Welcome to the world, Talia!
Talia was born at 2:40am, Sunday, seventh of May 2017. Her birth weight was exactly 8lbs. By my in-laws observation, her facial features are distinctly Savaiinaea meaning that she looks the most Samoan out of all our kids. She's got a full head of hair like her big sister Hinalei. She has long legs, lips like her brother Rawiri and dimples like her dad and brother Joseph-Hall. In her first 24 hours, she's established that her favorite thing to do is eat. She's cluster feeding a lot and shows no signs of slowing down. Maybe she's trying to catch up to her cousins that were born more than 6 months ago (David and Sarah) and one cousin last week (Eve)!Talia has a very strong voice (her cry gets louder than any of our other babies) so it stands to reason that she has powerful lungs too. She's got long slender fingers and toes.
The last few days prior to Talia's birth have been full of "stop-start-stop" contractions for Danielle. Without fail, contractions would come, and inexplicably stop again.
Danielle jumping in:
Our home teachers the Perichs came over for a visit. We love visiting with them. I asked Bronson and Joe to give me a blessing for my induction the next day. The blessing was beauitful. Filled with so much that extended beyond my asking for a blessing to help me with the induction the next day. I will keep it to myself but I do believe it allowed me to relax and really open my mind and body up from all the fear that may have been causing me to hold back and to just have faith all would be well and to trust my instincts.
Saturday, 6 May 2017. 9pm
The contractions have begun again. Is it another false alarm? We're unsure.
Saturday, 6 May 2017. 11:39pm
The contractions have come on a lot stronger now. They're feeling a lot more real now, but we hold back our excitement because of the false alarms we've previously had. Danielle's really focused on her breathing.
Sunday, 7 May 2017. 12:56am
When Danielle says she wants to call Matty (midwife) and her mum, I recognize that these are real labour contractions and baby wants to make her entrance! As soon as mum arrives, we leave for the Hospital and let Matty and Nicola (who told Jenna) know to meet us there.
Danielle takes over narration:
My mum is driving like fast and the furious and I am just trying to stay relaxed and breath through the contractions and hope that they don't fizzle out the moment we walk through the maternity ward doors. After arriving safely at the hospital every person we came across on the way to the ward opened doors or held elevators or pushed buttons for us. It was so kind. When we got to our room they gave us the same room we had Lennie in and also that Eve was born in 11 days previous. It was very surreal to think that we would be in the same room. So many things then seemed similar. Mum was parking the car and I was still contracting. Because of my c section with Hinalei they needed to put a line in my hand however by now my contractions are coming about every 2 mins so I wasn't giving them a lot of time to get the line in and they were constantly having to start over. I ended up being stuck 4 different times between the time we arrive and giving birth. Matty was trying to tell them that I would probably have the baby before they got it in but they were not taking the hint.
Anyway after about 3 contractions my waters broke! I have waited 5 births for it to happen and to understand the gush etc and it just feels like a lot of warm liquid making your way down your legs. So I knew that we were not going anywhere and that just like Lennies it was about to get tough. I started getting shakey legs and needed something to help me because the contractions were coming so close together. Matty gave me the mouth piece of gas and air to bite down on which really helped and mum and Joe were rubbing my back. Finally (probably 10 minutes later) Matty asked if we should check me. I felt like I must at least be an 8 or close because they were so intense already but I was a 6. She said that my waters were green which was normal for me being 4 days overdue but that we would need to monitor babys heart beat and so she put a clip on her head to monitor everything. However hearing this created a pretty big mental block for me, because of the intensity they were coming I was like Oh no! I have ages to go and these are painful. Very painful and I am trying to breathe through them but my back is hurting. So I decided to ask for the gas and air because I had actually never tried it before and needed something to get me through. The gas and air does take the edge off but not off the back pain and you can inhale to much that you start to float away, or at least for me personally that is what it felt like. Its hard to describe in words how much pain was in my back because I labor so hard in my back and yet my head was so floaty. I did 2 contractions lying down but man did that hurt like nothing else so I decided to turn over and be on my knees with the bed upright. The last time I saw on the clock before turning over was 2:10am... I was wondering where my sisters were.
Matty told me not to push but that I should trust my instincts. I should pause here and mention that trusting my instincts played a big role in the whole birth. I literally had to trust myself when I started contractions at 9pm on May 6th, I had to trust myself when I decided these were the real thing and called my mum and told Matty we were going in and I am so glad I did! Matty said I was 6 but was very soft and said I could get to a 10 quite quickly. Now this is were my story goes very inside myself. When I got onto my knees I literally felt my pelvic or womb or body open up and I could feel her entire body moving down. However I knew I should not push BUT honestly my body was going through huge stretches (like opening me up) in a short amount of time. I am sorry if this doesn't make sense to anyone but to me it is how I can think to describe it. What I had to work out was how to keep control of my breathing without being totally dependent on the gas and air and yet manage the pain in my back through breathing, long and strong breaths. The following bullet points I think make more sense for this part of my story.
