When chelsea met elliot
First time mama Chelsea endured 47 hours of labour before her son Elliot was born.
Chelsea found out she was pregnant at the beginning of Canberra’s COVID lockdown. Attending appointments alone she felt isolated, suffering from chronic migraines and not be able to seek help from family or friends.
She talks about how upset she was when diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, taking her a month to completely come to terms with it and understand that it’s all because of the placenta.
Chelsea tells her birth story in her own words…
I’ll start off by saying that I couldn’t wait for all of it. I couldn’t wait to be pregnant, give birth and to be a mum. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I had been looking forward to all of these things for as long as I could remember. I just didn’t know how challenging it would be.
I first found out I was pregnant at the very beginning of lockdown in August 2021, two weeks before starting a new job. I thought I would spend the first few weeks of pregnancy in lockdown, but it turned out to be the whole of my first trimester. I went to every appointment by myself, as my husband wasn’t allowed to attend due to covid restrictions. I felt isolated and alone, suffering from chronic migraines every other day and not be able to seek help from family or friends. It was a long 8 weeks, and you could only imagine how relieved I was when there was an end date for lockdown.
My second trimester was great, I had more energy, less food aversions, and enjoyed my pregnancy for the most part (except for waking several times a night and the pelvic girdle pain). Then I was told I had gestational diabetes. I was quite upset at this as I consider myself a fit and healthy person. I exercised regularly and ate a balanced diet, how could I have diabetes? It took me a good month or so to completely come to terms with it, and understand that it’s all because of the placenta.
I managed my blood sugars well, and had no issues with it in the end. And because of this, my obstetrician booked me in to be induced at 39+2 on 28 April.
I desperately wanted to go into labour naturally, so tried all the things I had googled or been told about. 6 dates a day from 34 weeks, red raspberry leaf tea (not the nicest drink, but palatable when mixed with Quenchers lemonade), walking everyday (which I struggled with because of the pelvic girdle pain), curb walking. I felt like no matter how hard I tried, nothing would work. I then saw a bunch of women saying that they ate fresh pineapple, and the next day they went into labour. I decided to try this, and within 24 hours (on 24 April) contractions started. Now, I’m not sure if the pineapple is responsible, but I’m giving it some credit.
Everything I had read and been told by midwives was that contractions start as strong period pain, but I should be able to take a couple of Panadol and go to bed. This wasn’t the case for me. My contractions were very intense from the get go, and there was no way I was going to get any rest. But I had told myself it would only be a few hours, and then I could go to hospital. How wrong I was.
I laboured at home for 30 hours before my husband made the decision to packs our bags in the car and head to the hospital. Showers, baths, heats packs - they were all only minor distractions. We got to the hospital at 2am on 26 April, and was told I was only 3cm dilated. I was absolutely exhausted, having been awake for almost 48 hours.
I went from having a birth plan of no drugs, to having a shot of morphine and gas within 10 minutes of deciding to stay in hospital. My waters had to be broken by the doctor, which happened at around 9am, and at 11am, my Obstetrician came in and recommended I have an epidural, as I would have no energy to push when the time came if I didn’t get a chance to rest. I wasn’t going to say no, having been in labour for 39 hours at this stage.
The epidural was put in at around 1pm, and the dosage was just enough to take the pain away from the contractions. I couldn’t believe the difference it made. I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, sit comfortably and have a meal, and hold a conversation. I felt like a new woman!
After being able to rest for a few hours, at 5:30pm I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. I pushed for 1.5 hours, kneeling and facing the back of the bed, and 47 hours since my labour started, Elliot was born. I had a second degree tear, and one side of my vaginal wall came out with Elliot, which meant I needed surgery, but I recovered fine after a couple of extra days with the fantastic midwives at Queanbeyan hospital. I was discharged on 29 April, and began my journey as a new Mum at home.
Breastfeeding was a whole other ball game. I knew that it would be challenging, as both Elliot and I had no idea what we were doing and were both learning, but I had no idea how incredibly painful it can be. I thankfully never had any issues with my supply, but I felt like my nipples never really got the chance to recover, and I didn’t fully enjoy feeding until Elliot was 9 weeks old.
I dreaded feeding, and was relieved every time it was over. I didn’t really get a chance to enjoy the bonding that comes with breastfeeding, and would often cry while feeding. I used nipple shields when I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore, and they provided some relief, but it was mentally and physically exhausting. I was told by several people that it’s worth it to persevere, but there were many times that I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and just wanted to give up. I’m very glad I didn’t. I really enjoy feeding Elliot now (when he’s not being fussy), and cherish every feed as I know it won’t last forever.
What do you wish you knew before birth?
I wish I knew that it’s different for everyone. It’s incredibly hard not to compare yourself or your baby to others.
If you could, would you do anything differently?
I don’t think so. Everything that happened has landed me where I am now. And I have a great story to tell!
What did your partner do that really helped during labour/birth?
He was my voice. I never know what questions to ask or how to communicate properly in those scenarios, and he really took control of all of that so I didn’t have to worry.
What advice/honest truth would give a mama-to-be about birth?
Be prepared to not be prepared. You can have a very well thought out birth plan and then not be able to use it because your labour is completely different to what you expected. If you just go with the flow, it’ll make it 100x easier as you won’t be stressing about every little detail.