My own birth story...Elsie Mai
- Emily McElarney
- Jun 22, 2015
- 3 min read
Well I was updating my birth story page there and I thought - be nice if I added my own so here goes!
The McElarney clan were on high alert all over Christmas awaiting the birth of our third baby. Unlike my previous 2 pregnancies I knew the gender of this baby (ultrasound midwife could not wait to tell me!!). Daddy, the boys and I were very excited to be welcoming a baby girl. Mr McElarney was sceduled to work nights all over the festive period...even Christmas Day. Baby McElarney was due on the 26th and anyone who was doing classes in the run up to that will know I foolishly thought she might come early.
Christmas came and went. No baby. Our wedding anniversary was New Years Eve and everyone told me that was going to be the night. Daddy was working. I had a plan in place. No baby! On New Years Day I was fed up to say the least, so, despite torrents of rain I dragged all the family out for a walk in Malahide. We got absolutely drenched. The kids were crying, the rain was lashing, the wind was howling so I admited defeat and we ducked into the lovely Gourmet Food Parlour in Malahide and spend a few hours there drying out and eating! When we got home I was feeling wrecked so I headed up to bed for a nap.
Now I had been having pretty convincing pre-labour warm ups all over Christmas and the ones I experienced that day were no different. When I woke from the nap I was feeling a bit queesy which is unlike me and I was thinking 'I really hope I'm not coming down with a bug now'. I got up, the boys were having tea but I didn't feel like eating (also unlike me) and after tea we did the usual bedtime routine, tucked the boys up and said, as I had every night in the past week, 'now you know if mummy isn't here when you wake up it means your baby sister is coming!'. That night was Mr McElarney's first night off over Christmas so I was looking forward to vegging in front of the telly with him. The pre-labour warm ups were getting a little stronger though. I was sitting on my ball thinking could this actually be happening at last? Then I told myself not to be getting my hopes up and driving myself mad! At around 9pm himself turns to me and says "have we got a plan for tonight? You're looking kinda 'labourish'." We made a plan but I was not at all convinced I was in labour.
By midnight the surges were regular and stronger and we decided to head in to the hospital just in case. Sonny, my second baby, came out very fast and I had been warned if I suspected I was in labour, not to hang around. On the way to the Rotunda I knew I was in business for real and I was so excited to meet my baby girl! I was examined on arrival and was 4cm (yay) so the midwife said "you're ok to walk up to the labour ward?" "Ah yeah" says I, and walked up the stairs chatting away. I got in the door of the labour ward at 1.57am. The midwife introduced herself and suggested I change into a nightdress. As I was doing so my waters went like a sunami across the floor and Baby Elsie Mai McElarney was in my arms at 2.18am!
It was such an intense, amazing, powerful, awsome (in the true sense of the word!) birth. No time for massage, affirmations, ball...nothing! Glad I didn't hang around debating whether to go in to hospital much longer. I was home around 10am the next day and the boys were just delighted to see mummy and baby Elsie Mai.
コメント