We welcomed our second son, Arthur Ryan Maroun, to the world on 8 September 2023. I can’t quite believe I’m lucky enough to be the mom to two beautiful baby boys. The overwhelming sense of joy that I have when I look into the face of each one is indescribable. There truly is no greater love. This is Arthur’s Birth Story.
My pregnancy with Arthur had certain complications which I mentioned in my third-trimester update. As with Teddy, I was injecting blood thinners twice a day. I had the misfortune of developing gestational diabetes which caused quite the scare. I also lost the hearing in my right ear during my third trimester. I had a few other odd pregnancy symptoms that I discussed in this birth story video but those were definitely the most concerning.
When taking blood thinners, the doctors aim to limit the amount of bleeding that will take place during delivery by advising that you stop taking your blood thinners a set amount of time before the baby is expected. Given the need for a controlled delivery, I was advised that we would want to avoid natural labour and would have my babies before their due date. With Teddy, I opted for induction, however, this failed when I haemorrhaged during labour and Teddy was delivered via emergency caesarean. Given my history, this time I was advised that a planned caesarean would be the safest way to deliver Arthur. I was disappointed that I was going to miss out on the experience of delivering naturally at full term but the safety of my children arriving in this world was paramount. We booked the caesarean for 8 September 2023 but was later diagnosed with gestational diabetes that we struggled to control. Towards the end of my pregnancy, my doctors were slightly concerned that the scheduled caesarean would need to be moved forward as the risk of preterm labour increased. I was booked off work to rest and managed to avoid preterm labour, thank goodness.
The night before the caesarean, we stayed at my in-laws who were going to be looking after Teddy while we were in the hospital. We put him to bed and then tried to have an early night. The night before the delivery, I was excited to meet my beautiful boy and a bit anxious too. General discomfort at that stage of pregnancy is completely normal so when I woke up at midnight feeling rather achy, I didn’t think too much of it but as time went on, it seemed to become more painful and rhythmical. I was in labour. Thank goodness Ryan recognised it because I certainly didn’t. He told me it was time to get dressed and that we were going to the hospital. We were about 5 minutes from the hospital but by the time we had arrived, I was having serious contractions. My little boy had decided that he was going to celebrate his birthday on the day we had planned, just a few hours earlier than scheduled. It was time for a second emergency caesarean at 3am in the morning. Once I was in theatre, my OB also realised that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Arthur’s neck three times. I watched as he unwrapped it off Arthur which was a little worrying but I knew he was in safe hands. I heard my baby boy’s loud cry as he entered the world. It is such a surreal moment and when I was able to hold my healthy boy in my arms, I was filled with so much gratitude. He had arrived perfectly healthy at 3.5kg.
By the time 9:30, the time we had actually planned the caesarean, rolled around, we were well settled in our hospital room and absolutely besotted with the newest addition to our family. Our parents came to visit during the course of the morning and Teddy came charging in to meet his little brother. My heart could have burst with the beauty of it all. I can’t even begin to describe the love I have for these two little boys. Nothing in this world could ever compare. I couldn’t be more grateful to be their mom.
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