2 May 2018

MY RAINBOW BABY BIRTH STORY

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I can’t believe it’s been three months of Romi in our lives, and somehow that short time feels like forever. I was hoping to get her birth story on the blog pretty soon after the big event but I got lost in the baby bubble of cuteness so apologies for the absence on here!

So what have I been up to in the last few months? Well apart from spending hours staring at her sweet cheeks, chilling at home with my boob out and squeezing in a few pelvic floor exercises here and there, I’ve been mainly getting to know this little human of mine…and oh what a sweetheart she is. But more on that another time, for now let me catch you up on how it all went down with our rainbow baby. This ones a long one so maybe get yourself a cuppa and get comfortable…

If you’ve been following my pregnancy journey on Instagram, you might remember me getting rather frustrated at the no show when I hit the 40 week mark – impatient much? –  it should have been no surprise that any baby of mine would obviously be late! After the trauma of Felix’s delivery and our mulitple losses I was really hoping this labour would be smooth and uneventful, and I was trying to channel all the calm vibes to mentally prepare myself for something, that to me, felt quite terrifying.

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At bang on 40 weeks I was offered a stretch and sweep to be told I was already 2cm dilated, feeling excited/nervous and certain that labour was imminent, I went home to triple check my hospital bag and all that jazz. By 40 weeks + 4 days I was now wondering when everything might kick off, so imagine my surprise when during the whole bedtime/story routine with Felix I felt a small ‘gush’ of water! Feeling pretty confident that I hadn’t in fact wet myself, I called the central delivery suite who assured me unless it was a whole lot of water or a constant trickle,  it wasn’t my waters breaking. Feeling a little unsure I went to bed only to have the same experience a few times the next day, I rang back explaining the situation and they asked me to come in only to be examined, told once again it was fine and sent back home.

Imagine my surprise when I attended my scheduled midwife appointment at 5pm the next day to be told that my waters had in fact gone! During an attempted stretch and sweep she anxiously asked when they had broken and I managed a surprised ‘two days ago?’. Suddenly everything happened very quickly, I was packed off to the hospital immediately to be induced due to fear of infection, while Paul attempted to drive Felix to my folks house in Wales and get back in time.
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Once I got settled into the delivery room I was examined once again and told I had a bubble of fore waters that her head was sealing near my cervix. After producing what can only be described as a crochet hook of large proportions they popped the bubble expecting a whoosh. Nothing happened, only then did we realise that pretty much all of my waters had leaked out over the last few days! I was now nearing 48 hours and around the mark that consultants tend to start mention antibiotic IV and infections, and I felt like a ticking time bomb. Even though I was contracting every seven minutes, managing to make my way throgh the final episode of Stranger Things and sneak a pizza into the delivery suite for Paul, my cervix hadn’t budged so they decided to start me off on the Syntocinon drip at 2am to really try and get things going.

I was offered an epidural and boy did I accept, turns out being induced means the contractions start full on, crashing down on you like waves and all I knew was that I needed sleep. The wonderful midwives stayed with me as I snoozed through contractions and pressed my drip button to manage the pain. Although I must admit after labouring Felix without pain relief and feeling quite empowered by it, this was such a different experience that still allowed me feel in control and not beat myself up about taking pain relief.

pregnancy after miscarriage, birth stories, rainbow baby, getting pregnant after a miscarriage, women giving birth, what to do if your waters break, 40 weeks and leaking waters, delivery stories, Around 7.40am I asked to be examined and was around 8cm dilated so woke Paul who promptly popped out to sort our car parking ticket (as you do) before rushing back. I said thanks to my midwife as the shifts switched over and I remember her saying that she thinks the baby will come around 10ish. All of a sudden I felt this immense pressure and asked to be checked again, my new midwife reassured me it was fine, until I got quite insistent that someone should have a look at what was going on. I remember her moving the covers and being somewhat surprised “oh yes the head is there, OK she’s coming right now”. I was guided onto my side (due to my SPD) and while the epidural had numbed the pain, the pressure sensation and movement could be clearly felt. Very slowly I followed her voice during each contraction and slowly birthed her head and then waited for what seemed like days for another contractions before I could push to birth her shoulders.

As much as each birth story is a miracle and my labour process seemed pretty smooth considering my waters broke two days earlier, for me the next part for me was truly magical. As advised, I requested a ‘birth pause’, a minute or two between the baby being born and being placed onto my chest. There was a concern that labour would trigger a post traumatic stress episode based on my last birthing experience. With Felix I was rushed into theatre under emergency circumstances where I starting hemorrhaging and as they placed him on me and I panicked, asking him to be removed as I felt myself starting to black out, which was probably the trigger for my PND.

So when the midwife asked me whether I wanted to reach down and help birth my new baby, I was surprised as anyone when I did! It felt so natural to reach down and help guide her out and pull her up through my legs onto my tummy. Where as before I asked for Felix to be taken off me, this time I found myself wrapping her in my arms, tucking her under my gown, helping her nurse and gazing at this little girl of mine.

pregnancy after miscarriage, birth stories, rainbow baby, getting pregnant after a miscarriage, women giving birth, what to do if your waters break, 40 weeks and leaking waters, delivery stories, In that moment all the oxytocin love that I had heard so much about washed over me and I suddenly understood the feeling women talk about. Not to say I don’t love Felix with all my heart, I do, but this was instant and overwhelming. Even Paul chokes up when retelling her birth story.

We had a small hospital stay to ensure Romi showed no signs of infection and that my bladder was OK after the epidural, but I could not be more incredibly grateful to the consultants, maternal health psychotherapists and midwifes that allowed me the opportunity to experience the birth I always imagined.

You can read more about our Rainbow baby journey here and here and our gender reveal story here.
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1 comment

  1. Oh Romy, the love rush! Made me well up! Congrats again XXX

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