A positive induction: Arthur’s birth story
I had been experiencing mild contractions for the final three weeks of my pregnancy and throughout this time I was feeling really positive about labour. During the day on Sunday we had a lovely long walk and that evening, as I went to bed, I noticed that my contractions were starting to increase in both intensity and frequency. Then at 3.30am I felt my waters break! I felt so excited that labour was starting. We started using the contraction timer to keep track of my contractions, which were coming thick and fast. After an hour or so we called the hospital and they told us to come in. They examined me and told me I was 2cm dilated.
When making my birth preferences I had imagined I would want to be quite zen and chilled out during my labour. However, as it turns out, I actually wanted the opposite! My husband Andy had made a brilliant playlist and I’ve got such a special memory of us dancing around the room to Beyonce. I also found at this point in my labour the TENS machine was invaluable. I had one with a boost button and each time a contraction would begin, I would press the boost button and Andy would push really strongly into my hips to help relieve the pressure in my back, which was very intense. Andy and I were such a great team – his support was amazing and I really couldn’t have got through it without him.
Unfortunately, things just didn’t really get going and we were both exhausted. We were approaching 24 hours since my waters had broken and so decided some intervention was required; an epidural and an induction.
The epidural was brilliant and provided real respite from my contractions. I also feel really positive about my induction, which helped me to finally dilate. I felt so much more relaxed and at ease on the Labour Ward than I’d expected. I’d really tried to keep an open mind when going into labour and I think this helped me feel more relaxed about any changes that had to happen.
Whilst I was at the pushing stage and struggling a bit to keep going, Andy suggested I feel Arthur’s head, which was an incredible feeling and really gave me a boost. At this stage I was told that I required an episiotomy and because of what I had learned on the Happy Parents. Happy Baby. antenatal course I understood the terminology and knew it wasn’t something to be scared of. Andy actually filmed Arthur’s birth and having that footage has been completely amazing – being able to look back on the experience and know that it really happened and that I really did it is the most magical thing and an incredible memory to have.
Going on the Happy Parents. Happy Baby. course definitely prepared Andy and I for labour and parenting in so many ways and it made such a difference to our experience. In terms of post-pregnancy the breastfeeding workshop helped me understand what a good latch would look like and this made the start of my breastfeeding journey much easier. The session with the paediatrician also alleviated a lot of our anxieties about taking Arthur home. We also appreciated a first aid course being included as these are invaluable things to know.
Top Tips:
Get organised in advance of labour. It was so much easier coming home and everything being ready, especially as we had a few unexpected days in hospital and were pretty tired by the time we got back!
I made up breastfeeding and changing caddies around the house so we’d always have what we needed nearby.
Love to Dream swaddle sacks and white noise are really helpful with getting Arthur to sleep at night.
The Rockit pushchair rocker is great for day time naps in the pram.
We decided to introduce bottles at two weeks rather than wait until six, and that worked really well for us as he took to them straight away. This also means Andy can take him for a few hours in the morning and let me catch up on sleep a bit. I waited until I felt confident with breastfeeding first though.
The Haakaa is really useful as an early way of collecting milk as you can use it on the opposite breast while feeding and it just catches the let down.
Tiny Love do a great mobile (‘Take Along’) that you can attach to the pram. We use it to keep him entertained downstairs at home and give us a few minutes to get other things done.
Have snacks by your bed for when you get hungry from breastfeeding in the middle of the night, and always have a bottle of water with you as it makes you really thirsty!
The best thing we’ve found for trapped wind is to lie Arthur on his back, hold his legs up in the air and then slowly move them down to each side in a twisting movement. Combine that with touching his toes to his nose.
You can read lots more Positive Birth Stories here. We have positive birth stories from all types of births, including homebirths, water births, induction of labour, instrumental deliveries and Caesarean section births.
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