Today is Wriggly’s due date. As everyone knows, it is rare for babies to be born on their due date, and none of my babies were. In fact, they were all late. Crevette came two days after the date I had been given as a guide, Beanie five and Jumpy nine.
You can imagine my surprise when I started getting strong, regular contractions all night on Sunday. As my last labour had lasted days, I did not wake Hubby up and just focused on my breathing, the mantra from my hypnotherapy tracks and visualisations my friend Adeline had suggested a couple of days before. I was in pain but I felt I was coping pretty well, considering I would probably be giving birth a day or two later.
At 5.30 a.m. on Monday morning, hubby and I heard a popping sound, to realise that my waters had broken in bed. That was a first! With our three other children, the waters broke as I started pushing and in two cases, mere minutes before I gave birth. We were a bit stunned I have to say and neither of us really knew what to do.
Hubby went with his initial plan. He spoke to his dad and asked him to pack and drive up from Devon. He then called Cé, got her to pack bag and toddler to come and look after our three children. He then warned the hospital we would be there soon.
After he had spoken to Cé, things started happening quicker than ever before. I was in a lot of pain and quite reluctant to leave the toilet. I went in the bath at around 7 a.m. to try and slow labour down, but I soon felt the urge to push.
Hubby, who knows I like to be left alone with the pain, did not bother me too much and stayed downstairs with the children. As I knew I was not going anywhere, I made that mad decision I was going to deliver Wriggly on my own in the bath. I kept talking to her and telling her it would all be fine. Luckily, hubby sent Cé up (much to my annoyance at the time) and she ran downstairs telling him to call for an ambulance straight away.
The bath was slippery and nothing like a birthing pool. It was not wide or deep enough and what I was trying to do was probably dangerous so with hindsight, I am glad the paramedics arrived, even though at the time, I was irritated by their sheer presence, constant chatter and silly questions. If I remember well, I cried when they told me I could not stay in the bath. I insisted I did not think I could give birth out of water… They were really patient with me.
A couple of midwives arrived, with strict orders to close all windows, put the heating on and get towels warm for the baby (I thought they only did that on TV!). I leaned on the bath and looked longingly at the water whist listening to hubby’s encouraging words and the midwives’ advice. Ten minutes later, Wriggly was born, a healthy 3.4 kg little girl, bringing joy to our family one day early.
We stayed at home; the children were over the moon to meet their little sister. We had tea in our own cups, lovely toast and jam and I spent the morning chatting with Cé before beau-papa (hubby’s dad) arrived for more cups of tea and chats. Holding a newborn baby has such a calming effect… No more panic in this house, just peace and happiness.
Oh, so emotional over here – newborn babies are magic. Many, many congratulations to you and your family, Mel. (Also congratulations for managing to post this post!). Your birth sounds perfect (at home). Enjoy all of the cuddles and tininess xxx
Thanks Fiona. She is such a doll…
Wow Mel that is fab and scary and mental and so you! You practically free birthed! So happy for your homebirth,very brave.I am now pertified 🙂
Your turn to start with the hypnotherapy tracks! I am sure you will not be as daft as us and have a plan for the girls to be with someone whilst you rush into hospital! In the end, it was rather nice staying at home actually as we didn’t have to wait for 6 hours at the birth centre. No idea what was going through my head as I decided to give birth all on my own. Madness! x
We don’t have a clear plan, but I scared Marc with your story so we will have to come up with something lol! Congrats again girly xx
Your mum doesn’t live that far, does she? You’ll be fine 🙂
waouhhhhh comme dans les films!!!!!! je crois que tu es prête pour un 5ème!!!!!! et tu n’es même pas aller à l’hôpital ça peut être dangereux quand même pour le placenta et tout et tout, tu es incroyable!!!!!!!!! sacrée Mel et Wriggly, trop pressée cette petite pupuce!!!!! xxxx
Tu me fais rire, toi! Quatre, c’est pas mal, non? Contente de t’avoir parlé ce matin. xxx
Congratulations Mel!!! And OMG!!!! Amazing story! Sending love to you and your beautiful family xxx
Thanks Danielle, that’s definitely a story for her 18th birthday! x
Congratulations , we are so happy for you and glad it all went well. Hope the present we sent today fits the little lady. Big hugsxx Jeany
Jeany, I love it! I have been looking for cute clothes in grey or light yellow and struggled to find anything I liked. Had I seen it in a shop, I would have chosen it straight away. It is gorgeous. Merci beaucoup. xx
Hi Mel. See! You can give birth out of water 😉
Congratulations to you all. Much Love Emma xx
Thanks Emma. Well, I was looking at the water… Not the same as being in it though. x
Congratulations! How lovely to have such a quick labour and at home too x
Thanks Alex!
congratulations! that’s an amazing story!!! well done you! Thomas was also born a day early and at home too!! I tried to stay in my birth pool we had hired, but I just had the urge to stand up so technically he wasn’t born in water haha! Many congratulations, I can’t believe you are so dedicated to write the birth story already…I was out for days after Thomas came into the world! please tell me giving birth gets easier the more you have?!
