Meet Baby Poppy!

This is certainly the most exciting and special post that will ever be on my blog as it is the one where I introduce my beautiful baby girl, Poppy. Yes that’s right, Poppy is finally here!! I cannot believe I am actually saying this, it hasn’t sunk in yet that I am a mum. Today’s post will be all about my labour story and how we are settling in as a family of three so I hope you enjoy!

On Friday 15th January I was woken up at 7am with contractions every five minutes and we were filled with excitement that she is on her way. By this point I was 1 week overdue and getting very impatient and the anxiety of a potential induction was kicking in, so I was so happy to finally get contractions. At 10:30am we made our way to hospital for an examination and then was sent back home until 1pm. 

When we returned back to the hospital I was 3cm dilated and the contractions were getting so painful. A lifesaver was my TENS machine – for any pregnant gals here I can’t stress enough how amazing they are, it was the best £30 I have spent! Throughout my whole labour I was sick and annoyingly couldn’t keep any food down so I was straight away given an anti-sickness injection.

Once I reached 4cm I was taken to a birthing room which had a pool and I could finally get on the gas and air. I absolutely loved having gas and air, it gave me something else to think about and also made me feel so drunk haha. I honestly don’t think I spoke to Harry for about 3 hours and had my eyes shut most of the time. At about 10:30pm I got in the pool and I was surprised at how relaxing they had set the room up, the rooms were scented, tea lights were lit and it was so calming (despite the crippling contractions of course haha). 

At 12am the contractions were too much to handle and I was 6cm dilated so I decided to go ahead with the epidural. On my birth plan I wanted to have a water birth with gas and air and I felt a bit worried I would regret going against my original plan by having the epidural but it was honestly the best decision. They then moved me into a different room without a pool where I could get an epidural and the relief it gave me was so so amazing. 

This is where things get a little tough. Poppy wasn’t reacting well to my contractions and the midwives were getting very concerned and the discussion of assisted deliveries and c-sections were happening. At 6:30am I was ready to push and unfortunately I could only push for 20 minutes before they agreed that an assisted delivery was needed. Once I signed the consent forms I was rushed into theatre and honestly it was the scariest thing I have ever been through, going from a dimly lit room with only 3 midwives to a bright clinical theatre with 15 people staring at you was terrifying. All I wanted was my baby to be okay. 

My poor baby was in the slightly wrong position so the doctors had to try and turn her head around and then deliver her. But we hit more complications, her shoulder got stuck and all I could hear was the doctor shouting for more Band 7 doctors to be rushed in for help and I was panicking like mad. With more doctors in the room an assisted delivery with forceps took place and by 7:28am my beautiful baby girl was born and placed into my arms, hearing her cry was the biggest relief in the world. I was so overwhelmed with joy, I just couldn’t stop crying. She weighed 9 pounds – I cannot believe how big she is haha!! 

My blood loss was very high and just off of a blood transfusion so I had to stay in hospital overnight to try and recover, especially as Poppy had a tricky delivery they wanted to make sure her shoulder was all okay. The first night in hospital was so tough on my own as a first time mum, but the midwives were all so amazing and supportive. 

On Sunday 17th Harry came to collect us from hospital and go back home as a family of three and it was just the most amazing feeling. I feel so lucky and blessed to have a beautiful family and everything just feels complete now, most of my days now are spent just staring at her little face. As I am writing this we have just had our baby appointment at the hospital and the midwives are so pleased with how healthy she is, which is so nice and reassuring to hear.

I hope you all enjoyed this post, there will definitely be more baby posts to come. I’m thinking my next one will be my pregnancy must haves, but if you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments below! 

Until next time, 

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