A Trip to the Cranial Osteopath

Last week I was chatting to my physio about Bobby's abdominal pains. It's so heartbreaking to see him in pain as he alternates between being scrunched up in a tight ball to going long and rigid, thrashing his legs about.  The whole time he is grunting (or crying) and desperately trying to force wind (or a poo!) out.  And there's nothing we can do to help. So when my physio suggested taking Bobby to see a cranial osteopath to reduce these abdominal pains and help with general discomfort and distress I was intrigued.

Hands up if you want to go and give this a go

I did a bit of research on it before we went (it's amazing what your bleary eyes can take in at 3, 4 and 5am in the morning!). So it turns out that many midwives and health visitors are now recommending new mothers to take their babies for an osteopathic check up shortly after the birth to help wih discomfort, headaches, feeding difficulties, sinus problems, restlessness, colic or excessive crying and so on.

A penny for your thoughts

So we booked in to go and see Fiona Passey who has a nearby clinic.  Fiona started by asking me questions about Bobby's arrival to find out whether I'd had a good pregnancy and straightforward birth.  She explained that it was important to understand his birth as newborn babies can be subjected to enormous forces when they are born, twisting and turning as they squeeze their way to the outside world.  This can mean a lot of stress and pressure, particularly on the baby's head.  Once she had all the information she needed she began her work.

A picture from Sunday, meeting his cousins George and Issy

Fiona placed Bobby on the bed and held him gently, studying his face and movements.  She was so calm and gentle and Bobby was so perfectly still that I wondered if she was in fact some sort of Baby Whisperer! Bobby slept the whole time, moving only now and again, and clearly felt secure enough to sleep throughout.  Fiona said she could feel tension deep in the base of his skull; most likely to be caused by him getting 'stuck' during the labour.  She gently eased this tension and explained that this could be the cause of his digestive problems as tension here can impinge on a nerve that runs all the way down the spine and is responsible for digestion, winding etc.

Smurftastic!

Before we knew it this gentle form of manipulation was over.  Has it given Bobby a headstart for a healthy happy life? I hope so! Only time will tell! It barely looked like Fiona did anything to the naked eye but I'm keeping everything crossed she managed to release the tension and stresses in his body and head that may have been caused by the birth.

I'm not sure what to expect tonight. I'm hoping Bobby will settle without a fuss or that his crying is less prolonged.  We're booked in for a follow up appointment next week as some babies need more than one session.  Fiona told me that some babies show an improvement straight away, some need a further session and some (dare I say it) get worse before they get better!

I'll keep you posted with out progress!

They Don't Tell You....

There's many things about labour, birth and being a new Mum that they don't tell you! The last 2 and a half weeks since Bobby has arrived have been a complete whirlwind and I wanted to capture some of the thoughts I wasn't expecting.

Firstly, they don't tell you how much blood you'll lose. It's horrific!

They don't tell you how scary your first trip to the loo will be! I thought the whole of my insides were going to fall out!

Day 4 in Hospital

They don't tell you how attached you'll become to your temporary catheter. I was totally working that look as if it was an in-season clutch bag!

They don't tell you how much you'll love your midwives and the team of people who helped deliver your baby. I've written individual thank you cards to all of them - from my own midwife and student midwife to the midwives who were present in our labour, to the midwives who looked after me in the hospital for 4 days post labour, to the nurses and counsellors who have been to see me to help me process and come to terms with the traumatic birth, to the physio who has treated my infected stitches and helped speed up the healing process. Each and everyone of them has played a massive part in this journey and I can't thank them enough. In fact, I did have a little cry yesterday when the midwife discharged me. I'll never forget them!

In the carseat ready to leave the hospital

They don't tell you how hard the lack of sleep is. I don't even know what month it is, never mind what day!

What the future holds

They don't tell you that you'll have days when you're actually really with it and have enough energy to put your face on and paint your nails - and even blog!!

They don't tell you that the feeding, winding, changing, cuddles cycle is literally a constant conveyabelt. No rest for the wicked!

Peekaboo! It's winding time!

They don't tell you how proud you'll be when your son does a massive belch or fart during the winding process. Good Boy Bobby!

They don't tell you that your boobs go as hard as bricks and you're literally crying at them to stop leaking.

They don't tell you that you'll have a new found love and respect for your own Mum! 

They don't tell you how intolerant you'll become of other competitive Mums. If I hear about another baby sleeping through the night I'll punch them in the face (the mum that is, not the baby!).

They don't tell you how amazing it is to see your other half as a Daddy. I didn't think I could love Chris anymore than I already did....but I love him so much my heart might explode.

My Boys

Finally, they don't tell you how much you'll love your son. No job is too much for him, no hour is too late for him, no love compares to the love I feel for him. He is tiny, perfect, wonderful; and I just can't believe he's ours.

This is what love is....

So, what else have we been up to in our first 2 weeks at home? Well we've had 5 million visits from health profesisonals, midwives and also our own friends and family. We've been for tea at Granny and Grandads, had days with Nanny Neen, had our first pub visit to the Brinton Arms, our first walk in Wyre Forest, our first trip to the Bridgnorth Garden Walks, our first meet up with the NCT girls in Bewdley, we've registered his birth and got his official birth certificate, oh....and we've enjoyed many sleepeless nights whilst Bobby continues to think that night is daytime and vice versa! Still, I wouldn't change him for the world.

Our first solo outing to Bewdley.

He's changing all the time. I wonder what the next few weeks will bring....

