Birth report with sibling

07.10.2022

Today was an appointment for a check-up at the birth centre. Nora met me with Antonia. We talk about how I'm feeling and how I'm feeling and they both feel the baby once. The baby is lying nice and low in the pelvis and the head is barely noticeable. „It's a long baby, if I'm not mistaken,“ said Antonia. As today is the due date, I agreed with Nora that we would wait and see how the contractions progress and then meet again on Monday for a check-up and then take another look. Nora said goodbye to me with the words: „See you on Monday then, if we don't see each other at the weekend.“ And smiled at me as if she knew what was going to happen a few hours later. My husband said to me: „Denise, there's no baby being born today!“ I replied: „So I'm supposed to squeeze my legs together until midnight?“ - „Yes! From midnight onwards, I don't care! Believe me, at some point you'll prefer it if your son and your dad don't have their birthdays on the same day!“ ...That's right! In the evening, I put our big boy to bed as usual and cuddled him again. Then my husband and I lay on the couch together and watched a film. I went to bed at 9.30pm because I was really tired and my husband also went to bed at 11.30pm. At the time, neither of us would have expected what would happen about 2 hours later.

08.10.2022 | 01:18 a.m. - 03:15 a.m.

I was woken up by slight abdominal pain and went to the toilet. Something is different. I've often had abdominal pain in the last few nights, but it was always for a longer period of time. They felt different. 1 minute, then they were gone again. 5 minutes later, I was lying in bed again and the pain came back. So I started to track the supposed contractions. You never know, I thought. The little one and my husband were still asleep and I tried to breathe calmly and relaxed. The pain was regular, always around the minute... I suddenly felt pressure in my bowels and went to the toilet again, which was the first of 4 times that night that I had to void. The pain intensified. I kept trying to close my eyes and rest, but that was no longer possible. So I just stayed in bed and at least tried to get some rest. My labour tracking app showed me every 15 minutes that I should prepare myself and leave soon. I didn't see it that way now and wanted to wait. I continued to track the contractions in bed when I remembered that I had received a note from Nora about how the on-call service works. So I got up and went into the living room, breathing out a contraction as I did so. The note said that I should call as soon as the contractions came every 5 minutes and lasted about 2 minutes... In my case, she had crossed this out and I remember that she said I should call if I felt I wanted to go to the birth centre. I was in good spirits and went back to bed. At 3am our son woke up and slipped into bed with us. He cuddled up to me and I savoured the few minutes intensely. He usually fell asleep straight away, but this time he sat up at 3.15am, looked at me wide awake and said: „Mum, get up!“ I wonder what that meant!

08.10.2022 | 03.15 h - 06 h

I couldn't sleep any more anyway and as the little one didn't want to sleep either, I decided to get up with him to let my husband sleep a little longer.

I was now sitting on the nursery floor and kept breathing out contractions that were getting stronger and stronger. At 03:45 I decided to wake my husband. He was visibly unimpressed and asked me if I was joking and if I could just lie down again and sleep until the morning. When he noticed me leaning on the back of the bed and having to breathe out a contraction, he just looked at me, breathed in and out deeply and said: „Right, I get it, here we go!“. He got up and went into the living room. He asked me if he still had time to shower and charge his mobile phone or if we had to leave straight away. Of course he still had time, because I was still in good spirits, despite the regular contractions. So I switched on the TV, the little one and I watched another children's series and my husband went for a shower. In the meantime, I checked that I had packed everything in my bag and put my juice, snacks for our little one and his nappy backpack in the corridor next to my bag. My husband looked at me after the shower: „So, when do we have to leave?“ - „I haven't called Nora yet, but I'll do that in a minute...“ - „All right, then give her a call.“

05:20 - The doorbell rang and Nora answered the phone: „Yes?“ - „Good morning Nora, this is Denise. I've been having contractions since 01:20, every minute or so at intervals of 5-7 minutes and getting stronger and stronger.“ - „Well, that sounds great. I'll get ready now, how long will it take you to get to the house?“ - „10 - 15 minutes“ - „Okay, I'll need a bit longer. Shall we meet outside the house at 6 a.m.?“ - „Yes, all right. See you soon then!“

Another contraction. My husband looked at me: „And you really think you can still drive yourself?“ I replied optimistically: „Of course, it's only about 10 minutes, I drove the big one on my own with towels under my bum!“ Suddenly there was another contraction. „Or maybe I'd better call my dad and ask him to drive us?“ - „Whatever you say!“ he said and laughed.

No sooner said than done. My father set off. We got ourselves and the crumb dressed, took our things and went out the front door. When we got downstairs, I had to breathe through two more contractions and started to move slowly with the waves. It looked funny, but it helped me immensely. My father drove us to the birth centre and I also had to breathe through two contractions in the car. On the way there, my father asked what was going on with the big one, whether he should take him with him. But I told him that he was coming with me to pick up his little brother. We arrived at the birth centre on time at 6 a.m. and Nora was just unlocking the door to the house. She greeted us with a smile and we went together to the back of the „birth room“.

