- Hi everyone.
So, baby Jackson is here.
He arrived three days ago.
I gave birth to him at home,
and I really want to share with you
my labor and delivery story.
This video is going to be a mix of footage
that we got on the day and me talking you through it.
Because, obviously, as things got more intense
it was harder to pick up the camera and update.
So, we'll kind of jump back and forth.
Right, hi guys, it is now 20 past one on Saturday.
Last night was like a false start.
I had two hours of contractions.
What I thought was contractions every eight minutes,
and then I spoke to the midwives and they said
third labors can be really start and stop,
and then they just stopped.
And it was midnight and I was like I'm just gonna go to bed.
While I was asleep, I didn't get any,
and then all this morning was nothing.
Then, in the last like half an hour they've been,
I've been having like some pains
every five minutes only lasting like 30 seconds,
but they're worse than last night,
and I've now had like a bigger show,
so quite a bit of blood.
I called Matt and told him to come home from work.
My mum is gonna take the boys to a birthday party
that they are going to today for two hours.
Oh, I'm getting one now, actually.
Right, just had a little one.
It was like another, what was it?
So that was, it's been three minutes.
Three minutes, lasting 35 seconds.
So, Matt's on his way home,
the kids are going out,
and then I think I might just call the midwife.
They said to call when they're every six minutes apart,
and lasting a minute.
But, they're every like three to five minutes,
lasting less so, I don't know.
I'm gonna call them.
It's Emily Norris.
- [Man] Home birth?
- Yes.
- [Man] Scheduled for home birth yes?
Did you have home births with the other two?
- No, no I didn't. I had them in hospital.
- [Man] Okay.
- The last one was quick,
so we thought we'd have this one at home.
So, two shows now, quite big shows,
but no waters.
- [Midwife] Hold on.
- Spoken to the midwife that's coming,
and she said she will be here in half an hour.
Still coming, they're still only like 30 to 45 seconds
every five minutes,
and I can breathe through them and talk between them
so you know, they're not that bad,
but the midwife was like,
"Oh, it being your third baby,
"I think I should just get there," kinda thing.
So, yeah, so she's on her way.
Matt's here, back from work.
I said to Matt, I'm scared,
like I'm scared to call the midwives.
I'm scared to start setting stuff up
in case it like jinxes it.
I don't know why I'm being really superstitious,
but I just don't want this to stop.
I just really want the pain to carry on.
Just praying that this is it
because I'm booked in for induction tomorrow.
I just really want to avoid it.
(guitar strumming lightly)
At this point, contractions started to get worse for me,
and my most comfortable place to be
was just swaying by the breakfast bar.
I was so pleased that I didn't have to get in a car
and drive to hospital,
because for me, in the past,
that has been really, really uncomfortable,
so to be able to just stay at home and relax
and be in my own environment was such a plus.
(guitar strumming lightly)
The midwife arrived and started doing
all my antenatal checks.
She would check his heartbeat during contractions
and between contractions,
and I changed into my lucky black dress,
which is what I have worn for all of my births.
I wore that when I gave birth to Fraser and Caleb,
and I now believe that it brings me luck.
(fetal heart beat pulsing)
The midwife monitored Jackson's heartbeat
through my contractions,
and she said that even though my contractions
were getting stronger,
that he was not bothered in the slightest.
At this point, Matt started to set everything up.
We had waterproof dust sheets to cover our couches
and black towels for when he arrived.
Once I was five centimeters dilated,
I put my hypnosis on my headphones,
and I just really tried to listen to the words,
relax, and breathe, and concentrate on my hypnosis
and try not to listen to anything else
that was going on around me.
So, at this point my waters broke,
and things started moving really fast
and getting really strong.
I was still refusing any kind of pain relief,
because I still had such a fear of induction.
I didn't want anything to slow my labor down.
So, I was still saying no to everything.
But it was funny because I was probably
about seven centimeters, so I was obviously in labor.
My waters just went.
- [Midwife] Okay.
Three, nine, one.
- I'm struggling with my contractions,
but I don't want any pain relief
because I don't want anything to slow it down.
- [Midwife] (mumbles) complicates, because I've got second.
- So hot.
- [Midwife] Well, she was four an hour ago.
- Because things were moving so quickly as well,
the midwife was worried that I was going to tear.
So she recommended that I have some gas and air,
just to control my breathing,
and to maybe try and slow things down a little bit.
(moaning)
- [Midwife] Take the gas, take the gas.
Use the gas, use the gas.
- [Matt] Breathe in, Ems, breath.
