Baby is here at last

[jasper]

Well netfriends, my baby is finally here!
I wasn't sure where to post this, and did not want to hijack anyone else's thread.
For those of you who went two weeks or more past your due date , four days will not seem much but they really dragged, and I finally had strong contractions at about midnight on Saturday.
We got to the hospital at about 2 am and my perfect baby boy was delivered about three and a half hours later. It went very well,(as being in labour goes); I will give all the details later if you are interested but time is tight at the moment.
I am so grateful for my lovely healthy baby and for the fact that he came into the world safely and without too much outside help.
For those of you who care about weight he was 9 pounds 11 ounces ( and there is a bit of a tale to tell there too, but I will save it for later)
I will be posting soon on the breastfeeding advice threads !

Eulalia youre not selfish at all. I am fine thank you and things going great. You continue to think and look after yourself Sounds like he is going to be a great big brother.

Eulalia - don't harrass yourself with getting your other child out of nappies before three. I decided to be laid back with number three child and he was not remotely interested in toilet training till just after he was three and it was all very painless.

Er how weird..Eulalia, I was nearly going to call dd April, but thought that was too corny so guess what her name is.. yup Anna too!!!! Must be something in the air!

Lil - that IS weird. How is your Anna getting on?

Mears - I just thought he may need to be trained before nursery in August but I need to find out about this.

Joe1 - glad that everything is going fine :-)

Belated congratulations Eulalia and Lil!

I am still waiting for the arrival of baby number 2. Not due for 4 days yet but never having made it to 37 weeks before I am pretty fed up already and wondering how much curry one can consume before doing some sort of permanent damage to the tastebuds or stomach lining )

Eulalia congratulations from us all here, and congrats to Lil as well, haven't been around for a while, lots of births here!!.

Hope you are all well and I think that Anna is a lovely name, love and best wishes to both of your families

Didn't quite know where to post you all with my update, but thought this sounded the best title......

Hi ladies, finally found a few moments to update you all, just read your various messages of support & concern on various threads and was very touched (even got a bit tearful to be honest, it?s so overwhelming to have such caring supportive remarks from people I don?t even know in the flesh if you follow what I mean).

Any how, as many of you already know my problematic pregnancy meant I was suddenly admitted for a planned but bit earlier than planned c-section. It was awful, the whole experience left me very distressed & very upset I hope I don?t scare any others out there?..I was woken early for the op & had all the pre-op stuff done. Then I was hooked up to various drips & machines & equipment & taken through to theatre for the spinal-block. At this point I got very upset & was so scared?..I expected it to all be like my 1st c-section but it was all so different. So many more drips, wires etc (due to being insulin dependant diabetic)I couldn?t even turn & face my dh or hold his hand for comfort?.....I felt so isolated I cried through most of the op which obviously made it harder for the doctors etc to do all their bits & pieces, I felt so silly crying but I was genuinely scared & couldn?t even see my hubby even though he was there?..I could hear him & he did he?s upmost to calm me down (as did everyone) but I was a gibbing wreck?..eventually my baby was born, a little boy, and I did calm down a bit as I was able to see him and had somewhere to focus. I couldn?t touch him however because of all the wires & drips attached to me. Then the baby was taken away to special care - problems with his sugar levels due to my diabetes. After the op I was moved to a special recovery room as I was to be monitored for the day due to my diabetes...?it was not a nice experience?....still hooked up to machines, unable to move due to spinal block & no baby to coo over as it was in special care?..I just kept crying & getting upset?..I wasn?t allowed vistors as I was still classed as being in the labour ward.

Emotionally I got worse & worse, in the end the midwife allowed my family to come & visit me as I needed ?my spirits lifted?. So my dh, my parents, my toddler & my hubby?s parents were allowed in to see me. It helped take my mind off things but I was still worrying about my baby.

In the evening I was moved to maternity ward & it was so upsetting to be in a ward full of mums with their newborns & me without mine, I asked for a single room but none were available it was such an upsetting experience I found it all so horrid. The staff kept telling me I could see my baby in special care when ever I wanted but I was still paralysed from the spinal block & unable to move. Eventually arrangements were made to have me pushed in my bed round to special care?...& there I saw my tiny baby boy, a little poorly & in an incubator but doing okay!!

He was in special care for 3 days & it was a very distressing time for me being on the mat ward with no baby, I was also unable to go & visit him as much as I wanted to due to no mobility - I was in horrendous pain from the c-section which also upset me??I expected it to be like my 1st, I was up & walking the next day! But this time round I was in so much pain?..I managed short distances by end of day 2 & got better, by day 3 I was able to walk myself round to special care which boosted my spirits as I no longer had to wait for staff to be free to push me round in wheelchair to see my baby! Baby also came out of the incubator on evening of day 2 so we were able to hold him more etc?.He eventually came out of special care and I felt better but also felt I?d missed out on so much?..day 4was more monitoring & I was released from hospital on the evening of day 5. We?ve had a lot to come to terms with but we?re both doing okay. My emotions are still a bit up in air but getting better?...the kidney problem in the baby is still an issue and we are waiting on tender hooks for the outcome?....he is on daily antibiotics until further diagnosis. He has an indepth scan next month where we will learn more so hopefully all will be well.

