I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant!

Crystal didn't know that she was pregnant, until she started feeling pains similar to the contractions she felt with her first born. A couple of hours later, she was giving birth to a gorgeous baby girl in the corridor at the hospital! Hear all about her story today, including the answers to the questions many have when they hear of this occurring!

Take it away Crystal.

This is a photo of Crystal when she was "pregnant" with her second child (little did she know!)

Most say that the hardest part about expanding the family is the transition from one child too two and supposedly it's meant to get easier!

Hang on... the hardest part is transitioning from one to two children... especially in the case of the unexpected ones like miss Isabella Louisa Musgrave whom came into the world on the 2/2/2013 at 12.12pm. On my discharge papers from the hospital it says baby looks to be full term, pregnancy:unknown.

Huh?

Lets rewind to July 2012 now. I'm staying with my sister in law and am an emotional wreck - she and I discussed a pregnancy test - negative. Okay I thought! New job starts on Monday. I'm a bit scared because I haven't worked full days since Nash was born in July 2011. I put my roller coaster emotions down to stressful times and carried on doing what I always do - taking care of my baby boy and working part time as a director of an after school care service.

Time passed and all I had on my mind is that I needed to get this service up to scratch - I have a lot of work to do... I didn't show and even lost some weight over the first 4 months of "my pregnancy." 

I had no real signs of that I can remember, no sickness or nausea which I had quite bad with Nash. The only thing that was the same was that I bled irregularly throughout both, which isn't abnormal. 

Then late last year people started saying when are you having another one? Maybe YOU ARE pregnant?

Well everyone who said it was right (and I didn't even realise!)

BAM! On Friday the 1st of February I had a really stressful day at work. My head was stuck in paperwork all day and didn't leave until 7 ( when i was suppose to leave at 6) so I called my sister in law and said let's do late night shopping and go get something to eat with her kids, mine and my brother. It was a good night until I got home and was in the toilet half the night with the runs (which is a sign of early labour). 

I had terrible cramps and felt awful in the morning. I tried for a sleep in, but couldn't. I felt terrible still and decided to get in the shower which was around 9 and passed "the plug"...

 My first thoughts were s#*t - I've been here before! I got dressed, had breakfast and started trying to piece together what had just happened. Then about half an hour later I started having sharp pains (contractions); I thought no, surely not!

I kept doing my thing but by 11am things were getting a bit full on. I had Nash by my side who wanted my undivided attention and me who by that stage knew what was going on as the pains (contractions) started to become a little too regular. 

I just kept thinking surely not, not now, I have to ring Brett ( my partner). No i cant! What am I going to tell him? What am I going to do with Nash? In a state of disarray, I left it until just before 12pm to call. Brett was up the road cutting down trees at his brothers. He came back up as all I said was I need you to come home.

5 minutes to 12pm Yvonne ( Brett's mum) rang the hospital. They said to head straight for the delivery room on the 6th floor. Away we went with a towel between my legs and me starting to pant quite heavily as the contractions were less than a minute apart by the time we got to the hospital I had the urge to push... Brett said "get out of the car we aren't having this baby here" so unwillingly out I hopped and made my way to the lifts with Brett by my side.

We get to the lifts and jumped in, as did 3 others. I'm trying hard not to make too much noise but the heavy breathing and pushing made all three passengers feel very unwelcome as they had their heads down trying to mind their own business. 

We stopped at level 5 to get out. We stopped at level 6, the other passengers got out and we followed closely behind, making it only 4 steps away from the lift. By that stage I had to stop and push... I think 4 pushes and my waters broke as "she" came out still half in her sack. Brett tried to grab her but she hit the deck and his foot whilst calling out to the guy who was walking into the delivery to tell someone to help!

 The cord snapped and I looked up as a lady came running towards us. She grabbed the baby, pinched the cord and told Brett to run and get someone to help. She said press the emergency button on the way in. I was in a bit of a daze. 

The adrenaline was pumping... I'd just given birth to a baby girl. What an entrance to the world!

We got settled in a room and my sister in law was the first to come up and help us. We started to tell family and by that night we had told them all. The next day we were discharged from hospital. Everyone had pitched in to get a spare car seat, nappies, clothes, a double pram and all of the things that I didn't have and wasn't expecting to get!

Off we drove with two children for the first time still in shock, homeward bound!

I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Big brother Nash with surprise sister Isabella!

Some commonly asked questions that I get:

What did you put on weight/notice that you had put on weight throughout the 9 months?

Soo I was a big fatty all throughout my "pregnancy" from I'd say about the 7th month. That is the first question people have been asking if I noticed if I was growing, answer: is I grew all over. The weight was evenly distributed and all over my body including my legs, belly, feet, arms and face. I filled out everywhere which lead me to believe that I was just fat and I had put on weight from not eating properly.

That tends to be followed by but didn't you feel the kicking and movement?

Answer: I was too busy with work to pay too much attention to it but that would explain why I felt uncomfortable sometimes and felt bloated within the last two months prior to her being born. I was starting to believe my mother: you're pregnant she would say!

Did you still have your period?

In the case of the monthlys, I always have bled irregularly and things didn't seem different during my first pregnant to Nash. I bleed a lot in the first 4 months and experienced light bleeding during the rest of it. After having Nash it barely came back as they say when you are breast feeding that it can stop most women's monthlys. When we think she was conceived it was at the time I was still breast feeding and when it did return it was light and only lasted a day or two!

Most women's boobs get bigger and sorer when they are pregnant. Did you notice this?

Another tell tale sign is the boobs: they can be really tender and even start to lactate. Mine are big and as Nash was feed until just after 12 months they were still pretty much the same as they were when he was feeding so I didn't notice any significant difference.

I lived with my mother and father in law and my mother in law was even trying to convince me to come out to netball training! Well I'm glad I wasn't in the mood or wanted too as it turns out it was for a good reason! 

But that just goes to show that people were as unaware as I was. 

Did you notice that you were more tired? 

The one thing I did suffer from was sever tiredness. By the time I'd gone to playgroup, the library etc in the morning, put Nash to sleep, went to work and then came home to Nash in the evening, by the time 9pm came around I was in bed asleep! But yet again, at the time I was just assuming it was because I was tired. 

Isn't she just adorable!

Stranger things have happened to people, but trust me having an unknown pregnancy isn't as uncommon as you think and it can certainly happen !!! 

Crystal xxx