BIRTH/PREGNANCY STORY - FLOYD

I have written about my pregnancy and birth experience for the other two, so I thought I would share with you my third pregnancy/birth story.

How I found out I was pregnant was when I went to the doctors because I was feeling unwell and turned out I had a bug that was going around at that time and I needed antibiotics, while my doctor was writing up my prescription he asked me if I was breastfeeding and I said yes and so he started writing a prescription that was safe to take whilst breastfeeding. He then asked if I was pregnant and I said 'no, well I don't know...' and he asked if I wanted to do a pregnancy test just to be sure and I said yes, and he handed me over a urine sample cup. When I found out I was expecting for the third time, my first reaction wasn't all rainbows and butterflies - I was freaking.OUT! To be honest I wasn't shocked because we weren't exactly being 'safe'. A quick recap of my experience being pregnant with Winston and Evelyn. My pregnancy with Winston - I was a first time mum and didn't know what to be expecting, I did break out (face, body and mainly on my chest for some weird reason) and my hormones were all over the place. Evelyn I didn't feel pregnant at all, apart from feeling constantly exhausted but apart from that I felt pretty good when I was pregnant with her. A lot of people will tell you "every pregnancy is different" in my experiences yes and no - My pregnancy with Evelyn was A LOT different compare to when I was pregnant with Winston and what I mean different is the cravings, hormones and how my skin reacted. My pregnancy with Winston and Floyd was similar, if not the same, same cravings, same hormone and my skin reaction - with the boys I had really bad skin, constant redness around my mouth and nose, and breaking out in pimples and irritation. Just from my hormones and breakouts I knew I was having a boy before I found out. When I was pregnant with Floyd I physically I felt the same as I did with Winston, this time round I was more over being pregnant - I think having three under three speaks for itself, I forgot what it was like not to be pregnant. Mentally I felt different, I was scared, I was freaking the F out!

How am I going to handle three under three?

How am I going to give equal attention to all three?

Evelyn is 18 months and refuses to fall asleep on her own, how am I going to juggle a newborn and two toddlers by myself while my partner is at work?!

So many what ifs were running through my head for 10 months but I kept telling myself everything will be okay and I can handle three under three. I gave birth to Winston at 38 weeks and Evelyn at 37.5 weeks, so I assumed I will be giving birth to Floyd around the same time and at every doctors appointments the doctors would say to me "your labour with your third baby will be half the time of your second labour" or they would smile and tell me not to go too far or I could give birth within two weeks or in 20 minutes. It did my head it, every little movement or 'feeling' I would get I would get so excited and think 'this is it, this is happening' but it was a false alarm. At my 36 weeks hospital appointment I found out Floyd head was 3/5 engaged and the doctor told me I could give birth in two weeks or in 20 minutes, my partner and I got excited and we couldn't wait to meet our little man. At about 38 weeks I started to get really over it, my patience were low and my body (especially my back) ached so much I struggled to walk. When I hit the 40 weeks mark I couldn't help myself but feel disappointed and extremely hormonal, and it didn't help that everyone was telling me 'he will come when he's ready'. 40 weeks and 4 days - at this point I have given up thinking today is the day. On the 29th of June our day was the norm, went to the beach, took the kids to the park and visited my mum. The kids went to sleep at 10:30pm that night, both my partner and I were exhausted from our day and decided to skip Netflix and go to bed. It is now 11pm We laid in bed and talked, we started reminiscing on when my water broke with Evelyn while I was eating Ben & Jerry's on the lounge, and how it just happened. During the conversation I started to get period-like cramps, I have had that during my pregnancy and so I didn't think much of it and moments after getting period-like cramps I felt a POP and it took me a few seconds to realised what just happened, Tom was still going on about how my water broke with Evelyn and when I realised what just happened and said "Tom, Tom, TOM!" and he asked what was wrong and I said to him "I think my water just broke.." It is now 11:15pm - As I stood up there was fluid running down my legs, I quickly went straight to the toilet, I noticed when I wiped there was yellowness - With Winston I had the browny/red mucus plug, with Evelyn my water was cleared and so I started to freak out. My partner calls the hospital, and then called his parents to come over to stay with the kids. At 12am my 'period-like cramps' turned into contractions, it felt like it went 0-100 really quick. I didn't arrive to the hospital until 12:30am, making it now the 30th of June. When we arrived to the hospital the midwife told me because it is my third pregnancy in three years this birth can go really quick, and also Floyd has poo'd and the poo can go into his lungs and so I got rushed to the birthing suite. My water hasn't broke and so the midwife had to break it for me, to be honest it wasn't a painful experience, it was just extremely uncomfortable. I have had gas with my last two and so I got it again with Floyd. I remember looking at the clock, it was 2am and I looked away and thought it has been at least an hour by now and I looked back at the clock and it was 2:03am.. Nothing was happening, and I ended up getting induced and all I could remember was hugging my partner while pushing out Floyd and saying "OH MY GOD I am going to poo!!". All the sudden he was out and thankfully I didn't poo.

At 3:33am Floyd arrived safely, weighing in at 3.9kg and 55cm long. I went home in the early afternoon that day, I don't know why but I just hate hospitals. He is now four weeks old, both his siblings adore him and are so loving towards him. I was a bit worried with how Evelyn would react to her new baby brother, the first couple of days she didn't fully understand and would try to throw toys at him and was being a bit rough towards him but now she is so gentle, understands more that his only little and when she wants to hold him, she would run to the lounge and put the cushion under her arm. Winston is great with Floyd, he is already wanting to share his toys with him and he is constantly asking if he can hold his baby brother Floyd.