A positive fast delivery: Ayaan’s birth story
My pregnancy was very straight forward. The first trimester was pretty bad as I had lots of morning sickness but the second and third trimester flew by. The Happy Parents Happy Baby course helped me prepare my birth plan, the dos and don'ts and the after care. They answered all our questions and the main thing for me was that they always answered questions with professionalism and honesty.
My labour did not go according to plan! Initially I wanted a C-section until the beginning of my third trimester when I changed my mind - don't ask me why! It just happened and I decided to go with a natural birth. I was keen to have an epidural. After 2 days of contractions, I made my way to hospital to be told that I was 3cm dilated and so couldn’t be admitted. I decided to head back home to relax. When my contractions were every 2 minutes I returned to hospital and the midwife told me that I was now 7cm dilated! She put in the call for my epidural to be done ASAP, however the doctor was with another patient. As a result, 30 minutes later I was then fully dilated and the epidural had not been done. My contractions were coming so regularly that there is no way I would have been able to sit down still long enough for it to be administered! My midwife gave me the confidence to go ahead without it. As it turned out, my baby would have been born before the epidural would have worked anyway! I got on my knees, as for me it's all about gravity and I started to push with just gas and air! Despite being my first baby, things happened much quicker than I had imagined. I think keeping active until the end and believing in myself really helped! Happy Parents Happy Baby taught me everything that could happen in labour, the pain relief and so many other things! This meant I knew what to expect, what I wanted and what I didn't! I also knew what questions to ask my team.
The first moment that I saw my baby I felt so happy but so confused at the same time. I had worked so hard that my body went into shock – I was shivery and then vomited. I just couldn't hold my eyes opened anymore. I had no more energy and so I am ever so grateful that my partner was with me to give our son cuddles and love for the first 2 hrs of his life! I couldn't have done it without him.
My first day of motherhood was emotional - it's like a rollercoaster but it's also a moment you will never forget. You laugh, you cry, you are worried, you doubt if you are doing a good job but one thing is for sure no one can love your Baba and take care of him/her the way you will. Happy Parents Happy Baby taught us how to take care of the baby post birth from nappy changes to breastfeeding to cleaning his little face…it was all so helpful!
I would definitely recommend the course – it’s run by a team of amazing professionals who taught us what to really expect and asked us the right questions and as a result I knew my birth choices and understood my options for pain relief.
Top Tips
Be yourself, follow your guts, and remember you know your baby best!
Lots of TLC and patience.
Catch up on sleep and rest as much as possible - your life is about to be turned around but I wouldn't change it for the world!