* I lost control after 2 contractions of my body pushing baby down because it was so strong and fast yet I knew I shouldn't push, I remember moaning, groaning and screaming. My mum and possibly Matty said to me "Hey! Get it together! Breathe! Breathe, use the gas and just breathe. You can do this, you are my master breather." In my own head I felt myself say - Hey you don't scream! You get it together. I finally realized I could use my tongue to block the gas but still bite or breathe on the mouth piece. So I tried really hard to focus on this although now the counter pressure wasn't making much of difference (sorry Joe and mum!)
* I started to do a deep deep moan and block the gas during the less pain and use it during the peak of the contractions. I know I probably moaned or groaned pretty loudly during this time but I don't totally remember because I was focused on what was happening inside me. (This is what I consider the 2-4 contractions of transition). I could hear people telling me to take a break from the gas between contractions but I didn't think I was actually having a break it was all sort of just one after the other bringing her down at a fast speed.
* I felt her make her way all the way to the birth canal and knew it was close to her being born. At this moment I could tune in on my midwife Matty telling me different things. I started to go up and down on my knees as she was going out. Now again this might not make sense but she was further down and close to out of me than anyone else realized and I was very in tune with what was happening. In fact when I got to pushing I took the gas and air thing out and just did my normal breathing. I could hear Matty saying push and I knew I didn't need to just then but like 5 seconds later was the right time to push, when I got to the ring of fire I could hear everyone saying push but I knew that I just needed to pant and pant and pant to open and stretch slowly so that is what I did. I remember it like this pushhhhhhhhhhhhh oh ok I need to stretch, pant, pant, pant, pant, let her go back inside for a second, pushhhhhhhh oh slow down, pant, pant, pant. (During this time I was being given a few different instructions from Matty but again I decided to trust my instincts). Everyone told me her head was almost out and to give another push but I could feel her moving inside of me, twisting to come out so I just waited patiently and then pushed or helped my body push. Then when everyone was telling me - she almost here, shes almost here I gave one more push and out she came. I remember distinctly thinking (not sure if I said it out loud) No she is here, she is already here. She came out screaming her little lungs out, the water and force of it all was huge like a tidal wave. I just kind of rested on the top of the bed breathing, celebrating to myself she was out but also being amazed at what had just happened. I should mention that my sisters walked in probably when I was crowning. It was marvelous to hear their voices at that moment. So soothing. Then little Talia got passed between my legs and up to me. She was tiny little thing with big lungs and lots of hair. I was euphorically happy. I had to find Joe coz I really wanted to kiss someone and was looking around for anyone. lol. I loved having her in my arms. I was amazed that it was over because it had hurt so much! I was so grateful I did go from a 6 to birthing so quickly. I mean it had only been 30 minutes. Somewhere in their my line was pulled out accidentally and Jenna had to put pressure on my arm.
5 births, 5 different experiences, 5 beautiful children. We are very blessed x
Sunday, 7 May 2017. 1:30am
Danielle takes over narration:My mum is driving like fast and the furious and I am just trying to stay relaxed and breath through the contractions and hope that they don't fizzle out the moment we walk through the maternity ward doors. After arriving safely at the hospital every person we came across on the way to the ward opened doors or held elevators or pushed buttons for us. It was so kind. When we got to our room they gave us the same room we had Lennie in and also that Eve was born in 11 days previous. It was very surreal to think that we would be in the same room. So many things then seemed similar. Mum was parking the car and I was still contracting. Because of my c section with Hinalei they needed to put a line in my hand however by now my contractions are coming about every 2 mins so I wasn't giving them a lot of time to get the line in and they were constantly having to start over. I ended up being stuck 4 different times between the time we arrive and giving birth. Matty was trying to tell them that I would probably have the baby before they got it in but they were not taking the hint.
Anyway after about 3 contractions my waters broke! I have waited 5 births for it to happen and to understand the gush etc and it just feels like a lot of warm liquid making your way down your legs. So I knew that we were not going anywhere and that just like Lennies it was about to get tough. I started getting shakey legs and needed something to help me because the contractions were coming so close together. Matty gave me the mouth piece of gas and air to bite down on which really helped and mum and Joe were rubbing my back. Finally (probably 10 minutes later) Matty asked if we should check me. I felt like I must at least be an 8 or close because they were so intense already but I was a 6. She said that my waters were green which was normal for me being 4 days overdue but that we would need to monitor babys heart beat and so she put a clip on her head to monitor everything. However hearing this created a pretty big mental block for me, because of the intensity they were coming I was like Oh no! I have ages to go and these are painful. Very painful and I am trying to breathe through them but my back is hurting. So I decided to ask for the gas and air because I had actually never tried it before and needed something to get me through. The gas and air does take the edge off but not off the back pain and you can inhale to much that you start to float away, or at least for me personally that is what it felt like. Its hard to describe in words how much pain was in my back because I labor so hard in my back and yet my head was so floaty. I did 2 contractions lying down but man did that hurt like nothing else so I decided to turn over and be on my knees with the bed upright. The last time I saw on the clock before turning over was 2:10am... I was wondering where my sisters were.
