Hi there,
I can't believe its a month today little Poppy Elizabeth arrived into the world, the time has flown by, some of it good , some of it desperate, all of it done in a haze of semi-consciousness caused by major sleep deprivation. A period of time has passed me by where normal professional people turn into zombies overnight!
Turn back the clock 4 weeks, Sunday 12th July....
I went into early labour on the Friday morning so remained at home and used techniques taught in my Ante-natal classes; using a birthing ball to lean against and bounce on is great when pain gets a little intense, a Ten's machine is fantastic for administering your own natural pain relief when contractions get closer together, by the time i arrived at the hospital 48 hours later my finger was permanently on the pain relief button! I had been practicing 'hypnosis for childbirth' which worked for me well at the beginning, helping me remain calm but towards the end it actually slowed my contractions down so i stopped using it and relied more on my natural instinct, which was to call out for an epidural!
Thankfully my husband Nick and the midwife both knew this is not what i wanted from my birth plan and suggested we try the water birthing pool (which is what i had intended using before the contractions kicked in). I wasn't convinced but said i'd try it anyway. Alleluia...the minute i stepped into the warm pool the intensity of the the pain subsided, it was like a magic drug, i'd anticipated water helping me as i love the water and feel very relaxed in it, but never this good. The water birth unit is great, lights are dimmed and it feels very private and cosy rather than the bright lights of the labour ward which personally terrified me. A water birth is only recommended for women who are low risk, its also not for everyone but was the right one for me.
The final stage of labour seemed to go on forever, for me, 6 hours, so i guess it was quite a long time! Entonox (Gas and Air) helps a lot at keeping your breathing regulated and keeping you calm, helping release oxytocin rather than adrenalin (which slows down labour) by the time Poppy arrived i reckon i'd sucked and puffed a few canisters worth of the stuff.
I'll save you the gory details but worth a mention and a massive thank-you to Danny for kicking me into shape (which helped me endure the never ending labour and insisting upon endless pelvic floor exercises, which is turn saved me from any penireum tearing as i was able to control the delivery of the head simply by holding my pelvic floor tight and releasing when the midwife instructed me to do so). Also to Liz and her fantastic perineum massage oil, weeks of massage did the trick and i left the delivery suite in tact - BIG THANK-YOU.
The hospital post natal stay isn't a particularly pleasant one, the noise is the worst. You are exhausted and overwhelmed and there are crying babies, crying mums, even crying dads but all in all it's a magical experience and my mum was right, you really do forget the pain of labour quite quickly. One little glance at your newborn quickly dismiss' alot of the pain. Now it's onto the task in hand....being a mummy.....scary and exciting but ultimately its going to be the most rewarding and challenging things i ever did.
5 days after she was born we were able to go home. The first week post birth was a magical time, hanging out with Poppy, getting to know her little faces, cry's and getting to grips with breast feeding. We're doing ok, took some time getting used to it but were getting there. The 'heal nipple balm' from blooming babe has saved my nipples from near extinction, they were so painful after 3 days of Poppy constantly sucking from them. I rubbed a little of the balm in throughout the first few days to stop them cracking and getting sore. Unlike many other nipple creams, this one doesn't contain any harmful ingredients and allows you to rub on before the baby feeds. The breast feeding has also helped me regain my shape, the first few days of feeding i noticed a contraction like pain in my abdomen, this is the uterus reducing in size, over the first few days of feeding it gradually gets smaller and smaller. By the time i'd left the hospital i'm pleased to say my tummy is pretty much flat again, be it not quite so firm but definitely moving in the right direction. I have also come out of pregnancy with no stretchmarks, delighted to say the least. I have been using the 'Prevent stretch marks' lotion from Blooming Babe since i was 3 months pregnant, it's not only easy to apply but has worked wonders on the quality of my skin. It has retained its texture and tone and is mark free. In 6 weeks time i can start exercising again and i'm confident i'll be feeling like me again. I am breast feeding so technically i'm classed as still pregnant (in terms of exercising ) so there are some exercises i can't do but i'll speak to Danny and take direction from him
Life as i knew it has definitely moved on, but in a really good way. Yes i'm permanently tired and it's usually lunchtime by the time i get round to having a shower and getting dressed, i now do everything one handed whilst Poppy is in the other, my multi-tasking skills have been perfected, i've lost count on the number of times Nick and I have crept up to the cot and peered in to check she's still breathing, Nicks arms are now super toned from all the late night rocking he's done (thats baby rocking not him rocking out of delirium!). My friends with children say 6 weeks is the turning point, when things just 'fall into place', i have 2 weeks to go then and am hoping that maybe things will get a little easier, although we're doing ok. A good friend said to me the other day; 'Jo honey, that's it now until they leave home and go to University, you will be constantly checking on them and will always sleep with one eye open'....that's in 18 years time and i figure i will still be checking on her then!
Until next time,
xJo
