A 7.25 lb weight loss in one day

On Sunday the 19th of May at 11:30pm I started experiencing regular contractions.  We went into hospital the following morning and met my midwife at around 8am. I spent the morning in the bath and on the exercise ball.  At 11:30 mum suggested I get an epidural as the contractions were becoming more and more uncomfortable, to the point where I felt inconsolable between them, yet my cervix was dilating very slowly.  With the help of the drugs I managed to rest, even sleep a little bit, as we waiting for baby to be ready to be born.  Around 6pm my midwife broke my waters.  I started pushing at 9:30pm.  The epidural slowly wore off during this time until I could feel everything and thought the end of the world might come by the time our baby was born.  I was again inconsolable between contractions and was glad Mum was there to be my mummy as I became a mummy.  In fact, my whole birth team were supportive and loving and I felt encouraged by them all through to the end.  Jbird was number one wet cloth and ice provider, hand holder, and made sure the lights were at a nice level and the music was gentle and peaceful.

Aurora Grace Bird was born at 1:07am on the 21st of May, 2013.  Weighing 7 pounds and 5 ounces - 3.3kg and measuring 18.9 inches or 48 cm long.  She was born posteriorly which means she was head down but her face was facing my tummy instead of my back.  This accounts for the slow delivery - and for the back pain - 'back labour' - I experienced throughout pushing.  It meant she spent the day ramming the back of her skull against my back all the way down the birth canal.  Getting into my pelvic bone was an almost impossible experience for her and she came out with a totally squeezed, misshapen head and a little round topknot of soft skin at the top of her skull.  This disappeared almost immediately according to the photos, I barely even remember it.  We were all surprised at her position as both my mother-the-midwife and my midwife nurse practitioner had been sure they could feel her back on my side and assumed she was in a 'normal' anterior position.

The experience of labour and delivery seemed very traumatic and I couldn't think about it on her birth day without crying.  Today, I am glad for it as she is so very beautiful, I am so glad she is here.  Jbird and I have fallen in love. 

As they placed her on my belly, I could barely know what had just happened.  We both had the shivers from going through the experience together.  She  looked around all wide eyed and did a little breast crawl with some prompting from her inexperienced mama to start suckling.  I was surprised to find I'd birthed a baby with dark hair, my one expectation was she'd be blonde as I had blonde hair when I was a little girl.  I barely know how the three of us slept that night, or if we slept at all.  

The stay at the hospital was lovely yet overwhelming - Jbird stayed with me on a pull out couch bed for the three nights.  We had a few guests and Mum joined us in the afternoons.  Our poor baby was so poked and prodded by nurses and doctors, she developed a high pitched pterodactyl scream.  We were instructed in the ways of bathing and changing and had daily visits from our midwife, a paediatrician, and a lactation consultant. 

Now here she is at home, as peaceful and content as anything.  Learning to feed well, sleeping lots, and treating us with a mild curiosity as to what's going on. 

Drunk on milk - a little buddha