Babylune

Expert Mummy Interview Part 2

by kate baggott on March 20th, 2006

How do you handle five kids and take care of yourself?

Helen, mother of five, is truly an expert mother. In yesterday’s post, we discussed how she managed to take care of herself after giving birth to number 5 with 4 other kids in the house. Today in part 2 we talk about how women can prepare themselves for any kind of birth and the recovery afterward.

Babylune: What kind of birth experiences have you had? Were all five born the same way?   

Helen: With the first baby, I was only 19 years old. Did not have a clue  about childbirth or what was to come. The birth was a normal delivery with no problems. I had a few stitches to recover from and that was  scary as I was afraid to go to the toilet afterwards. But I figured it all out in the end. I enjoyed the end part of the labour and laughed quite a bit in between the pushes. It was a good experience.  Only managed to breastfeed for three weeks however as I developed a small infection in my breast. That was painful and scary.

Number 2’s childbirth was a normal delivery as well. The labour was about five hours less than the first but I tore really badly in all directions and it took my delicate areas about two years to recover from that. Breastfed for six months which was a pleasure.

Number 3, I was induced as I had a split in my pelvic bones. The idea was to give birth in the normal way before the baby became too big. So at 38 weeks, I went in to the hospital. Nothing happened for the first three attempts of the induction. Then suddenly after the forth and final induction attempt, I was asked to sit in the waiting room of the hospital as workmen needed access to the room that I was using and someone would set up a pool for me as well to be filled when labour was progressing. Just before moving into the waiting room, my midwife broke my waters as I was 2.5cm dilated. I lasted about ten minutes in the waiting room and number 3 was born in one of the pink 
leather arm chairs which two men had tilted backwards so a nurse could have a look what was happening to me. As they tipped the chair back, the baby came flying out. The head was already crowning. It was all so quick. I breastfed for 19 months following that happy birth and recovered very quickly.

Number 4 was an emergency C-Section. My waters broke but 24 hours later still nothing had progressed much and the contractions had stopped. It was supposed to be a home delivery but by that time I agreed to go into the hospital. I was give a drip to speed the labour up which I turned out to be allergic to. My skin felt like it was burning from the inside. It was awful. The baby was in distress and a very quick epidural and c-section followed. I was paralysed following the birth for three days from the waist down. Following that, for six months after I went home, the district nurse had to come visit every day as I had some yellow liquid leaking out of the scar which ran all 
down my legs. I felt quite suicidal with that. It was a dreadful 
experience. The baby cried all the time. Was not breastfed and really did not bond with me until after she was eighteen months old. I had terrible post natal depression which lasted till then.

Number 5’s childbirth although again was an emergency c-section was totally brilliant. I had written a birth plan and taken great steps during the pregnancy to prepare for every eventuality. From about five months pregnant I started to cut back on some of the work I did as I was working pretty much every hour I could from home by then. I instructed a lawyer to receive my mail and deal with anything that I did not need to be bothered with. This went on until at least six months after the birth and was an excellent arrangement. I ate well in preparation for breastfeeding and generally took great care of  myself. During the labour I was determined to have a vbac which I was 
doing really well at until during my pushing the baby out, he was getting pulled back in. After a while of trying, the monitor showed that his heart rate was changing with each push. He was so far down the birth canal the staff were talking about a c section. I agreed and, as I had written a plan, I had a spinal block instead of an  epidural and was not given morphene. Straight after the birth was over, I could sit up and breastfeed. I felt so good. Complete  contrast to number 4. I could walk around within a couple of hours. I breast fed for two years and enjoyed every minute of it.

I think the difference with having number 5 was that I had made plans and cut out everything that was not essential out before the birth. I very quickly could work from home again. Not having to deal with anything that cropped up for a while as the letters were taken care of for me by the legal team at the solicitors was a godsend. I was able to keep a clear head and not get bogged down with anything unnecessary and could focus on myself and my family.
Babylune: How do you balance the pleasures and responsibilities of a large family?
Helen: I love being a mother of five, watching them grow and learn, experiencing new things with them, sharing in the children’s world. There are times when I wish I had more time for myself but sticking to the ten minutes a day at least three times a day really does help. Shopping is made easier with home delivery and the internet. No more dragging the kids and myself around in the rain or cold. That helps a lot.
Babylune: Is your family complete or do you have plans for more children?

Helen: I very much want to have another baby bringing the total up to six. That for me would be very completing.
 

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POSTED IN: Emotional Wellbeing, Nutrition and recipes, The first 6 weeks, Weeks 6 to 12, Women's health