Well how exciting is this! Here I am introducing my son Bradley James Nielsen to the world! Bradley was born June 16th 2016 at 16:16… All the six’s I know right!! He weighed 6lb 13oz and was 21 inches long.

I’ve been trying to find the time to put together my birth story, but as you all probably know life gets in the way and other things can be a distraction… So, I will start this off while my little bear sleeps! Here it goes…

Monday 13th June 2016, I was relaxing on my parent’s sofa after a busy weekend at my baby shower. It felt like my baby had been doing somersaults the last few hours and I assumed the pressure in my pelvis was my SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction) I was up and down to the toilet like a yoyo, until I came across ‘The Bloody Show.’ I called my mum and partner at work, they advised to go to the hospital and get it all checked out, as I still had 4/5 weeks till my due date… By the time I got to the hospital, I kept feeling my bump hardening and then going soft again with mild cramping! I soon came to realise these were either Braxton Hicks or real contractions. I was placed in a cubical in the Maternity Day Assessment Triage Unit at Queen Charlottes Hospital. After being attached to a fetal monitor for a few hours the midwife in charge confirmed these were contractions, but said they weren’t consistent enough to be in full swing, so could be the start of me going into labour… In that it was very long indeed.

My partner Chris and I was placed on the Maternity Ward that night, where we got no sleep at all due to a mum next door to us snoring so loud she had the whole ward up! With no sign of the bleeding or contractions coming to an end we were moved to the Labour Ward around Midday after the daily hand over on Tuesday; at this point I made my partner order us some food, as I am so not keen on hospital food! Within an hour of being there I was given a pessary (propess) which kind of looks like a tampon, where it helped start my labour off! My mum and dad came up to give us some company, although my dad wasn’t allowed in my room! Your only allowed two birthing partners in the room at one time, so we went down for a walk to the supermarket and all brought ourselves ice lolly’s. During the night, my contractions became increasingly painful… all that was seeming to help me were hot showers and crunching on Ice! Wednesday morning with little signs of labour coming on, I was given Gas and Air for pain relief and was offered an epidural but I was still able to cope for now. I’d say the pain was at  6 at this point. Unfortunately, my cervix wasn’t dilating I was still only 1-2cm which was very disappointing. I was petrified that I would’ve needed a caesarean, because my mum had 5 caesareans, as she wouldn’t dilate passed 3 cm! everyone thought we had the same problem. My midwife decided to break my waters with a long hook! Oh, so painful but afterwards felt like I had been for a very long wee!! We were shattered but we couldn’t sleep, actually I think my partner had a few naps!  That evening I was placed on a Drip so my midwife Laura could speed up the process of my labour and manage my contractions and God did that happen. All I wanted was a bath, but my room only had a shower! So, I laid on the floor with hot water hitting my back and bump, it really helped!

From my contractions starting on Monday and still being in severe pain by Thursday, the pain became unbearable for me… with a lot of thought I opted for an epidural, this wasn’t in my birthing plan at all! I then had a reaction, my whole body was itching! it felt like I had jumped into a pile of stinging nettles! All I can say is it just wasn’t a good experience from the moment the rod was inserted into my back still to this day causing me problems. We were all so fed up, I’m not the type of woman to just sit still, but I had too… I was tied to so many wires and machines… Blood pressure, the drip in my hand, the epidural in my back, the fetal monitor, It really was a nightmare!! My midwife said she would be back in half hour to check on me, I was hysterical, I was in agony… The epidural wasn’t working! I kept pressing the top up button and nothing was happening, it came to our realisation that baby was laying sideways inside me, which was causing me more pain. It felt like our labour would never end! I wanted to scream. My midwife returned to check on me, and thankfully to my excitement… I was 9 1/2 cms!! She said she would be back in 15 mins to start pushing and deliver our baby, so I made myself comfortable, crunched on some ice, Chris and my mum got their cameras at the ready, set up the video recorder… with most of my siblings on facetime wanting to see our baby born… In came midwife Laura and I finally was 10cm!!

Believe it or not, the pushing was the easy part! The only thing that kept me going was I knew my labour was coming to an end, and getting to see my baby boys face for the first time. However, it’s now Thursday at 16:00 I’ve been up since Monday night, not eating is a killer, I was so weak which made pushing quite a battle. I had my partner one side and my mum another, they were great holding my hands while I squeezed.

I really had to listen to my Midwife, she said “On your next contraction give me a big push until I tell you to stop” So I pushed, I didn’t scream I wanted to save my breath! Laura repeated “now breath in, breath out and on your next contraction push for me ,I can see your baby’s head! Do you want to feel it?” My partner and I felt his head and said “eww”, I was nervous! His head was so soft and gooey! Finally, Laura said “now your next contraction, give me a strong push Elle!” I did and at last our baby boy was here!!

It’s the strangest feeling in the world, it was like I had done a massive Poo! My whole body just emptied, my bump went from a hard watermelon to soft jelly in minutes! My midwife placed my baby on my chest straight away, while my partner cut his cord. I was crying as well as my partner, my mum and my sisters on facetime!! It was just so surreal; it still is to be honest! My baby wasn’t crying he was so peaceful, he was so tiny and had lots of vernix on his skin! Laura took him away to clean him, measure him, weigh him, give him his injection and he also needed a little oxygen to help clear his airways, at that point we heard him cry for the first time! I just couldn’t wait to get him back to treasure my little miracle that my partner and I had created.

I got him back and immediately he went for the breast straight away! He was just in time for dinner!  Then my partner held his son for the first time, my mum was next in line  and wanted a hold but knew she could wait ha-ha! We were all just crying with excitement,  tears of joy. Family soon arrived with Chris’s mum, partner and sister who peered around the door for a hold… They left, My mum stayed finally getting the chance to hold her ninth grandchild. Sisters Kim and Claire followed not long after, after getting to see their new nephew in reality rather than on FaceTime. #BreakingTheInternet

I sorted myself out a little, with clean knickers, brushed my hair back and got clean bedding. I got to dress my newborn for the first time, Chris put his first nappy on and I put him in a nice cotton white baby grow, my dad made his appearance after a long day at work, he was overwhelmed his baby girl has her own baby! It was really hard entertaining anyone, being so exhausted. Everyone left, all three of us had cuddles lying in bed just staring at our baby, taking in what just happened. It felt like we were waiting forever to meet him and that moment finally arrived at 16:16 on the 16^th June 2016. Looking back now, getting pregnant, my pregnancy, labour – it’s all happened so fast!

Bradley completes us, I can’t imagine life without him! I am still adjusting to motherhood and breastfeeding. It’s such an incredible experience and getting to be with him all the time is just so special. He is mine and there is no better feeling in the world. Now labour and the pain is over and I see what my body is capable of, I would do it 100 times over. The pain is nothing in comparison to what you get out of it.

Welcome to the world our little Gummy Bear X