Baby was un-named for ages as we couldn?t decide but finally we agreed on Oliver, oh and by the way he weighed 5lb 11oz.

Thanks again for all your support it has been truly helpful & uplifting!!

Hope everyone else is doing ok & I haven?t put anyone off of anything by my birth account!

Dixie xx

Dixie so glad to hear from you and despite all you have gone through you have your lovely baby boy with you and enjoying the cuddles. Soon all this will be a distant memory. Hope all goes ok with him over the coming weeks and months and give him a great big kiss from me and a special hello to your toddler (dont want to leave him/her out).

You havnt put me off or made me worry about my birth in about 13 weeks time just cant wait to meet this little person.

Thanks for finding the time and energy letting us know and get plenty of rest.

Dixie, you sound as though you had such a difficult time. I am so sad they were not able to spare a member of staff to sit with you and try to comfort you. My c-section went OK, also planned, also a spinal, but there was a nursing assistant from the mat ward keeping my husband company and a midwife whom I knew well sitting with me until the baby actually popped out. And the anaesthetist was really great too, chatting to me and keeping the nerves at bay. It sounds like you were unlucky there.
It also sounds like your spinal took a long time to wear off properly. I was not allowed out of recovery until I could wiggle my toes and although I was not comfortable, I did have good post-op pain relief.
Thank goodness little Oliver made a swift exit from special care, and you are both safely back home. I too had a very bad time post C-section, so in a strange sort of way it is a bit of a comfort to hear that for someone else it was not this great, lazy doddle, as portrayed by the media. Believe me, I can just remember what those days on the ward afterwards were like - full of people recovering really quickly and bounding around. I did have a room on my own, and actually it was rather lonely. I burst in to tears loads of times, but the worst was when a kindly cleaner expressed astonishment that I was still there 10 days afterwards. I just howled.
If you get the chance, ask for a formal hospital debrief about your experiences. I was given one and it helped greatly to talk through what happened to me with a consultant. Around the time of your six week check is good.
How are you in yourself now? Are you back off insulin? You take extra care of yourself, and congratulations on bouncing back so well after such a miserable experience.

Congratulations Dixie. I can sympathise with you about the c-section, I had placenta previa with DS2 and started bleeding at 32 weeks so had to have an emergency section. I cried all the way to the theatre (and I'm told my DH cried too) because I didn't want a general anaesthetic but it had become a life or death situation so I didn't have any choice. I believe there is a support group for people who have had a c-section and found it traumatic, your health visitor or midwife might be able to give you the details.

I hope you are getting lots of help at home and are able to rest as much as possible. Let other people do the housework and look after your other child whilst you concentrate on recovery.

Best wishes.

Dixie, I can't add to these wise messages - but many congratulations on the birth of little Oliver.

Many,many congratulations very relieved to hear that you are home again with your expanded family.Hope that your and Oliver's health will continue to improve and that you can start to relax and enjoy these first weeks all together.Love to you all.

Dixie,

Congratulations of the arrival of Oliver!

I do feel for you over your traumatic birth and suggest that you see if you can speak to someone about it. I also had a c-section (emergency under a general) with my second and due to many reasons emotionally found it hard to deal with. Thankfully my health visitor put me in touch with a midwife at the hospital who was a birthing counsellor whom I went to see a few times. She just really listened to me and helped me to understand my feelings about what had happened. In a way she gave me permission to 'grieve' for all that I missed out at the beginning with the baby. It was such a comfort and a help and it really allowed me to come to terms with my experience. Post Natal Depression Support Groups are also great at listening to you if you have one near by. Please have a chat about how you are feeling with those trained to listen, it really does help.

Oh Dixie, you have been through such a difficult time. Congratulations on Oliver and I hope you get some serious pampering.

Dixie, everyone has said it all really. Hope you can get some help round the house to let you take time to recover and look after your new baby. Thinking about you.

Dixie, congratulations on the birth of baby Oliver. Your experience sounds horrid and I hope that you are able to put it behind you and enjoy your baby. Thinking of you, Winnie x

Goodness, Dixie, how awful being on the maternity ward in those circumstances. It sounds really old fashioned NHS. Best wishes for healthy test results for Oliver, and hope you have lots of nice times with your family now.

Congratulations Dixie, very best wishes to you and your family. Love Mopsy xxxx

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dixie
thank you for posting and telling us that you have a lovely little son, but so sorry that you had such an upsetting birth experience. Keep talking to us, we're thinking of you and wishing you all the best.

Congratulations Dixie and best wishes to you and your family. Welcome to the world to little Oliver

Congratulations Dixie, and hello Oliver - sorry you had such an awful time, I hope you are feeling much better soon! xxx