Winnie's Birth Story

Hello guys.

Sorry for the radio silence for the last 10 weeks. I've been busy adapting to being a mum of two.

I wanted to blog Winnie's birth story, as I love reading these and thought someone, somewhere, might like to read mine. Be warned, it is long...

So...Winnie's due date (14th May) came and went. I had a check up with the midwife booked in for Tuesday 16th. I had discussed with her that I really wanted to avoid being induced, because I was induced with Matilda. She said the two things known to actually work to bring on labour are nipple stimulation (an hour 3 x a day - ain't nobody got time for that!) and sex. So if anyone reading this is overdue - go try these things!

Wednesday morning, around 1:30am, I felt a gush and instantly knew my waters had just gone. I nudged a snoring Andrew and told him I was going to go downstairs, call the birth place and have some toast. The midwife on the phone at the birth place advised me to call back at 8am to see if my contractions had started. 8am came, nothing had started so I called anyway and I was advised to call back at midday, again to see if anything had begun. Needless to say, absolutely nothing. Just constant waters leaking and no twinges. When I called at 12, she asked if I could come in to be examined, as I was now at a higher risk of infection.

When I arrived, I was assessed and told my options. Either go over to the delivery suite and be induced immediately, or go home and wait until 9pm to see if I could go into labour naturally.
I decided to go home, I would have kicked myself had I not given myself the extra chance.
We went for a nice long stroll along the beach with Matilda in the sunshine, soaking up the last few hours of being a family of 3. By this point I was pretty tired too, having been up since 1am.

As you can probably guess, no contractions so off we headed in the pouring rain to Medway hospital to be induced. We were put on a ward to wait for a midwife to come and chat to us. Along she came and gave me a choice - be induced now or try and get some sleep and be induced in the morning. I jumped at the chance for some rest! Poor Andrew though had to sleep on a chair and we were sharing the ward with a serious snorer!

Now it's Thursday morning, 18th May. A midwife came round to us, at about 7am to take us to the delivery suite to be induced. I was so calm. 10:30am and Shani, our midwife, started with the drugs. We had the radio on, I was walking around (as much as I could given that I was attached to two monitors). At 2:30, my contractions started but they were mild and spread apart so I carried on eating wine gums and playing games with Andrew to pass the time.

Fast forward to around 5pm, with the contractions having built slowly over the last few hours, they were getting strong enough for me to not be able to talk through them anymore, but I just continued to breathe through it and use the birthing ball. I hadn't been examined at all as I was at a higher risk of infection. However, I knew deep down something was happening so I asked if I could be examined, and was happily told I'd made it to 8cms with absolutely no pain relief. I cannot tell you how amazing that felt!

At that point I knew I needed gas and air, and instantly felt that weird woozy head rush from the first inhale of that stuff! I love it. The back of the bed was fully upright and I leant against that on my knees, it just felt like the most natural position to be in. I told the midwife I needed to push and aside from the gas and air, visualising the baby made it so much easier to manage. I'd read about this in my hypnobirthing book which you can buy here.

At 6:02 Winnie's head was born, I felt her head and demanded Andrew look - God knows why I did that, poor bloke is probably tortured for all eternity now! Then at 6:06 she was out!

The rest of the story is just gross birthing of the placenta etc, which no one needs to read about!

WINNIE BLUEBELL STEPHENSON - 18TH MAY 2017 6:06PM 8LB

I didn't fully go for the whole hypnobirthing thing, I am too cynical. But I found some of the techniques so useful, I really recommend Sophie's book for any pregnant women. There are some excellent tips on dealing with late pregnancy and what to expect in labour. I want to tell my story as it is so positive. Some people are hell bent on sharing nightmares and scaring women, but it doesn't have to be that way. It is an absolutely remarkable and extraordinary experience.

Why I've Been Dreading Due Date

Evening everybody.

So today is due date for our second baby girl. And I've got a problem with this date and due dates in general. It seems to then give people an excuse to start telling you how you should be spending your time trying to expel this baby from your body. Let me start by saying, for my first pregnancy I was the girl drinking raspberry leaf tea from 36 weeks and consuming a pineapple a day, hoping to no longer be pregnant. I ended up going 12 days over and being induced so none of it worked anyway.

I've had such a wonderful pregnancy this time, I feel so lucky. Why would I want that to end? Yes, I desperately want to meet our little girl, to see who she looks like, how much she weighs. But, I'm not going to force it. My body has done something incredible and I'm pretty proud of it right now.

So why do people think they can tell me I should be eating a hot curry for dinner tonight? No thanks, I'm quite alright with spag bol. Why are they saying 'Oh you need to go for a long old walk, get things going!' Um, no actually I don't. My baby will come when she is good and ready.

