Welcoming Wyatt Wilson!
Wyatt is my second born and my third pregnancy. After years of longing for a family, my pregnancies happened in quick succession with Wyatt being born just 15 months after Winnie and Winnie being born just 11 months after our missed miscarriage.
Wyatt’s pregnancy flew in a blur. A mix of a very active baby turning toddler, work and the introduction of Covid into the world meant there was not much time to sit and ponder the wee human growing inside. I certainly had my share of pregnancy symptoms and pains with nausea, vomiting and some severe aversions to dog biscuits and mushrooms in the first trimester, hip displacement and debilitating ligament cramping in the second and my all-time favourite leg cramps and acid reflux in the third. Despite all of these, I LOVE being pregnant. Every minute of every day, every pain and discomfort, every kick and nudge. All reminders that I was carrying a healthy baby. I had longed for it again since the day I gave birth to Winnie.
My dating scan had estimated a due date of September 8th but I went by my midwifes expected due date of September 5th. This meant little Wyatt was able to join in on our surprise flash mob wedding early in the year at just 7 weeks gestation. We didn’t find out Wyatt’s gender as I had promised Ian if we found out Winnies, we wouldn’t the second time around – a promise I definitely regretted during those 40 weeks. I had an inkling from very early on we were having a boy, call it mothers’ intuition. Even though my pregnancies started of similar with the same (weird) aversions, I soon noticed I was carrying a lot different and the kicks definitely seemed a lot more violent.
Due to pre-existing hypertension or high blood pressure, I was induced with Winnie at 39+4. I was favourable for birth when I went in and only required my waters to be broken to put me instantly into labour. 3 hours and 48 minutes later Winnie was born after labouring in the shower and we had her home in time for dinner. After stalking birth stories and binge-watching One Born Every Minute, I had known my birth with Winnie was a ‘good’ one and longed for the same experience with Wyatt. However, I knew each birth could be so different. I presumed an induction was imminent due to my hypertension and happily welcomed it.
My wonderful work had allowed me to go on maternity leave a few weeks earlier from 36 weeks this time around in hopes of keeping my blood pressure under control. Naturally, it crept up in the final couple of weeks and an induction date was set for September 8th which would be 40 weeks exactly based on my dating scan. Under the guidance of my midwife, we decided to push it out as far as possible in hopes that I could go into labour myself.
Thursday, September 3rd. I had my ritual evening shower and noticed my first ever stretch marks on my lower left-hand abdomen. My stomach had sat low all pregnancy but felt extra low at this point. This was the first time my mind registered that I may be having a baby real soon!
Friday, September 4th. I started my day as normal and noticed I was experiencing Braxton hicks from the moment I woke up. This was unusual for me as they were something I usually only felt during my evening dog walks. By mid afternoon I decided to let Ian know they had been consistently inconsistent all day and things might be beginning to happen. That afternoon I decided to go for a walk in hopes it would entice things to start to happen. My lovely friend Jen joined me, if anything to help me if my waters broke mid circuit. We made it through the walk with some intense stomach tightening’s happening for a majority of it. After around 4-5km we made it home and all of a sudden simply stretching or bending movements seemed 10x harder. As the night progressed, I began experiencing sharp pains on my left-hand side. Having experienced contractions before, I knew these weren’t them but maybe it was baby getting into position. These pains had me in the lounge all night going from the bouncy ball to the couch until I was finally able to get some rest in the early hours of the morning.
Saturday September 5th. My due date. By the time morning came around I was beginning to feel tired from the previous night’s activities. Ian was due to head into work but I asked him to stay back as for the first time during my pregnancy, I didn’t think I could keep up with Winnie in my state.
Things certainly died down during the morning and I felt almost disheartened that things hadn’t started as we presumed and also that I had made Ian stay home on a false alarm. I decided to go for another walk hoping it would get things moving again. I made it a 1/3rd or the way through the walk before I messaged Ian an SOS to save me off someone’s driveway. For the first time, a walk had me beat. But I still wasn’t in active labour. Ian picked me up and started driving me home, but my stubborn nature got him to drop me at the end of the road so I could walk the 800m and small hill home – even through the pain. Still no contractions. We spent the rest of the midday/afternoon playing on scooters and our trampoline amusing Winnie.
Come 5pm I noticed some tightening again, this time consistently. By 530 I decided to start timing them and they were around 5 minutes apart, although not painful. I didn’t want to get my hopes up so went about our night routine as normal. By 730 I decided to jump in a bath, the tightenings had increased but were still absolutely bearable.
I had been instructed to come into hospital ‘when you start questioning why you have done this again’ and I certainly wasn’t there yet. By 9pm the contractions had ramped up. We decided to head into the hospital not because I felt it was ‘that time’ but because I didn’t want to do that car ride when contractions got worse and decided I would prefer to labour in hospital from this point. We rung our lovely friend Jen who popped around to mind Winnie, and then rung our midwife who kindly came in on her day off for me. Ian managed to hit every pothole and train track during a contraction on the way there, but we made it safely around 930pm to be greeted by the midwife just moments after.