That's it, it's over.
- Can I not push, yet?
- [Midwife] Not yet, not yet.
If you can breathe through it, then you carry on, okay?
- Okay.
- [Midwife] You're doing brilliantly.
- I want to push.
- [Midwife] Your body will just take over, okay?
- Okay.
- [Midwife] So, if you can still try and breath
that what I want you to do. - Get ready to try.
- [Midwife] That's all that gas is doing for you
at the minute is probably not doing much as a pain relief,
but it's probably helping you breathe,
and control your breathing.
(pained moaning)
- [Matt] Baby Jackson, hello!
Can you hear him?
(baby crying)
Hey it's okay.
- He's just done a wee on me. - He's done a wee.
- [Midwife] Hey, I'm gonna cut the cord.
- Oh he's here, oh - Hey, hey.
- [Midwife] Can we have the heating on?
- [Matt] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
- Right, he's here, and he's crying,
but he had to poo inside, so they're just checking him,
before I can hold him, but...
But he's here and he's making noise so that's good.
- [Midwife] But we don't know if he can
swallow anymore than that, alright,
because it can lead to an infection, problems like that so.
- Oh poor Bubba.
- So it's safer to... - Okay.
- Jackson, oh. - Oh Bubba!
- [Midwife] He's picking up nicely now.
- Aw! - Yeah, yeah well done.
- I didn't know it was going to be that quick, okay.
(baby crying)
Jackson?
- [Matt] What's the time?
- [Midwife] Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
- You kept me awake, but when you decided you didn't wanna--
- This baby's (mumbles)-- - Yeah?
Does he look like Caleb did? - Yeah.
- Does he look the same? - Yeah.
- Oh, oh mister, why did you poo in there?
- [Midwife] I know, can you believe it?
- [Matt] Didn't Caleb did do that as well?
- [Midwife] (mumbles) that part, it was beautiful.
- [Matt] Didn't Caleb do that as well?
- Basically. - Okay, Frazier's the first.
- In the end, our midwife actually had to
deliver Jackson on her own, you normally get two midwives,
one for you and one for the baby,
but our second midwife didn't arrive
because it all just happened so quickly,
so our poor midwife, she was amazing
and she did had to do it all on her own.
We then had some skin to skin,
and I waited to deliver the placenta naturally,
and it came out just on it's own,
after 10 minutes, with one contraction.
- [Midwife] Oh you're gorgeous, he's come through so quickly
- Yeah, I know - You see, dad?
He's got little broken vessels in his eyes,
they'll take about six weeks to disappear,
because he just shot through. - Oh, yeah.
- Oh hello, you're beautiful,
oh let's go weigh you
'cause mom and dad want to know
how much you weigh, little Jackson.
Alright guys, sorry Jackson, this is not very good but,
oh he's quite good size, 3.45, would you agree?
- [Midwife] Yeah 3.45 kilograms.
- [Midwife] Head circumference is 36.5
- Oh, he's lookin' at you. - Look at you lookin' around
- [Emily] He's thinking, "Look at her,
"I don't know her." - He's so alert!
- Yeah, and then I called my mum to say
that she should bring the boys back home from the party,
'cause obviously we didn't know how long it was gonna be,
so she wasn't sure but they came home from the party
and they were thrilled to meet their little brother.
- [Matt] Hello.
- Is Jackson here?
- [Matt] He's here, yeah, do you wanna meet him?
- Yeah - Yeah?
Your little brother,
go meet him.
- Did you have a nice time at the party?
Look who's here.
- [Matt] They say they're from Jackson,
I think that top one's for Caleb,
and that big one's for you.
- [Frazier] I wanted this.
- We got you the light sabers you wanted.
- [Camera Woman] Wow Frazier, what a good brother.
- I wanted these from Toys-R-Us!
- [Emily] Hulk smash hands!
- [Caleb] Hey, it's Hulk!
- [Matt] Look, momma's got the baby, Jackson's here.
- The baby came out my tummy!
Caleb look!
- Look, it's Jackson.
- [Caleb] He's got hair.
- Hi, baby.
- Aww!
- Aww, That's so nice.
You're hugging him with your Hulk hands.
- He got you a present.
- The baby came out.
- [Emily] The baby come out my tummy.
- [Matt] Caleb, Caleb, what's his name?
- Jackson.
- [Matt] Is he big or small?
- Small.
- [Matt] Is he cute?
- [Emily] Jackson's here!
- [Matt] Is he cute?
- He's your brother, aww! - Aww!
