The Birth of Mika
This third pregnancy was the most challenging of all, especially in the last 2 months. However, I cherished every moment and really did my best to enjoy my pregnancy despite all the pain. (I had lots of varicose veins all down my left leg as well as in other not so desirable places). I never had this with my other 2 pregnancies. I had to be really careful and had to try take it easy near the end of my pregnancy, which was hard to do whilst looking after our 3 year old as well as our 18 month old. I received a lot of help from my dear friend Teearn who would come around and keep me company and do things for me like bring me lunch and play with Skye and Rory. I also received a lot of help from Kath, Mike & Shasta Annells who made LOTS of dinner meals for me and to them I am truly grateful! (And what a great cook Kath is)!
I knew I may never be pregnant again and focused on enjoying and embracing the work my body was doing to grow our baby. I loved having a baby inside my tummy! My friend Carly took pregnancy photos of me! It was great fun and I had told Carly that I really wished I had nice photos from my first and second pregnancies. - I highly recommend Stirling Photography (click to go to Carly's website).
I knew I may never be pregnant again and focused on enjoying and embracing the work my body was doing to grow our baby. I loved having a baby inside my tummy! My friend Carly took pregnancy photos of me! It was great fun and I had told Carly that I really wished I had nice photos from my first and second pregnancies. - I highly recommend Stirling Photography (click to go to Carly's website).
At 6:00am on the 17th September 2010, I awoke with the first proper contraction (I sometimes refer to contractions as waves because I think it sounds nicer, as well as more positive). I had been real ill the past 2 days with gastro (not a gastro bug, more so just the usual 'cleaning out' that happens to MANY women in the days before the baby's birth). I was so exhausted and wasn't expecting to go into labour just yet. It was 10 days before my "estimated due date". And, the house was not in very good order as I was supposed to be putting my feet up as much as possible to help relieve some of the pressure from my varicose veins which had gotten quite intense and flared up.
The first thing I did was take a long, hot shower (which is what I had done with my last two labours and found it really helpful). I loved feeling the hot water on my lower back, especially during a strong "wave". Whilst in the shower I was preparing my mind to be and stay positive. I knew how important a positive mindset was for a positive birth experience. (I had learnt so much from my first birth and really know that I could have avoided the stress and fear I had the first time round if I had've prepared my mind far more positively as well as eliminate the fear). Also, after such an amazing and beautiful 2nd birth with Rory I knew that I wanted an amazing fear-free experience again with our 3rd birth.
After my shower, I sat on the toilet. (Not to go to the toilet but I believe the position helps a lot). And I was up and down between contractions packing Skye & Rory's bag for their stay at their Nanna & Grandad's house. Whilst Skye was helping me to pack her clothes she was wondering what I was doing on my hands and knees swaying my hips around in a circular motion. She looked very curious and asked me "You okay Mum?" I told her that I was definitely okay and I was doing that to help get the baby into his/her position to be born. Skye looked excited and told her brother Rory "The baby is coming out today!"
The first thing I did was take a long, hot shower (which is what I had done with my last two labours and found it really helpful). I loved feeling the hot water on my lower back, especially during a strong "wave". Whilst in the shower I was preparing my mind to be and stay positive. I knew how important a positive mindset was for a positive birth experience. (I had learnt so much from my first birth and really know that I could have avoided the stress and fear I had the first time round if I had've prepared my mind far more positively as well as eliminate the fear). Also, after such an amazing and beautiful 2nd birth with Rory I knew that I wanted an amazing fear-free experience again with our 3rd birth.
After my shower, I sat on the toilet. (Not to go to the toilet but I believe the position helps a lot). And I was up and down between contractions packing Skye & Rory's bag for their stay at their Nanna & Grandad's house. Whilst Skye was helping me to pack her clothes she was wondering what I was doing on my hands and knees swaying my hips around in a circular motion. She looked very curious and asked me "You okay Mum?" I told her that I was definitely okay and I was doing that to help get the baby into his/her position to be born. Skye looked excited and told her brother Rory "The baby is coming out today!"
Wes left to quickly get some food for our chickens from the Fodder store. (I didn't think it mattered but he said they had ran out of food and didn't want them to be without food whilst we were staying at the Birth Centre. Of course at the time, I didn't care about the chickens because I was so focused on my labour, however Wes didn't take long and I suppose it would have been horrible coming home to starved chickens.
I called my best friend Caity whilst I had another hot shower. (I loved that hot water on my back, it felt so good)! Yes, that's right I was standing in the shower with the phone in my hand telling Caity that I was in labour! I was so excited! I was speaking really fast and I asked Caity if she could please do me a favour by buying me some mobile phone credit (as I had ran out) so that I could message the birth details when baby #3 entered the world. Of course Caity told me she would get onto it right away. Thanks Caity! She bought the phone credit on her way to work and SMS'd me the recharge number.
I then found myself up on my bed lying on my side between "waves" and then when a wave came I would get up onto my hands and knees and rock and sway through the waves which really helped to ease the pain. I think focusing on doing something whilst you have a contraction really gives some relief rather than just lying there and feeling sorry for yourself throughout it. With my first birth I didn't move or change positions enough and now know how important it is to do so.
