The birth of Connor James (Born in his sac in the water)

I wrote a quick version of my birth story on a forum i go on but some of the times were guesses and it was all from memory so some things were jumbled... since then i have found out my husband had been documenting times as they happened on his phone that was until i was squeezing his hand soo tight he could no longer use his phone.. so now i can write a better birth story, although still short as active labour was only a total of 1hr 10mins.. so here goes...

On Thursday 14th February at 10am 40+6days pregnant I had my membrane sweep done - twice! once from the student midwife and once from the proper midwife, I was already 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced I was booked in for another sweep the following Tuesday 19th with Induction booked in for the following Thursday 21st. After my sweep i went walking around town and i kept feeling alot of pressure and was finding it difficult to walk, my son was due to leave nursery at 11.45am and i asked my mum to pick him up so i could head straight home as i felt like the baby was going to fall out! (he didn't of course). The rest of the day was just filled with pressure and random tightnings.

Come evening i was getting two contractions an hour (at the time i didn't realise they were contractions just put them down as braxton hicks) so i carried on as normal and ignored them like i had every other braxton hick. Come 2am i was still getting the two contractions every hour i was waking up with them and then falling back to sleep until 4am where i woke up with contractions coming every 4-5 minutes apart i laid in bed for a good 15 minutes and downloaded a contraction app on my iphone which showed they were coming on average every 3 minutes and lasting 50 seconds long. I decided to go downstairs, walk about a bit as i still wasn't convinced it could be real, i ate a bowl of cheerios and bounced on the birthing ball still getting the contractions every 3 minutes, by the time 5.30am rolled around the contractions had gone back to 5-6 minutes and i thought that it must of been false labour as surely the contractions would carry on getting stronger and not start to fade away? i carried on bouncing on the ball and walking the house and by 6am they were back to every 4 minutes again, I decided to wake my husband who was oblivious to everything going on downstairs and asked him to run me a bath which he replies "A bath? you don't even smell..." before nodding back off to sleep... "Stuart i need you to run me a bath please".. while holding my belly and pacing the bedroom in pain which he wakes up "You're in labour?" .. "I think so.. I'm not to sure yet" I had been getting consistent contractions for 2 hours now and having to breathe hard through some and i still could not convince myself I was in true labour.

Stuart came downstairs and ran me my bath, I jumped in and stayed in for an hour, during that time I only had four contractions but they were very painful and they lasted a good minute I told Stuart that this was it, the baby was coming today. We had no plans for the kids who were all asleep upstairs and the girls had to be at school in 2 hours - Stuart text his mum to ask if she could get the day off work to look after Lucas and take the girls to school, thankfully she could, otherwise we would of been a bit stuck. I text my mum telling her that she better come round as i think it would be time to leave for the hospital soon. Only 10 minutes after sending that text message the contractions were 3 minutes apart and very painful I know I needed something more to cope with the pain and rang up the delivery suite asking them if I could come in because I needed some gas and air, they were more then happy to let me come in. I text my mum asking her if she had left yet because i was leaving for the hospital NOW! she informed me she was around the corner and would be there in a minute, my dad was also on his way as he was driving us to the hospital. 

We left for the hospital at 8am and the contractions in the car went to 2 minutes apart. We arrived at the hospital at 8.20am and made our way up to the dolphin suite (bit more laid back then the delivery suite, it has rooms with pools in for water births and is designed to be a more homely environment with a laid back approach). 

As soon as I got in the room I started on the gas and air I don't know if it's because I suddenly felt relaxed I reached the hospital or got my gas and air but my contractions went back to 3-4 minutes apart. They started running the bath for me at 8.45am and they gave me an internal check (As requested) at 8.55am I was 6cm dilated, they checked baby's heartbeat then carried on filling the pool while i puffed away on my gas and air. In between contractions i was speaking to the midwife about one born every minute the lady on the latest episode had a water birth and only just made it into the tub before her baby was born!

9.05am I got into the tub, it felt lovely being in the warm water, the first 10 minutes were fine, contractions coming and going, puffing on the gas and air, relaxing in between. (excuse the facial expression, a contraction was coming and i told him to hurry up and take the pic!)

After the first 10 minutes the contractions got 2 minutes apart and very strong. 9.20 came around and they put on my wrist bands and checked the baby's heartbeat again, all was well so I was left to get through my contractions. 5 minutes later and I am hardly getting a break through contractions, I had my eyes closed through the rest of the labour as I was in to much pain to even open them and concentrate I was constantly sucking on the gas and air, I remember knocking over a glass of water on the side (as pictured lol) and swearing a bit, then my body started pushing, this happened with about 10 contractions before I felt a burning sensation and realised his head was there, before I could even register what was going on I screamed out in pain and his head was out, I barely had a minute to breathe and take it all in before his whole body was pushed out. He was born inside his sac still and the midwife broke it for him once he was out.