Making An Entrance

Before becoming a Mum I read many birth stories.  I often wondered why women wanted to share every last detail of their labour but now, having been through it myself, it's both an amazing, wonderful and horrifyingly painful experience that is so unique to you and your baby that you can't help but recount it time and time again.  Everyone has their own birth story and I was hoping that ours would involve me coughing and Bobby falling out!  I'd done the hypnobirth CD and had the pregnancy yoga mantras ready and I was looking forward to a positive experience!

My bump at 36 weeks - ready to pop!

Unfortunately things don't always pan out quite as you hope! The minute we were told on Thursday 25th June (exactly 39 weeks) that we were going to be induced due to reduced fetal movements I thought the labour may be more painful than anticipated! The induction started with a membrane sweep at 11am, followed by being sent home to get our hospital bag and return later on that day for the rest of the induction process. Going home after that sweep was really surreal and killing a bit of time at home was also wierd.  I pottered around the house and then did what any normal person about to be induced would do - watched One Born Every Minute!

This is a load of rubbish and I want a refund on my dvd haha!

We ended up going back to the hospital before our alloted time becuase I was in so much pain and hadn't stopped bleeding. Upon our return to hospital I was 2cm dilated and they did a second sweep (just as painful) before explaining the rest of the induction process.  I was excited about the prospect of meeting our little boy but the fear, that I hadn't really expected, soon kicked in.  We were greeted by two midwives Jeanette and Caroline (who were so lovely) who got me ready and before I knew it things were underway! They broke my waters whilst I tried to put all the positive mantras from my pregnancy yoga into action.  "You are in tune with your body" and "I am breathing my baby out" just didn't quite cut it!!  Jeanette knelt by my side for 3 hours trying to hold the monitoring belt on me whilst I bounced up and down on the birthing ball but then they became very concerned about our baby's heartbeat which was elevating to 190 at times.  Unfortunately my hope for an active labour then went out the window as I was asked to get on my back in the bed to try to lower Bobby's heartbeat.

So on my back in the bed, things didn't really seem to be progressing.  Our baby was back to back which meant the pain was horrific and I was chomping on the gas and air like there was no tomorrow, only pausing to throw up over myself (this literally happened 20 times - it was disgusting!) Stuck at 4cm dilated I asked for some pethidine and it wasn't long before I was begging for an epidural (something on my birth plan I had said I would avoid like the plague!). Jeanette and Caroline were present for the epidural but then were soon coming to the end of their 12 hour shift and saying their goodbyes (at which point I was still only 5cm!)

Anytime today Bobby!!

Our labour was then taken over my an equally lovely midwife called Kat and a student midwife Louise - who has been with me throughout the whole of my pregnancy. I was so happy to see her I burst out crying! Between them Kat and Louise were just amazing. The support and encouragement they gave me was fab. Unfortunately I seemed to be stuck at 5cm and twice there was the threat of going to theatre for a C-Section as our baby didn't seem to want to budge.  There was a constant trade off between ramping up the hormone drip to speed the labour up Vs keeping our baby's heart-rate stable as the more they upped the drip, the more distressed he seemed to be.....not mentioning the more pain I was in! It was a race against the clock to see if I could get to 8cm in 4 hours otherwise it would be a trip to theatre.

Our gorgeous little man - he doesn't rush for anyone!

So, going back to that epidural. Ah...yes! The one that failed to work!!! It basically didnt cover a panel on my left hand side which meant all my pain was focussed and channelled to this one area.  The team of staff lay me on my left hand-side hoping the epidural would work it's way over and alleviate the pain.... no such luck!!! OMG the pain was so bad I actually asked one of the midwives to put me down! They ramped the pain-relief up leaving me in a completely comatized state! There was also a thought that came ito my mind that I wasn't going to make it and I remember saying to Chris to just make sure Bobby was OK.

One of our first photos of Bobby -  a little bruised from the forceps but absolutely gorgeous!

Finally they took the epidural out and started again. The second epidural was much more effective and for the first time in over 24 hours I could cope with the pain. I was terrified the labour was not progressing and we were now on intravenous antibiotics because it had been so long since my waters had broken.  I was so relieved when Kat eventually told me that I was 10cm dilated and could start pushing. I had a new found inner strength and had perked up a lot more than earlier and pushed with all my might. Unfortunately after 90 minutes of pushing there was still no sign of our baby and the monitoring revealed he was once again becoming distressed. I had an allowance of 30 more minutes otherwise it would be a C-Section - the third time they had told us that! I began to cry as I couldn't believe I would have been through all of this for it to then end with a cesarean. I pushed a little harder but there was still no sign of our little guy - possibly because of the position he was in. Then, after 26 hours of being in labour, the last 5 minutes were a complete whirlwind. The doctor came waltzing in, put his hand in to turn the baby's head, did an episiotomy, clamped the forceps on his head and tugged and pulled like there was no tomorrow and before I knew it our beautiful baby boy was on my chest.

Percetange of first time mums who have an assisted birth

He was absolutley perfect and made quite the entrance. They say good things come to those who wait and although those 26 hours felt like 26 years, I would do it all again for the love and bond I have with my son.  Born on Friday 26th June weighing 7lb 15oz, our beautiful son Bobby Samuel came into our lives and into our hearts. I feel incredibly blessed and lucky and Chris and I are so grateful to all the staff who played their part in helping deliver the best thing that's ever happened to us.  I spent 4 nights in hospital but now that we are finally home our lives can begin together - I wouldn't change it for the world.

Percentage of new mums who stay in hospital for 3 or 4 days

Let the fun begin!