Our new family member, a beautiful baby girl, was born on 15th of November at 10.01 am. The whole autumn we were worried that she would born too early like her big sister two years ago. Finally we managed to reach the pregnancy week 39+4. You can only imagine how great i felt after giving the birth. All that worrying was over. I was able to hug our princess who was healthy and perfect in every way!
Weight 3060 g and height 49 cm
Me after five hours. When giving birth goes on, the contractions get more painful. My mom gave me an advice that take a positive attitude towards contractions; every contraction takes your labor forward and to the point where the baby is been born and the pain is finally over. It is important to rest and recoup every minute between contractions because you need a lot of energy for the pushing stage.
Last picture of my baby bump. Three hours later this was gone.
There`s no pain like pain in childbirth. However the pain is not unbearable. The most important thing is to remember to breathe all the time! Breathe long and deep. It alleviates the pain. I know its hard but try to think about other things than the pain. It sounds silly (and maybe annoying) but it really helps if you think about positive things!
My pushing stage lasted for 36 minutes. The moment when you hear your child`s first cry and get her on your stomach is simply unspeakable. You feel yourself like a winner and you don`t know whether to cry or laugh. You`re exhausted but happy!
A mother and a daughter, first time hand in hand
This was the first time when I got our baby on my lap. Our firstborn, Unna was born as a preemie. That`s why a doctor took her straight away to check that she was strong enough to breathe by herself and in other ways too.
The worst pain is over. Now it is easy to smile. Next it`s the third stage of labor, the delivery of the placenta. However it is mild pain compared to the pain at the first and second stage of labor. After giving birth you`ll get contractions of the uterus. I got them during the next couple of days. The contractions of the uterus help to cut off and collapse the open blood vessels at the site where the placenta was attached. However, also this pain is nothing compared to the pain in childbirth.
Giving birth naturally is an empowering experience
Giving birth is an incredible experience in a woman`s life. In my life it has been the most painful experience, but also the most beautiful. My wish was to be able to give birth naturally. I was not absolute with it. I had agreed with myself to go for it if I felt that I can stand the pain and there`s no other obstacles for giving birth naturally.
My wish came true. Now that I`ve experienced a natural childbirth I can say that all the pain was definitely worth it. I`ve been surprised how fast my recovery from labor has been and how easy breastfeeding was from the beginning. Giving birth naturally has been the most empowering experience in my life. I survived the pain. Now I feel that I can survive through many things in life.
All labors are different and all mothers experience the pain in different ways. After experiencing the pain in childbirth I think it is totally understandable and acceptable to take epidural or use other painkillers while giving a birth. The main thing is that a baby is been born safely. It’s not about how naturally a mother can give a birth. In my labor our baby was doing fine all the time. Thats`s why it was possible to wait for the labor to proceed naturally. On the other hand I had a chance to concentrate more on myself. And because I had already experienced one labor, I knew already a little bit about the amount of pain. That`s why it was easier for me to prepare myself better on a mental level.
What I`ve heard, these days women decide more and more already beforehand that they want to have an epidural (and all the other painkillers). I think that is silly because all labors are different. It is also hard to say how big is the pain you can stand for. At least I wouldn`t have believed how much pain I can stand. That`s why I`d like to courage women to be open with giving a birth. Don`t decide beforehand that you want to feel as little pain as possible. Be open and see whether you need any painkillers or not while giving a birth. Giving birth can be an empowering experience that affects positively to your self-esteem.
A proud and relieved dad. Henri was happy to cut the umbilical cord and give our girl her first bath. There was not much he could do while I was giving a birth but his presence was indispensable.
Unna is only 2 years old but I had already forgot how small and adorable newborns are. Both with Unna and this new princess I`ve had a strong feeling to keep them close to me after giving birth. It is a good and natural thing because it enhances lactation and gives the baby the feeling of security.
Henri started to arrange a work substitute for him straight away after our baby girl`s birth to be able to start his paternity leave. In Finland fathers are able to have three weeks of paternity leave. Henri is going to have them in three stages – first week straight after labour and two weeks later on.
Sisters meet each other for the first time
Our hospital has a nice tradition to congratulate new parents
Because our baby was totally healthy and I was doing fine we had to stay in hospital only for two days
In hospital I had good time to rest and get to know our new princess
Unna was very calm and “easy” baby and I have a good feeling that this one is too
Grandparents were naturally one of the first visitors to see the baby
I can`t believe that we have two daughters now! It means three women at home against one man – no wonder Henri would still like to try to have another man to our family 😉
