I had a baby on the bathroom floor AMA

[TiffanyLampOn]

Not sure how many questions there could be here but I've just lost someone very very dear to me and I need a distraction tonight!

Yes a friend who thought she needed the loo. Then called her mum a retired midwife. Baby born luckily after mum arrived.

I know someone who did this! Her third as well. Her mum was round (luckily) and was looking after the two older ones while my friend went for a bath. She ended up just giving birth on the bath mat as she tried to get out. Amazing!

@Itsalljustapuzzle I think that the high after an unmedicated birth is due to vast amounts of oxytocin etc swirling around the body. DD2 was born onto the bathroom floor in a planned home birth. I couldn't sleep that night as I was on such a high. If only one could bottle that feeling!

I turned up to the Labour ward 9cm dilated after not that much pain with DS1. My waters hadnt broken. Because I was talking and not in much pain they said they'd probably examine me and send me home, examined me and went all panic stations when they realised how far along her was. He was born 30 minutes later as soon as my waters broke. The midwife said apparently you dont get as much pain when your waters dont break until the last minute. Not sure how true that is. With DS2 I lied and said I was having contractions every 3 minutes when I wasnt because of what happened with DS1. They asked if I wanted an epidural, I said yes but the little bugger was born before it kicked in so I ended up giving birth again without pain relief, but afterwards was numb from the waist down! I was well pissed off with that one!

This is so interesting OP!

No question I just wanted to say that as someone who's never given birth and has never been involved in anyone I know giving birth, "they came and dealt with the cord and took me to hospital where the placenta was delivered" made me realise the placenta doesn't happen immediately after! I think in my head it was like, push, baby, few more pushes, placenta. The more you know!

My second child was born on a car seat! 🤣 Pulled her out myself while my ex was driving to the hospital.

Are you Zara?

I don't have a baby question (I can't have kids) but I totally recognise the need for distraction in the wake of a loss. Sending you love for your loss, I had one today myself.

Sorry for your loss.

Do you think just having your dh and you together delivering the baby made it more special, somehow?

Does dh get a kick out of telling people he delivered the baby and sorted out the cord?

Thanks for your messages. I've been at mum and dad's for a couple of days helping to sort the funeral, with baby in tow. I'm so grateful that mum got to meet and cuddle my baby. She had been so excited that I was pregnant again.

@WandaW yes, we felt very connected. He was most surprised that a baby coming down the birth canal can cause you to poop, because midwives clean that up really discreetly!

However I had managed to pull the towels off the rail as I went onto the floor, so the mess was easy to bundle into the washing machine.

He isn't really a bragger and he hasn't told many people, but I think he's quietly proud of himself and of me. He can't stop kissing and cuddling the baby and he's a wonderful dad to the bigger two as well.

@Arlanymor I'm sorry to hear that, life is hard isn't it.

My friend came to see me this week and said 'you're one in, one out at the moment'. I thought it was a good summary of life, and she said it kindly so I didn't take offence.

Oh dear that sounds frightening. The jiggling of the road must have made it all the more uncomfortable.

@boxofbuttons I get what you mean. So much of life you just have to experience to properly understand.

It goes, head out, pause, then push again and the rest of the baby slips out quite quickly usually, as it's smaller in diameter than the head. Then the placenta takes its time because it has to detach from the wall of the uterus and can come out maybe twenty minutes later or even an hour later. You still have some contractions as your body tries to expel the placenta and riding in the ambulance over speed bumps made that hellish. I imagine active labour in a moving ambulance would be even worse.

Often times they give you an injection in your thigh to speed up the placenta coming out.

I think it is quite amazing the way this works sometimes. After a fairly drawn out agonising labour and lots of intervention at the hospital with DC1, I completely got the signals wrong with DC2 (who was a week late !), I thought I had tummy ache / something I'd eaten, needed a poo etc. almost anything rather than I was in labour. Only for it to dawn on me (far too late) that this might be "it". The resultant dash to the hospital (5 mins away, (god, the speed bumps !!!) and not having time to park the car) and having to crouch in the corridor en-route several times before hopping onto a bed and she was born. They said "you have done really well". I was glad all was fine, and yes, I suppose I had done well really, but I am not sure any of the credit was down to me. I went on to have two more, and both were labours were completely different, neither as bad as the first, but neither as simple as the 2nd, and hours and hours longer. It is very weird when you do not recognise the signs, despite being pregnant for 9 months ! x

Was it recently ?

September x

Yes, this was also my experience. An amazing high lasting days and then a very hard period of ppd. I could barely leave the house for almost three months.

I'm thinking this is lies? Your third baby?

Baby

I gave birth to my son in the car enroute to the hospital as Ambulance never turned up.Had to instruct my husband to get the baby.His uncle was driving.I also bore my second son at 35 weeks into the hospital ensuite (Forgt me Not Room-he had no heartbeat).Midwives had to scoop him out of the toilet.

My fourth was entirely pain free (also at home), it’s surreal isn’t it? I still can’t quite believe it!

My youngest was almost born at my brothers wedding! I was 8 days overdue and had dragged myself to the wedding feeling dreadful with our toddler and dh in tow. I started with mild contractions that morning but figured it was excitement plus dd took over 24 hours to come so I wasn’t worried . The contractions ramped up at the church and were every couple of minutes. We watched the wedding (dd was a bridesmaid) then dh nipped to tell db and my parents we needed to leave while I paced outside (an elderly lady gave me a sweet to suck on which was surprisingly helpful)
The hospital was (luckily) a 2 minute drive we parked up and got checked in , DS was born 17 minutes after we arrived!! It was very exciting, the wedding party dropped in to see us on the way to the reception. I also remember the adrenaline rush of it all.

How amazing are you and your husband!

I my dad when our little one was 3 months old so sending you lots of love!!

I had an unplanned home birth as well. I felt the head, looked around my bathroom and thought ‘I can’t have paramedics in here, it’s too dirty’ and waddled down to the dining room!