Deep Freeze Patches.

Funny story. On the 16th of January 2012, I woke up with agonising back pain. I hoped once I was up & about it'd improve but even after some brief relief whilst standing under the shower, the pain didn't subside. I decided to hobble along the pharmacy & see if I could get some pain-relieving heat patches. Well, the pharmacist took one look at me & laughed. "We can't give you them this late in pregnancy," he said. As it turned out, my back pain was in fact contractions & John was born a day later.

Reminiscing aside, since becoming parents, back pain has become something that's tormented Iain & I on an almost daily basis. Between lifting a toddler & baby countless times a day, carrying car seats & shopping up to our first floor flat and not to mention our well & truly past-it mattress, it's no surprise really that our poor backs are sore.

Iain is already a fan of Deep Freeze, using the spray to ease his aches & pains after being out on the bike. As for me? I'm a bit of a martyr when it comes to pain. In fact, until I was about 15, I flat out refused any form of painkillers (traumatic Calpol encounters as a kid do that to a person!) but after a hallucination inducing bout of tooth ache, I soon changed my tune. The great thing about Deep Freeze Patches though is that they don't contain any medicines and instead rely on Cold Therapy [or Cryotherapy] so are perfect if you don't like dosing yourself up, or if you're pregnant or breast feeding.

First impressions! Apart from John thinking I have a giant plaster on my back, I was quite impressed. My past experience with similar products is a big bulky sticker that you are very well aware is there. The Deep Freeze Patch is different though - it's discrete, with lots of stick and is a soft, flexible plaster which moves well with your body. In fact, looking at it, you would simply assume it's just a giant plaster. Having only used the heat variety of Deep products, I wasn't sure how I'd like the Freeze sensation but I was pleasantly surprised. As you'd expect it has a cooling affect, just like that bag of peas your Mum used to use when you skint your knees!

What I did find however was that on my back, the patches did not stay in place. Perhaps if I was resting and letting them do their thing they'd stay in place better, however with two wee ones to chase after, this isn't really an option. As they kept sliding & starting to peel off, I did wonder if popping a bandage over them may help them stay-put but the instructions advise unfortunately against this. As the pain is in my back, I've not tried the patches on any other areas such as knees or shoulders but from the reviews I've read, the same problem doesn't seem to occur when used this way.

So overall? As Deep Freeze recommend using the patches on minor injuries such as those associated with sports I will continue to use them when required after running & for Iain after he's been on the bike, but for now I think the best bet for my back is some ibuprofen & a new mattress! (Or giving the boys away... Any takers?)

*I was sent these Deep Freeze patches for the purpose of this review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.*

Take care,

Reflecting.

When John was around 7 months old, I returned to education. At school, I was a nightmare student. I hated school and made it my aim to everyone show that. As a result, I came away with little qualifications. So in 2012, I decided to start an evening class in Higher English to try and pass one of the (many) exams I failed whilst at school. It was hard work but I loved it - it was something just for me. Unfortunately, when I became pregnant with David and endured a HG pregnancy, I had to drop out weeks before the final exams.

However, part of the course was to write a Reflective Essay on a personal experience of significance. I wrote about our first night home with John. And seeing as it never made it into a final portfolio for a Higher English Qualification, and it seems a shame for it just to remain saved to my hard drive, I thought I'd share it here...

David's Birth Story.

Pre-read warning!! This is a birth story, so not only will it be loooong but it will also feature plenty of TMIs. Proceed with caution...

SPD had been playing havoc on my pelvis for months now and the past couple of weeks had been particularly bad with not being able to lay in bed or even move without withering in pain. So when I was woken by a shooting pain at 1am on the 12th of November, I simply thought it was due to my failing pelvis being in an uncomfortable position. I dosed on & off for the next few hours when at 4am it hit me - this wasn't just my pelvis, these were contractions. I started to time when and was surprised to find they were 5 minutes apart and about 40 seconds long. Having regretted not resting in early labour with John, I decided to try and sleep as much as I could.

At 7am we were up with John. I was still getting irregular contractions but the length between them had increased again. I told Iain to go to work as normal and that I'd call him if there was any change. John & I went about our day as normal but I did notice John was particularly cuddly, which was lovely. And I soon lost track of the amount of times we read "Mummy Mummy, What's In Your Tummy".

Before I knew it, it was 7pm and Johns bedtime. Throughout the day my contractions had came and went - getting stronger & closer together, then shorter & further apart. Iain got in at 8pm by which point my contractions were at their strongest and quickly becoming more regular. We decided to order pizza for tea and whilst we waited on it arriving, I called Triage. Much to my surprise, they told us to come in ASAP. I had assumed they'd hear I'd been having irregular contractions all day and tell me to come in when things had progressed further, but since this was my second baby, they said things tend to happen quicker and I'd be better off there.

Birth Plan - The Second Time Around.

As a first time Mum, one of the biggest & most daunting things you have to consider is your birth plan. With so many options available these days and so many things to consider, it can seem like a minefield of epidural's, episiotmoy's and vitamin K. Where do you even start?