My second was by far the one I found the easiest. Oh I just used parts of what I will keep in my diary for the post. I did not write it just for the sake of it. I am sure she will love reading about it when she is older. x
That’s such a good idea! I wish I’d written it all down sooner as I forgot things so quickly. I couldn’t remember what time Thomas was born the other day! Congratulations again, hope you are putting your feet up and are feeling well xxxx
Definitely putting my feet up and enjoying those first few days with Wriggly. She is gorgeous… x
Hi Mel, many congratulations. I’ve been wondering when it would be. So pleased to hear you and Wriggly are alright. Sounds like you were really brave. Best wishes to you and your family. xx
Thanks Julie. At no point did I think it would be this early or that quick! x
Félicitations Mél et félicitations au papa également.
Ce fut un bel accouchement surprise.
Bienvenue à ta puce dans sa grande famille, plein de bonheur et de jours heureux pour vous. Bisous à tous.
Merci Cindy, on est vraiment sur un petit nuage depuis hier matin!
Oh Mel, so many congratulations! What an amazing story, not quite as planned but wonderful that she’s here safe and sound with you. Hope you’re all doing well xx
Thanks Sarah. It will be a great anecdote to tell her when she grows up! x
Ah Mel congratulations! Another girl! Sounds like you were really ‘in the zone’ and all that birth planning and bag packing went to waste but how wonderful to be in your own home with your newborn from the word go! X
The bags were in the car so there was no chance I could use anything from there, haha! Apart from the fact we did not leave the house, we kind of stuck to the birth plan (I WAS looking at the water). x
Huge congratulations to all of you! What an amazing surprise. It must have been so lovely to just be home after she was born (even if that wasn’t the plan!) loads of love from me and the boys to all of you x x.
Thanks Kiri. It was great being at home in the end, and that first cuppa after the birth in my own cup… invaluable! x
Congratulations Mel, bless you, you are such an amazing lovely mum. So plea sed she’S here safe and sound. I love your blog by the way and would love to meet up again soon. Congratulations again, you take care, sending you all love and hugs xxxxx
Thanks Lynne! We will have to start our little girly evenings again soon; I miss them! Text me if you fancy doing that. Anytime for me, I will bring Wriggly for cuddles. x
Congratulations! Oh my goodness what an experience, she really was in a hurry wasn’t she! So lovely and what a great birth story! Hope all is well with all of your family, aww what a lovely happy post! Much love to you all xx #sharewithme
Thanks Caroline. It was really unexpected . Happy times!
Congratulations. What an amazing and lovely story! Bset things are oft unplanned. Hope you are having a lovely babymoon.
Thanks Sarah. I am enjoying every minute… such precious moments.
Oh, huge congratulations Mel, that’s so wonderful. Quite a story you’ll have to tell her in later years 🙂 So pleased for you xx
Thanks Sara! Life does not get any better!
Oh WOWWWW! So sorry I am a day late to say this, I am sporadic at best at checking Twitter. Love love love your story. Home births are so lovely, having tea in your own cup and nice bread is so wonderful while you cuddle your gorgeous newborn. Massive congratulations! I am now ultra broody! xxx
Sorry for making you feel broody… you could pop in and sniff her. That newborn baby smell is amazing. I could keep my nose stuck to her head all day! x
Felicitations! Bienvenue a bebe! Mel you are amazing. I am so happy for you all. Congratulations! WOW I can’t believe baby girl is here!!! I am so excited and I may have just cried reading this post in the coffee shop. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat. You are super woman having her on your own. I will be having my next at home for sure as my kids come very fast like yours too! Amazing although you should have called for help just in case silly girl. Glad everything went smoothly. Wow I can’t stop saying it. wow!!! So happy for you and look at you still blogging and linking up you are AMAZING!!! #sharewithme
Merci ma belle! Oooh, you are now talking about your ‘next one’… I thought you were not going for number three. Did you manage to convince Mr P?
Ah congratulations! And what an awesome birth story. I had Arthur at home, and it was wonderful not having to go anywhere afterwards. It was sort of planned, but as he was a couple of days early it still took us by surprise! Hope you and your little girl are doing really well xx
It really was lovely just staying at home, you are right! Hubby would not let me plan anything different than a home birth if we ever decided to have another baby!
A totally brilliant blog post!! Congratulations to you & to all your family xx You’re so very lucky to have a home birth and to be able to enjoy your time snuggling Wriggly with your family around and drinking your own tea, the way you like it, sounds wonderful!! This post made me go all gooey inside again! Much love & well done you xx
Thanks hun! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family and four happy and healthy little ones.
