Skye’s Birth Story

Wednesday 24th January, 12noon - I pass the first bit of plug. And I continue to lose more plug that day & all day Thursday 25th January too. Wednesday night I have only 2hrs sleep due to suffering from RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). Thursday 25th I go to my pressure point Massage at Body Repair and my Hypnotherapy at @phoenixhypno . I have several contractions during my visits, but not intense. Then I go to my sister-in-laws to do one last quick photoshoot, where I pass my show in the middle of taking photos LOL. And I spend the rest of the day glued to my couch with my legs together trying not to bring on contractions because I wanted to go out to celebrate my nieces 18th Birthday that night. I made it to her Birthday Dinner where I kept track & timed my contractions using a phone app all night approx 6-9mins apart. We leave to go home around 9pm. I go home & wash my hair. Still having mild contractions regularly. I go to bed and sleep for approx 2hrs. Friday 26th around 3am I tell my hubby I'm now having to stand up during contractions & I think it's time we should go to hospital. We arrive approx 4am, my contractions 6mins apart & 5cm dilated. I enjoyed watching the sunrise from my birth suite windows. The sky was so blue and the clouds so pink. At 6:07am I finally had my first intense contraction and they were starting to get closer & closer together. At 7:20am contractions began to be approx 2mins apart until our baby girl entered the world at 9:29am. I was in pushing stage for 20-30mins, which is the longest I've ever had to push for in any of my births. But from the first moment she crowned to the moment she was born it was very quick! I was so relieved when the midwives told me I didn't require any stitches. I'm so proud of myself & I feel very lucky for experiencing my 4th childbirth naturally & drug free. And for someone who has the worst pain threshold ever, if I can cope with childbirth I feel like anyone can do it.

For tips and advice please check out @skye_knifey page on instagram 

Lets thank her for sharing her wonderful story

Melissa’s Birth Story

And suddenly, everything changed. Again.

Sunday, Feb 4th, 2018 I woke up just like any other morning and felt pretty good. Aside from the normal aches and pains of pregnancy and a little bit a pressure I had been feeling the past two previous weeks. Jason and I decided that we were going to go to church that morning because Addison was still recovering from a double ear infection and a flu virus. After relaxing all morning we decided to go to Walmart to pick up a few things.

Let's take a step back first. On Thursday, Feb 1, 2018 I headed to my OBGYN for my 37 week appointment. It was planned that I would be induced at 38 weeks, just like I was with my first pregnancy. The reason for this is because I am on a blood thinner called Fragmin throughout my entire pregnancies. This is as a result of a blood clotting condition that I have that needs to be treated with blood thinners if you are pregnant. In order to have an epidural or a C-section, you need to be off of the blood thinners for at least 12 hours before giving birth. So, for this reason, my OBGYN likes to induce me at 38 weeks. (Not going to lie - I have no issue with this because I know how much women struggle in those last few weeks!) As I walked into my OB's office for the appointment, I had a feeling that this little man was going to come early and not even make it to the 38 week mark. The doctor check to see if I had dilated at all and it turns out.... I was already 3cm!! This blew my mind. When I was induced with our daughter, I had been having contractions for a few days; however, I had not dilated at all! This was good news to my ears, but also a little bit scary because I knew it meant I wouldn't last until Friday, Feb 9th, our scheduled induction date.

The OBGYN felt confident that I would most likely make it to the scheduled date for induction; however, he said that I should be prepared to head to the hospital if my water broke or I started having contractions. I felt overwhelmed at the thought that I was going to be a mama of two under two in such a short period of time. You always think that you're ready, but then when reality hits, you're stricken with an overwhelming amount of anxiety and stress. The main thing I was concerned about was that my in-laws, who were supposed to take our daughter on the Thursday night before my induction, were out of the country on vacation until Feb 3. The thought that kept racing through my mind was, what If I go into labor and we have to bring our daughter? What would this mean? Would Jason miss the birth? Most likely. There's no way we're having our 16 month old daughter in the delivery room. She would be scarred for life!

Well, let me tell you something that I for one already know, yet so easily forget - God is GOOD. He works all things together for good for those who love him. He is our father. We are his children. Look at how we care for our babies. How much more do you think he cares for us!

Okay, we're back to Sunday, Feb 4th. We're leaving Walmart  and as we approach the car I begin to feel extreme pressure down below (you know what I mean). At this point, I sort of ignore it because I had been feeling pressure throughout the past few weeks anyways. My stomach was much larger this pregnancy and the doctor advised that much of the pressure I was experiencing was from this. However, as the afternoon went on, the pressure progressed and contractions began. Jason and I discussed and decided that I would be wise to make a trip to the birthing unit at our hospital just to get checked out. Thankfully, my in-laws had arrived home the day before from their vacation. They came to our house to watch Addison for a few hours while we got things look at. We thought we would be back within a few hours. We were wrong.

