My labour and delivery story

This blog post is sooo overdue, I know... but hey, I just got a baby for the first time! The way back to a kind of routine was longer than expected. But I want to start from the beginning...

Induction day 1
It was the 20th of July 2014 when I had to be in hospital at 9:00am for my induction, as there had been no further contractions that would lead to birth. My hubby and me had a nice breakfast at home and drove calmly but excited to the hospital. On the way we heard the song 'All of me' from John Legend which was quite emotional as we were so happy to hold our little baby girl in our arms soon! <3
To cut a long story short: At the hospital I had a medical check up including a last screening and afterwards a CTG. The check up was fine and the induction should be done with a pill that I would need to take every 4 hours until labour would start. 
While I had my check-ups and everything coming into progress the labour and delivery unit got crowded of pregnant women with contractions. All delivery rooms plus a normal stationary room were blocked with women in labour! We had to wait.
At 8:00pm I finally got my induction pill but only half of the doses, as inductions would never take place during the night time. I had to stay overnight at the hospital alone and could hardly find any sleep. I also felt super depressed that I would not have my baby as soon as expected. :(

Induction day 2
Nico came to the hospital early and I got the first induction pill of a full doses at 8:00am, thereafter CTG for 1 hour. At 12:00pm I got the second pill and spent again 1 hour at the CTG. About 2 hours later my water broke! We had to go back to the labour and delivery unit immediately and write another hour of CTG. Then I got my antibiotics shot against Streptococcus B. After that I was allowed to go around still as the head of the baby layed deep down and kind of closed the exit. Over the time my contractions grew stronger and at 5:15pm I decided to go from my stationary room over to the delivery unit as I thought if I am not going now, I would not manage it at a later stage with even stronger contractions. This turned out to be the right decision!

Labour begins...
The midwife at the delivery unit proposed me to take a bath so we could see if my contractions would go away or grew stronger. As I sat down in the warm bath tub at around 6:00pm I could relax a little bit, but after a short while I felt completely like crap! I had to throw up 3 times which was not very nice! :( However, my body felt now cleared up and empty which was good on the other side. After that I stood in the bath tub for a while until the contractions grew really sore! As the midwife came back again I just asked her how long this pain shall go on like this?? and all 3 of us had to laugh!! ;) She offered and I chose a strong medicine for which I had to leave the bath but could sleep in-between the contractions. I felt very tired and exhausted at that stage already as my sleep in the night before wasn´t recovering at all... The midwifes name was Elisabeth and I liked her. She also offered me to get a PDA later when the uterus would have opened up enough. What I didn´t know is that she already organized it for me in the background while I was laying on the birth bed half sleeping, half breathing away my now bearable contractions. Oh yes, and I should not forget to mention that my lovely husband was very helpful for me as he cared for me all the time! <3

The Delivery
My uterus opened in quite a good time and I also had the urge to press. Unfortunately the midwife had to leave at around 10:00pm due to change of shifts. Suddenly the labour room was full of people and Elisabeth introduced my new midwife Kerstin to me. Then there was the anesthesiologist and his assistant as well as a young female doctor who's name I forgot.
The anesthesiologist wanted to set the PDA when Nico asked him something about this medication and if it is really necessary and/or if possible to just keep up the other medication. I was shocked in this moment and shouted that the other medication would not have helped at all! Haha! ;) I was so panicked that I would not get the PDA. Although this wasn´t Nico´s intention at all, he just wanted to be sure that all goes the best way for me. So lovely!
I could´t really feel the contractions with the PDA set and so I worked my way through the labour and pressing as much as I could. After a good while I had to change positions 2 or 3 times, because the midwife and the doctor wanted to bring along the birth quicker, but probably due to my scolioses my left upper leg wasn´t numb and hurt in other positions. I´ve lost a lot of blood, apparently about half a litre. In the end I could feel the baby´s head when it appeared at the exit, my little girl had hair already... It was so nice feeling her from the outside! <3 Then the heart rate of her went down and everything got a bit hectic, but only 2 or 3 more contractions and my baby was born!
Lillian came on July 22nd, 2014 at 1:09am. It was the most wonderful moment in my life holding her in my arms for the first time!!! <3 <3 <3

We are so happy and thankful that she is healthy! We are also proud to be her parents and to have our own family! This day changed our life completely for the better! <3

This picture was taken one week post partum.