Honey huge Congratulations, you are amazing and I am crying tears of joy reading this touching blog. You sound so like me-I like to be left alone when ill or in pain or have a job in hand, too much so as with my first the midwife didn’t believe I was in labour so soon (an hour) after being induced and they left me too long which led to a crash section. So, so happy for you darling xx
Thanks Vicki. I am glad we stayed in the bathroom in the end. I would probably have ended up giving birth in the living room or in the ambulance otherwise! x
Incredible x
Hugest congrats to you all Mel! How fab that you managed to bypass the NHS in the end 🙂 sounds like you’re doing really well. Looking forward to hearing all about your new member of the family xxxx
Thanks! Now the milk has come in I am really glad I followed your advice and got myself tons of snacks. I am so hungry! Really enjoying my little girl and seeing how much the three ‘big’ ones love her already.
Congratulations! Sounds like it was very surreal and peaceful x
It was indeed! I feel so lucky I have such a gorgeous family. x
That just made me cry. So so happy for you. Congratulations! And how on earth have you already posted this?!?Enjoy, enjoy and enjoy some more! Bisous!
Thanks Sophie. I just posted bits of my diary!
Congrats Mel =)
Thanks Merlinda!
Was good to ‘meet’ you on twitter last night. Big, big congrats on your latest arrival. Glad to hear you are both doing well.
I am glad Vicki ‘introduced’ us. I have just read your latest post and loved it. Following now! x
aaw, congratulation on you new arrival!!
Thanks!
Congratulations!! Well done on being so brave and trying to do it yourself! I would of been far too scared for that lol! Must have been lovely afterwards though in your own home 🙂 #MBPW
Not brave, foolish! I did love being at home afterwards though.
I’m really moved to read your wonderful birth story, especially having just been to a memorial service for a mummy friend, but it is a good reminder that life always follows, and I hope that you are enjoying your amazing precious early baby days! What an amazing home birth too, very efficient! Félicitations et bienvenue à votre petite ange xxx
Merci! It was completely surreal and it is such an amazing feeling holding my little girl in my arms.
Huge congratulations Mel! And what a wonderful birth story! I bet being at home after was just bliss too 🙂
Hope you are both well and that you’re enjoying these oh so precious early days with your beautiful bundle of joy.
With love and pouts, Katie / Pouting In Heels (@KateLPortman on Twitter!) x
Thanks Katie. It was really odd giving birth at home, but I have to say being in my own living room chatting with my friend whilst cuddling baby an hour later was bliss…
Congratulations and well done! What an amazing story #magicmoments
Thanks Zena!
Congrats!!! That’s so neat (to have a home birth!) and this truly is a magical moment!!! Found you via Magic Moments!
Thanks Madaline
Congratulations! Both mine were home births and they were perfect #magicmoments.
Welcome to the world little wriggly!
This really was a magic moment, thanks!
A lovely calm story, has actually given me shivers!! Glad your little one arrived safely and all is well, bet you loved staying at home afterwards #sharewithme
It was bliss being at home afterwards even though staying at home to give birth was not what we had planned.
Congratulations, Mel!! I was away last week so this totally passed me by! Hope you’re all doing well x
Thanks Jocelyn. All fine. Wriggly is a little bundle of gorgeousness! x
Oh wow – huge congratulations! I’d missed this post so have now subscribed via email 🙂 What an amazing experience. I’m so pleased it all turned out OK for you and she arrived safe and well. Births have a habit of going off plan don’t they?! xx
Thanks Karen! Giving birth is something you cannot really plan or control and this labour really took me by surprise I have to say. My little lady was in quite a hurry to meet us all and not keen on a hospital visit it seems. x
Félicitations – I didn’t know you were pregnant and this is just such a wonderful story to read. Welcome to this mad world Wriggly! You certainly know how to make an entrance!!
Thanks Rosie! She certainly surprised us. I cannot believe she is 10 days old already. Time flies!
Tell me about it – I am busy doing paperwork for my youngest to start collège in September. Hoe did that happen?
Oh la la, I am going to try to slow down a bit more to make sure I enjoy their early years. Time goes too quickly when you are a grown-up!
Wow!!!! How did I miss this?! HUGE congratulations and what a story! It must have been such a surprise but didn’t you cope well with it all? I am in awe of you and so happy for you all x x x
She is only 5 weeks old but it feels like a lifetime ago I gave birth to my little girl. It seems like she has always been in our lives. That is a nice feeling. x
What a wonderful birth story – you obviously had complete trust in your body’s ability to give birth although I am glad that the midwives arrived before Wriggly did! How lovely to have had her at home x
Thanks Louise. I am not sure I trusted my body that much; I think it was the adrenaline having an effect on me. I was so relieved when the midwife arrived!