I wanted to post this earlier in the month, while it was still fresh in my mind, but I just couldn't free my hands for three minutes in order to share with you my latest birth experience.
I was going to try and keep it short, but I'm still so excited by it, I may struggle.
We'd attending hypnobirthing courses with Lee from
Amazing Births at 20 weeks, when we then decided we wanted a home birth. My due date came and went and I started to panic about being pressurised into induction so on Saturday I went to see
Wendy McGregor for some induction acupuncture. And that's when it started...
I was having frequent surges (contractions) from the appointment throughout the rest of the day. Nothing much to them, but enough to make me stop talking and concentrate on walking through the park! This continued throughout Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor, and then at 10pm I retired to bed, knowing full well I would be up again soon. I failed to tell Chris this (didn't want to jinx it), so he ended up staying up to play on the computer. He regrets this, as, at 11.30pm he came to bed. His head hit the pillow and I told him it was time to get up again.
He prepared the room for the birth. Candles, oil burning, music on, pool up. At some point the midwife arrived and was shown to the kitchen to read my birth preferences (in short: shut up and leave me to it!). I'd asked for no examinations in my birth preferences, but she wanted to check I was in labour. I hadn't wanted her there at that point. I wasn't ready, but they'd misunderstood Chris's call and sent the midwife out to us. I was thinking I'd only be a cm dilated, and she'd assume I wasn't in labour when I knew I was.... I was 4cm, and some other technical mumbo jumbo.
The midwife left me to my own devices. She didn't speak to me. She didn't even tell me her name. I didn't know until I read my notes after, that her name was Ruth. She directed all questions through Chris. However, I was in such a sound state of mind that I would have happily spoken to them both. But the peace and quiet was lovely, to be fair. I sat on my ball and breathed through each surge, listening to the hypnobirthing music. I had the affirmations playing, and found myself grinning from ear to ear through one surge which timed itself perfectly with the affirmation "Each surge of my body brings my baby closer to me"...
I started softly crying at one point, at the realisation I was about to have a baby. I don't think I'd come to terms with this at any point in my pregnancy. It had all been a bit surreal. I barely felt pregnant.
I just chilled out with my own company. Midwife would come and listen to baby's heartbeat, always perfect, and then leave me again. Eyes closed. Breathing. Meanwhile Chris was chasing the cats around. The Midwife was allergic, and they were excited by her paperwork, coat, medical equipment, etc...
As the surges grew stronger, I decided to try out the pool. It was lovely. Too lovely. I was falling asleep slightly. Chris ACTUALLY fell asleep. My surges slowed slightly. I got out again and sat on my ball.
I was still perfectly fine and normal. Had I not been ensuring I was completely relaxed, I think I'd have happily been cleaning, or cooking, or dancing inbetween surges... And even through surges!
I realised it was time to get back in the pool. I didn't have a clue what the time was. I figured I'd only been in labour for an hour or so... When Chris mentioned the kids potentially waking up soon. WHAT!? So he made arrangements with my mum to come and collect them, and he'd wake them for her arrival. Up until this time, I was generally just "chillaxing" as Ella would say. Nothing much to report.
Things started to kick up a notch. I started crying and crying. The midwife and Chris sat in front of me by the pool. It was the first time the midwife had been within 5 metres of me throughout the labour. They told me I was doing great. I told them I knew I was, and there was no reason for my crying. I knew I was in "transition". I'd have told them that if I was more conscious and able to talk. I was starting to zone out a bit... Or tune into my body. At this point, I asked Chris to wipe my mascara tears (I hadn't taken my makeup off before bed). Instead of wiping under my eye, as a woman would, he wiped down from my eyelid to my cheek, smearing more mascara on my face. This caused a bit of a grumble from me about his lack of mascara wiping knowledge, which we all found amusing.
The surges that followed were the first that I made noise. I wasn't screaming. I was growling a little as I breathed out, that was all. I said "it's coming" a few times, as I felt the babies head move down. The second midwife turned up. I started to "push" (although was still very much breathing rather than pushing). I kept telling Chris that I wasn't getting anywhere. It just felt like nothing was happening. But the midwife told me to feel the babies head. A few more surges, and it was time for the head to be born. I shouted through this surge! And voila, babies head. Midwife told me how to lift baby out of the water, but I don't think I was really listening to her. I said "come on baby" followed by another shouty push... and my baby was born. I could see his willy before I even began lifting him (as his bum was floating upwards) so I announced that it was a boy before lifting him, screaming, to my chest. It was 7.32am on Halloween (although the clocks had gone back at 2am, so add an hour on to the length of the labour).
We got out to deliver the placenta. He was weighed (8lbs 6oz), and everyone was happy. I walked around perfectly normally (it didn't feel like I'd given birth... the water was amazing!) and then fed him while we discussed names. We settled on (by other names being crossed off) Isaac Charlie. By 9am we were left to our own devices with our own baby in our own home. It was surreal, and fantastic!
I felt no real pain throughout the birth. It was the same sensations I'd experienced with my previous labours, but I just looked at them in a different way. It was a lot of pressure, and in no way a lot of pain as I'd thought previously. So if you're expecting a baby, I'd highly recommend hypnobirthing, as it allowed me to have the perfect birth experience... (and it made 9 hours feel like 2, which is always a bonus!)
I can't believe I won't get to do it again *sob*
