Rory is my eldest son he was born in 2007 when I was 20. I had a textbook pregnancy and what I hoped would be a textbook labour, clearly that was not to be! After an incredibly painful 10 hours of back to back labour I had only reached 5cm and that's when things went quickly downhill. At that point I had the urge to push but was told not to as I was only 5cm, let me tell you that is not an easy thing to stop once the urge is there. Minutes later I was told to push even though I was still only 5cm, talk about confuse me whilst I had pethadine in my system! In the moments after the room went from just the midwife in it to about 10 people in there and my legs were up in stirrups, I'm sure I looked rather glamorous! What was actually happening was my cervix was swelling up and when I pushed the babies head was bouncing off it causing his heartbeat to dip and his blood oxygen levels/ph levels to be a cause for concern. There wasn't enough time for a spinal block so I was rushed down to theatre to be knocked out for a c-section leaving my mum and boyfriend not really knowing quite what to do!
Rory was born at 10.50pm but as no one was allowed in the theatre not even my boyfriend Ben saw him when he was born. Mum and Ben went to see him in special care shortly after waiting for me to come out of theatre, Rory wasn't breathing very well when he was born so this is why he was taken down to special care, I eventually saw him at 6.30am the next morning. Unfortunately this wasn't the only time in my life I have had to visit special care which brings me to Jaspers Birth!
The picture I was given after Rory was born 
Jasper is my second born son he was due on the 6th February 2010 but was born on the 7th November 2009 at 27 weeks gestation. With Jasper I didn't go in to labour and the only reason I was sent to hospital was after having a private 4d scan. The scan was carried out as normal but after
it had finished the sonographer mentioned that Jaspers heart has blinkered all through the scan, she
told us that it can happen at the start of as scan but didn't usually happen all the way through, she had also noticed there was fluid around his heart, lungs and in his tummy. At the time she wasn't overly
concerned and was just going to send the findings on to my midwife, however another lady that was there that day was also a midwife and advised we take the scan pictures of what they had found and go straight to be checked out at hospital. Typically I didn't have my notes with me so had to go home and Rory stayed with my mum and dad, the scan appointment was at 10.30am so we must have arrived at hospital around 11.30-12. I was monitored for an hour or so before the consultant came in and said he wasn't happy and he wanted to deliver him.....they didn't know what was wrong with Jasper which made it even more scary, although having said that I was relatively calm maybe that was shock more than anything, I was taken down to be prepped for an emergency csection whilst Ben got in his scrubs. This time I was awake and had to have a spinal block.....scary but not as bad as I had anticipated! Jasper was born at 2.05pm, the section itself was a bit of a blur and as soon as they had lifted my teeny baby out he was whisked off into the other room with the neonatal team. Jasper weighed 2lb 10oz when he was born and spent 10 weeks in special care. We never did find out the cause of the fluid that showed up in the scan.
Jasper is my second born son he was due on the 6th February 2010 but was born on the 7th November 2009 at 27 weeks gestation. With Jasper I didn't go in to labour and the only reason I was sent to hospital was after having a private 4d scan. The scan was carried out as normal but after
it had finished the sonographer mentioned that Jaspers heart has blinkered all through the scan, she
told us that it can happen at the start of as scan but didn't usually happen all the way through, she had also noticed there was fluid around his heart, lungs and in his tummy. At the time she wasn't overly
concerned and was just going to send the findings on to my midwife, however another lady that was there that day was also a midwife and advised we take the scan pictures of what they had found and go straight to be checked out at hospital. Typically I didn't have my notes with me so had to go home and Rory stayed with my mum and dad, the scan appointment was at 10.30am so we must have arrived at hospital around 11.30-12. I was monitored for an hour or so before the consultant came in and said he wasn't happy and he wanted to deliver him.....they didn't know what was wrong with Jasper which made it even more scary, although having said that I was relatively calm maybe that was shock more than anything, I was taken down to be prepped for an emergency csection whilst Ben got in his scrubs. This time I was awake and had to have a spinal block.....scary but not as bad as I had anticipated! Jasper was born at 2.05pm, the section itself was a bit of a blur and as soon as they had lifted my teeny baby out he was whisked off into the other room with the neonatal team. Jasper weighed 2lb 10oz when he was born and spent 10 weeks in special care. We never did find out the cause of the fluid that showed up in the scan.