After getting checked at the birthing unit, the doctor told us I was 4.5cm dilated at this point. He wanted me to walk around the hospital for a few hours to see if that progressed the labor at all. My contractions we're too bad at this point. After walking for a few hours and going up and down the hospital stairs, I was checked again. Upon checking, the doctor informed us that I was already 5cm and that he wouldn't want to send me home at this point. We were admitted to the hospital and as I waited for my epidural to come, I sat and prayed. I asked the Lord for his grace upon us. This was a whole new journey we would be embarking on. Two kids. I would have to go through labor and delivery again. This was something that terrified me as our first labor and delivery did not go well. I was in labor for 27 hours with Addison and pushed for 6 hours. I prayed for a safe and quick delivery.

After receiving the epidural (which took FOREVER to administer this time around. With our daughter it was quick and painless. Well, this time was the complete opposite!) the doctors informed us that we should try and get some sleep because it would probably be a while now as I waited to dilate more. My contractions were worse and more intense at this point; however, once the epidural kicked in, this mama was in HEAVEN! High as a kite! Jason and I tried to get some sleep, but 10 min later the doctor came in to break my water. Even at this point in the game, he advised me that it would probably still be a while so he asked if I wanted him to give me some Pitocin.  This is a drug administered to start or speed up labor. I was given Pitocin during my labor with Addison, but it still took such a long time for me to deliver.

30 minutes after receiving the Pitocin, as I laid in my hospital bed trying to rest, 

I felt the most intense contractions begin. It confused me because I had the epidural and even after pushing the button for more medicine to go through my body, the pain persisted. I called for my doctor. The nurse checked me and said I was still only 5cm dilated and that she would be back in an hour to check me. Within 5 min, the nurse was back because of the screams they heard echoing the halls of the birthing unit. I was in so much pain. It came on so quickly. I was in so much pain that I didn't even realize she was checking to see how dilated I was. As I cried and tried to breathe through the contractions she said to the other nurse, "wake up dad, it's time to push". This immediately caught my attention and I was shocked that It was already time to push! The nurse informed me that within those 5 min I went from 5cm to 10cm! This was why I was feeling the contractions so intensely. The epidural hardly had enough time to kick in before the contractions started and I dilated so rapidly.

Jason, who loved every single part of my labor and delivery with Addison, began to help the nurse hold my legs while I worked on pushing Finn out. However, before we knew it Jason began to look flush and feel dizzy. Everything was happening to quickly that he had to go sit down before he fainted. He watched from a chair for the remainder of the labor. The doctor came in and informed us that Finn's heart rate had dropped to a dangerous low and that I needed to push him out immediately. These words terrified me to my very core. Everything within me told my body that this is it. You have to push harder than ever to ensure he gets out. He was curled over on one side and the cord was wrapped around his neck. With two more pushes he was out! Jason came over and cut the cord, smiling from ear to ear. A proud daddy.

Like I said before, the Lord is good. Always taking care of us. The labor in total was only a few hours. I experienced very minimal tearing and have not experienced the same amount of pain as I did with recovery for Addison. By far, much smoother. Finn latched onto my breast immediately and has been nursing well ever since.

Monday, February 5th, 2018 @ 1:57am Finnick William Miller was born. He was three weeks early weighing 7lbs, 4oz. Healthy baby boy! My heart was full the moment the doctor laid him on my chest. And in an instant, everything changed. Again.

Be kind to yourself

Don't expect so much from yourself. 

Let yourself heal 

Sleep when baby sleeps 

Keep open communication with significant other. It will help avoid you guys fighting in the early newborn days. 

Give yourself self care time.

To read more from Melissa go check out her blog. Link is below. Lets thank her for sharing her wonderful story

https://melissalynd6.wixsite.com/lovemamamiller

Emily’s Birth Story

This blog may contain some graphic content and may be offensive to some readers. If you are not comfortable with reading about a child's birth, please move onto one of our other blogs. We will not allow any negative comments on this blog  and please ask that you keep in mind that this was a very personal story that one of our bloggers is sharing. Thank You

Well, it was the night of Jan 4, 2016. I was very restless that night and knew something wasn't right. I leaned over and woke up my boyfriend and told him that I had to go in just to be safe. I had been having Braxton Hicks the past three weeks on and off, so I could tell if they may be them, but this felt totally different. It had always been my plan to have a home birth, so I could be in the safety of my own home and surrounded by the ones I loved. Frantically, we got ready but what came next was a huge shock and definitely not expected.

My water broke and drenched my clothes and seeped across the floor. It looked as though I peed my pants and quite honestly, made me embarrassed to have done it right in front of my boyfriend. I immediately told my boyfriend to call my mom and the midwife as I knew this is it, my little man is coming whether I like it or not. Contractions began about every 20 minutes after my water had broke and they were getting pretty intense. I had never felt anything like this. It felt as if my stomach was being ripped piece by piece. I knew I wasn't going to handle it well and I was on the floor curling up in pain as it hurt so bad even though I knew it was just the beginning.

