Hugo's birth story

So as you probably remember I was due to be induced on the 26th of March, on the night before induction my contractions started! I was so happy, even though they were 20 minutes aparts and not too strong I was delighted my body started on its own and I was hoping to avoid the oxitocine.

So in the morning we went to the hospital where I got checked and the Doc was happy to tell me I was nearly 3cm dilated! They did put something in my v. to help with dilatation and left me and E. to wait.

Immediatly I started feeling the contractions getting closer and stronger, I could only sit on the birth ball while E. was massaging my back.

After an hour I was told I was 4cm and could have an epidural if I wanted. I discussed it with E. coz I knew I could keep going without it but then I also knew my boy had a big head so I decided to go for it!

Ooooohhhh the relief! Amazing. I could't feel a thing. We were napping, listening to music, singing to our little one and chatting to the lovely midwife we had.

It felt so good, so relaxed, E. kept saying that is the best labour one can wish for! only an hour of contractions!!! I kept saying, wait! It's not over yet...As if I knew what was to come!

7 hours later I was fully dilated and ready to push, I could feel pressure and they told me I was doing so well, after an hour of pushing they could see the head and I could definitly feeling the pressure down in my bottom!

But Hugo didn't want to come out, I pushed for a total of 3 hours but he kept going back up.

Then it was madness. Suddenly I had 2 doctors with their hands in me trying to move the baby's head without success, I was so tired and sore. They decided to try the ventouse. They had E. out of the room and there I was pushing with a Doc pushing my belly and another one pulling my baby out. 

At the fourth push the head was out, and then came the body, I was screaming in pain even with the epidural!

They placed Hugo on my chest and I knew he was ok! He was perfect! I was happy. In shock but happy.

They weighed him, 4.300kg, a very big baby, with a big head that decided to come out with his hand on his forehead! that's why it was so hard!

They had to perform an episiotomy and I had some tearing as well. Then the placenta didn't want to come out, another hour of pushing, I felt like fainting, I lost lots of blood and ended up needing a blood transfusion. The first night was hard, I couldn do anything I was in shock and weak.

In the morning I felt better, got my baby and started him on my breast. He made me forget all the pain!

Today, 3 weeks later, I am still recovering. I don't feel like myself but I know time will heal me. Baby Hugo is amazing and we are in love. It was all worth it!!!

He's here!

Baby Hugo Oliver born on the 26th of March 2013 at 6.55 pm after a quiet labour but a very hard delivery. I am recovering and will write his birth story when I will feel better. Little Hugo is doing well, I trying to breastfeed and I am a bit overwhelmed by all of it but my girls are helping.

Thanks for the lovely wishes.

Overdue

Just to let you all know, I am still pregnant! This is all quite frustrating since we are really looking forward to meet this little guy! We are all tired of waiting around and being asked if I gave birth by everybody! I am like Hello can you not see the huge bump?!?

In fairness I am feeling ok, better than in the 1st and 2nd trimester would you believe it? All day sickness really killed me, at least now I can eat whatever I want and enjoy it! I can go for long walks, I am reading a lot (thanks pregnancy insomnia!) and watching movies. And of course I am waiting...and thinking, and I am a bit scared (remember this baby has a big head!) but have a good feeling about giving birth, so trying to be as positive as I can!

So no contractions, no signs of labour whatsoever, I sat on chair today and it broke! Suddenly I was on the floor!!! Maybe that will bring on labour???

Maternity Pictures

I don't know if i mentioned that my lovely wife is also a great photographer so we had to have a preggo photoshoot before this boy comes out, here are some of the pics she took. I really like them!

Quick update

While all the blogmamas I read are having their babies or getting pregnant which by the way it's great, I'm still here, at 36 weeks, tired, anxious and complaining. 

I have to say I can't wait for this baby to be out in the world, being pregnant it's not my thing, I didn't know it before, now I do. I am such an anxious and sometimes weak person to go through all this on my own, because that's how I feel. Until this baby is with me I feel like the only one responsable and that scare the s*** out of me.

Now with the real update, went for my 36w scan, baby is fine, still huge head, off the charts, still with some fluid in one of his kidneys, my poor boy, fluid is now 16mm so they want to see me at 37w and then decide what to do. They might induce me then. 

I have to say I will be happy to be induced at this point, I want to see this baby and make sure he is healthy and if he needs anything the Doctors can look after him in a way I know I cant. They told me they will monitor his kidney once he is out so we will see. The good news is that his other kidney is fine hurray! Plus I have to say that if the head keeps growing it probably won't fit through the birth canal. Scary shit. So here's for a short and painless induced labour and a happy healthy baby boy!

I can't wait to meet him, see what he looks like and start this new adventure together with my beautiful daughter and my amazing wife.

Picking oranges with my daughter. Love Spain.

31 weeks and why am I such an anxious person.

Hi, finally we starting to settle in our new apartment in Spain, we decided to move here for a while for different reasons one of them being the fact that we will be able to register my baby as both mine and Eva, like our daughter. In Ireland this would't be possible.

The move was far from easy and we are still waiting for all our staff to get here from Ireland. With my nesting instinct kicking in this is really hard. But we will get there. We still have two months (I hope ) before this baby arrives.

So I went for a scan last week just to check everything was ok, I am feeling great this days, no more sickness, no tiredness since I stopped working, all seemed really good. Well, it's not. 

The OB saw a pocket of fluid in one of the baby's kidney. Imagine me. I was in shock. She explain it can happen especially with boy and it might go away or if it doesn't we will have to keep him monitored after birth and he will have to take antibiotics and bla bla bla. It's not a bad thing but I am a worrier so. I really hope it will resolve itself.

Then she started measuring and she told me: OMG this baby has a huge had. I thought I could.t breath. I asked what did she mean and she said the DBP measured in the 90 percentile, 4 weeks ahead of the rest of the body. I was scared. She then said we don't know how big was the donor (I just know he was very tall) so he might have got the big head from him.

Anyway she said to go back in 2 weeks and to keep both things monitored. She didn't seem to worried but I work with people with disabilities and I worry a lot. It's my baby and at the anatomy scan I was told everything was ok, I wasn't certainly expecting to be told this.

So I went home and went into a Google craze. I found women with perfectly healthy babies with big heads but other things as well, I didn't sleep for a couple of nights. I was exhausted. Then I decided to try and stop worrying. This is my baby and I have to be positive and just pray that it will be fine, if it's not, I will worry then.

So now I feel so connected to him, I love him even more because I realize how important this little one is for me, for Eva and for Isabella. We are a family and that's the greatest thing that happen to me. I love them so much.

Sunday we went to the beach, it was beautiful. I really hope everything will be ok. Congratulations to all the BFPs and the new arrivals! It makes me so happy to read good news. And to those still waiting I'm sure the time will come! Baby dust to all!