If there were no corona crisis at the moment, then I would write about our trip to Tenerife but instead of that, I am writing about the so called most painful (physically) experience in the world - giving a birth! 💓 Before going into the story I must say that I was prepared for worse and at least for me giving a birth did not seem like the most painful thing in the world. 2 weeks with a newborn and figuring out the breast feeding was much harder. 😀
 |
| 1 month |
TIME BETWEEN DUE DATE AND LABOR
As I might have already written, baby arrived 12 days past my original due date. I did not really think that you can be preganant that long. For one week past due date seemed quite ok with a first child but all the following days following I started to think that my baby enjoys too much being in my belly so he does not want to come out at all. I did not have any pain and complications and I still slept good. I visited the midwife 7 days past for a check and then 9 days past they called from hospital to check on me and then 11 days past they invited to the check up in the hospital.
I think in some countries the baby would have been induced long before. In Denmark if things are well then they do not do it before 14 days over and then it is recommendation, so youcan basically sit and wait as long as you want but need to go to hospital basically every day for a check up.
 |
| With a granny in the hospital |
So on day 11 I went to hospital and they put a monitor around my belly to check if baby is doing ok and if I have constructions. Apparanetly I did have constructions even though I did not really feel them. That was good since my cervic was almost gone and it showed that some action is going on and the baby is still thinking of coming out soon. ✌ Midwife did the memrane swipe that should a bit boost the start of labor. It was a bit uncomfortable and I got some more pain in my belly but it was gone by the evening.
THE GIVING A BIRTH DAY
So on Tuesday morning, 12 days after my due date my water broke. It was around 7 in the morning and I wanted to go to the toilet and then I stood up and basically half peed in my pants since I was hurrying to the toilet. Now thinking back, I Googled so many times about how do you know that your water has broken, but it is true, you really cannot miss it. Definitely more than just a drop of pee in your pants and it comes like a throwing water out of you with a cup - so lot of water at the same time. And with the waters it is again important to look the color and smell. I was not really sure if it was ok, so I asked a midwife in the hospital.
 |
| 1 week old with granny |
After the water broke I started getting some small contractions, nothing much since I was still able to text my friends and check the phone. During the contractions I just laid in a child´s pose on a couch and moved the hips. This is a good time to try different poses to see what do you like the most during the pain since the contractions are not so intense yet.
WATER BROKE FREE
After the water broke I called the hospital, and they asked to call back in 3 hours, so I did that and they invited me to the hospital for a check. So we took all our staff and jumped in the taxi. In the hospital they again put a monitor around my belly to check the baby, everything was fine, I had dialated I think around 1-2 cm so everything was just at the beginning. Nurse asked if we want to wait until next morning if I will go to labor myself or get some drugs to get the labor going. I did not have much preference but we asked for drugs since I had been so long past due date so I thought it would be good to just get done with it. Anyways then no midwife was available and the nurse just recommended to go back home. So we took our hospital bag and babies car seat and took taxi back home. Together for all the back and forth taxi rides we paid 1000 DKK (125 EUR). 😆
 |
| 1 month with a cake |
THE CONTRACTIONS
So back home I was hungry, Kevin went to Netto and bought me donat and croissant - these were the last food I ate before the labor. I started watching Lord of the Rings first movie since I thought it is a good long move for the distraction. When Gandalf had fallen into the red devils gave, then I already had so strong contractions that I did not follow the movie any more. It is so difficult to tell if the contractions are the real once if you have not gave birth before. I had an idea that if I can still live through them then they are not strong enough. We were also measuring the time between contractions with an app, but it is so confusing to get the accurate picture since you are so in pain and may not press the button right time. Anyways we called the hospital twice, first time they said to wait more and second time they said you can come if you do not feel comfortable at home.
I was a bit afraid that they will send us back home so I tried to survive longer at home, but then I started feeling sweaty during the contractions (like in movies they but a wet cloth on the forehead) and they got very painful. And of course the taxi got stuck in the traffic jam in the high way. Thank god that the taxi driver had himself 3 children, so it was not so weird that I made some noises in the back seat. I sat knees on the chair and face towards back of the car. I had also water bottle with me but I left that in the taxi. My favourite pose through the contractions was to stand on my feet and lean on the wall and move my hips. Kevin also pressed on my hips and that helped. Being on my legs gave me more sense of control too and since I had biked and done squats during my pregnancy so I guess my legs were quite strong too. Overall during the labor I did not lay in a bed at all (so movies again are not always like reality).
