EP#25: EMILY ~ a ten year rollercoaster

Emily has had a whirlwind ten years. From relocating her whole life from Hertfordshire to the Midlands in order to live with her partner, to having three babies under five, to being made redundant whilst pregnant with her second child, to becoming self-employed and learning to juggle childcare as well as the very different needs of her three beautiful children. Emily has it all going on and she’s somehow managing to keep it all together without day to day support from family, who live on the other side of the country. We talk about her three c-sections and what her secret is to staying afloat.In this episode we talk about:Moving to the other side of the country and having no family nearby Being made redundant and becoming self-employedThe fear before bedtime, not knowing what type of night you’re going to getTaking it slower and more gently third time round Trying to relax while there’s chaos around youHoping and trying to get pregnant then feeling sad when it becomes a realityFinding it tough when friends aren’t in the same stage as youThe experience of prior pregnancies giving you more confidence in your judgements and knowing when to worry vs notBuying other parent friends through NCTWaters breakingBeing induced but nothing happeningAn emergency c-sectionNot eating for 26 hoursAsking for morphine!Being discharged a few hours after a c-section A lockdown pregnancy and birthThe unexpected joy of having no visitors in hospitalA hole in uterus after the first c-sectionPainful post labour contractions with third babyInfected c-section scarTrying to rest and recover whilst having a toddler jumping all over youWhat to be careful of after a c-sectionBeing tempted to rush recovery and it always being a mistake Life post third c-section Third child born at 38 weeksFeeling so much more confident third time roundStruggling to introduce a bottle at four months following breastfeedingLearning to feel comfortable breastfeeding in front of family or in publicThe constraints of breastfeeding and wanting more than an hour to yourselfIntroducing one bottle in the evening and breastfeeding the rest of the dayWhen your career stalls and your partners carries onBeing made redundant while pregnant with second childSuper grannies rallying round to help with childcare Catering to three children with very different needs