The Story of Olive Sally Booth 👶🏼 Second baby🩷 Surprise Girl – Olive Sally Booth
🗓 Due Date – 31st August 2023🗓 Born – 6th September 2023 (40+6)🕰 11:32am⚖️ 8lb 3 1/2oz🏡 Planned Hospital Birth (MLU)🏥 Actual Home BirthOn Tuesday 5th September in the late afternoon around 2 o’clock my stomach began tightening with mild pains, to which I thought was either braxton hicks or the early onset of labour. This continued into the evening. My husband Mikey put our son to bed and I sat on on my ball in our bedroom to try get comfy.I had to wake Mikey who had fallen asleep with Felix. We came downstairs and I had a small bowl of corn flakes and a raspberry leaf tea.Mucus plug and bloody show came at 21:20I went to bed around 22:30 to try get as much rest as I could. I was continuing to have surges all throughout the night and attempting to sleep in between them as best I could. They were ramping up and becoming more and more intense. I slept for roughly 4.5 hours.In the morning we took our son Felix to nursery as normal and came home to continue labour. Rang the MLU and they were happy with me continuing labour at home until things ramp up. I had a small bowl of cereal and drank plenty of fluids all while cuddling my pregnancy ball in the living room. Mikey went upstairs to run a bath for me whilst I sat managing the surges on my ball in the living room. I spent around half an hour in the bath with Mikey pouring warm water over my bump and then back as the surges came on. I ended up laying on my side in there to get comfy.Once our the bath the surges continued and started to become slightly more intense. We remained in our bedroom and Mikey started rubbing my back and applying pressure to my hips as they intensified. I ended up on the floor and as a surge came through it felt different to the rest, I wrapped my arms around Mikey’s neck and as I breathed out my surge my waters burst. This happened at 11am. I used a bin to catch the remaining waters and made my way with the help of Mikey to the bathroom so I could sit on the toilet. At 11:10 Mikey rang the MLU who confirmed we were ready to go into hospital and have our baby. We got ready upstairs while managing my even more intense surges now as they had really ramped up. We made our way downstairs and I kept telling Mikey how we needed to hurry up and be quicker as I needed to get there. Mikey was in the middle of packing up my food, drinks and gathering any last bits necessary. He took me out to the car where I lined the seat with a towel. More and more surges rushed over me as I held onto the car door, unable to sit due to the intense pressure. Mikey had finished loading the car, sat in the drivers seat and started the engine. He told me to get in but I couldn’t. I told him I needed to go inside the house and I had to push. He told me I can’t and that I had to get in the car. I told him I needed to push and to get back in the house now. As soon as the door was open I began taking my clothes off and leant over the sofa seat on all fours and began to push. Mikey rang for an ambulance and had grabbed the towel of the passenger seat. The call handler talked Mikey through how to deliver our baby as the head was already crowning. After 2 pushes babies head was out. Mikey kept shouting for the ambulance to hurry up as there was a lot of blood loss from me and he was about to solo driver our baby and needed their help. Another 2 pushes and he caught our baby girl in his hands. He shouted to me ‘Zoe we’ve got a girl’. Baby girl was born at 11:32am.He passed our baby through my legs to me while he went to find a towel, as he did that my placenta came out, this happened 30 seconds after our baby girl was born. Mikey placed a tea towel over our girl to keep her warm until the ambulance arrived. Two crew ambulances arrived 3 minutes later. They congratulated us on the safe arrival of our baby girl. Mikey went to get some more towels to cover me and baby with to keep us warm. We sat there on the laminate floor of our living room and I was just laughing and smiling in shock of what had just happened. They asked if we wanted to go into hospital or stay home and I said stay home if we can but I would like to be checked over to make sure I hadn’t torn. MLU said we needed to go in as there was no one available to send out. Short ambulance ride to hospital all the while our little girl was latched on and having her first milk at 11:59am. She was so alert with her eyes open all the way to hospital.Medical checks done on both of us and Mikey cut the cord after our delayed cord clamping. I required stitches for a couple of minor tears. Mikey enjoyed skin to skin while this happened. A little while later I went for a shower while Mikey enjoyed more cuddles. Me and baby girl had to stay in overnight for observations.Grandad brought Felix to meet his baby sister from 18:00-19:00 then took him back to our house and put him to bed. He was so excited to meet his baby sister and immediately asked to cuddle her. He’s been obsessed with her since and keeps coming over to observe her and stroke her.Despite again this story not being the MLU pool birth we had planned, I honestly wouldn’t changed it for the world. What an out of body experience that was, I’ve never felt more proud of myself and my husband than in those 5 minutes of birthing our baby girl alone together on our living room floor.