Birth story for Baby Bell # 1 - our darling daughter H

Now I am waddling down the last few weeks of pregnancy,  your mind evidently turns to the ultimate outcome of pregnancy, which is to give birth.  As I didn't blog with my first two babies I figure it would be an ideal opportunity to add their own birth stories to this blog as hopefully all 3 of my kids will have this as a momento to read years from now.

So, back where it all began, our firstborn.  I fell pregnant with H in 2008 after a miscarriage earlier that year.  It was a really good pregnancy, all the usual pregnancy symptoms in the first trimester but I had never felt better ever than in my 2nd trimester.  We decided not to find out the sex of the baby at the 20 week scan but I was absolutely 100% certain it was a girl anyway.  Just after we left the scanning room I got called back in to quickly check something they missed during the ultrasound and so I went back alone.  The scanner accidently then told me the sex of the baby - it was a girl!  Just as I thought.  I told my hubby as I knew he would be dark at me if I knew and he didn't.  We decided not to tell anyone else we knew though as they all wanted it to be a surprise.

30 weeks pregnant with H

Once I went on leave by week 35 of the pregnancy I was ready and eager to get the baby out!  My sister-in-law had just had a baby and I asked her to tell me what labour was like and if she had any advice.  She said "When the contractions get really bad and they start hurting like crazy, suck it up, because that's just the beginning!"  I stupidly took this advice really to heart!

I was more worried about going overdue than the pain of actual labour - this is a throwback to how impatient of a person I am, so the day before my due date of 26th May I did almost all of the home remedies out there to kick start labour - a long walk, a hot bath, curry for dinner, half a glass of wine, I ate a whole tin of pineapple, and there may have even been some nookie involved!  At 3.15am I woke up and thought I needed to go to the toilet but once I sat down realised I didn't so went back to sleep.  At 4.15am I did the same thing and again at 5.15am and 6.15am.  So at 7.15am I told my husband I think I might be in labour, having mild contractions 1 hour apart.  The excited and supportive reaction to this news never arrived...he promptly cracked up laughing and then told me off saying "I knew you would be like this today, just because it is your due day does not mean you are going to have the baby today!" and off he went to work.  Don't get me wrong, even I agreed with him and I have been known to over-react or exaggerate at times so I figured he could be right.  However as the day progressed it became obvious that there was a definite pattern to these pains, mild as they were and they time in between was getting shorter so I was looking forward to my midwives visit at 4pm to see if she thought it was the real thing or not.

J (hubby) and I went off to the midwives after he got back form work and we were both excited to hear that I was 1-2cm dilated and that sure enough, this was the very early stages of labour.  Our midwife said it could be hours yet, most likely tomorrow before baby would be born so we decided to head to my parents for dinner.  By the time I was finishing my roast chicken I was having contractions 5-7 minutes apart and they were starting to cause a bit of pain so we thought we better head home!

We got home at 6.30pm and I jumped in the shower hoping that would help with the pain which was becoming pretty tough at this point.  I still had my sister-in-laws warning in my head and was thinking how am I going to last the whole night with this pain if this is just the beginning!  By 7.30pm my contractions were 5 minutes apart and I was hurting-I told J to ring the midwife as surely I must be 4-5cm dilated by now and we should go to a hospital soon.  He rang her and said you might want to come down soonish as things have picked up slightly...we didn't want to rush her or over-react, typical first time parents!

I had planned on going to St Georges hospital to give birth and was wanting to try a drug free birth if possible but was totally open to the possibility of pain relief should I need it.  By 8.30pm I was lying on my bed crying through the contractions thinking if this is just the beginning I am absolutely going to take EVERY single pain relief option available and was desperate for the midwife to arrive.  When she arrived I remember saying to her "If I am not yet 5cm dilated and ready to go to the hospital I need drugs fast because I can't do this!"  She checked me and said I was fully dilated and the head was crowning - we are having this baby right here at home!

I wont go into all the gory details but the short story is we got me down into the lounge, next to the fire and cranked up the heat.  I did panic a bit as this was not what we planned and I tried to say no I want to go to hospital but once another contraction hit it was all over.  I didn't want to have the baby in the car and all I wanted was to get it out as fast as possible so we settled in the lounge. J got some towels down on the carpet (I had to send him back to get the old beach towels after he bought in our never been used, white, wedding gift towels!) and my midwife got me to start pushing.  I was screaming through the pain of contractions and she helped me to stop yelling and focus all that energy into bearing down and pushing.  At 9.15pm Harper was born, a perfect little girl, 6 pound 10 ounces and our lives changed forever.

J and H - 1st Daddy daughter cuddle

Our first cuddle in bed at home an hour after Harper was born

Even though it was not what we had planned or expected, it was a pretty amazing birth.  Faster than I expected to go from 1-2cm at 4pm to fully dilated by 8.30-9pm.  Yes, the last 2-3 hours were extremely painful and scary but it all happened pretty fast and once she was out all the pain disappeared and it was a beautiful time.  It was drug free although I DEF would have taken something towards the end if I could have!  I didn't need any stitches or medical attention afterwards so preferred to stay at home rather than have to go into a hospital.   I was able to have a shower and jump into bed with J and H and start learning how to feed her straight away.  We had turns holding her all night and napping so both J and I got to bond with H and still get a good nights sleep.  I loved being at home for that first night together and sharing it with my hubby, I find it crazy that some of my friends who have just given birth in hospitals during the night have had to say goodbye to their husbands as they can't stay the night.  It must be awful for both Mum & Dad!  Overall, I was very thankful for how well the birth went and we were super excited to finally be parents.  If I could go back, I actually wouldn't change a thing - H turned 4 last weekend and is the most amazing little girl who brings us huge amounts of joy, we love her madly!