Matty told me not to push but that I should trust my instincts. I should pause here and mention that trusting my instincts played a big role in the whole birth. I literally had to trust myself when I started contractions at 9pm on May 6th, I had to trust myself when I decided these were the real thing and called my mum and told Matty we were going in and I am so glad I did! Matty said I was 6 but was very soft and said I could get to a 10 quite quickly. Now this is were my story goes very inside myself. When I got onto my knees I literally felt my pelvic or womb or body open up and I could feel her entire body moving down. However I knew I should not push BUT honestly my body was going through huge stretches (like opening me up) in a short amount of time. I am sorry if this doesn't make sense to anyone but to me it is how I can think to describe it. What I had to work out was how to keep control of my breathing without being totally dependent on the gas and air and yet manage the pain in my back through breathing, long and strong breaths. The following bullet points I think make more sense for this part of my story.
* I lost control after 2 contractions of my body pushing baby down because it was so strong and fast yet I knew I shouldn't push, I remember moaning, groaning and screaming. My mum and possibly Matty said to me "Hey! Get it together! Breathe! Breathe, use the gas and just breathe. You can do this, you are my master breather." In my own head I felt myself say - Hey you don't scream! You get it together. I finally realized I could use my tongue to block the gas but still bite or breathe on the mouth piece. So I tried really hard to focus on this although now the counter pressure wasn't making much of difference (sorry Joe and mum!)
* I started to do a deep deep moan and block the gas during the less pain and use it during the peak of the contractions. I know I probably moaned or groaned pretty loudly during this time but I don't totally remember because I was focused on what was happening inside me. (This is what I consider the 2-4 contractions of transition). I could hear people telling me to take a break from the gas between contractions but I didn't think I was actually having a break it was all sort of just one after the other bringing her down at a fast speed.
* I felt her make her way all the way to the birth canal and knew it was close to her being born. At this moment I could tune in on my midwife Matty telling me different things. I started to go up and down on my knees as she was going out. Now again this might not make sense but she was further down and close to out of me than anyone else realized and I was very in tune with what was happening. In fact when I got to pushing I took the gas and air thing out and just did my normal breathing. I could hear Matty saying push and I knew I didn't need to just then but like 5 seconds later was the right time to push, when I got to the ring of fire I could hear everyone saying push but I knew that I just needed to pant and pant and pant to open and stretch slowly so that is what I did. I remember it like this pushhhhhhhhhhhhh oh ok I need to stretch, pant, pant, pant, pant, let her go back inside for a second, pushhhhhhhh oh slow down, pant, pant, pant. (During this time I was being given a few different instructions from Matty but again I decided to trust my instincts). Everyone told me her head was almost out and to give another push but I could feel her moving inside of me, twisting to come out so I just waited patiently and then pushed or helped my body push. Then when everyone was telling me - she almost here, shes almost here I gave one more push and out she came. I remember distinctly thinking (not sure if I said it out loud) No she is here, she is already here. She came out screaming her little lungs out, the water and force of it all was huge like a tidal wave. I just kind of rested on the top of the bed breathing, celebrating to myself she was out but also being amazed at what had just happened. I should mention that my sisters walked in probably when I was crowning. It was marvelous to hear their voices at that moment. So soothing. Then little Talia got passed between my legs and up to me. She was tiny little thing with big lungs and lots of hair. I was euphorically happy. I had to find Joe coz I really wanted to kiss someone and was looking around for anyone. lol. I loved having her in my arms. I was amazed that it was over because it had hurt so much! I was so grateful I did go from a 6 to birthing so quickly. I mean it had only been 30 minutes. Somewhere in their my line was pulled out accidentally and Jenna had to put pressure on my arm.
Sunday, 7 May 2017. 2:40am
She's here!
We're so very blessed to have you with us, baby Talia!
I got turned around and sat down, her cord got cut by her daddy, the placenta came out no trouble and I was free and lucky to escape with no tears or grazes for the second time. (As a side note considering how much I stretched for Lennie and then how much smaller Talia was I think I was just lucky). She laid on my chest crying away while we all marveled at how quickly that had gone down, laughed over different parts, stared at her continuously remarking about which of the kids she looked most like. I loved that she looked so much like her daddy's side. She was weighed (8lbs exactly) and measured (51cms) and checked over (perfect!) She wasn't so interested in the boob but loved sucking her hand. My sisters left about 3:30am and then I was in my room by 5:00am.5 births, 5 different experiences, 5 beautiful children. We are very blessed x
