Elijah David was born at 10:41pm on Monday the 4th of June, only 3 days after his due date. :-) He weighed 7lbs 14oz.
We were all set for a home birth once again and had 3 lovely community midwives at the house. However, about 2 hours into labouring, my blood pressure went just slightly too high for it to be considered wise to stay at home. I knew this was a possibility, as it has been on the high side for the past 3 weeks. Earlier in the day my midwife had phoned a consultant at hospital who advised if the lower number went above 100, we should transfer to hospital, which I agreed to. So when they found my BP was around 150/104, it was clear that hospital was the next step, and an ambulance was called. It wasn't a pleasant 40 mile ride to hospital - not when the baby was *really* about to be born! But thankfully we got there safely, and our lovely little boy was born within about 15 minutes after arrival. All 3 of my midwives accompanied me to hospital, which made the whole experience so much easier. It was almost like having a home birth in hospital, though I did have to stay in overnight. But thankfully all went perfectly well - no complications with either baby or me, and they discharged me from hospital around noon the next day.
Here are a few photos:
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| About 1 hour after he was born - very alert and already looking around! :-) |
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| Waiting to go home from hospital the next morning |
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| Home at last! :-) Wearing a lovely Tots Bots nappy - limited edition London Jubilee print, just perfect for a little boy born at the time of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee! :-) |
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| First time in the sling (Sleepy Wrap) - not yet 48 hours old. |
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| Deborah *loves* being a big sister. She gets very excited when she sees him and says "Baby Elijah" quite perfectly. She just wishes he was her own baby to look after. At bedtime tonight I was telling her we needed to go upstairs and she reached out to grab him and said "Me do it!" :-) |
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| Soooo very cuddly! :-) |