At the end of the taxi ride I also started to feel the desire to push and this is the sign that the labor is quite active already. With the push feeling came the desire to scream to. 😅 I think the screaming is a body´s way of dealing with the pain, so actually you can also not scream. Later they told me that because screaming takes energy, I mean I had plenty of it. I did not think that I screamed a lot but after the birth my throat was sour. 😀
In Hvidovre Hospital the birth ward is about 500m from the entrance so quite a way to go. And
again I did not want to sit in a wheelchair so I just walked myself and leaned on the wall during the contractions. Between contractions I tried to walks fast so I will make best out of the time. When I arrived to maternity ward then the guided us directly to the labor room. Fan fact is that it was just opened 10 minutes before our arrival so we were first family to give birth there. I did not want to lay down so the midwife checked that I was almost fully dialated and about 1,5h later I gave birth. Last half an hour I was in the bath and it was so nice and good temperature for me. It really helped with a pain. Between contractions it is not that painful so that is the motivation to live through the contractions. In the end I just wanted it to be done so I did my maximum to push the baby out, I would describe it as making a split but different part of your body is stretched out. 😂
Overall the labor went super fast and I did not have time to ask any painkillers. I was at home between the hospital visits only 3 hours, but I think it was still a good idea to come home since I think in a home environment the body is more relaxed and so the dilation goes faster.
AFTER THE BIRTH
I already mentioned that the room where I gave birth was all new and did not feel like hospital at all. I got to enjoy it after the birth since before my eyes were closed, it helped to focus on the "job" 😉. The bath had lights in the water, forest with moving animals was projected on the wall, birth song game from the speakers and lamps imitated the candle lights. We also got some tea and toast. I also got some small stitches but nothing serious. It is good to give birth in a bath since all the birth swet will come of and you are nice and fresh when you come out with a baby in your hands. Baby is also clean. I did not notice that the bath water got dirty. Kevin only told me that when I stood up, then some blood started to drop in the water. Then the placenta also game out some time after. I actually did not really see it since I forgot my classes home 😃.
 |
| Birth room |
 |
| Chubby baby 💚 |
 |
| We did not really put close on before we got home |
Baby was big, 3920g and 52 cm. In the morning during the check the nurse told that the baby is about 3400g, my belly was not that big either so it was a bit surprise. I think he had collected a lot of food and also amino fluid into him since during first day he just shit and piuked the water out. In the labor room we were about 2-3 hours and then we got the family room. In that hospital everybody get the family room, so tax money well spent. There is also your own bathroom and you can just take what you need from the corridor (diapers, new clothes, sheets). There is also common kitchen with some free snacks like joghurt and muesli. For ordering food you need to call before certain time and place the order and the food was amazing. I should have ordered more food. 😀 My favourite was salmon lasange and berry cheese cake. Kevin had to only pay for his food but it was not that expencive, everything else was free.
 |
| Menu, also in English |
 |
| Food! You picked it up from the corridor. |
 |
| Family room - Kevin slept on a couch 😄 |
When going home from the hospital I also got small stock with survival after birth "underwear" with me since if I would not have taken them the cleaning lady would have thrown them away and it was a huge help during first 2 weeks when the "entrance" was still "under constraction". Sitting was fine but to get up to sit was a bit funny since the stomach muscles were still "on holiday". Now I can say that my body feels like it has never gave a birth. 😊
 |
| Favorite place in the baby carrier |
We stayed in the hospital from Tuesday evening until Saturday morning. We had to stay a bit longer since Nolan lost a bit too much of his birth weight. I did not mind staying there since all the help was close by, we just had to ring the bell and the midwife came. We got a lot of good tips and help when baby was crying and we did not know what to do, so it was heaven for new parents. I was also struggling with breast feeding, milk was not running that fast yet and baby was inpatient. He was basically 2 weeks old already and wanted more food than normal newborns. So I also started to pump out to keep milk production and we feeded him with a syringe for the first 1,5 weeks and then I just figured out this art of breast feeding. The nurse who came to visit after 1 week of birth also helped.
 |
| Coming home from the hospital 😂 |
FIRST 4 WEEKS
The hardest thing was to get used with the new schedule where I basically had to wake up every 3 hours at night. Thank god that Kevin was on a diaper duty so I basically did not change any diapers for first 4 weeks. My belly got back to normal surprisingly fast, I also wore the belt around it and I guess it helped a bit, also breastfeeding helps the uterus to shrink back to normal and it is a bit painful. On a first day I took painkillers for that. It was not as painful as labor though. My mom was also visiting us doring the first week and it was a huge help. It is funny to look back and see that Nolan liked to sleep in our lap and now he will not stand still there anymore. 😀 Luckily this almost 2 extra weeks in the belly made him quite strong so he has not had much issues with gas pain so far and overall he does not cry much.
 |
| 1 week |
 |
| 1 week with a panda 🙏 |
I would say in total the labor lasted 10 hourse (from the time water broke around 7am until baby was born 17:47). But I would say the painful part was the last 3 hours.
 |
| From 1 week to 4 weeks 💙 |
People describe the birth experience quite amazingly in social media. I do not think that I felt in that exact moment that "my life is complete now", "I discovered the place in my heart that had never been there before" etc. So for me it has been journey and the more time I spend with my baby the bigger the love grows. Especially now when he has started to smile more. 😍 So I believe it is ok to feel a bit unsecure doring first weeks and months, especially when having a first child. Physically I may have been born to be a parent/mom, but mentally the journey still continues. 😎
 |
| 2 weeks during Xmas 💗 |
Comments