Connor James - 15th February 2013 - 9.56am - 41weeks

He was placed on my chest and I still had my eyes closed, I placed my hand on his back and just remember thinking "Omg he is so slimey and long.." and then I managed to open my eyes and take a peep at him, I was so amazed at how quickly it happened once I got into the tub that I found it hard to register this baby on my chest was mine and that he just came out of me. 

Being wiped over.

Daddy then got to cut the cord.

I then got out of the tub and got to rest on the bed with my new bundle before he got weighed.. I thought he was going to weigh around 8lbs 7oz and Daddy thought 8lbs 4oz

but infact he weighed a whole 9lbs 1oz!! I was very very shocked, where did i hide him? he was a big lad and most of the outfits i packed were for a 7.8lb baby!! he only just fit into 9lb baby clothes. 

and here is a picture of him with his teddy that his big sister bought him, i promised her i would take a picture of him with it.

I needed around 7 stitches for a second degree tear and we stayed in hospital over night as Connor was having some side effects to my medication, we had visits from his big brother and two sisters and then we went home at 4pm.

Breakfast in bed..

....Although not the breakfast in bed I was hoping for, my eldest daughter Rhianna came into my bedroom with a huge smile on her face "mummy I've made you breakfast in bed".

She seemed so pleased with herself i had to say thank you over and over and pretend to eat my breakfast. such a sweetheart. The same day i am sitting on the sofa looking like I may fall asleep any minute and my 4 year old daughter says "Mummy, would you like anything to eat?" such kind children.

Connor's first stroll

On Wednesday at 5 days old Connor went for his first stroll, only a big circle around our area which lasted about 15-20minutes as I was still feeling really sore and dizzy. As we stepped outside a few snowflakes fell which made his little trip out more special. He slept through the whole thing and probably didn't even realise he had been outside but we got a few photos to document the moment. 

                                We love our brother

All of the kids have adjusted so well to their new brother I really am amazed, I expected a lot of jealousy from Lucas as he is such a mummy's boy but most of the time he ignores him and other times comes over asking to hold his bottle, give him a cuddle or just a poke on the cheek! My eldest Rhianna is being a right mummy and a really big help, fetching things, holding him, helping to feed, soothing him when he cries, she adores him. As for Lacey the one i thought would be the most clingy she has stayed out of the way preferring to play upstairs but has showed no signs of jealousy at all.

Flowers in a....drinks flask?

My nanny got me a beautiful bunch of flowers but I had no vase for them, I sat them on the side while trying to figure out what to use, a few hours pass and I remember the annoying drink flasks we got the kids from Haven far to big to carry around and the silly things leak all the time, why I kept them in the cupboard I do not know but on this occasion I am pleased I did because this one came in handy.

and last but not least a picture of me and all my children, this is the best picture out of the 6 we took, so you can imagine what the others look like. I am one proud mummy, I love them all so much and couldn't imagine life without them. I also tried getting pictures the next day of all four kids together, i think we took about 10/11 before they started getting bored and then not a single one came out nice, I will post them all in another entry.

Connor Update

I have so much to catch up on including my online Tesco food shop as our freezer is as bare as bare can be -but i thought i would give you all an update first (Priorities! ;)) I will do a few different posts over the next few days to catch up, unfortunately this one is not going to be my birth story (but i will get to that very soon) i really want to write that while i am wide awake (few months or years then!) and it will be complete with photos that i need to get uploaded too.

My newest addition Connor is now 5 days old and i still find it hard to believe he is here and that he is mine, the kids have all taken to him so well and we have had little to no jealousy from Lucas! i was so worried about how he would react as he is a right mummy's boy but he has been fine, asking to hold him and feed him and even gives him a kiss, this makes me happy. Rhianna has calmed down a bit now but the first 4 days she was constantly in his face, making sure she was touching him and wanting to hold him all the time, getting in a mood when someone else was holding him, but now it seems the novelty is wearing off. Lacey the one that was most excited she always called him her "baby boy" and thought he was just going to be hers, well she has took the least interest in him, has hardly held him, doesn't seem bothered by him, still spends all her time playing with her little people and doll house. 

The midwife came round today for Connor's 5 day check and he now weighs 9lbs 2oz so he didn't lose any but put on 1oz and that's no surprise he is already on 3oz bottles and is already into 0-3 months clothes, i have never "experienced" having a big baby before, my biggest baby weighed in at 8lbs 1oz and all of my children wore little baby and newborn clothes for weeks so when Connor totally skipped that age i was shocked, i now have a huge pile of clothes he never got to wear which i will need to sell, that's what i get for hoping i was carrying a 7lb baby ;-)

We have had a few visitors but we still have alot to get through! he still needs to meet some aunties/uncles/cousins and he is meeting the great grandparents tomorrow as well as his great auntie. Everyone has loved him so far but then who doesn't love a snuggle with a newborn?? My cousin got us a gorgeous hamper with nappies, wipes and lots of toiletries and a few outfits (not forgetting a bar of choc) which was really nice of her.

