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He’s here and he’s perfect!

I am so excited to share with you all that my littlest man, Brooklyn (aka Brooks) arrived into this world at 3.26am on January 29 2019.

My due date was January 28, so just like his big brother, he was one day past his due date.

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I was very impatiently waiting for his arrival and am just soooo excited to finally meet my baby boy. He is truly perfect and I am just so busy soaking up this newborn deliciousness.

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I always wanted three kids and Jase only wanted two, so it is safe to say that he will be our last baby. It’s a very strange feeling knowing that this is it. This is the last time I’ll hold my baby for the first time… Just makes me appreciate it all that much more and I will do my best to enjoy every second of it because I know how fast they grow!

For those of you who love a good labour story, I thought I would share it with you all. In case you missed my first two labour stories, click here, this article also compares my labour experiences with an epidural and without one.

My labour story #3…

Monday Jan 28 was a public holiday so Jase was off work. Paxton sleeps at my parents’ house most Monday nights as they take him to creche on a Tuesday and because it was school holidays still, my parents agreed to have Harper sleep over too. Given I was 40 weeks pregnant, any opportunity to have both kids sleep out, was the perfect time for Jase and I to enjoy a night out and/or a great opportunity for this baby to come. Considering the heat wave in Melbourne, we went the beach, went for a walk and then we went out for dinner, we really just enjoyed each other’s company that arvo/nighy. For dinner, I insisted on having spicy food as I felt like I’d tried all the other labour-inducing myths and nothing else was working. After dinner, we came home and I got into bed. Jase had to finish up some work. This is a little embarrassing and even after I’d done it, I was contemplating not telling Jase as I knew he’d think I was crazy. Because I was absolutely busting to get this baby out, I took on some advice my chiro had given me and decided to try nipple stimulation… I literally sat in bed tugging on my nipples, I had no clue what I was doing and I was sure nothing was going to happen (sorry dad if you’re reading this). But not too long after I couldn’t believe it, I started having contractions. In saying that, I’d been having Braxton hicks contractions non-stop for a few weeks but I was pretty sure these ones were the real deal as they were actually painful. For those of you who don’t know, a Braxton hicks is pretty much a fake contraction that doesn’t hurt but is uncomfortable, and your bodies way of preparing for labour. It was about 10pm when Jase came to bed, we were both exhausted as we had a good friend’s wedding the night before. I got up out of bed to do my usual wee before sleep and as I stood up, my waters broke. I was actually in shock! Did the nipple stimulation thing actually work??!

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Adding to this was the fact the for both my other kids my waters broke well and truly when I was in labour and at the hospital.

An important side note for my story – at about 37 weeks my OB does a swab down below to test for something called Strep B. I tested negative with Harper and Paxton but this pregnancy I tested positive. Strep B is a bacteria that some women carry in their vagina or rectum and it can affect the baby if untreated at birth. It’s not something to stress about but if you do have a positive result, you just need to get to the hospital if your waters break so you can have a dose of antibiotics and then your baby is closely monitored for 48 hours post-birth.

So, given the kids were sleeping out, as soon as my waters broke, we grabbed our bags and off we went. Obviously making sure Cooper was all good first. I was anxious in the car. I was sitting on towels as I was still leaking lots of fluid. As much as all I wanted was to go into labour and meet my baby boy, the thought of that pain and pushing something the size of a watermelon out of me again was very scary!

We got to the labour ward at about 10.30pm on Monday ( which was Australia day public holiday) it was a ghost town. And to my surprise, the midwife who greeted us was Mel, the midwife who works for my OB. It was a breath of fresh air to see a familiar face, she made me feel calm and at ease straight away. We went to the delivery room, the same one that Paxton was delivered in. Mel called my OB and got all the instructions. They hooked me up to have the antibiotics through a drip. Plus some fluids as I was dehydrated from how hot it had been the last few weeks. They also decided to give me the hormone that helps to induce labour. As I was positive for Strep B, they decided, the quicker we get the baby out the better chance of avoiding infection. So off I went, slowly but surely my contractions were getting more regular and more painful. They were sore but I was breathing through them with the support of Mel and my incredible hubby who held my hand every contraction.

At this rate, we were all on board for me getting through it without an epidural, which was my preference. It got to the point where I felt like I was at my tipping point which was 7-8cm dilated with my first two. Mel agreed that the contractions seemed to be moving along and it was nearly time. So she did an internal and to her surprise, I was only 2-3cm dilated and my cervix was quite hard and tilted back. She knew it was going to be a long road ahead if I didn’t have an epidural. It was almost 2am. I was beyond exhausted and when I heard this, I just balled my eyes out. I really didn’t want an epidural, and if I was 7-8cm, I could have pushed through. But knowing what I had been through and I was only so slightly dilated, we all made the call that I needed the epidural. I needed to rest, otherwise, I wasn’t going to have the energy to push this baby out.

At about 2.30am the anaesthetist came and I got my epidural. By this point, the contractions were next level. Literally ten minutes after the epidural was given, I felt pressure and needed to push!! I think the induction hormones had made my contractions so intense that I was so tense, my cervix just wasn’t dilating. But as soon as I had the epidural, my body was able to relax and my cervix able to dilate. They told me not to push until my OB got there. He arrived by 3am. At this stage, the little man’s heart rate was dropping. They tried moving me around to get him going but I literally couldn’t feel my legs and couldn’t move without all of them helping me. Once I was set and ready… it only took two contractions worth of pushing, and our baby boy was out!! The reason why his heart rate was dropping so much was that my chord (which was very long) had wrapped itself around his neck twice!! My OB was able to manoeuvre him out slow enough so it didn’t strangle him. He told me to hold my baby and pull him out gently. As soon as he was out, he was crying (with some mighty fine lungs might I add) and absolutely perfect!!

He instantly lay on my chest and started trying to suck, so we moved him onto the boob and he started feeding within a minute or two of being out. It truly amazes me how mother nature works! How on earth did he know to come out and do that straight away!?

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As I sit here writing this, it’s my last day in the hospital and my head is foggy. I am tired, I have very cracked nipples, a sore vag, but I am absolutely in newborn heaven. I have had lots of visitors. Brooks is one very loved little boy! He is so soft and adorable, I could literally stare at him all day. I can’t wait to take my boy home tomorrow and be back together with the crew. He has met Harper and Paxton but tomorrow he will meet Cooper!! So in saying that, I can’t wait to share more of my journey with you guys over the coming weeks and months. I already have an abundance of photos that will absolutely melt your hearts.

To all the other tired mamas out there… We will get through this together. As a third time mum, my advice is, don’t wish things away too quickly. All the shit things are a phase and they will pass. Our babies grow up so quickly, so enjoy them while they are little.