Life of a yummy baby ... and now there are 2!!!!!

Before I had children, I could not imagine what it would be like to have any. So like many first-time mothers, I did alot of reading up and talking to other women - to find out what it's like to have a baby and to give birth.

Through having Morgan, I then discovered that I'd harboured many negative preconceptions - I was afraid to experience labour; scared of pain, scarring and tearing; and of losing my figure to child-bearing. Which led me to figure that it could be the reason Morgan was late arriving. I had to be induced in my first pregnancy because psychologically I was just not ready for labour!

However, in my second pregnancy I was definitely more prepared and positive. Besides all that was going on, moving home and jobs, I had to also keep active because of Morgan. The birth and delivery of Eluned came swiftly and smoothly. And I DID ask for an epidural at the end ... I didn't think yet I could do without!

So... on 26 March 09, Thursday early morning

2am : Contractions began like period cramps - thought I was suffering from last night's dinner.

2:10am : Went to the toilet to empty bladder. Found slight spotting and realised I'd lost my mucus plug. First sign of things being 'different'' this time.

2:15 am : Went back to bed and told Lewis. He replied "that's great" and went back to sleep.

2:20 am : Woken up by another contraction - this time, Lewis sat up and got dressed. We started to time the contractions together.

2:40 am : Contractions came about 5 mins apart and my breathing was getting heavy. I called my dedicated midwife Claire on the phone, and she told me to get to the hospital.

3 am : In between contractions, I walked about, packed my hospital bag, called the babysitter for Morgan, and even reminded my husband to take the house keys while I got changed before the next contraction. But as soon as I got another one - I went into strange primal positions. I stopped whatever I was doing and started kneeling by the bed or going on all fours, like some sort of ancient guru performing strange ritualistic moves with my body.

3:15 am : A luxurious Mercedes taxi arrived for us but it was no comfort cab for me. Let's just say - I did not get to the stage of sitting down at all.

3:30 am : Once we got to the hospital, the nurse at the emergency entrance asked 'premium au deuzium?' (meaning first or second delivery?) and on hearing the reply, she flew me to the delivery room on a wheel chair. The contractions were starting to get more intense by the minute.

3:35 am : Major communication problems - midwives on duty spoke little English and I spoke even lesser French! I was already 5 to 6 cm dilated and asked to go to the toilet but was told this was impossible. Later on, I realised it wasn't wee that I was passing, but with each stronger contraction my waterbags were bursting. In the meantime I was told to 'respirer, par poussez!' meaning 'breathe, not push!' but it was hard even to not bear down at this stage.

4 am : After what seemed like a long wait for the anesthetist, couple more blood tests and me grabbing for dear life by the hospital bed, I finally got the epidural. It didn't work straight away ... and I had a little button that I could press, to control the strength/dosage of the epidural.

At this time, my dedicated mid-wife Claire also arrived. She was like the angel sent from heaven. Alas someone who could speak alittle English and knew all the right things to do and say. The epi was starting to take effect and I could just feel the contractions with lessening pain. Lewis continued to remind me to breath deeply with every working contraction. When it was finally time for the baby to crown, I was ready to push with all my might. But it felt like 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. I pushed for about half an hour before Eluned arrived!



When we were holding little Eluned, she reminds us of how far we've all come ... and to feel this little life in our hands, is a miracle we are most thankful for.