Pregnancy to birth

Before I got pregnant, I worked out a lot. I was doing at least 4 1hr long runs a week and sometimes more; at least half of them were trail runs. I was also doing weights workouts, core work, climbing, cycling etc. Pretty much every holiday my husband and I went on involved hiking and sometimes multi-day hikes in America, New Zealand, Canada and of course the UK. So that was me pre-pregnancy!

Then I found out I was pregnant, had my first scan and knew everything was soon to change! We decided to keep the sex a surprise as so few surprises happen these days!!

First & Second Trimester

At first I was still running and climbing until I was about 18weeks and then they had to go; I was one of this people that showed very early on. I kept doing my weights, yoga and Pilates, aqua natal and lots and lots of walking. This was maintained right throughout my pregnancy; at 7months I could be found hiking along the Welsh coast line where some elderly people hiking couldn’t believe the pace I was keeping! So I was happy with all of that.

Nutrition side of things, I ate the same as I had but found I was hungrier than normal! I normally started my day with porridge, berries and yoghurt with nuts for a snack in the morning. There was a massive salad for lunch and maybe a smoothie and carrots/cucumber and hummus in the afternoon. Dinner usually consisted of a chicken dish of some sort. I tried not to over eat as I didn’t want to put on excessive weight. I knew after giving birth, the weight loss would be hard!

Third Trimester

Everything was going really well until the third trimester when I had to be tested for gestational diabetes. The test came back negative, but each week my urine showed abnormal readings so had to go for a test again. I ended up having a kit and recording my blood sugars every morning. There was one high reading over about 3 weeks of testing, (after having pizza at 11pm the night before as we were trying to get the renovations on our kitchen finished) so it was decided I had gestational diabetes. When I questioned the doctor they said I didn’t have it but I had excess fluid they couldn’t explain! So concluded that I must of had it.

This meant my home birth plan wasn’t going to happen and they wanted to induce me the week before my due date. I agreed to be induced the day before.

Birth

So the induction day arrived, I went into hospital and waited all day for something to happen! The pessary was taken out then just as my husband was going home for the night, as nothing was happening, my waters broke!

I was hooked up to a machine, which just made it really uncomfortable to move around. This really wasn’t the birth I planned. I wanted everything natural but the safe arrival of my little one was more important.

I was just using gas and air as my pain relief but this made me feel sick. But I had got to 10cm pretty quickly so all was going well. The head could be seen so a machine pads were connected to check the health of the baby. Then my contractions just stopped.

At this point, having been examined a million times, another doctor came in to see why the contractions had stopped. Everything was ok, and babies heart rate was totally chilled. Another doctor came in and conducted another exam but thought the baby was the wrong way round. He suggested a cesarean yet the previous doctor had thought foreceps would do the job!

The doctors had a discussion; it was decided that because the babies heart rate was good that they would try the foreceps option first.

I had to then have an epidural, and with 2 pushes the baby was out at 8lb 8ounces. I was so happy the forceps had worked and the joy of the arrival of my little one was just amazing. Although it wasn’t the birth I had planned it was a great experience.

Summary

So that was the start of my journey into motherhood. I learnt that you plan for one thing but actually it’s unlikely to happen. I would recommend having your plan but knowing all your options and being aware of them. That way, if your plans change you have the information you need to make decisions on the next best steps for you and the birth you want.

Hopefully by sharing my story, this helps others to realise that it’s ok for plans to change, and that you don’t need to stress about it, be flexible and that way the experience will be great any way it happens!

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