GAYNOR'S BIRTH STORY

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I went to bed late on the 30 April. After watching Alan Carr ‘Live’ on TV and clutching my stomach with laughter I went to bed about 11.30pm.

At 12.02 am I woke with my first contraction, though at the time I thought it was just ‘one of those pains’, Braxton Hicks or that it was down to my hysterical laughter earlier! Then they got more frequent, though irregular, and were lasting about 20-30 seconds. Whatever they were, they were enough to keep me awake! I started to time them and they were coming every 10 or 15 minutes …. I was laying there thinking, ‘I don’t believe this, I can’t be in labour’ and then thinking, ‘well, what else do you think it is, you mad woman!’

So, I hopped out of bed and put the TENS machine on, which seemed to distract me for a while but at 1.18 am I decided to text my mum and put her on ‘alert’ …

After 2 hours of contractions, I’d finally decided this was ‘the real deal’ and woke my husband David and told him that I thought I was in labour and to start filling the birth pool …. Cue, mild look of panic on his face! After reassuring him that I was not about to have the baby right that minute he went off downstairs to fill the pool.

At 3.20am I let mum know that I was still contracting and she decided to make her way over. She arrived at 3.45 am very excited!!! David made tea and put sugar in Mum’s (she does not have sugar!) … He was all over the place, while I was feeling quite calm and in between hanging off doors and available walls while the contractions hit, I was able to chat to mum, eat biscuits and laugh and joke – a far cry from my first birth where I was left all alone in a room, scared stiff having contractions while my family was sent home.

I still had my TENS machine … no idea if it was working or not but I had not intention of taking it off to find out!

At 5.10 am while I was hanging over my birthing ball, my waters broke (all over the living room carpet!) … oops time to decamp to the makeshift ‘birthing room’, otherwise known as our dining room! Time to let Tamara, my midwife, know the baby is on its way!

Contractions were pretty strong now, but I was coping so much better than I did at my first birth. Just being at home and having my mum there was brilliant. I was really relying on her to get me through them and at 7am I decided to have a bath. Now my contractions were 5 minutes apart and lasting about 50-60 seconds.

After getting out of the bath and returning to the birthing room the contractions were coming thick and fast and at 7.55 am I said to mum ‘oh god, I really need Tamara now’. At that moment, just like Mary Poppins, Tamara was at the door!

She quickly dispensed gas and air, which really took the edge off the contractions and gently examined me. To my utter amazement, she told me I was 6 cms dilated and could get in the pool … I think I told her that I loved her!

My 3 year old son Elliot was up and about by this time, having slept through all the night's activity. He and David popped in and out of the birthing room and in between contractions I was able to reassure Elly that mummy was fine and he was not at all distressed. We even made jokes about mummy’s ‘mooing’ noises.

I kissed David and Elliot goodbye at 9.15 am and then the hard work really began as I felt an incredible urge to bear down and push. With Tamara’s encouragement the baby’s head crowned over about 3 or 4 contractions (I think!) and her and mum were so excited to see the baby’s head and a perfect little ear! She entered the water with the cowl still over her face, which Tamara had to break.

Tamara had me turn from lying on my back to positioned on my knees and with one big push and I think lots of vocalizing from me … my baby was born into my Mother’s arms and slowly brought up from in between my legs and into my arms … with cries of ‘it’s a girl’ !!

Little Scarlet Mahala was born at 9.34am, weighing 7lb 5oz. A perfect, beautiful child, born so quickly my husband did not even have to time to get back from the school run!