Well our beautiful baby GIRL is 11 day's old and its the first time I have done any blogging since we have grown to a family of 4. Tuesday 20th February was my routine midwife check and I was currently sitting at 41+8 days with my little comfy babba still in my tum! The closer I was getting to 12 days over due the more I was starting to worry about being induced, I had had such a pleasant labour and birth with Harry I really want to go natural and aim for the same with my second baby. My midwife assured me baby was engaged, cervix was soft it was just a matter of waiting for my waters to go and baby consistently putting pressure on my cervix to keep contractions going! She done me a second sweep, and she also advised to no longer use the ball but to rock on my hands and knees to twist the baby round a little bit more as second babies tend to dip in and out of your pelvis. After my second sweep, and hearing the babies heart beat, I was feeling much more uplifted and back to my positive self even with my induction now booked. I just kept telling my self baby will come before this date!
Me and the hubby left the midwife and headed straight into town for some lunch and a few bits we needed to get, the walk round our shopping centre definitely helped get some movement! By 7pm, I had rocked so much on the floor my knees were killing me, I had even been listening to a bit of hypno birthing music with my ear phones on, and headed to bed at 10.30pm, my words to Chris were I'm going to go and get some sleep as I think this baby is going to come tomorrow! I headed up to bed and started to feel contractions coming regular, so much so I had started my breathing techniques just as I did with Harry and started to monitor how fast they were coming - They just came from no where! I laid in bed for around an hour and phoned the hospital around midnight, I told Chris to ask my mum over to the house as Harry was in bed sleeping, I knew it was happening, the BABY WAS FINALLY COMING!!!! The hospital asked me to stay at home for at least another hour but I knew this was NOT going to be the case, I put the phone down and headed to the hospital as my mum arrived to the house. 12:30pm we had arrived at the delivery suite, had my checks, I was definitely in labour and sitting at 5cm. I was in the birthing pool by 1.15am, and 15-20mins later before I knew it, and you ladies know exactly what I mean, that pressure begun! I had a lovely midwife called Pauline and also a trainee in the room with us. I had no pain relief just a little gas and air as I did with my first birth and before I knew it I was transitioning to the pushing phase of labour. I could not believe how quickly I had dilated.
For any one thinking of having a water birth I would highly recommend it, just as I recommend hypno birthing techniques I find the whole part of being in the water so relaxing and for me personally it puts in me 5th gear, I know they say for some it slows their contractions down but this is not the case for me so do not let that put you off as you maybe like myself and actually it does the opposite! As soon as I had said to Pauline I need to push the gloves went on, the torch was lite (for viewing in the pool) and that was it, before I knew it I was pushing and staying very controlled with my breathing techniques, by 2:05pm on Wednesday 21st February we welcomed our beautiful baby GIRL into the world.... and still in her anatomic sac! 1 In 80,000 babies are born in their sac, and apparently its very very lucky. She was out and in my arms!! I had delivered her safely and I was so relived, we didn't even check boy or girl till a few minutes after Lol!!! I could tell she was a dainty little doll as I held her in my arms, our princess weighed weighed 6lbs 140z, my Harry was 7lbs so I wasn't expecting a big babba. I just could not believe and still can't 11 days on we have been blessed with one of each!!! Harry said all along baby sister, from day 1 he kept saying baby sister or baby girrrrrl and little did we know he was right all along. Out I came from the water for some skin to skin time, I am breast feeding again and she latched within minutes, she needed a little prompting and the midwife wanted to make sure she had had a good feed before we went home. I cannot thank my husband enough for all the support he gave me through out it all, and the fantastic midwives at the NHS. Matilda Rose Laura Elizabeth Brown, you may have kept us waiting 9 days but you was worth every single day of being over due, made up doesn't come close to how we are feeling.
11am we were walking through our front door full of different emotions for Harry to meet his baby sister, excitement, emotional, nervous, happy... His reaction was super sweet but in true toddler behaviour he was soon back playing with his toys! I did manage to get it on video for a keepsake. Since being a family of 4, he has adapted really well to her being here. Children really are amazing. He had a few attention seeking moments in the first 2/3 days, hyper active moments which would then end up in a few tears but we soon put to a stop with a ''10 minute time out approach'' where one of us would take him upstairs and sit in his bed room with him and he would soon snap out of it and want to come back down stairs. Towards his new baby sister himself he is very affectionate, lots of cuddles and kisses! Lots of morning Matilda and night night Matilda. We are really making a conscious effort to still get that time with Harry doing his puzzles, colouring in, all his favourite things so although I don't feel any mum guilt yet, I am sure it will come! NO ONE prepared me for the emotional feeling I would have towards my first born, for 2 solid days I had a lump in my throat and if I tried to explain it I would just burst into tears, the emotion I was feeling was that all of a sudden my happy cheeky go lucky baby boy, was in fact no longer a baby, and all of a sudden felt a giant. I had been watching and listening to him one day by the door frame and realised he did not need me in the way his new baby sister did, it sounds silly but I felt I had lost that part of him, he needed me in other way's and that really scared the hell out of me. He all of a sudden seemed so grown up and independent and I didn't realise that until I had a baby in my arms. Thankfully, this isn't as raw as what it was last week, I still have the odd moment but as my husband said I can't stop time or him growing up but I can enjoy every moment of his next leap in toddler world and continue to be so proud of him.
So we are loving life as a family 4! We need to get a our little princess registered, and have the health visitor on Wednesday! I can't wait to get her weighed again as she gained 70grams in her first week where as Harry lost and then jumped back up the following week, I have a little milk queen on my hands and she is feeding wonderful.
Lots of Love x