I wanted to spend as long as I could labouring at home. Things seemed to be moving quite fast so I phoned the Birth Centre and let my lovely Midwives know I would be on my way sometime that morning. I told them I wanted to ride the waves out at home as much as possible and they sounded real excited for me and said they would be waiting to greet me when I arrived.
It was approximately 8:45am when I told Wes it was time to leave as the waves were getting closer together and more difficult to ride. Skye looked fascinated by watching me moan and groan through each wave and Rory looked concerned. Wes put the kids in the car and I told Rory not to worry about me. "I'll be okay Rory, what's happening to me is a good thing. The baby is getting ready to come out and meet us", I said to him. Skye and Rory were getting excited to meet their new brother or sister!
I called my best friend Caity whilst I had another hot shower. (I loved that hot water on my back, it felt so good)! Yes, that's right I was standing in the shower with the phone in my hand telling Caity that I was in labour! I was so excited! I was speaking really fast and I asked Caity if she could please do me a favour by buying me some mobile phone credit (as I had ran out) so that I could message the birth details when baby #3 entered the world. Of course Caity told me she would get onto it right away. Thanks Caity! She bought the phone credit on her way to work and SMS'd me the recharge number.
I then found myself up on my bed lying on my side between "waves" and then when a wave came I would get up onto my hands and knees and rock and sway through the waves which really helped to ease the pain. I think focusing on doing something whilst you have a contraction really gives some relief rather than just lying there and feeling sorry for yourself throughout it. With my first birth I didn't move or change positions enough and now know how important it is to do so.
I wanted to spend as long as I could labouring at home. Things seemed to be moving quite fast so I phoned the Birth Centre and let my lovely Midwives know I would be on my way sometime that morning. I told them I wanted to ride the waves out at home as much as possible and they sounded real excited for me and said they would be waiting to greet me when I arrived.
It was approximately 8:45am when I told Wes it was time to leave as the waves were getting closer together and more difficult to ride. Skye looked fascinated by watching me moan and groan through each wave and Rory looked concerned. Wes put the kids in the car and I told Rory not to worry about me. "I'll be okay Rory, what's happening to me is a good thing. The baby is getting ready to come out and meet us", I said to him. Skye and Rory were getting excited to meet their new brother or sister!
We arrived at my parents place at 9:00am to drop Skye & Rory off. The kids were so excited to see their Nanna. I told my Mum that we had to hurry and Mum was looking at me and I could tell she could relate and it was reminding her of her labours.
9:20am- arrived at Lyell McEwin Hospital and slowly made my way to the Birth Centre, stopping along the way to hold onto the wall and sway my hips through the contractions. I could tell things were progressing well. I feel like my efforts of moving so much, changing positions and staying calm were paying off. The baby felt extremely low in my pelvis. My walk became a real waddle.
Midwives Karen & Linda greeted me and they were both fighting over who was going to be at my birth. It was pretty funny and made me laugh (Laughing helped me through my labour. Laughter truly is the greatest medicine)! Linda won and gave me a big hug. I was so excited to be in labour and was really looking forward to pushing our baby out! I have found that I have gotten more confident with each birth.
9:20am- arrived at Lyell McEwin Hospital and slowly made my way to the Birth Centre, stopping along the way to hold onto the wall and sway my hips through the contractions. I could tell things were progressing well. I feel like my efforts of moving so much, changing positions and staying calm were paying off. The baby felt extremely low in my pelvis. My walk became a real waddle.
Midwives Karen & Linda greeted me and they were both fighting over who was going to be at my birth. It was pretty funny and made me laugh (Laughing helped me through my labour. Laughter truly is the greatest medicine)! Linda won and gave me a big hug. I was so excited to be in labour and was really looking forward to pushing our baby out! I have found that I have gotten more confident with each birth.
I spent about half an hour in the shower (the shower in the Birth Centre is awesome... it has 2 shower heads so that one can be on your back and one can be on your front. Wish we had that at home)! Whilst in the shower I told Linda and Wes that I was keen to try giving birth in water. So, Wes started filling the HUGE bath up. Linda told me that she didn't think our baby would wait until the bath was filled. I thought to myself, surely our baby wasn't that close but as the contractions became real close together and very, very, very intense I wasn't sure if I would be able to get into the bath in time. I felt the urge to push whilst in the shower and Linda got down on the floor ready to help catch the baby if need be.
With my previous birth, being on my hands and knees really helped to give more room for Rory to come out during the pushing stage so I decided I wanted to birth like that again. So, in the middle of contractions I made a sprint for the bed (so that my knees were on something soft instead of the hard floor) and got onto my hands and knees. (If the bath was full I would have gotten into the water and birthed there, however it was only half full).
I pushed for about 5 minutes and again I could tell how open I was due to the position I was pushing in. It felt amazing! (Yes, painful but it really didn't matter at the time... I was visualising the amazing reward waiting for me after the final push and really wanted to give my baby a HUGE cuddle). I kept positive and told myself "YOU CAN DO IT!"