Speaking of which, when writing my birth preferences with my midwife a few weeks ago, I have declined induction. If baby and I are perfectly healthy, I do not want any drugs to force labour. I had an induction the first time round and it was not fun. I want to know how it feels to go in to labour naturally if possible. This could be the last time I do this! I want the excitement of things starting at home. This is the trouble with due dates, if you go 12 days over said date, or less depending on where you live, you'll be booked in to be induced. After having a few sweeps first of course. I've declined those too. No sweeps, no inductions thank you.

Now I am well aware that not everything goes according to plan, hence why I have called them preferences. If I am told that the health of our baby, or me, is at risk then of course I will consider the options given to me.

But I think it is important for women to understand that there actually is a choice, you don't have to be told what to do.

Hopefully she will be here in the next few days anyway!

Chloe x

What's In My Hospital Bag

With due date looming ever closer, I wanted to do a post on the things that I have packed in my hospital bag. Well I say bag, what I really mean is suitcase!

Hopefully this post will help anyone else due to give birth soon that may be wondering on what to pack. There are lists available online, places like Mothercare etc, but this one will be more personalised and about the items that'll make you feel like you.

It is no joke when I say during my last pregnancy I was one walking tower of misery. Ashamed to say it, I've mentioned it before I'm sure but I did not enjoy it! This led to me not feeling like, well, me. My skin was dull, my hair was frizzy, I wore crap maternity clothes and lost all my confidence. I told myself this was not happening second time round! And this will carry on during labour and after birth.

What to give birth in? Well, last time I wore the frumpiest, ugliest nightdress I'd found in Peacocks! Labour isn't pretty and clothes are likely to get ruined, but I've opted for something much prettier. I still want to feel like me afterall. I found some really lovely pieces from George at Asda at fantastic prices.

I ordered the satin-esque robe above, it is lightweight but still luxurious and perfect for before and after labour. I also bought the soft feel nightdress in the same print, along with the satin two piece pyjama cami and short set. I sized up in all three items, to make room for feeding and skin-to-skin. You can find all of the items here. The nightdress will be the item I'll wear for birthing in, shorts just aren't practical!

Comfortable slippers are a must for walking around in, staying upright and keeping active is a great tool during labour, so I've ordered these slippers from Next.

I already have these in the chestnut colour currently, but wanted some new ones to take with me.

I've been using this face mist every day recently, it is so hydrating and has a beautiful scent to it. I'm taking it with me to keep my face feeling moisturised and cool, It is also multifunctional - I use it to spray my beauty sponge to help apply my makeup and it also great for giving life to products about to die. For example, my liquid eyeliner is on it's last legs, but a spray of this on the applicator helps bring the product back to life. Also great for using on any dried out cream eyeshadows!

I will be taking my makeup bag with me. This might sound stupid to some, but once you've given birth, there'll be lots of photos being taken and I want to feel my best. I'm at my best (I think anyway!) with a full face on. It's what makes me feel good and that is exactly what I'll want after labour. 

The first shower after labour is the best shower of your life! So I'll be making mine even more heavenly with this shower oil from Rituals. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this smells and it makes my skin feel divine after using it. It goes without saying you won't be needing any products to use below the waist and above the thigh - warm water will be enough. But why not use something lovely everywhere else to start making you feel more human!

Other things that are coming with me include breastfeeding essentials such as Lansinoh lanolin nipple cream. I believe this product came from God and is what got me through the first few painful weeks of feeding Matilda. Also the disposable Lansinoh breast pads were the best I'd come across. I ordered both of those products from John Lewis as they had the best prices. I've got a feeding pillow from Mothercare and a pregnancy pillow from, wait for it, Aldi! Both will help keep me and baby comfy during feeds.

I've got a birthing playlist on Spotify to help get me through, I'm a huge music lover so I'm counting on this to help me deliver our little girl. Other essential items include wine gums, lucozade sport isotonic drinks and lipbalm. You'll need some big comfy pants for afterwards, I found some at George at Asda again and they weren't expensive so can be discarded of if need be. Don't forget maternity towels too, oh it is just so glamourous! 

If anyone else has recommendations on items to take please do let me know!

Chloe x

Matilda Rose

Hopefully you can forgive me for the long break in blogging, I have a good reason I promise.

On Tuesday 7th April at 10:48am, Matilda Rose Stephenson was born.

Weighing in at 9lb 7oz, our little chunk has bought so much joy.

I won't go in to too much detail regarding the birth but I was 12 days overdue when I was admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital for an induction of labour. It pretty much worked straight away and she didn't hang around for her big arrival.

It was so fast it was almost a little shocking for me!

This is the first photo of me after the birth. Had to put some make up on of course!

Matilda is over 4 months old now and each day is wonderful, she is such a happy little princess. Of course she gets very spoilt by everyone.

My husband and I are so lucky.

I'll be sharing plenty of posts on our journey through parenthood, Matilda's wardrobe and nursery, plus all the things I loved pre-motherhood: beauty, fashion, travel and more.

The hiatus is over, I've settled right into being a mum and now ready to share that with you all.

Chloe x