Parenting | Meet My New Arrival

Look what I made...

On Sunday, August 24th at 5:32am, my not so little man arrived into the world, weighing a very healthy 10lbs!!  Yes really / Yes it did / I know right! [delete as appropriate].
Our little miracle, who we eventually conceived last December after a long, hard journey was just over a week overdue and if you followed my weekly Pregnancy updates you'd have read that I was feeling pretty fed up and impatient for his arrival. Hey, I was carrying a 10lb baby, no wonder I couldnt move!! :)
My Birth Story [may be a little TMI for some... you have been warned ;)]
His due date, August 16th, came and went. I was pretty frustrated as I was convinced I wouldn't make  it that far, I thought he'd arrive at the beginning of the month. I was carrying pretty heavy and it was really affecting me. I couldn't walk far, I had torn stomach muscles and bad SPD. Everything ached and I was desperate to feel some normality.  On Friday, the 22nd, at almost 41 weeks, my midwife and her student came round to do a membrane sweep, I was 2cm dilated and she could feel bulging waters. For the rest of the day I was having irregular contractions. We went for a long drive and a walk around ASDA. I felt so much pressure in ASDA, I was convinced my waters were about to go! :/ The contractions started to drift off towards night time, which was disappointing.  The following morning I lost my plug and began having more substantial pains. James stayed off work just in case, which was lucky as the pains came all day. I was pacing the lounge and breathing them through. Come late afternoon, they were timeable and getting noticeably stronger. I knew it was happening that night! I started to feel a little anxious knowing that I was in early labour and there was no going back now, I was going to have to give birth... and soon!  By 5pm the contractions were getting pretty strong, but still very irregular. I had really bad back ache too! I was so uncomfortable, and didn't know what to do with myself. I couldn't relax, as it was too painful and uncomfortable, and I was far too anxious. Throughout the day the contractions would become regular and time able, at one point every 9 mins, but then would tail off. It was so frustrating!! At 9:30pm, my lovely Midwife called me to see if there were any signs. Ive been so lucky with her, she's been a great support throughout the pregnancy.  I put Bradley to bed at 10pm and attempted to get some rest. It wasn't happening, I ended up pacing the house as the contractions got stronger and closer together. I knew this was it, and very soon he'd be here. I got quite anxious about it, shedding a few tears on James on a few occasions.  Over the next few hours I timed the contractions until they became 5mins apart. At 1:30am I called the hospital and my Mum to come look after Bradley, grabbed the hospital bags and we made our way in. In the car, the contractions were coming thick and fast and no sooner had one finished, another started. I think James got slightly worried I was going to make a mess in his Audi. lol. This was probably the only time I didn't moan at him for driving too fast! :)
We arrived at the hospital at 2:30am. I hadn't been there long before I threw up in the sink!! Mortifying!! I'd been there 10mins and I'd already blocked the sink, bet they loved me!!  They told me I was 6cm dilated, which cheered me up, and set the water pool up for me. The pool was lovely and warm and had soft lighting, it was an amazing feeling when I stepped in. I felt really calm.  The next couple of hours were a bit of a blur. I had 3 midwifes around the pool, along with James. They were lovely girls and helped me stay calm and tell me how well I was doing. I'm not sure how long it was, but no sooner had I got into the pool I felt the need to push. I told myself I shouldn't, as I was only 6cm dilated, but the midwife told me to trust my body and go with what it was telling me to do. So I was then pushing with every contraction, which were just minutes apart. I spent the whole time with my eyes closed, zoned into my body, only opening my eyes now and then for some reassurance from James, who was telling me how amazing I was doing. I remember snapping at him at one point saying 'No I'm not, how do you know?', which is quite amusing now! :)  I could feel his head coming down but got pretty frustrated with myself, I just couldn't seem to muster the last bit of energy to bring it down any further, and felt him go back up every time a contraction finished. The pain, however, I was dealing with pretty well. I planned to go with the flow regarding pain relief, I didn't have any with Bradley and didn't feel I needed any this time either.  Eventually, and extremely painfully :), I mustered the energy and with everything I had, gave birth to the head. It was then that things got a little scary. To be honest, it was all happening around me, I was in a bit of a daze and shock after birthing the head, but I was slightly aware of a bit of panic. Apparently he came out with his hand at the side of his face, almost like a Superman pose! Like father like son! :). The midwife told me I needed to stand up quickly. I got up and with everything I had, along with her help, I managed to get him out safely.  At 5:32am, my much anticipated gorgeous little boy made his way into the world. I pulled him up myself for a cuddle, but they had to take him from my quite quickly as he wasn't responding well and was quite floppy. Unfortunately James wasn't able to cut the cord as they had to move quite quickly. I still had to go through 3rd stage so I was trying to concentrate and not look over or panic, although in the corner of my eye I could see them rubbing him down, and picking his arm up for it to drop back down all floppy.  Luckily, it wasn't long before he cried out. He was absolutely fine and I managed a quick cuddle.  Unfortunately, as he'd come out in such an awkward position... Supermaaaan!!! I'd suffered 3rd degree tears and had to be whisked off to surgery. I was pretty gutted, I'd managed to labour and birth with no pain relief, yet ended up having a spinal block to have surgery to put my bits back together!!  I was so anxious that I was away from my newborn baby for over an hour, when I should be with him at this early stage. But I knew he was with his Daddy and I'd soon have him in my arms. 

So, let me introduce you to...
Taylor James

He's now 10 days old, and we're totally in love with him. 
xxx