[Both] Hulk smash him.
- He's your brother!
- Look at his little hands.
- [Matt] Look at his little hands!
- Mommy, look at his blanket.
- It's tiny, isn't it?
(mellow music)
We got a good couple of hours with the boys
and they got to meet him and be all over him.
I had a shower, something to eat
and got ready to go to the hospital,
thank God I had already packed my hospital bag.
- [Camera Woman] He's so gorgeous, Emily,
he's just beautiful.
- I want to give him a kiss.
- Aww, so nice
♪ Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, ♪
♪ Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday ♪
- [Matt] Can you give him a little kiss on the head?
- Aww, he looks just like you, Caleb.
We're in the ambulance now and we're
getting ready to go to hospital,
they just checked the blood pressure, pulse, all that stuff,
the baby, I'm on a stretcher,
and Jackson is in between my legs.
- We've got a special baby one.
- [Emily] They've got a baby sized one, aww,
this is his pulse.
This is gonna be his pulse,
- There we go. - Oh 104, yeah.
- [EMT] oxygen level's at 100 or 98
- [Emily] Oh that's good, that's good,
so he can't be too mucusy.
- [EMT] Yeah, airway's clear.
(soft piano music)
- Oh wow, got my own room, that is so lucky.
So it's about 9:00 at night now
and we have settled into the hospital,
by some amazing stroke of luck,
we have got our own private room, I'll show you it,
oh it's a bit bright, but here's my bed,
here is baby Jackson, he's just had a feed,
and he's so alert, really looking around and being so cute.
Oh you've got a sneezy, little sneezing,
hello, hello Bubba, can you hear my voice?
That annoying, weird voice, hello.
For someone who's just been born, he's been so alert
and awake and he's got these really beautiful,
pale blue eyes, and I'm so in love, I'm so in love.
My husband, obviously I came in an ambulance,
so my husband is following behind in the car,
With the car seat and everything,
obviously he's not gonna stay the night
but I've got to stay the night,
we've got to stay for 12 hours to be monitored
but I've got a single room, we've got our own en suite,
and I'm really lucky, they say they've pulled some strings
because they felt like I shouldn't be here,
I should be at home with the Prosecco and my X-Factor,
so they've been really, really, lovely.
Everyone's been so kind and nice and amazing.
Literally, if I could just bottle this feeling up,
this is the biggest high you can ever have,
I just feel so high and so happy and so like,
I've got goosebumps, I'm so lucky, I'm so lucky, so lucky.
My husband should be here any minute, he's bringing a pizza,
really hope they let him in with it 'cause I'm starving
and we're just gonna hangout and enjoy our boy.
My two older ones, they're at home in bed,
so I don't have to worry about them.
I'm really going to miss them tomorrow morning,
when I'm here, but at least they got to meet him
and they know mommy just hasn't gone missing,
they know exactly where I am,
I said "we're gonna go to the doctor for Jackson,
"they're just gonna check him over"
but so far, everything is as normal, his pulse,
his blood pressure, everything is good.
So they just monitor him every two hours.
Don't know if I should pick him up,
he might be a bit windy,
but he's just making the cutest newborn noises
and you know that you just forget how tiny they are,
like Caleb is still my baby really, my two year old
but when you hold him, he's tiny,
I need to give him a cuddle 'cause he's cute.
Look at those lips, eh?
Look at those beautiful lips and eyes.
(making playful noises)
Should we cuddle?
(soft music)
He's just had his check and he's all good.
And he looks just like his brothers, look at him.
- [Matt] His lips, and his little smile.
Smile if you like us, oh you're pouting.
- [Emily] Blue steel.
- [Matt] Oh yeah.
- [Emily] He's got the cute little chin.
- [Both] Oh, hello.
- [Matt] Stop talking, I was just dreaming about them boobs.
- Could you shut up?
I wanted to say thanks so much as well to everyone
for all of their support during my pregnancy updates,
and my live updates on Facebook during the birth,
it was so, so special and I had some really loving messages
about how people had never considered a home birth before
but they would now and how nice it is
to see a positive birth experience
and just loads of well wishes to our family,
so we really appreciate it.
Everyone seems to love my husband as well,
even though he never talks on my blog, he's a bit shy,
but he's really supportive of them but he's just a bit shy.
Thank you so much for watching,
I hope you enjoyed this delivery story
and I'm so glad that he's here
and that I didn't have to be induced
and yes, I'm just gonna go back to
being in my baby bubble now,
and thanks so much for watching, bye.
(gentle music)