Today Lillian is already 2 months old and I am so in love with her! I am looking forward to spend all that days that are coming with her... as long as I live.

Sani <3

40 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 40

I am overdue for a week now. Who would have thought that?! Honestly I got a bit annoyed these last days, especially now as all moms from my mommy-club already have their babies and 3 of them had their due date after mine! :/ I feel also happy for them, but in regards to myself I feel I have to be soo patient!

On monday I got a small gift from Nico. When he picked me up from my yoga class there was a red rose on my seat and a small card for being pregnant for 40 weeks!, so cute! <3

My personal due date calculated on the length of my menstrual cycle was July 14th, 2014. My officially announced due date by my doctor was July 13th, 2014 on the base of a 28-days-cycle.

As the official due date was on a sunday I had to visit the hospital for an examination, which was fine. There I got some tea and bathing oil to cause contractions from the midwifes. I also got informed that I should call after 1 week for an induction appointment. The rest of the week I had to visit my doctor on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which was also kind of annoying. :/ So today I am officially 1 week overdue! Which means I am calling the hospital this morning and then we´re going! I cannot believe it at all, it feels kind of surreal! And I am excited now finally - how is everything going to be?!

This is definitively the last shot of my pregnant belly!

Please don´t mind the liver spot inside my strechted belly button.

How far along? I´ve finished the 40th week today, so I am basically pregnant for 41 weeks now.

Total weight gain: 19,9kg
Bump measure: 108cm

Maternity clothes? I am still comforting with my leggings and stretchy clothes.

Stretch marks? No.
Fitness: I´ve visited my prenatal yoga class on Monday for the last time. On Wednesday some of the yoga-moms-to-be and I went for a walk through the Niendorfer Gehege and rested there for a refreshment.

Sleep: Not so good at the moment as it is really hot this week we have around 30°C and I woke up, up to 3 time per night! By the way this morning I am awake since 5:30 am! :(

Best moment this week: Our last night out in a restaurant. <3

Miss anything? I miss my former body shape.

Movement: Still a lot movement, although it should be quite tight now.

Food/cravings: I craved a good old filet steak by the end of this week and so we went to the Jok´s Steakhouse on our last evening as a couple - it was super delicious and a nice summer evening outside!

Anything making you quesy or sick? When I wake up with pain in my hands due to the water.

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Nothing at all! Although I spent the whole Saturday cleaning up at home which took me 5 hours or so - okay I am not the quickest anymore but I´ve also cleaned the windows and balcony, did all the laundry etc... However it wasn´t exhausting me enough to get contractions :( After that I drank the special tea and also bathed in the clove-oil that I got from the hospital to cause contractions. I felt very bad after the bath my cycle was totally down! I haven´t had eaten a lot which was very bad for this situation as well. But contraction-wise nothing really happened!

Symptoms: Water in my hands and feet, recently my hands get numb easily. The heat really made me exhausted. Also I feel my body is so heavy it really is not easy to sit down comfortably or get up easily.

Belly button in or out? Streched out completely.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, but especially the last days I felt a bit annoyed - I do admit I had a small break down on Saturday morning ;)

Looking forward to: Holding my little Lillian in my arms finally!!! <3

Sani <3

39 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 39

Germany won the football world cup today!!! :)))

This week I have finished the 39th week of pregnancy which basically means I am 40 weeks pregnant and on full term! In the beginning of my pregnancy I could´t think of getting to this stage and I must admit that I thought my little baby would arrive earlier than due date. However, everything seems to turn out fine in the end, she is healthy as far as my doctors can tell and that is the main thing!

And as it is my due date today on a Sunday I have to go to the hospital for a screening. And if the baby is not coming until next weekend, or if I should feel extremely uncomfortable, I am going to be induced, that´s the regulation here in Germany.

