Ace Davies: A Birth Story

On September the 6th 2018, my wife Sara gave birth to our second child - Ace. The whole pregnancy is different the second time around. Less worry about how we will handle parenting, and getting all the bits and pieces ready. But more worrying about how Rory will take to having a little brother, and how the new baby will fit into our current family dynamic.

With Rory, Sara went into labour 16 days early. But Ace waited until ONE day past due date. I don’t like talking about pregnancy from the mums point of view because, well thats not something I will ever experience - so I would never really be able to describe it accurately. But I will tell you one thing, every single day felt like a day too many for Sara. She couldn’t wait to get this boy out.

So its the morning of the 6th. And just like with the first birth, I wake up to Sara on the phone to the hospital. Its around 5:30 am, and I instantly go into “All Systems Go” mode. I started packing a bag for Sara (like i said, we were very laid back about this pregnancy), and I gave Saras mum a call. Luckily her phone was on loud and it woke her up. I explained that Sara was having contractions and today was the day. She said she would keep in touch and pop up later. I hung up...and...well...it was at that point I realised the contractions were getting closer together. A lot closer together. I called the MIL back a few minutes later: “Umm Mandy, maybe you could come up now? Like...right now? This baby is going to be here REAL soon.” She got the picture.

Then it came to what we were going to do with our Two year old Rory for the day. I text my best mate, my dad my mum and my sister. They were all free today. Brilliant start. I arrange with Lee (best mate) to come pick Rory up and chauffeur him around the family for the day. He agreed because he’s an absolute delight. The only problem with Lee is his lack of urgency. He is the guy who says he is 5 minutes away when he hasn’t even got out of bed yet. He said he would be right around, but I didn’t hold my breath. But let me tell you. He got there quickly. Very quickly. Thank the lord. He took Rory to my dads for a couple of hours, then he took him to my sisters and then to my mums.

So back to Sara and Ace. We got to the hospital around 9am. We had requested the Birthing Pool in our birth notes, but when Sara got examined the Midwife told us this baby would be here so quickly, they might not even have enough time to fill the tub! Its like somebody told him he was a day late and he was trying to make up for lost time!

Fortunately, we got the pool. The only time I have seen a birthing pool is on Peep Show when Mark is on Poop duty with a net. There was no net for me. So I had zero familiarity with this situation. Overall, I think the birthing pool was a fantastic choice. It offers room for Sara to move around, the water helps with pain and gives the baby a less-stressful birth, and she could still have Gas and Air. We were on a midwife led unit, what that means is - the midwives are there and they watch and offer encouragement, but they don’t get involved until they have to. Sara was in a lot more pain this time round, mainly due to her waters not breaking and the baby being a fair bit bigger than Rory. But she managed through it and she was fantastic.

At around 10:30 am - Ace was born. Sara held him on her chest and he had a little cry. I had a big cry. I had been very worried that I wouldn’t be able to love another kid as much as I love Rory. But let me tell you, as soon as I saw him - all those worries were gone. I held him and I kept crying. He kept sticking his tongue out and looking around. He was, and still is absolutely perfect.

Sara didn’t need stitches this time (thank the lord, because she said the stitches with Rory was way worse than the actual birth). And we were able to go home at 17:30. Just 12 hours after i had woke up.

Rory stayed out for the night over his Nan’s house, so we could get ourselves settled in. The next morning, Rory came in - totally ignored Ace for like 15 minutes, but then warmed up to him. He absolutely ADORES his little brother. And is learning all the ways to look after him.

So that was the story of how we went from 3 to 4. Its definitely brought a new level of struggles, but it is always worth it. Ace has slotted into our family perfectly, and we can’t imagine life without him now.