Nora switched on two salt crystal lamps and turned up the heating. I took off my shoes and jacket, stood in the room and moved with a wave again while stroking my belly. Meanwhile, my husband took off his jacket and shoes, put our bags down and undressed our son, except for his bodysuit and jogging bottoms. They both sat down on the bed and I continued to prance around. My husband spoke to our son and told him what was going to happen and that it wouldn't be long before his brother arrived. Nora got a Pezzi ball and a yoga mat and put them next to the bed for me. „If you like, you can use the Pezziball, some people find it helps to sit on it or kneel in front of it and lie on it with their upper body. I'd like to dip you in the pool now.“ I thanked him, knelt in front of the ball and lay down on it. I realised how tired I felt at that moment, but at the same time the next contraction came. I put my head on the Pezziball and breathed in and out deeply. My gut told me I had to sound now and I started with a long and calm: „Mmmhhh“. Antonia slipped into the labour room and greeted us quietly. Nora came back into the room, heard me sounding and said softly: „You're doing great! I've made a bed for your little one over in the room in case he wants to sleep and the toys are there too.“ My husband thanked Nora and then came the next contraction that I had to put to music. I felt the need to stand up and move around, so I got up. At that moment, another wave came, which I moved to and I just said: „I'm going to be sick, I have to break!“ Nora ran off immediately, my husband supported me and when Nora came back, she handed me a spit bag. It came up just at that moment. While I was vomiting, I realised that my bladder was emptying at the same time.

„I need a new pair of trousers...“ My husband and Nora looked down at me: „Oh, let's get you out of there first then.“ Nora helped me take off my trousers and my husband supported me. She bagged everything up, I moved rhythmically again to form a wave and sounded.

I couldn't stand any longer, I was so incredibly tired so I knelt in front of the Pezziball again and lay down with my upper body on it. Suddenly my eyes closed for a few seconds and at that moment I had another contraction. Suddenly the third midwife, Elli, entered the room. She came quietly into the room, smiled briefly at me and sat down at the front of the room next to Antonia. Meanwhile, Nora sat behind me and my husband sat next to me on the bed with our crumb on his lap. It was incredibly quiet in the room when I wasn't making sounds. It was such a relaxed, calm and warm atmosphere, I felt incredibly comfortable. Nora asked me if I would like some warmth on my back, I said yes and Antonia went straight away and got a hot water bottle ready for me. Each wave became more intense and at some point I could no longer move during the waves, I had the feeling that this would cause even more pain than just lying on the ball and toning. I could hear my son laughing from time to time at the noises his mum was making and my husband telling him what was happening. I would make a long „Oh“, „Ah“, „Mh“ or a long „Uh“ sound. I did this intuitively because it felt right and good to me at that moment. Contrary to what I had imagined when I first gave birth, it is not at all embarrassing or silly, it gave me a certain calm and confidence in my body at that moment. „Try to breathe in deeply at the end of each contraction and then breathe out“, Nora said to me. I tried this directly with the next one and I had the feeling that I was pushing the contraction away and getting a little closer to my baby with this long exhalation. At some point while I was sounding, our son relaxed so much that he fell asleep in my husband's arms. Elli offered to put him down, but this proved to be difficult, so my husband continued to sit with him.

Then the hot water bottle arrived and Nora put it on my lower back. She asked Antonia to bring her a bowl of warm water and towels, briefly explained what they were for and whether it was okay for me. I agreed and that was also incredibly nice. In between, I was repeatedly offered something to drink, which I gratefully accepted. As I got cramps in my thighs during the contractions, Elli dissolved magnesium and gave it to me with a straw.
 All of a sudden it felt strange, I felt a pressure and there was a „pop“. My waters had broken. Elli rushed to Nora with a new pad and they both helped me to lift my legs and place the fresh pad under my knees.