My midwife Demelza is a fellow kiwi who also helped me deliver Winnie. I had requested her very early on with Wyatt in hopes to have her again. I put down my amazing birthing experiences to her wonderful calming demeanour and expertise. I had gone into the birth with no plan again, hoping for the best. I remember her saying it was clear I was in labour when I arrived and that there was no need to examine me internally and to just let my body labour which in hind sight set the tone for my birth – trusting my body. Demelza and Ian put on a sing along Spotify labouring mix we had found just 20 minutes prior, then diffused some oils I had been recommended and we dimmed the lights. I think we all presumed I was going to head for the shower again, but we decided to get the bath run just in case, although I felt we were still a while off. We had wanted a water birth for Winnie’s however due to the quick progression we were unable to have it. I had mentioned it for this birth but again came into it with a very open mind about being happy with whatever birth experience I am given so long as we are both safe and healthy at the end of it. I was also unsure about what a water birth contributed to the birth experience. I was a bit under the pretence that it was more superficial commodity than an actual birthing tool. How wrong was I!
The moment I stepped into the pool I remember saying it felt like the ‘liquid of gods’. The water was so warm and took the pressure off so many points of my body which at this time were in pain. The pool felt soft and cushioned under my knees and there were perfectly placed handles over the soft side that I could grip and embrace with each contraction.
I opted to try some gas and air which I hadn’t liked for Winnie’s birth. After the first few puffs, there was no way someone was prying this tube out of my hand. I felt like the gas apparatus helped me more than the gas itself in terms of allowing me to bite down on something instead of screaming and losing focus. Ian had a warm hose trickling on my back and the room seemed peaceful. A vast contrast to the brightly lighted, screaming shower birth of Winnie just the previous year.
Debbie our birth photographer arrived. Debbie who owns and runs Tropix Photographer is a great friend who I have gotten to know closely over the past few years. I am a sucker for memory photos and had discussed with her coming into Winnies birth, however as I was unsure how things would go, we opted against it and instead had her photograph Winnie as soon as she was born (and thereon after). However, feeling a bit more confident in the birthing process this time, Debbie again offered to come take some birthing photos. We had discussed it throughout the pregnancy but not set anything in stone. A week or two prior to my due date Debbie messaged just to say she had a camera bag packed just in case we go ahead with it. I messaged Deb just after 9pm to say we were on the way to the hospital and if she would like to come, we would love her there. Remembering we had given her no prior notice that it may be about to happen or even confirming we wanted a photographer until this point. Debbie who was a couple of drinks deep at a friend’s 60th birthday, kindly left the party to be there for us and capture our moment. Debbie arrived just in time to provide me with some much-needed laughs during some painful contractions around 10pm.
With each contraction, Ian applied counter pressure on my hips (a sore point for me due to a prior hip surgery). Having Debbie there taking photos meant Ian could solely focus on helping me.
Each contraction was getting stronger and taking more effort to go through. I enjoyed the break between contractions to rest, something I didn’t get with Winnie. With her birth, I felt like one contraction led into the other, like I was chasing a train but never able to catch it. After around 30 minutes of Deb being there, she said she was going to leave the room to give us some space. I looked up and said ‘I think I need to poo’. As the words left my mouth I knew exactly what this meant this time around – BABY WAS COMING! Demelza informed Deb it was best she stayed if she didn’t want to miss it and a couple of contractions later I felt a massive pop – my waters broke. A feeling I didn’t get with Winnie as they were broken for me. I remember Demelza squatting beside me telling me to focus as it was about to get a bit more intense and a lot quicker from here. At 10.55pm I felt that unmistakable feeling of my body beginning to push. This was one of my biggest surprises with Winnies birth as I always thought you initiated the pushing (as seen on movies) but in fact, I had no control both times. My body wanted and needed to push and there was no way I was going to stop it whether I was mentally ready or not.
I remember the burn and the sting of the ‘ring of fire’. I remember it much more vividly this time around, the naïve bliss throughout Winnies birth no longer existed but I enjoyed the power of knowledge and not being taken aback by any surprises. I remember prep talking myself in my head, the same way I used to when I competed in a swimming or running race. Knowing the end was just there and I need to push through the pain momentarily. The release of the head has been a significant time for me in both pregnancies. It’s at this point I know I have done it. That the worst is over and it is one more push. We all sat in silence whilst Wyatt just sat half in and half out, waiting what felt like forever for the next contraction. Both Ian and I amazed that he was sitting underwater, like a fish with not a care in the world. It was the first time I had looked around in an hour and soaked in the atmosphere. Seeing all the tables prepped for his arrival. The contraction started, one last push and I felt the gush of Wyatts entrance into the world. At 10.59pm on our due date, after 4 minutes of pushing and just 1 hour and 29 minutes from getting to the hospital, Demelza guided Wyatt under the water to in front of me and lifted him up – WE HAD A BOY!!!
I never knew birth could be so magical, empowering and controlled. A birth that was an amazing experience is seldom heard of – how lucky am I! We left the hospital around 12 hours later on father’s day to begin our wonderful life as a family of four.
Birth Gallery
