. I'd been having Braxton Hicks for a few weeks, but I recognised the contractions immediately. About 2.30am I told my husband that I was "feeling a bit uncomfortable" and came downstairs. I sat at the PC and loaded up a contractions timer. I could see that they were coming about every 6 minutes, but they were quite bearable. After a couple of hours I rang the labour ward to ask their advice, as I needed to make sure that my parents (a 30 minute drive away) were around to look after Harry. They dispensed the usual advice - take two paracetamol and get into the bath then call back in an hour or so. I was torn between not wanting to wake my parents and making sure that they were here in time.

When I rang the hospital back they said it would be a good idea to call my parents so I did at about 4.45am. My Dad answered the phone half asleep and seem a bit confused as to why I was ringing, but luckily my Mum realised what was going on! They came down straight away, and in the meantime Harry had woken up (he always woke at 5am). I wrote my birth plan while he was drinking his morning milk!

The contractions were getting more and more painful and closer together, so at about 7am my husband and I went to the hospital. I was disappointed to be examined and found to be only 2cm dilated, as I had thought that I was much further along. The midwife told me that the baby would probably be born that day, but I had a long way to go, so why not go for a walk into town and keep moving to speed things along. The contractions were so frequent that I could hardly walk, and I was in a huge amount of pain. I staggered across the car park to the car and sat down, and immediately they stopped. So I thought "right, I'm staying here then" but my husband wasn't having that and so we drove down the road to Waitrose and then he made me get out the car. I made it to the front of the store, stopping every minute or so in agony. I was hanging off railings, trolleys, shelf stacking trolleys, everything. The man at the customer service desk was giving me very funny looks. I wanted to get back to the hospital because I could hardly stand, so I rang up and they reluctantly said that I could come back in.

I was shown to a labour room (the same one Harry was born in!) and they kept me waiting for ages. I was in so much pain that I couldn't move. Then the midwife came back and started pulling out yoga mats and birthing balls. I asked for some pain relief and she very reluctantly set  up the gas and air for me, but told me not to take it as I had ages to go yet. As soon as she was out of the room I grabbed it. I was standing up against the bed (she had moved it to stop me lying down) and just rocking from side to side. The gas and air helped to dull it a bit and get the contractions in a bit of a rhythm, but I wasn't having much fun.

Then she came back and asked if I'd considered a water birth. I thought I might as well give it a go, and it was the best suggestion that she could have given. It took a while to fill the bath, and the minute I got into the lovely warm water I felt so so much better. I must have only had a few contractions in the water before I started feeling the sensation to push. I guess because it was my second time, the midwife told me to trust my instincts and do what felt right. So I pushed...and Mia was born in about three pushes at 11am! It took me completely by surprise, and she just fell out into the water! The midwife leaned in and pulled her out, and placed her on me.

With Harry I had the injection to release the placenta, but there wasn't the opportunity this time so I had to deliver it naturally. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to continue pushing when it was the last thing that I wanted to do, but I'm glad that I was able to do it this way. I was able to sit in the water for ages with Mia, and then when I came out I still felt quite clean and refreshed. We just sat on the bed together for ages, and she had a long feed.

Then we were moved to the ward. We were placed in a huge ward all by ourselves - me, my husband and Mia. It was very strange and quiet. I was even able to doze for a little while. I was desperate to avoid having to stay in overnight, but you have to stay in for six hours for observation and the paediatrician finished work at 5pm. We were just in time to get him round to visit and all the paperwork completed so that I could be discharged around 6pm.

We went home, and a couple of hours later I was sat on the sofa eating takeaway pizza with my parents with a new baby in the moses basket next to me. Very surreal!

You can read Harry's birth story here.