My mom arrived about an hour after we called her and immediate came to my aid to help me over to the bed. About 30 min after she arrived, the midwife arrived. She immediately told me to strip off my bottoms so she could check my progress. When she inserted her fingers, it caught me so off guard because they were like icicles. She said I was at 3 cm but that I still had a while to go. She also mentioned I should try and walk around the house to see if that would get the show on the road. It was a struggle to walk around as the pain was so intense and my lower half was already hurting so bad. Every 20 steps I would have to stop and hunch over or lean on my boyfriend cause of the intensity of the pain. I could see that he was super worried and didn't like seeing me like this. He did try to lighten the mood by playing with my chest area. All I could say was "really" in a painful but more irritated manner. I continued to walk around for about an hour hoping that it would do something for my progression.  My midwife checked me again and I was at 6 so dilated, which was definitely some progress.

I asked her if I could try to soak in the tub. I had read that the water takes some of the pressure away and helps a little with the pain. She did recommend that I don't deliver in the tub and that the water can only do so much and there was a possibility that some complications could arise. I definitely did not want that. She then stated that I get back on the bed or at least out of the pool when it was time. I did end up getting in the water and wow, it felt amazing, almost as if I was pain and stress free. But as we know, that can only last so long. After about an hour and a half in the water the midwife decided that she should check me again. I was at 9 cm this time, so it was almost show time. She decided that it would be best to get out and head to the bed for the final stages before having to push. It was a struggle to get out of the water cause my legs felt week, but with the help of my boyfriend I was able to get it up slowly. I made my way to the bed just as another contraction hit which almost caused me to crash to the floor.

About 45 minutes of contractions later, I was so over this and was saying to myself to "get this baby out of me". The midwife decided that she would check me and this time she gave me some relieving news, but also dreaded at the same. I was 10 cm, but that meant TIME to PUSH. Definitely wasn’t looking forward to that as I was already in immense pain and discomfort. I had read that being on your hands and knees was supposed to help with the pressure, so I decided to try that position. Of course my boyfriend was being stupid again, we wanted to film and photograph the labor and birth, but I didn’t expect for him to be all in up my private area. Also sticking the camera in my face to get my facial expressions during the whole thing. I think I even yelled at him “stop that crap and get over here now!” I wanted to hold his hand and maybe even break it, I wouldn’t do that 😂. I began to bear down as hard as a I could. I felt like I was taking a massive poop 💩 . I could feel the area stretch as I pushed with everything I got. Contraction after contraction, I would push. In between, I would be having my mom with a wet rag to cool me down and also chew on some ice. After about 45 min of being on my hands and knees, my legs felt like they were dead so I decided I wanted to do the standard on the back with the legs spread. I got in position with my boyfriend holding one leg and the other being held by my mom. My boyfriend had given the camera to one of the midwife's assistants and had asked her to film the delivery. Man, I hated having a camera all up in my private areas, just felt awkward. Thinking that I was gonna be watching this back in a few months kind of creeped me out. 

I continued to push while on my back and all was going well, the midwife said that’s it keep going 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and breathe. After about 2 and a half hours of pushing, the midwife yelped “ I can see the head!” She asked if I wanted to reach down and feel my sons head as I replied with "sure why not" and reached down between my legs. When I felt the head, it was all gooey and slimy, but an amazing feeling to finally feel what had been in there for 9 months. She told me that my son was beginning to crown and now I would need to push harder then ever when I felt the next urge to push. All of this sudden a burning sensation came over my whooha area and it felt like someone was holding a lighter down there and burning me. I had read that thing was the ring of fire and happened when the baby was crowning due to the stretching  to allow baby’s head to pass through.

She told me that squatting might help with the gravity and allow him to pass through easier. One of her assistants went and grabbed a pad to put on the floor and she had me get in a semi squad position of sorts, down but being held up by my boyfriend with his hands under my armpits. By now, I was in the full nude with everyone having their eyes on me. I felt kind of ashamed to be nude in front of all these people, but once that burning sensation took over again I felt like “screw it”. I began to bear down with all I had and the midwife had her hands down holding the head while I pushed. After a few minutes of pushing, she told me to stop and just breathe. She grabbed a hold of his head and shoulder to help guide him out. Not gonna lie it hurt like hell, but after a few more light pushes I heard a cry. My son was here. I looked down and could see him covered in blood and fluids. The midwife cleaned him up and suctioned his mouth and nose. All of this sudden, he let out this loud cry and began to flail his arms and legs. I pretty much broke down in tears at that moment. Was it cause of all the pain I had endured and just happy it was over or was it that I realized I just became a mom and had a created a baby inside me. 

She handed me my son and immediately, I looked into those current eyes and his little hand gripped mine. I bawled, we're all crying at the amazing moment.

Main thing I can tell you ladies is listen to your bodies during labor. The female body was made and designed to carry and birth children. You can never really prepare yourself for what expect because you never be know.

Below is a useful link if your considering an a home birth

http://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/home-birth/

Thanks so much for reading my story 💋 Please let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below or you can send an email to soontobemommies2018@gmail.com