As a treat for 40 weeks of pregnancy I have done some kind of a wellness morning today. I had a face peeling, a chamomile steam bath, a face mask, a hair mask, I took a long refreshing shower and shaved, peeled, oiled and afterwards moisturized my body... I feel wonderful now! :)

This week I visited Ivonne and Marli who is over a month old already now. And Annika and Finja came to visit me at home, Finja is one day younger than Marli. I am so looking forward to hold my own baby in my arms soon!! Sometimes I feel like kind of jealous.. not really, but I want to have my baby as well, you know! And patience is none of my strengths ;)

Apart from that I spent most of the time at home, as I didn´t feel very well, like easily exhausted and had those pains in my symphyses which was so uncomfortable :( in addition to that my feet were swollen so quickly that I needed to put them up often and also bath hands and feet in chestnut cream oil for a relief. I can really recommend it, bathing feet in the evening for 10mins and then put up the legs over night!

...then this is what my feet look like in the morning. They still look like rubber boats and I do not have any ankles, but it is much better than the evening before!!

The chestnut bath is from the natural cosmetic brand Weleda and can be ordered via the pharmacy.

So now here comes the picture of my belly in full term! :)

How far along? I´ve finished the 39th week today! I am now full term and I cannot believe that my pregnancy will be over in a few days.

Total weight gain: I gained a total of 19,9kg until now and the baby weighs approximately 3500gr.
Bump measure: My bump measure is 106cm and the baby is approximately 56cm long.

Maternity clothes? Still prefer large leggings & tops or dresses, but also use some maternity tops.

Stretch marks? Not until now!
Fitness: Only my yoga and aquarobic classes, as I didn´t feel sure enough for any further walks or swimming. I kind of felt I would not manage. What was nice though was that 2 girls from yoga joined me at the aquarobic course :)

Sleep: I wake up once or twice a night, mainly because it´s so warm.

Best moment this week: Waking up Nico on Saturday morning with 'our' song Das Beste from Silbermond.

Miss anything? I would love to have my old body shape again now, please...

Movement: Tons of movement, especially when I eat anything with sugar. 

Food/cravings: Nothing special, had more fruits these days again, yum!

Anything making you quesy or sick? No.

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: False labor still.

Symptoms: Big pain in my symphyses, outch! I also saved up big amounts of water in my hands and feet! And my belly hurts really bad when I lay down in bed! :( This week I had 2 doctors appointments with replacement ladies and I was told everything is smooth and also kind of 'ready' now which is good to know obviously...!

Belly button in or out? Streched out completely.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!

Looking forward to: Holding my little baby in my arms!!! <3

Sani <3

38 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 38

Monday I had a doctor´s appointment and got this super cute ultrasound photo with Lillian sending Mommy a kiss! Aww... I felt so happy that day! <3 <3 <3

On Sunday my lovely husband cooked pregnant Joolz pasta for me on my request.

We also went to a Designer Outlet and I picked up some more onesies for our little on in size 60/3months. Time seems to go by so slowly now and shopping always makes my mood brighter! :)

These are from petit bateau and usually fit a little bit smaller, so I can probably put them on Lilly soon already.

This kind of rain jacket is size 6 months but also seems a bit smaller so it´ll probably fit in October already when it might rain more often here.

Other than that I shopped this cute little dress at H&M this week. It is size 62 and has a body stitched underneath already which is cool, very handy!

And this is my belly for this week:

It´s also visible how horrific my feet look! Awful... :(((


How far along? Finished the 38th week!

Total weight gain: Must be a lot, as I had so much cake lately haha :) and also put on a lot of water in my feet. 18,9Kg.
Bump measure: 106cm.

Maternity clothes? Still wearing the same mix.

Stretch marks? No.
Fitness: I am really proud, as this week I went to the yoga class, and also went for a 30mins. walk around the Alster with some other moms-to-be from my mamiclub, a 30mins. swim and 45mins. of aquarobic for preggers! And on Friday I went for a 90mins walk with my yogis. I feel good!

Sleep: Is ok.

Best moment this week: When I saw my baby on the ultrasound and she kind of sent me a kiss with her cute little lips! <3 <3 <3

Miss anything? Sleeping on my back.

Movement: Still a lot, although it must be really tight now.

Food/cravings: Different things.. I cooked a lot of healthy food this week. But I also had so called Franzbrötchen with cinnamon and licorice.

Anything making you quesy or sick? No.

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Still slight false labor signs.

Symptoms: I saved a lot of water in my hands and feet which is really uncomfortable! And I don´t sleep very well, but apart from that everything is ok sofar. Seems I got used to my huge belly now! :)

Belly button in or out? Streched out.

Wedding rings on or off?  Off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy.

