One week postpartum
Hey guys! It's so lovely to be blogging again and I'm thrilled to introduce our little bundle of joy to you all- we are so in love with our newest little prince!
I was several days over my due date when my waters broke last friday night. After the initial panic of realising this was going to be an 'all-nighter' labour, we settled down to see how things progressed. I had a sneaky feeling this would be a fast labour as there seems to be a tendency for them in subsequent pregnancies on my mum's side of the family. However, I was not expecting things to progress as quickly as they did. Within an hour of my waters breaking my contractions were significantly uncomfortable. With Noah it took several hours to reach that level of pain so, as we waited at home, I felt quite unsure of exactly how far into the labour we were.
After being checked at the hospital, I was told that I was not in established labour yet which, honestly, was the hardest thing to hear at that point because it was 1.30am, I was exhausted and the contractions were way more intense than they should have been for 'non-established' labour.
Unfortunately, I think I was one of those cases of ladies who suddenly go from not dilated at all, to fully ready to push within a very short space of time. We had another trip to the hospital where we were pretty much told the same thing and were sent home.
By 6am I knew something wasn't right as these contractions were whoppers and I was struggling to breathe through them. Eddy got on the phone to the midwives again, at which point I started feeling that all too well know sensation of pressure. I knew the baby was on his way and I think the midwife on the phone realised too as she stopped suggesting paracetamol and a warm bath at that point- thank goodness!
From that moment onwards, everything was quite dramatic and, I must admit quite traumatic too! Our hospital was a good 15 minutes away in the car and as we got onto the motorway I started needing to push. It was honestly quite scary as up to that point I had really thought perhaps I'm being a total chicken this time around as I had been assured that I wasn't in labour yet. But at the same time I knew these were the serious end of labour contractions and I just had to trust my instincts and get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Getting from the carpark at hospital to the maternity unit was honestly a miracle. We made our way to the corridor outside the maternity unit where I basically started delivering the baby. Thankfully the midwives came running from different directions and managed to get me into a delivery suite where, 20 minutes later our little Jonah was born!
It wasn't the labour I had imagined but the timing was perfect and I'm so glad that we insisted on going into the hospital when we did- otherwise things would have been very different!
One week on, I cant believe we did it! I say 'we' intentionally as there was no way I could have made it without my husband Eddy next to me. It has been a roller coaster week of emotions and hormones but I know I will treasure this last week forever. We are getting to know our little Jonah and he has already made quite the impact on our little family. Noah is simply besotted with him, as are we!
Although tired, I am feeling better than I thought I would by the end of this first week. I think having Noah to run around after has made me feel back to normal faster. I've been up and on my feet much quicker this time which has brought a sense of normality back to our routine. We have also had Eddy's mum staying with us which has been such a support. She has been helping us with everything from cooking meals to rocking the baby at night. I don't know what we would have done without her!
Although this labour and delivery was undoubtedly much harder than Noah's was, I feel like I am recovering much faster this time around. It doesn't exactly seem logical, but I guess once you have been through labour the first time, your body kind of knows what it is doing second time around.
Jonah is doing so well too. Like his brother, he is a hungry chappy and so we are breastfeeding him and supplementing with bottle feeds too. We don't exactly have a 'routine' for him yet as we are being led by him with regards to feeds at the moment and it changes from day to day. I must say that the nights have been easier to cope with than first anticipated. Jonah tends to have a bottle feed last thing at night with daddy whilst I get a few hours sleep. Then I have been feeding him around 2am-3am and again around 5am-6am.
I still can't believe Jonah is ours and that he is a brother to Noah. We have been having some really cosy snuggly days this week where Noah has been doting on little Jonah, giving him lots of kisses and hugs. It makes me really proud as a mummy to see our two little sons together and I cant wait to see their friendship develop as they both grow older.
Before this turns into an essay, I wanted to say a huge thank you to the midwife team at the Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth who helped me deliver Jonah. Although we only stayed in hospital till the afternoon, my postpartum care really was second to none and I felt so well taken care of.
I hope you're all having a lovely weekend!
Love Bunty
xXx