With the birth of John, I did vast amounts of research on what pain relief I'd like, what interventions I wanted to avoid and how I'd like things to go after the actual birth. And this is how my Birth Plan panned out;

Birth Companion.
Iain (partner & baby-daddy) and Christine (my Mum).
I would like Iain there at all times.
Pain Relief.
Relaxation & breathing, birth ball, gas & air, TENS machine and birthing pool. Ideally would like to avoid opiates but open to try if really struggling with pain. Do not want epidural unless things become completely unbearable.
Monitoring.
Intermittent monitoring unless otherwise needed.
Interventions.
As few as possible - I really do not want to have an episiotomy or forceps. Avoiding c-section unless completely necessary.
I would like things to run as naturally as possible so would like to avoid induction or breaking of my waters.
Delivery Positions.
Would like freedom to move into comfortable position - like the idea of squatting.
Discovering the Sex.
I would like Iain to reveal the sex to me as opposed to the midwife doing so.
Delivery of Placenta.
I would like a managed 3rd stage labour.
I would like Iain to have the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord, although I'm aware he'll probably decline.
Feeding.
I really want to breastfeed so skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible and would would appreciate assistance in breast feeding if needed.
If for any reason I'm unable to have skin-to-skin contact (eg. emergency c-section) it's important to me that Iain have the opportunity to have skin-to-skin until I'm able to.
I do not wish for my baby to be formula fed.
Vitamin K.
I would like my baby to be given vitamin K as a single injection.

Now, some people will tell you having a Birth Plan is pointless and only sets you up for disappointment, which if you're going to write things such as "I want my baby to be born at 3.09am, after 24 minutes of pushing and exactly two shots of diamorphine", then sure, you're maybe being a bit too specific. But I think with a Birth Plan it's important to be clear on your ideal birth but flexible and open to the fact that things might not go to plan.

For example, with Pain Relief, I was pretty sure that for various reasons I didn't want an epidural. That wasn't to say that if I ended up in labour for 4 days straight and the pain was more unbearable than I thought, that I would want the option to have become unavailable. I made a point of listing my preferred pain relief in steps of willing to try, with epidural being the final option. In the end I had half a shot of diamorphine and otherwise stuck to gas & air. An epidural was briefly mentioned but I really didn't think I was at the stage of needing one.

What I'm trying to say is, with a Birth Plan, be clear but open to change. That way you won't be overly disappointed if things don't go to plan.

So what will I be doing differently this time around? Well, over all I was very happy with the birth of John, however there is a few minor tweaks I'll be making.

 

 Birth Centre. I'll be requesting to give birth in Birth Centre at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as opposed to the Labour Ward. With John we started off in the Birth Centre but unfortunately had to be moved to the Labour Ward for monitoring. The difference in the rooms is phenomenal and I'd much rather stay and birth in the beautiful big rooms of the Birth Centre than be stuck in a poky wee room on the Labour Ward. Of course, there may not be a room available in the Birth Centre but we'll just cross our fingers that there is!

 Pain Relief. If I learnt anything from last time around, it's that I deal with pain quite well. The only moment pain relief was brought up during my first labour was when the midwife said, "I don't want to mention it because you've not asked - like how I wouldn't want to ask if you were ill and not showing symptoms - but do you want to consider pain relief?" Cue my Mum & Iain discussing epidural and diamorphine. At that moment I agreed to try a shot of diamorphine but if I'm perfectly honest, did nothing for the pain (not that I'd ever turn that magical stuff down if offered again!) and I didn't ask for any more - gas & air was sufficient, even if only a distraction.
So this time I think I'll follow a similar route - going as far as I can on as little pain relief interventions as I can. I'll also be prepping myself with positive affirmations & birthing knowledge, inspired by the beautiful Jess at Life With Malakai.

 Water Birth. With John, I never actually made it into the birthing pool before being transferred  to the Labour Ward. This time I would love the opportunity to get into the pool and reap the benefits of water as pain relief. I'm unsure how I'll feel once actually in the water but I do like the idea of a water birth, especially considering I seem to be suffering with SPD this time around.

How have your birth plans varied from pregnancy to pregnancy?

Don't forget - you can vote every 24 hours!

John's Birth Story

Pre-read warning: This is a long one!

It was literally a last minute decision to go to aqua natal on Wednesday (11/01/2012). I’d been out of town with my mum and sister, visiting my Aunty, and only got in 20 minutes before the class was due to start. I decided that since Kathryn - one of the girls from my antenatal classes - had been in touch to see if I was going, I’d make the effort. Plus Iain made the point that it could well be the last aqua natal class I went to.
The class itself was great. Busy - every other time if been there was 4 girls max, but this time there was close to 20. It was walking home though, that the braxton hicks started. And they weren’t stopping!
By Thursday morning I think I knew we wouldn’t make it to the 20th but wasn’t wanting to jinx it.
I spent the weekend on mission ‘get-baby-out’ which involved lots of walking, bumpy car rides, curry & chilli for tea, spending my life on my birth ball and having some time with Iain in the mornings. Out of all of those things I honestly believe it was the walking that really helped - gravity on my side and all that.