How is labour second time around? - by Sarah Jolil

It didn’t take long to get pregnant the second time around unlike our first, so when I got that digital confirmation telling me I was 3 weeks pregnant I will be honest…I shit myself! I didn’t mentally prepare myself quick enough that unfortunately, this would mean giving birth again!

My reason for being scared is that even though my labour with my now 3-year-old daughter was as good as a straightforward labour could have been, my problem was getting rid of the placenta which turned into needing a manual removal, this is where your placenta isn’t playing ball and doesn’t want to come out on its own so I ended up in theatre. I had lost a lot of blood and experienced a lot of pain and this was an experience I never wanted to repeat again.

So this led me to an elective C section, I didn’t want to go through the manual removal again and I was informed that I was a high risk of having another placenta that wouldn’t budge so I booked my C section as soon as I could.

But my little boy had other plans…3 weeks before my due date he decided to make an early appearance. I woke up at 3 am having had a show and broken waters. Once in the hospital, my contractions had gone from being 2cm and sort of bearable to 8cm and unbearable in around an hour! I forgot how painful contractions could be and they felt so different this time around as I didn’t get in the birthing pool like I did last time as I was consultant led due to opting for a C section, although there wasn’t time for a C section he was coming whether I liked it or not!

So once midwife told me he was coming and I wouldn’t be getting the C-section I had wanted 20 minutes and lots of gas and air later he arrived. The whole birth was such a whirlwind and happened so quickly that I had no time to digest what was happening, almost like being a spectator in my own body. My body knew what it was doing, but my head was just like “what the fuuuuuccccckkkkk”

Turns out having a vaginal delivery was the best thing for me as my placenta came out this time with no issues and my recovery has been amazing and so much better than with my daughter. It’s been 2 weeks now and I honestly feel like I’m almost back to my normal self, which is fab! Thank god too as it’s manic now having a toddler and a newborn to care for, there’s just not enough hours in the day for everything.

Thinking back to the day that Jack was born has really made me realize just how amazing our bodies are that not only do we grow little human beings inside us, but we can also feed them with our bodies and go through all this pain and carry on through life saying we would do it all over again because that feeling of having your baby put on your chest is just too amazing to put into words and dissolves all the pain you have gone through. I feel like the second time around has given me a new found respect for myself that I didn’t appreciate the first time around. I am also appreciating the early days of having a newborn so Jack and I are having lots of cuddles and I am trying to learn to just chill and that the housework can

wait a day or two as these moments are precious and something you won't get back as they grow day by day.

 

Congratulations Sarah, Jack is beautiful! If you love how Sarah write be sure to check out her blog here>


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