So far Connor is a laid back calm baby but then we are only on day 5 and we know how quickly things can change, he sleeps well during the day even around the children and all the noise (such as the hoover) but at night he won't sleep i think it must be too quiet for him and peaceful as he does seem to wake up and cry when all things are quiet, if he is on my chest or in the crook of my arm at night he will sleep a 4 hour stretch but otherwise he will just scream. 

We gave him his first proper wash tonight he was far from impressed but i don't think i would be very impressed being dunked in the sink either, i decided not to purchase a baby bath this time round as they are used soo quickly and a waste of money, he will be in the big tub before we know it so the sink it was. 

I will cut this short and save the rest of my rambles for another entry (one born every minute is on), here are some photos from the last 5 days. 

not impressed with his hair wash

Fluffy hair after having it washed

Just chilling out

Big brother giving a feed

Connor James is here

I am pleased to announce the safe arrival of my newest little piglet Connor James born 15th Feb 2013 @ 9.56am weighing 9lbs 1oz. I will post a birth story another day but for now will leave you with a couple of pictures.

Still going strong..

Little man is still going strong in there, he just does not want to come out! 6 days overdue now, only another 4hours until i am 41 weeks! I did go 12 days over with Lucas but i was really hoping this time would be different. I had a membrane sweep today had a few aches and pains so fingers crossed i go in the night, if not then i have another sweep booked in for Tuesday and then induction is booked in for Thursday night/Friday morning (depending on space!) send me some labour vibes, i really need them. 

Other then that he is now 2/5 engaged up from 3/5 last week (I think it works different in other countries but here in the UK it means only 2/5 of the head can now be felt) so he has made progress there, I am 2-3cm dilated and 50% effaced.. my cervix is favourable for induction so now we just have to sit and wait... and wait... and wait.....

Three days overdue!

All through my pregnancy I said I would have this baby by 38 weeks, here i am 40 + 3 and still very much pregnant! I really should not be surprised, my daughter was 5 days over and my son was 12 days over!! the 5 days was a breeze but the 12 days... not so quite ;-) let's hope this little guy is somewhere in the middle. 

At the same time this is my last pregnancy and my last baby.. this will be the last time I experience little kicks (big kicks!) and the last time I will give birth and cradle a newborn and as much as I know I am DONE it really does leave me a little bit sad to know that this chapter of my life has come to an end but I have to keep reminding myself that I will be entering a whole new chapter of watching my children grow up together, helping them thrive and helping them grow into well mannered and respectful young adults.

So at this current time 11th February 5:55pm I am watching my three children sit on the floor rolling a ball to each other and this may be the last night i get to see just the three together as very soon there will be FOUR! 

My week in a nutshell

Rhianna had her doctors appointment on Tuesday to make sure that her urine was clear of infections (due to her recent accidents and her teachers concern that she was incontinent!) It was all clear.

Wednesday Rhianna had another appointment to see the Enuresis nurse at the Kirkley Centre, here is a picture of her building a school while waiting to be called in.

The nurse does not think she is incontinent because if she was her wee would be dribbling down her leg all the time. Rhianna's accidents started when she went to nursery and she would really hate change and being away from me, it's still going on 2 years later and we are looking at possible separation anxiety. She had bladder/kidney scans which came back clear. She dislikes being away from me and will try all sorts to stay at home, at the end of the day she is one of the youngest in her class (5) her birthday isn't until June, they do start school younger and younger nowadays, she was spending 5 days a week 6 hours a day away from me just as she turned 4 years. The nurse is going to speak to the Consultant and try come up with a plan of action as Rhianna is still going through 2-3 pairs of clothes at school a day. I will update more on this when we know more. I also attended toddler group with my youngest that afternoon as we do every wednesday, such a lovely, friendly group.

On Thursday i had my midwife appointment which i updated about below if you would like to see. 

On Friday Rhianna had her hydrotherapy appointment she has this once a week on a Friday afternoon for her Perthes disease. It was also my due date on Friday and i took some maternity pictures of myself (see below) and here is one i didn't get round to sharing. The candle is to say "Happy due date" to me, but now the kids think it was the babies birthday and is going around saying "The babies birthday was yesterday!" bless them lol.

Saturday the morning was spent inside and then in the afternoon we decided to go on a little bike ride around the bloke a few times as the kids were missing the fresh air. 