Looking forward to: Seeing Lillian! <3

Sani <3

super pregnant shopping haul

I have had the urge so badly to go shopping in my current state of pregnancy - today week 38+1 :) Although it is hard as nothing would fit me properly, however.. here is what I got for now in summer sale :)

 This creme beige cardigan with golden details and 7/8-sleeves was ordered from zalando. The brand is called See you soon, and size is one size. I payed 47€ for it.

The blue and white stripy cardigan with pockets and a scarf is from Massimo Dutti. Size is M which I wore before pregnancy as well. I payed 55€ instead of 75€ for it.

 I prefer to wear it without the scarf though.

 Also from Massimo Dutti is this kind of parka jacket in navy blue with sleeves that can be fixed at 3/4 length with leather strap bands. It also has a hood in the back and two very comfy big pockets in front. Size is M as well and I payed 115€ instead of 170€ for it.

 I can surely not close it right now but I love it already! (sorry for the bad light!)

And last but not least I bought a shirt at Hallhuber with kind of see through shoulders and back and in the front a super cute LOVE writing <3 This is size 38/M and doesn´t fit me at all! But I want to wear it as soon as my baby is here with me. This was actually not on sale and cost 40€.

It felt extremely good to go shopping again for myself and buy clothes that are not only meant for pregnancy.

Sani <3

37 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 37

It´s a lazy day today and I am getting sick of wearing my same clothes over and over again :( so today I opted the version of peeking and pulling something out of hubby´s closet, hihi :)

I am wearing a t-shirt from my husband which is even not a loose fit anymore.

 

My Pants are x-large regular summer shorts but I even have to use an elastic band to 'close' the button.

105cm! Can you believe? I certainly cannot...

Apart from that this whole week has been extremely busy, although my goal for this week was to calm down - which also happened here and there.
On sunday afternoon we met up with some parents and mums-to-be from my Mummy-Club and set up a bbq spot in the park.

Monday I spent several hours in the Adam & Eve beautylounge for manicure, pedicure, eyebrows and a free lash lifting. And in the evening Nico and I visited a - sofar unknown to us - italian Restaurant which offered amazing food!!! It is called DaVino and totally needs a shout out here is the link - you should totally try it, if you live anywhere nearby!

Tuesday was the day with the prenatal massage which was good, but not as overwhelming as announced and probably also the reason why I lied down with quite strong contractions appearing every 2(!)mins. the next day! I was so glad that my friend Alex had cancelled our date for the day!
I also met some other people this week Ivonne, Kristina, my brother twice, Nadine and Marlena visited me on Thursday which was such a nice afternoon! And on Friday I met Nina again - first time after her wedding Party and we had a wonderful evening in Hamburg´s city center. It happened to be that I had a little time before we met so that I took my chance and went shopping! Yay!! :))) Finally again... although possibilities were limited ;)

I am soo happy that I have planned n-o-t-h-i-n-g for this Weekend and my Goal for next week is definitively not to make too many plans!

How far along? I´ve finished the 37th week. Omg. Things are getting really heavy now!

Total weight gain: 17,3 kg.
Bump measure: 105cm!

Maternity clothes? Yes. But I am also wearing my leggings and bigger sized clothes a lot as well.

Stretch marks? No.
Fitness: I´ve visited my yoga class this week.

Sleep: In the beginning of this week sleep was crap! I woke at around 4am and couldn´t fall back asleep for several hours, it was so annoying. However it turns out that the last days sleep was pretty ok with 6-8 hours non-stop and the last 2 days I even slept in the afternoon, because I am so easily exhausted now.

Best moment this week: Probably having my friend Nadine and her 3-week-old Baby Marlena over, to hold her and look at her was simply the greatest!

Miss anything? Fitting into normal clothes!

Movement: Still a lot, although it´s getting tight inside for her.

Food/cravings: I have been better on the healthy food side this week! :) At the Moment I like rice cakes covered with thin chocolate as a sweet snack, or strawberries.

Anything making you quesy or sick? That I cannot sit or lie down properly anymore without having to pile up about 1 million cushions. :(

Gender: A Girl!

Labor signs: Yes! The contractions have probably arisen from my prenatal massage the day before, this is what I guess only.

