Victoria's Second Birth: Her little rocket

Last Wednesday, at my 40 week midwife appointment I was sent to hospital for growth scan because my bump hadn’t grown. The results showed a slight tailing off of measurements on a graph which could suggest that the placenta is not working effectively - the most common reason for inducing women when they reach term + 2 weeks. We were advised to book an induction for a couple of days time and I requested monitoring in the meantime, to get reassurance that baby was currently well. He had great movements and I felt otherwise really good. I returned each day for monitoring and had pains every evening that were not long, strong or regular enough to say they were labour. I was becoming quite anxious about taking a risk by not inducing, choosing to wait for things to happen naturally and I was frustrated that I’d been put into a scenario where I felt I was potentially putting my baby in danger. This was all far from the lovely, happy feelings you need for labour to begin.

I decided to encourage things along with a sweep and another on Saturday morning 48 hours later. Whilst at the hospital, we agreed to book induction for Monday at 10.30am and headed home to enjoy the weekend. On Sunday evening I ate an entire pot of pineapple and laid in a bath of clary sage oil but I was far from relaxed. I’d been a bit concerned all day about his movement and by the time I got into bed I was incredibly anxious, now 40+7 and wondering what would happen to us both. 

Monday morning at 4am I woke up and felt a sort of gentle, bubbly pop in my lower tummy. I started timing contractions 7 mins apart and sat on the toilet for a while, they were a minute long. Sam awoke at 4.30 and I told him I was having pains but to snuggle back down for now. As soon as I realised it was the real deal (needing to breath through the surges) I called my parents to come to our house to watch Kit. They arrived at 5am and by this time I was having huge contractions, really close together. Mum helped me put my socks on and I am soon back leaning over onto the bed, roaring with the strength of surges and there’s barely a moment to catch my breath between them and I have the urge to wee. I use the next rest moment to go next door to the bathroom and have another big contraction. I feel his head descend. Sam comes in having just got off the phone to the hospital and I tell both him and my mum, baby is coming, he is coming right now. It must be 5.10am. I ask my mum to run the bath and tell Sam to ring 999, he says, Really? I look him right in the eye and say Yes! I’m quickly trying to get my leggings and socks off with mum’s help and the emergency services ask Sam to check to see if the baby is crowing. He is. I get into the bath in an upright child’s pose position, leaning on the top end for support. With the next contraction I roar and baby’s head and hand are born. The lady on the telephone tells me I need to give a really big push and there is a long pause before the next contraction and when it comes, I bare down, rest my head on my arms and try to be as open and powerful as I can. Sam catches him and baby cries immediately and we are all so relieved. Born at 5.24am. Dad comes back in from outside where he has been de-icing our car to find us all in the bathroom, having been through the most exciting experience. He swiftly takes Kit downstairs when he awoken with the commotion when the paramedics arrive shortly after. There’s nothing much they can do so I ask them to wait the other side of the door while I get out of the bath to birth the placenta. We had passed baby through my legs and wrapped him in a towel so I carefully passed him to Sam to hold so I could get out. We put a large towel on the floor which caught the placenta’s fall and then sat awkwardly with baby and lotus for an hour while we waited for the midwife to come. When she did, I cut the cord. Mum held baby while I had a shower and I got dressed into clean clothes from the hospital bag which I asked the paramedic to get for me from by the front door! On reflection, I am so pleased they didn’t arrive ‘in time’ because i don’t doubt Sam and my mum would have been swept to the side. As it was, they absolutely owned it and we are all rightfully proud of ourselves and our unforgettable delivery story. Everyone eventually left once we’d been checked over, mum and dad took Kit to nursery so me, Sam and baby could spend the day in bed together. Throughout this pregnancy I have said that after being induced with my firstborn I just wanted to be left to it, just me and my husband, this time. Lesson learned - be careful what you wish for!