Lucas my 2 year old on the scuttlebug, he can't ride a proper bike yet but the scuttlebug is getting abit too small for him, bless him.

Lacey my 4 year old.

Rhianna my 5 year old.

After we did our ride around the bloke we went into town and treated ourself to Mcdonalds, one of our favourite takeaway places to eat at. We had a lovely afternoon and headed back home to try and fix the tent onto Lucas new bed! We got him a mid-sleeper earlier this week as he had outgrown his toddler bed, his room is really small so we needed something we could hide toys under to make his room a bit bigger, it looks much better now and he even has some space to play. (excuse the pile of washing these are the clothes that do not fit him yet, they were under his toddler bed in a drawer and now we have nowhere to store them!!)

Tomorrow is sunday and we have no real plans.. it would be nice if i could go ahead and have this baby boy! we will see what tomorrow brings.

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I am happy to help with your competitions and give-aways  please do get in touch via e-mail: bloggersarah@googlemail.com or via my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LovingMyPiglets

Look forward to hearing from you.

Reviews Information

A bit about me, I am Sarah 25 from England, UK. I am a housewife to my husband Stuart 30 and a stay at home mum, my children are Rhianna (5years) Lacey (4years) Lucas (2years) and i am overdue with a baby boy who should of been here 8th February 2013. 

My daughter has perthes disease which effects the hip and mobility, I am sure she would be more then willing to test out any products that relate to her disability. 

I am happy to do any reviews or test any new products, although my main focus is baby/parenting/children items I am more then happy to test out items such as clothes, make-up, movies, food and anything else. 

Please contact me for more information: bloggersarah@googlemail.com or you can contact me via my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/LovingMyPiglets 

Look forward to hearing from you.

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Happy due date to me!

  Today is my due date, no signs of little man yet. I spent the day doing some home taken maternity pics (hence why they are not that good!) I will share them at the bottom of this post. My son was 12 days late so i am not expecting anything soon, although i know every pregnancy is different, maybe i am hoping if i think i am going 12 days late then anything earlier will be a bonus. 

I had my midwife appointment yesterday my blood pressure is a little up but it has been for a couple of weeks, no other signs of pre-e so there is no worry. Head is still 3/5 engaged (as it was last week) but we all know that means nothing in second, third mothers etc. Urine clear and *drum roll please* baby is posterior .. POSTERIOR! that's why i have been having so much back ache this week, and here i was sitting all excited thinking i was in early labour *humf*. I go back next Thursday at 41 weeks for a membrane sweep and book an induction date for 42 weeks. 

I am not feeling discouraged yet, i feel fine, normal! i have suffered a lot this pregnancy physically (SPD) and emotionally (Anti D's) but this past week i have felt normal so i am not overly upset that baby has not made his appearance yet. 

Will leave you with some of my photos, i have plans to do some more tonight so i will share them in another post.

First Post

  You will have to bare with me, I haven't done a blog for a while and i am starting a total fresh, i have tried adding some widgets etc so hopefully they work, anyway....

*waves* If you haven't read the page all about me and my piglets, head on over! and if you have, welcome. :-)

Today has been a pretty uneventful day as far as *fun* goes. I dropped my 4year old off at school then took my 5year old to the doctors (along with the 2year old! oh and my 39 week baby bump) we popped to Tesco to get some ingredients in for tonight's dinner (spaghetti bolognase, mummy & daddy pigs favourite). Rhianna (5yr old) wanted a cream cake so as she was good at the doctors i let her have one, we dropped the shopping home and i took Rhianna back to school, finally i went home and crashed with the bump! that lasted all of 5 minutes before my son (2yr old) was demanding snacks and doctor Mcstuffin on the TV.
I am currently waiting for my sons new bed to be delivered, as he has outgrown his toddler bed (ok mummy might of sat on it and snapped the slats...) he is getting a proper big boy bed now, Argos rang and said they would be here within an hour.. well within the hour i have to leave to get my girls from school, this might be fun, running to school to get there on time.

I am due with piglet #4 on Friday (much to the nurses surprise today, she thinks i am small, makes a change, everyone else thinks i am going to pop any second or i must be carrying twins). The last few days i have had a bit of hip/back ache and a few tightenings but nothing regular, i am hoping he either comes a few days early or on my due date, i really do not want to go 12 days over again (Thanks Lucas!) or even 5 days over (Thanks Lacey!) so keep your fingers crossed for me that this baby boy decides too be kind to mummy ;-).

My plans for the rest of the week consists of more appointments - Rhianna has a visit at the enuresis clinic tomorrow (that's a whole new post) and then Thursday i have my midwife appointment & Friday Rhianna has her hydrotherapy appointment and hopefully i will be having a baby??