The day finally came, we were having our baby!When I first found out I was pregnant, I didn't expect to be walking into the labour ward on my own, I don't think any pregnant woman wants to do this, sadly this was the current procedure. I enter the hospital alone at first, whilst my husband Scott sat waiting in the car, he was not able to see me until I had been checked over and examined by the nurses, he found this horrendous, watching his heavily pregnant wife who was having quick and severe contractions walking into the hospital by herself at such a venerable time.
Going into the hospital alone was extremely nerve-wracking, the hospital was unexpectedly silent, there was no one around whatsoever (which I suppose is a good thing I guess) Once I got onto the ward, the midwives were so caring and supportive, and after a short time my husband could come up to join us. After a quick labour, our baby was here & it was love at first sight. She was beautiful, definitely a daddy's girl. Luckily everything was ok and within six-hours we were able to go home.
As we were only going to be here a short while, we were one of the lucky ones, my husband could stay with me up until we could go home – For some poor mothers this was not the case and their partners had to leave not long after the birth if the mum and baby were going on to the ward. Again this is heartbreaking for any parent when their newborn requires special care in the first few days & the poor father has to go home, leaving the emotional new mum to cope on her own.
Finally we were home, embracing the newborn bubble. It was just the 4 of us which was nice at the beginning. We now had the opportunity to bond with one another, and our eldest was able to get used to her new little sister becoming part of the family. It was amazing to have that quality time together, and for the first few days, it was nice to not have unwanted/unexpected visitors dropping by, this time it was all about us as a family.
Unfortunately the bubble burst when my husband went back to work after 2 weeks and it really started to kick in. I was alone, just me and the 2 children! No family, no friends and most of all no support. So we quickly had to get in a good routine to suit us all. I wanted to make sure that the little one had regular naps so i could ensure that i made time to play with my 3 year old so she didn't feel left out. Scroll down to see out day to day routine (i'm very lucky... my kids are lazy. Sometimes they don't get up until 9am, giving me a much needed lie in)
At the beginning it was so strange; we barely left the house for the first 3 months of my Daughter’s life as we were so scared of catching something, however, we did go out for the odd walk around our local town. The daily facetimes with my parents were always a boost, especially for my eldest as she loved seeing her nana and grandad, some days we could talk for hours.
Overall the birth of our second child was still a very positive and joyous experience, despite all the restrictions I am thankful & lucky to have had a relatively quick birth, with no complications & i left the hospital with my husband & our beautiful baby girl. I would like to reassure any pregnant ladies reading this that the hospital staff are amazing & remember to breathe .. it will go by before you know it.
Top tips what to take with you during a covid birth:
- Mobile phone & charger,
- tablet with Netflix
- Sweets / snacks
- colouring book/book if you are staying a while
- Snacks for your other half as they won't be able to leave the ward once they're on it
Lockdown Mum coming next Thursday... Our life with a newborn and a 3 year old during a global pandemic.
I would just like to thank the NHS and the fantastic midwives at Scunthorpe General Hospital, and Good luck to all those expectant mothers during this current lockdown, stay safe and always seek help if you need to, there are so many support groups out there (I have linked a couple below) and other pregnant mums out there who are experiencing the same journey.
NCT - https://www.nct.org.uk/
MIND - https://www.mind.org.uk/