By Jade Glen
They say third time’s a charm – and for the Barcenas family, the third addition certainly proved to be a surprise package.
Baby Declan surprised his parents, Jess and Alex Barcenas of Cranbourne East, by arriving on his own terms at 36 weeks, well before his scheduled caesarean birth.
He joins his sisters Mia and Alannah, both delivered by Caesarean Section.
“With Mia I had a normal pregnancy, all was going well and I was booked in to have a normal delivery. I went in to labour naturally and laboured for over 24 hours, then pushed for two hours, and they said she’s stuck; we need to get this baby out. So it was an emergency caesarean,” Jess said.
“It was definitely a shock, being our first baby and first pregnancy; you just kind of assume things will go to plan. We were hoping for a water birth and obviously that didn’t happen. I was in shock, and also really tired after a typically long first labour.”
When Mia was three-years-old, the couple fell pregnant again. Doctors gave Jess the option of scheduling an elective caesarean or attempting to deliver vaginally.
“I think the idea of potentially going through labour then having another C-section was a fear in my mind. My husband and I spoke and said lets go with what we know.
“We had a date booked for 39 weeks and my waters broke at 38 weeks – I was at woollies, I had a list of things to do before the date so was going about my business – so I went home and definitely knew what was happening. That was quite a shock, but we still did a caesarean, just a week to the day before her booked date.”
When Alannah was 10-months-old, the couple discovered they were expecting again.
“It was much sooner than we had thought and planned on having a third, but that’s OK,” Jess said.
“At my first hospital appointment, they went through my medical history and basically said you’ll need to have a third caesarean, once you’ve had two the risks are much higher. So again I had my date and was working everything around this date.”
On 20 June, at 36 weeks, Jess went in for a routine growth scan.
“Everything was going to normally, the baby was looking good, a good size. I went home that day and then about an hour later I started having what I thought may be Braxton Hicks, sort of tightenings, but I wasn’t quite sure.
“I thought it was way too early for anything to be happening at 36 weeks and 3 days, but within an hour it got way too intense too quickly.
“I called the hospital and they said have a panadol and a hot shower and call back if your waters break or anything and I said no, I think I’m in real labour!”
The midwife checked Jess’s history and said she’d better come in for a check-up. Jess called Alex, who luckily was already on his way home from work, and her parents, who came to look after Mia and Alannah.
“The car rise was horrific – I was in lots of pain,” Jess said.
“They checked me out and said you’re actually 10 centimetres dilated and the baby wants to come out now, he’s in a really good position, and how do you feel about having a vaginal birth.
“I wasn’t mentally prepared but just had to go with what was happening.”
Jess was allowed to push whenever she felt ready, and about an hour and a half later Declan was born, weighing 2.93kg. He was breathing on his own and feeding straight away, seemingly unaware of how unexpected his arrival was.
“I was in shock – I just thought hang on, he’s not meant to be here yet! That was part of it, and obviously I was relieved that he was fine, and there were not any issues. I was also shocked that I ended up having a vaginal birth, but happy that I was able to birth a baby the way I always thought I was going to.”
“I didn’t have a hospital bag or anything ready – typical third baby – so once he was born I sent Alex home with a list of the bare essentials,” she said.
The unexpected delivery proved to be a blessing for the family, with Jess able to get straight back in to the swing of things.
“I felt quite good within about 24 hours; I was happily walking around and getting up and down to change him. It was quite different to how I felt 12-24 hours after my caesareans. I was able to do so much more with my toddler, being and picking her up.”
Jess said the girls loved having a baby brother, and that while her days were incredibly full, things had fallen in to a rhythm.
“It’s busy from the time everyone wakes to the moment they are in bed at night. A lot of my day is just feeding people and changing nappies, and getting everyone in and out of the car is a mission – but we are getting in to a groove now.”
