Christmas has been a different story for us this year. We always knew it was going to be touch and go as to whether or not our due date of Boxing day was going to be realised but when it got closer to the time it seemed more and more likely that Helen would be going into labour sooner rather than later. The build up to Frank’s birth was quite long, Helen was in and out of hospital 6 times in 10 days with 1 overnight stay due to high blood pressure concerns. The only thing to cure this problem was to get this baby out! However we had our own plans as to how this would happen.
Thanks to a dedicated yoga practice and some hypno-birthing techniques throughout Helen’s pregnancy we were very keen to have a natural birth and if possible have access to a birthing pool. One reason why we chose Stepping Hill hospital over others was due to the amount of birthing pools they have available – 4 in total. However with all of the blood pressure concerns our dreams looked likely to be squashed, but we kept positive and made sure anyone who was working with us knew exactly what we wanted birth wise.
So on Christmas Eve and after 24 hours in hospital under observation Helen was dis-charged with a cervical sweep which revealed that we were 2cm dilated already. It looked favourable that a natural labour would proceed and straight away Helen noticed things had changed down there, the pre-labour pains seemed to be more intense and by the time we were home the contractions had began.
A Christmas Day baby was upon us and below is another up-close visual diary as to how things progressed. Let’s just say we had the birth we wanted, beyond and above all of our expectations. Upon arriving at hospital at 6.30am we discovered Helen was now 6cm dilated and our midwife Kay guided us through the rest of the labour and Frank Leo Rutter, weighing 6lbs8oz was born at 9.41am in a birthing pool using gas and air only and the all powerful breath. Kay was like an angel waiting to take us under her wing. The experience of the birth of our beautiful baby boy was so powerful and one we will never forget.
Thank you to Stepping Hill hospital.
Enjoy.
(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Nikon D600 35mm f1.8 & 105mm f2.8 Macro)
Related posts that may be of interest to you:
- Books to watch the world go by… There is always time for a good read when we’re on the road and so we wanted to share with you a list of the...
- There’s a new arrival in the Rutcoe camp Something that we have decided to keep quite private this year but can no longer hold back is the fact that we have been expecting...
- Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year Ho Ho Ho…Merry Christmas to you all! Thanks for following our journey and supporting the notworkrelated adventure! We really appreciate your comments and look forward...
- Notworkrelated Advent Calendar! We wanted to do something a little different this Christmas. This is our first Christmas in the UK with our families for 2 years and...
5 Comments
Just gorgeous! What a special time to share!! Frank is a little dink and just yummy! Enjoy the special times ahead together as a family! xx
So beautiful and so precious that you shared these moments. You guys are fab and wishing so much happiness as a family x
Thank you for sharing this very special arrival with us – love love love to you all Rae & Chris & Rhys – I can imagine wot awesome parents you both will be x
Just beautiful! Can not believe how little you or your mum & dad have changed over the years. Enjoy this little adventure xx
Some super cute pictures! Absolutely made up for you both! Look forward to seeing more pictures as he grows!! and can’t wait to meet him!
Take care of you all! xx