(Birthing in an upright position with gravity in your favour helps to make the birth canal open up at least 30% more than it would if you were lying flat on your back. I didn't want to have 3rd degree tearing like I did with my first birth so I knew I needed an upright position to help give the best chance for my perinium to stretch to it's full potential).
WOW.........! Baby's head was out and I knew that the most intense part was over. Now I just needed to push baby's shoulders out, and then the rest of the body followed. I could hear Wes snapping away with the camera, trying to get as many shots as possible! As the rest of baby's body slid through I reached down to grab my baby myself but needed a little help from Linda. I got up off of my hands into a kneeling position and picked my precious baby up and brought her straight to my chest. I then lay down on my back and knew that I deserved a huge lie down after all my hard pushing efforts.
Our baby girl searched for my boob and latched on all by herself. It was so beautiful to watch! She sucked for an hour and she stared into my eyes the entire time. She looked real content and comfortable being so close to me. I felt so proud to be her Mum! I felt so much love for her and I felt so much love in return! Wes looked so happy and I just wanted this precious moment to last forever!
Whilst Mika fed, I concentrated on the 3rd stage of labour (birthing the placenta). With one last push, the placenta was birthed and I asked to see it right away! It was amazing and I felt so very grateful towards my placenta and wanted to thank it for doing such a good job at feeding and growing our baby. I asked Wes to take a photo of it (Wes gets a little creeped out about placentas but I think they are beautiful so even though I know Wes could have thought of a million things he would rather do than photograph a placenta, he did it for me ). Thanks Wes, I really appreciate it. I might frame it and put it on our bedroom wall. (hahaha).
After a while, when the cord stopped pulsating, Wes cut the umbilical cord. (Wes loved doing that with our first birth and wanted to do it again this time. With our second birth, there was a bit of fuss due to Rory's bum-first entrance into the world that Wes didn't get to cut the cord and he was disappointed by this).
We hadn't been able to choose a name that we both liked throughout the pregnancy. Some that Wes suggested I didn't like and the ones I suggested Wes wasn't keen on. Our baby was born nameless and Midwife Linda wrote "Baby Dobbin" down on the paperwork. It didn't take us long to choose a name though... I suggested "Mika" (pronounced "Meeka") and Wes said that's great! He loved it too! I had always liked the name Mika (the way we chose to spell it is the Japanese way). When I lived in Japan for a year my host sister's name was Mika and she was so pretty and such a kind-hearted girl.
Mika weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces (3.06kg).
48cm in length and her head circumference was 34cm.
We could not come up with a middle name we liked until 2 weeks after Mika's birth...
"Crystal".
Whilst Mika fed, I concentrated on the 3rd stage of labour (birthing the placenta). With one last push, the placenta was birthed and I asked to see it right away! It was amazing and I felt so very grateful towards my placenta and wanted to thank it for doing such a good job at feeding and growing our baby. I asked Wes to take a photo of it (Wes gets a little creeped out about placentas but I think they are beautiful so even though I know Wes could have thought of a million things he would rather do than photograph a placenta, he did it for me ). Thanks Wes, I really appreciate it. I might frame it and put it on our bedroom wall. (hahaha).
After a while, when the cord stopped pulsating, Wes cut the umbilical cord. (Wes loved doing that with our first birth and wanted to do it again this time. With our second birth, there was a bit of fuss due to Rory's bum-first entrance into the world that Wes didn't get to cut the cord and he was disappointed by this).
We hadn't been able to choose a name that we both liked throughout the pregnancy. Some that Wes suggested I didn't like and the ones I suggested Wes wasn't keen on. Our baby was born nameless and Midwife Linda wrote "Baby Dobbin" down on the paperwork. It didn't take us long to choose a name though... I suggested "Mika" (pronounced "Meeka") and Wes said that's great! He loved it too! I had always liked the name Mika (the way we chose to spell it is the Japanese way). When I lived in Japan for a year my host sister's name was Mika and she was so pretty and such a kind-hearted girl.
Mika weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces (3.06kg).
48cm in length and her head circumference was 34cm.
We could not come up with a middle name we liked until 2 weeks after Mika's birth...
"Crystal".
I am in LOVE with this next photo! This was the first time Skye and Rory met their baby sister! I am crying right now whilst typing this. (A happy cry, of course). A new sibling for our kids to play with. I really hope that they all have such a fun life together. I am sure they will learn lots from each other and I just hope that they are truly happy in life. I don't mind what they do when they grow up, as long as they are happy and feel fulfilled. I really pray that Wes and I will be good parents to them.
Mika, we are so very blessed and truly grateful to God that we have you in our life! We look forward to sharing so many beautiful memories with you! You are so loved and you will continue to melt our hearts day after day!
To read about the benefits of delayed cord clamping (meaning NOT cutting the cord as soon as baby comes out), take a look at the following website that my friend Kate created:
http://cord-clamping.com/
Also, here is another real helpful link on delayed cord clamping:
http://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/cord-clamping-delaying-cord-clamping
And, 2 great Facebook pages on this issue are:
http://www.facebook.com/delayedcordclamping
This next one is a Facebook page and was started by my friend Kate. I am co-admin on the page:
http://www.facebook.com/CordClamping