Symptoms: I am exhausted easily and feel immobile and tired a lot more. Contractions and pressure down below. Still have a lot of water in my hands and legs&feet although I´ve had my acupunctural session.

Belly button in or out? Streched out.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!

Looking forward to: Meeting Lillian!

Sani <3

Healthy food day - WIAW

Here comes all what I ate Wednesday. I hope this week will turn out better/healthier than last week ;)

8:20 - For breakfast I had almost the same as last week, some porridge with 4 almonds in it, a chopped banana, some blueberries and cinnamon on top. I always try to make my first meal of the day a good one to keep the blood sugar high as long as possible.

I also had a big glass of water to take my prenatal vitamins and a can of herbal pregnancy tea.

12:20 - At lunch time I had a whole grain toastie with honey and plum marmalade. As kind of dessert I had a third of a water melon. Yum!

And of course I had a big glass of water again :)

15:20 - Coffee time!! Had my cup of coffee with one small tea spoon brown sugar and a sip soy milk. Besides I had three rice cakes thinly covered with chocolate.

And my water...

17:30 - In the late afternoon I was starving! We were out at a shopping center and I had a bread roll with fishcake, lettuce and remoulade sauce from Nordsee.

These are always tasty, but I still was hungry afterwards. :/

19:30 - Finally got my dinner at home, which was 5 potato snack thingies filled with herb cream cheese and some cucumber, tomatoes and my water!

Over the day I drank a can of 0,75 liters of tea and more than 1,5 liters of water!

Hope you enjoyed this What I ate Wednesday and if you like, leave your link to your WIAW´s below in the comments and I'll be stopping by :)

Sani <3

36 weeks pregnancy update / ssw 36

I´ve had a baby party!!! :) So cute, my family surprised me on Sunday, when Nico and I came back from our coffee break at Coffee to Fly they were all sitting in our living room. It was such a nice surprise as baby parties are not widely spread yet in Germany and I love that my family has done it in this way! I was told that my 2-year old nice ran into the babies room and thought the baby was lying there on the changing table, so sweet - she cannot wait anymore, it all takes too long! :) ...and why are the grown-up´s talking about a baby party if there even is no baby?? Haha! :) Here are some photos of the set up and our presents.

The table decoration

A cute garland hung over the window front

I´ve always wanted to have one of these balloons!

So cute, almost all presents carry our little babies name on it!

Especially love this pillow with babies full name and an owl stitched on it.

This is a baby balm for very cold and windy weather.

We also got some 'canned' baby fruit food from alnatura and I got the breastfeeding juice for Mamas by Hipp.

We all touched glasses (or bottle) and drank alcohol-free champagne (or water). It was a wonderful sunny day and we went out for a late lunch to an italian restaurant. We ate outside on the terrace and it almost felt like a family holiday!  As there was a local street party going on we took a walk over the small festival. 

After we came home we´ve had this super cute and super yummy cupcakes made by my sister in law and a cup of coffee. I can hardly say what a wonderful day this was! Thank you!! <3

Other than that I slept a lot this week whenever I could find a time spot for it. I think my body might pre-sleep and try to get/save some energy before labor properly starts.

And I met a very old friend of mine this week and it was nice seeing her again and having time to talk about all the new things to come :)

How far along? Finished the 36th week and am now 10 months pregnant! This is so great, there were times during pregnancy where I thought I would´t come along so far. But the baby is now finished and is not an 'early bird' anymore.

Total weight gain: 16,4kg.
Bump measure: 102cm

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Stretch marks? No.
Fitness: I went to the yoga class this week.

Sleep: It´s perfectly okay during the night, but ontop of that I sleep much more now during the day as well.

Best moment this week: My baby party!!! <3

Miss anything? Shop and wear normal clothes!

Movement: Recognized it is less than before, but still a lot going on there inside me.

Food/cravings: Sweets! Chocolate & ice cream.

Anything making you quesy or sick? 

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: False labor.

Symptoms: I feel so tired, and exhausted, and immobile - so I really calmed down a bit this week and slept a lot. Still carry lots of water in my hands and feet which feels uncomfortable. I recognized my leg hair stopped growing or at least grows very slowly - but already for a longer period of time - I totally forgot to mention.

Belly button in or out? Stretched out.

Wedding rings on or off? Off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy.

Looking forward to: Seeing Lillian!

Sani <3