Hi, We are Holly and Ben. We are both teachers and are parents to Mia who is currently 5 months old! We took the Happy Parents Happy Baby antenatal classes in Worthing.
My pregnancy was harder than I expected with quite bad sickness until about 25 weeks. It continued after this but was definitely more manageable. I enjoyed the third trimester the most, when the bump had popped, I felt more obvious movement and enjoyed eating again!
HPHB helped us to prepare by teaching us about the different stages of labour and hypnobirthing techniques and by so many useful tips and checklists!
We had Mia in the hospital. The room had fairy lights and didn’t feel too clinical.
I had personally really wanted a water birth that was as relaxed and calm as possible. However, as is often the case, Mia had other ideas! She came a bit earlier than expected (on my first day of maternity leave!) and as my waters had broken before contractions, I was induced. I laboured to 10cm before pushing but due to Mia’s positioning (back to back) and heart rate it was recommended I had an assisted birth. After a failed forceps attempt, we had an emergency c-section, but the team were absolutely amazing and we feel really positive about the experience.
I felt so empowered and amazed at the strength of the human body! HPHB definitely helped us to prepare for all eventualities and to not be panicked if things don’t go quite to ‘plan’. It also helped us to feel informed for those sleepy first feeds and nappy changes!
Breathing techniques 4/5 – I found these really helpful as they helped me to remain more calm than I thought I would!
Gas and air 5/5 – I used gas and air to 8cm and this definitely helped to take the edge off!
Epidural 4/5 – the epidural was amazing in that I couldn’t really feel the pain but due to having to lay on my side when it was administered, one side was anaesthetised more than the other haha!
Absolutely in awe, relieved and overwhelmed with love. We couldn’t really believe she was here! We hadn’t found out her sex either and so that was a lovely suprise!
We ended up staying in hospital for nearly a week as Mia developed jaundice and so whilst it wasn’t quite the bubble we had imagined, it felt amazing to just be together and soaking in everything about her. It also made me fall in love with Ben all over again. I found the feeding really difficult both physically and emotionally and ended up introducing some formula whilst pumping and trying to latch. We ended up formula feeding and even though I didn’t think I would, I really struggled emotionally with this decision. HPHB helped with covering different types of feeding.
Learning to let go of “planned” and embracing the unknown each day…and actually enjoying it because Mia makes everything so worth it!
Navigating feeding whilst recovering from a c-section. The recovery was harder than I expected (especially as I’m not very patient!) and along with triple feeding and mastitis, I struggled.
Hearing Mia giggle for the first time!
How loud the shrieking and shouting can be!!
I wish we had documented a bit more of the birth through photos/videos so that I could reflect on it with a bit more of a clear mind! It didn’t feel necessary in the moment but I think I would have appreciated it now.
They have been amazing! Our WhatsApp group chat has been so great for reassurance, local activities and get togethers and I’ve made some great friends who are in this together!
A pillow!
A Costa hot chocolate!
Take away/Cook vouchers (for us!) and a caddy with essentials (I.e nappies, cream and wipes etc) for Mia.
Muslins!
Dont try and be too planned! From birth to baby, things most often change!
Free downloadable resources and weekly guides for your pregnancy.
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