During the next contraction, the pain became unbearable and I started to moan louder and louder. Nora said: „Denise, if you feel any downward pressure during the contractions, you can push gently when you're ready.“ I nodded and the next wave and the downward pressure came. It was so strong that I wanted to squeeze my legs together, but I focussed and breathed it away.
 The following sentences ran like a mantra in my head:

„My breathing supports the birth in every phase.
Every breath carries me through the next wave.
Every wave brings me closer and closer to my baby.„
 (Birth affirmations that I always said to myself before the birth)

A short time later the next contraction and again the pressure. I now decided to go along and push. I sounded and pushed along. The contractions came faster and faster and became more and more intense. With every contraction I gave in to my feelings, pushed along and sounded louder. I ended some contractions with a long „Ouh“ and took a breath during the breaks. Nora asked me: „Would you like to touch the head?“ I tried to get between my legs with one hand: „I can't get there...“ My husband laughed and Nora said I had to bend down a little. So I bent down a little and felt for the head. „Oh dear, that's gross...“ I said. And at that moment there was another contraction and I pushed with it. „Denise, would you like to go back into the bath now? I think that would make the rest a little easier for you. There's not that much time left.“ I nodded and said, „Sure, but I can't get up. I can't move.“ - „Don't worry about that. We'll undress you now and then we'll carry you over.“ Antonia and Nora took off my shirt and bra and then, during a pause in the contractions, they and Elli pulled me up into a standing position. They supported me and I took one step into the pool and then the next. I knelt down and leant my upper body on the edge of the pool. I gripped the handles on the left and right. The warmth of the water felt so incredibly good. I was immediately much more relaxed and had a slightly longer break until the next contraction. Suddenly my husband knelt in front of me, looked deep into my eyes and reached out a hand. Our son was now standing with Antonia and Elli and they were keeping him busy.

Nora sat behind the birthing pool and stroked my lower back. Then came the next contraction. I looked my husband in the eye and grabbed his hand. I squeezed and squeezed louder. Tears welled up in my husband's eyes. He stroked my hair out of my face during the pause and smiled at me. „Denise, the head was almost completely out. You'll have it with the next contraction,“ Nora said from behind me. I nodded and at that moment she came too. I pushed and pushed, the pressure was incredibly strong. Suddenly a kind of relief, the pressure was gone all of a sudden. „The head is out! Now you can relax and catch your breath and gather your strength for the rest. You can do it!“ I heard Nora say again. My husband looked at me, grinned and nodded. I grinned back and breathed in and out deeply. The next contraction. I pushed and did and did... no relief. Pause. I took another deep breath and said to my husband, „That's it! That was the last one! No more third!“ The three midwives laughed and he just said, „We'll talk about that once you've got your little man in your arms.“ I smiled and then came the next contraction. I pushed with all my might and there it was. The longed-for relief. „Done,“ said Nora. The little man was still under water and Antonia came to the pool. „Denise, we'll help you get your leg over the umbilical cord and then you can cuddle,“ said Nora. They held me tightly and helped me lift my leg. I turned round in the bath, sat down and Nora brought our little miracle out of the water directly onto my chest. I had tears in my eyes and was so incredibly grateful and relieved. Nora cuddled the little one in two red towels and my husband knelt behind me with our big one. He gave me a kiss on the head and said, „You did an incredible job.“ Our big one looked into the towel and said, „Dad, bro!“ - „Yes, that's right, that's your brother in the towel.“

I sat in the bath for a while and at some point it was time for us to get out. Nora and Antonia helped me out of the pool and I lay down on the bed. The contractions started, I was given a painkiller on request and the placenta eventually came out. We let the umbilical cord pulsate out in a relaxed manner and the new dad of two then cut it. The four of us lay in bed and I put the little one on for the first time, he sucked like a world champion. A short time later, my husband took the baby on his chest and I was checked for birth injuries and these were treated. The midwives checked in pairs so that not one stitch was made too much or too little. After the stitches, I slid back up to my three boys and we cuddled together. Elli brought me a bowl of YumYum as I had forgotten my hot meal for after the birth, some tea and more magnesium. Meanwhile, Nora and Antonia got the bag of colours for the birth card. Our big boy was allowed to choose the colour for the placenta print and the pen for the writing. A beautiful imprint was made, which we were given.

At some point I went to the showers with Nora and Elli and had my first pee.

While I was showering, Nora did the U1 on little Drops. Afterwards, my husband got the little one dressed and I lost my circulation in the shower. I just shouted: „My circulation!“ Antonia immediately ran into the shower and supported me. Elli and Nora also ran straight into the bathroom. So suddenly I was lying naked on the lounger in the next room. Nora held my legs up, Antonia got me some glucose and my juice and Elli opened the window completely. Our big boy came over and brought me the bathrobe that my husband had given him in the next room.

But as Nora insisted that I still had to go wee-wee, she offered to fetch me the loo chair. Oh well, I already felt like one of my clients anyway, so why not. So I sat on the toilet chair in my bathrobe and gave it my all, but it wasn't enough. We decided that I would lie down again, have a good drink and then try to pee again. Meanwhile, Nora, Antonia and Elli tidied up the labour room and my husband packed our things. I also decided to get dressed slowly and get back on the toilet seat. Finally, the desired result.

So we called my father to pick us up and drive us home. A short time later, we were sitting outside in the fresh air with two children waiting for our shuttle service. We still couldn't believe that this had just happened and that we were now travelling home with another miracle.