One word? When seven would do…

I know it’s a daye early but I don’t know if I’ll get the chance to do this tomorrow, and she only made it into tomorrow by less than two hours, so most of it happened two years ago today…

It was my first real day of maternity leave – I had stopped work on the Monday, but been at home with Davies until the Thursday when he went off for one of his two days a week at a nursery. I had fallen asleep on the sofa in the afternoon and woke up at about 3pm wondering what had woken me. At five past three I realised it must have been a contraction when I had another one. I sat for about 20 minutes timing them at every 5 minutes, and quite strong and decided I needed to collect Davies while I was still capable. So inbetween contractions I put on shoes (contraction), got in the car (contraction), drove to the nursery round the corner (contraction), dashed in, having one in the hall, collected Davies and got us both in the car (contraction), drove home (contraction) and got us both in the house (contraction!). I got us both upstairs and we sat in his bedroom for a bit with me trying really hard not to let him know I was scared but explaining ‘Mummy hurts’ every few minutes when I was doubled over and pulling strange faces. He took this the wrong way and actually kept walloping me (I think he thought it was an instruction – hurt Mummy rather than an explanation!) which probably helped in taking my mind off it at least!

I decided this probably was the real thing, although it was a week early, Davies had been 8 days early too so I was sort of expecting it (and glad given her due date that she was early – we could have been looking at a Christmas Eve induction 🙁 ) and giving the amount of labour inducing tricks I had been trying all week it was not too much of a shock (still can’t face a fresh pineapple two years on!). Ady was duty manager at work due to finish at 10pm. Given it was about 4.30pm when I rang him and told him in no uncertain terms that I could not hold on ’till then he rang around and got some one to come in and cover the end of his shift!

He arrived home around 5.30pm by which time I was a little more in control and the contractions had actually slowed down a little bit so he took over putting Davies to bed while I rang the midwife. By 7.30pm Davies was fast asleep and the midwife was ringing every few minutes as she drove up and down our road trying to find us. We eventually directed her in using descriptions of our neighbours very extravagent Christmas decorations and she arrived!

It all slowed up a bit then really, me and the midwife sat watching TV while Ady cooked some tea for him and her and phoned round some friends and relatives to give some updates. The midwife gratefully ate her tea, proclaimed it quite the very best home birth meal she had ever had, thanked Ady as she would now not need to have tea when she got home and announced that her shift was about to finish and another midwife was on here way !!!

The next midwife arrived and was a bit less inclined to sit on the sofa or allow me to do so either and had me bouncing on my birthing ball and walking around which really got things going again. Around midnight we moved into the dining room which was where the birth was planned for and was sheeted out appropriately. I had a lot of gas and air (empty canisters lined all along our hallway is an image that will always stay with me about Scarlett’s birth, with a little vest and first sleepsuit hanging over the radiator above them keeping warm waiting to be filled) and as with Davies’ birth the details of the last bit always are a bit shadowy and dreamlike – I guess some of the body shuts down so instinct can take over. And memory dims so we all don’t stop at the first one thinking ‘well I’m never bloody doing that again!’

I know the midwife asked if I wanted her to break my waters – and the choices were do that and it will happen quickly but may be more painful or leave them which would draw it all out more – I said ‘let’s get it over and done with!’ and she did that crochet hook thing! I then recall standing with my arms round Ady while he supported me moaning that I couldn’t do it any more, I just couldn’t, while he told me I already was 🙂 I then felt an overwhelming urge to lie on my side, so there was much rushing around getting all the cushions off various sofas (we have four!) so I could do just that, and there she was 🙂 Ady got to cut the cord, which he hadn’t done with Davies and I held her close while she did that ‘what the bloody hell is this all about, I was quite comfortable in there thankyou very much!’ crying, saying ‘Mummy’s here, mummy’s here’. She was then dressed by someone, the floor tidied up, Ady rang round everyone who would welcome a 2am phonecall, sent a few texts (two of which we were amazed to get congratulaions texts back from!) and as the midwives kissed us all and went off into the night I sat down to feed her.

Within the hour Davies was awake and came down to meet his new baby sister. He was actually quite scared of the small bundle and more interested in opening door 6 on his chocolate advent calendar, but he did get used to the idea and we have some lovely pictures of them in the early hours of that first morning (which I will dig out and upload later). Scarlett and I then went to bed for her first sleep.

So here we are two years on and that helpless little bundle is a raging two year old. In two short years she has learnt to walk, talk, wind me up beyond belief and is more of a person already than some people ever become. She is fiercely independant and will give affection – but on her terms, which makes her hug you till you burst cuddles and push your hair back from your face before kissing you all over kisses all the more precious and special. Her ‘ove oo mummy’ is always well timed (middle of the night when she has asked for juice again, when she has driven you almost to tears by emptying the sudocrem out over the stairs again). She adores her brother to the point of hero worship, and will stand up for him against any child who crosses her, she is charming, bewitching and adorable as well as naughty, cheeky and completely unphased by me shouting!
She has left her mark everywhere – she has added to the crisscross pattern of pregnancies on my tummy, she has scribbled on walls, stained the carpets, emptied perfumes, broken lipsticks, changed our lives, completed our family.

Happy Birthday Scarlett, we love you very, very much xxx