Wow! Just re-read my last blog post and realised all the bits I missed and things that make little sense. Not beating myself up as wrote it in that insanity that is the first week post baby but thought I'd catch you up on some things:
1) The reason I mentioned the 'accidents' is because I think they were my labour indicators. My body was just so over being pregnant it decided to stop. I'm super glad. I was over being pregnant, and knew the likelihood was that my baby was big enough (given my large measurements) to be born so feel no guilt about that.
2) I may have aided baby coming when it did if you believe in old wives tales. I had been eating induction cookies. In part because I found the recipe and it looked amazing. In part because I really wanted the baby to come and I was over it. The cookies were fucking amazing. I shared them with friends and family. Seriously, they are tasty. I made mine slightly spicier than the recipe (a little extra cayenne) and they were fab.
And the night before I went into labour we did have Indian food. This wasn't to hurry the baby, but merely because it was our four year Civil Unionersary and we wanted to do something nice, but cheap (cos poor) so picked one of those dealio website deals at the closest restaurant in the cuisine we liked most and went for it. We ended up at a place called Shor Bazaar in Lynfield which looked nice from their website but on arrival were a bit terrified (sandwiched between a KFC, a TAB and a Wendy's) but OMG it was awesome! Although the deal was for a regular course, we ended up ordering starters and desserts and ate all things we'd never tried before - which is an achievement as I used to work in Indian restaurants and love and eat a LOT of Indian food. I didn't order a spice level any higher than I normally would as wanted to enjoy the meal. And no, I don't think eating curry made me go into labour.
3) Yes, I had a drug free birth (besides Panadol taken earlier that day for hip pain) but believe me, I was begging for drugs - there was just no time! I had started going into transition before we even left for the hospital (hence my urgency) and because everything happened so fast I was not well pleased. Because I could get into the water fairly quickly once at hospital though, I soon felt ok without drugs as had gotten over the shock of being in labour and found my groove.
4) I didn't realise or know how much blood I'd lost until a few days after having Abby. I did know I was lying in a pool of my own blood, but had no idea how normal/abnormal that was as had never had a vaginal delivery before. And I couldn't actually see how much blood there was - I just knew it was there. I later found out I was very close to the amount of blood loss where you have to sound all the bells and whistles and get the Drs and people into the room - I am so glad I did not. It was very nice having just me, Murray and Vanessa (my brilliant Midwife) in our little, private feeling delivery suite feeling awesome.
The only ill effects I noticed from this blood loss was that I was a bit shaky when I did get up for a shower (a couple of hours after having Abby), and was having some difficulty breathing (like when I was anaemic). Luckily, I had a bag of treats and a few fistfuls of chocolate coated raisins and a cup of tea remedied this fairly quickly.
5) Murray freaked out a bit when Abby was born because she didn't cry (like on TV). She was fine - it was just because of the delayed cord clamping. She was also extremely chill for her first couple of days on this earth, and still is (touch wood) most of the time. Whilst Murray had discussed cutting the cord, in the end he decided not to having done it with Etta and found it a little 'barbaric' after his last experience cutting the cord in the C Section, which we all decided was fair enough.
6) Abby was eleven days early - a week later exactly than Etta who was eighteen days early. Abby weighed 7lb 8oz - Etta weighed 6lb 15oz - so had they been born at similar times I think they would have been similar weights. However, Abby was/is SO FAT. Like, she looks as though you could poke her tummy and she'd pop like a balloon. Stark contrast to Etta who was a very skinny wee thing. Abby is also super tall. 51cm at birth, and now 52cm just over a week on.
7) While we would have loved to go to the Helensville Birthing Units from Waitakere unfortunately, the inn was full. April is a very popular month to give birth, so I wasn't surprised. Retrospectively, it was great coming straight home as injected some normalcy into this whole thing for Etta. She only had one night without Mummy and her routines haven't changed. We figure the easier we can make the transition for her the easier she will make it for us.
8) We took a couple of days to name Abby as when she was born none of the names we'd had seemed quite right. We did end up going back to a name we'd had in mind - one that Murray had chosen - but after we'd gotten to know her a bit better. While Etta made her personality clear from before birth, Abby has been a little quieter so we needed a little time to get to know her better. And while people grow into their monikers, they do have them for life (unless they hate it so much they change it) so it's nice to at least try to get it right.
9) I am so lucky to have had the Midwife I had. I am glad that I trusted her decisions even in times I was a little anxious about them. I am so grateful that I laboured under the current system (midwives) rather than the system my Mum laboured under (GP's). There is no way a GP could have had the level of knowledge Vanessa had to get me comfortably through my pregnancy, labour and these early days with a new baby. We are so, so lucky to have this in New Zealand. I do think it's all about finding the right person for you, so if you are not happy, or at all uncomfortable with your Midwife, and have time do shop around. It will make a trying time so much easier if you have the support that works for you and a good relationship with those giving it. Especially if you are looking at having a VBAC.
10) I cannot express enough the difference between my emergency C Section and this natural labour. Again, while I wasn't at all upset or anything by Etta's delivery, Abby's was just so much simpler even if her delivery was in some ways more hands on. Recovering from a natural birth - even with a small tear and difficult delivery - has been so much faster and simpler than recovering from my C Section. And with a full on toddler I was so grateful to have the opportunity for a natural birth. Again, I was very low risk to try for a VBAC, so this choice will not be best for everyone.
For me even had this labour had resulted in another emergency C Section I would have been glad to have tried as because I had done the 'labour' thing before, this time I felt more comfortable with it - I wasn't at all scared. And while labour is 'labour' and hard and sore, I managed to get to that place they talk about in hypnobirthing - mostly because I knew I would be ok, and I knew this was only for a short period of my life.
While Abby was not in the best of positions (head funny angle, shoulders around the wrong way, cord over shoulder) she was not face first or posterior which made for a much easier delivery. While I'm sure it would have been possible to birth Etta naturally, it would have been very difficult and traumatic for both of us to have done so. And while I am glad to have managed a natural birth this time (mostly so I am able to look after my busy toddler easier) I am so grateful to have had the option of a C Section with Etta.
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