Jasper at a day old
When I found out I was expecting Flynn I thought I would feel alot more apprehensive and anxious, My pregnancy was fairly straightforward with Flynn although I always measured weeks ahead when I saw the midwife! As I had had two previous c-sections I was booked in for an elective section with Flynn and at 39 weeks exactly I went in to hospital to have him, after having twos babies who I didn't get to see or hold as soon as they were born I really hoped everything would go smoothly
Flynn was born on the 16th March 2012 all 8lb 7oz of Him! I was first to go down for my section out of 4 other ladies there that morning and it was a similar process to when I had Jasper but a little less rushed and calmer atmosphere. The spinal block wasn't any less scary the second time around or maybe it's just the thought that it will stop working mid section! Just For reassurance it didn't but these are the things that go through my mind whilst being prepped! When I was laid down
ready I did start to feel very sick which they did explain may happen but a bit of antisickness sorted
that out. I made Ben fully aware I wanted a picture when they had just lifted Flynn out, the section went well the sensation is one that I don't think I could ever describe, there is obviously no pain but I'm sure I was pulling some very odd faces during it. After Flynn was born he was taken into another room with Ben and the midwife whilst they weighed him Etc and then Ben came back in holding him and showed me not that I could see very well from where I was laid down. I didn't get to hold Flynn till we were taken back round into recovery but at least it wasn't hours later.
Flynn just after he was lifted out during csection
And finally my little Avie-Jennifer, Avie was born on the 8th February this year. I knew that an
elective section would probably be the route avie's birth plan would take and I was ok with that but I wanted to make sure I got as close to a birth I wanted as I could, I wanted to have delayed cord clamping and use a cord tie rather than a clamp, I also wanted to use cloth nappies from birth but
most importantly I really wanted the first hold and skin to skin whilst I was still on the theatre table. To my surprise I was the only csection booked in that day, I was 39 weeks and 2 days I explained the things I would really like to the midwife and she took it all on board. This time Ben was allowed
In whilst I was having the spinal block...it actually made me more nervous! The spinal block it's self took a lot longer this time than my previous sections and it took a second person to do it sucessfully, I did get anxious I would have to be knocked out again.
It was the same surgeon that delivered Flynn that was delivering Avie-Jennifer and as soon as
he lifted her up and out Ben took a photo for me. Everything was nice and calm and the midwife
shouted out to do delayed cord clamping this is obviously not the done thing after a csection but due to not being under a time restraint the surgeon happily obliged, even though he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself as he was just holding Avie above me! After the delayed cord clamping the midwife wrapped Avie up and bought her around to show us, and then I got skin to skin straight away I was so pleased that after 3 sections I finally got my baby in my arms straight away and had skin to
skin, Avie hadn't even been weighed at that point. She remained on me and then we were moved around to the recovery room, in the recovery room I gave her her first feed. Avie was weighed shortly after that and we put the cord tie on ( it had been clamped longer to give room for the cord tie then we took the clamp off) and we put her first cloth nappy on her and got her dressed.
Avie just after being lifted out and having skin to skin
The main reason I wanted to write about my experience of csections is to give a bit of an insight in how different one can be to the next, my first csection was my hardest to recover from and looking back I probably did too much too soon, my last c section I recovered from fairly quickly... But with 4 children I knew there wouldn't be much time to rest!
I often hear from close friends and from reading that csection mummies feel guilt they couldn't give
birth naturally. I've never felt this way myself, but this may be due to the circumstances around my first two deliveries and just wanting my last two babies to arrive in a situation where I felt I was more in control. To all mamas no matter the delivery your bodies grew a tiny human, YOU DID AMAZING!
I would love to hear if you have had a csection before? What was you're experience? How did it make you feel?
Nicola xx
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