fire~fly
07-09-2008, 02:41 PM
When I gave birth to my first son in hospital, I was left feeling upset and disapointed. I felt like I had no control while giving birth, my birth plan was not even looked at by my care-givers and I did not bond with my son. During my stay in hospital I had a constant stream of visitors so it was very difficult getting the hang of breastfeeding. Partly due to the birth that was upsetting for me and also due to other things happening at that time, I ended up with severe post-natal depression and was on anti-depressants for a year afterwards. When Nicholas was about 8 months old I went to a baby expo and while there I saw a talk by the Community Midwifery Association on the benefits of giving birth in water. Listening to the speakers, I was in tears thinking that I could have had a much more pleasant and even magical experience. I made a promise to myself then and there, that when the time came again, I would be giving birth to my baby at home in the water.
I found out that I was pregnant again on the 25th of November 2007 and knew straight away where I would have my baby. I sent in my application form to CMWA straight away and when I was 14 weeks pregnant, received the letter I had been waiting for… I had been accepted into the program!
On the 1st of August 2008, my due date, I was laying in bed at night reading when I suddenly felt wet. I cautiously got out of bed and went into the bathroom and saw that I had fluid slowly running down my legs. With a towel between my legs, went out into the loungeroom where my hubby Dean was watching footy, “Oh my god, my waters just broke”. I called my midwife, Marilyn just to let her know in case things started later on that night. She said to put a pad on and get some sleep. Dean called his mum to let her know in case we needed her to come and pick up Nicholas during the night, as they are 30 mins away. I woke the next morning, still pregnant and no contractions.
2nd August… I started to get little niggles during the morning, but they werent any more than the braxton hicks I had been having since 30 weeks. We decided to go up to the shops so dean could get a haircut, I thought walking around the shops might do me some good. When we got home, Marilyn came over to check bubs heartrate. Everything was fine so she left again, hoping that I would have my baby some time this weekend.
During the afternoon, the niggles became a little more uncomfortable so at 5pm we got my mum-in-law to come and pick nicholas up so we wouldn’t have to worry about him later. After they left, I stopped getting them, so was left feeling rather disapointed. I thought my body was failing on me, and was worried that if I didn’t go into labour soon, I would have to go into hospital. I went to bed thinking I was going to be pregnant forever!
I woke up at 12.30am on the morning of 3rd August, to contractions coming every 3-4 minutes. . I stayed in bed until 1am, breathing through them when I was hit with a really stong contraction that went for nearly 2 minutes. As soon as it was over, I woke dean up and told him to start filling the pool. I got out of bed and tried to get dressed in between contractions but was impossible because they were now coming one on top of the other. I wanted to call Marilyn once I was dressed, but after about 5 contractions, told dean to call her because I wasn’t getting a break in between the contractions.
Dean called Marilyn and told her to come now because my contractions were every 3 mins half an hour ago, but now they are coming hard and fast.
Marilyn called back 10 mins later, she is on her way but is at least 40 mins away so is sending another midwife, Corrie, who is only 10 mins away from us, just in case this baby comes before Marilyn gets here.
Corrie arrived at 1.40am. Checked me over and checked bubs heart rate. Contractions are coming every 2 minutes and lasting 60 seconds. I am coping well rocking and swaying through the contractions while holding a heat-pack to my lower stomach.
The pool is finally ready at 1.55am and after another contraction, I strip off and climb in. Ahh the water is beautiful and warm and is absolute bliss. It doesn’t take the pain away but is so much easier to cope with. I am amazed at how different the labour feels this time, because I am totally “with it”. When I had the pethedine and gas with nicholas, I felt so out of it in mind and body. My birthing room (our bedroom) is so calm and peaceful. The lights are off and I have candles lit next to the pool and there is rainforest music playing in the background.
Marilyn arrives at 2.00am and I am leaning on the edge of the pool and gently rocking through the contractions. I am happily chatting to dean and the midwives in between contractions. I keep telling myself that it wont be long and I will be holding my little baby in my arms.
Resting in between contractions
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth027.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth034.jpg
At 2.33am I tell Marilyn that I can feel the baby moving down and that im starting to get that pressure in my bum.
Its getting intense now and I am really having to concentrate on the contractions. I am on all fours now rocking in a circle around the inside of the pool, it’s the only way I can get through it. I didn’t want to be touched or massaged during contractions, but I did have a terry-nappy over my back with Dean pouring water over it. It was as good as having a heat pack on!
At 2.42am I am starting to moan through the contractions, it feels so good and primal to roar with the waves of pain. Its amazing that I am still totally “with it” in my head. I am telling myself “You can do this, you are in control” which I apparently also said out loud a few times. During every contraction I am repeating in my head “cervix open…baby down” which I read in a hypnobirthing book, and I believe it really helped bring the baby down easily.
Rocking (midwife is getting my hair off my face)
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth037.jpg (http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth037.jpg)
3.02am I am getting very vocal now and moaning and groaning loudly through the contractions, still on all fours rocking around the inside of the pool. My hands are going tingly from the weight I am putting on them so after every contraction I am shaking my hands in the water to try and get the tingling to stop, you wouldn’t think you would notice something so minor during labour, but it really irritated me!
3.11am contractions are really really intense and I am moaning so loadly I am sure the neighbours must be able to hear me! After a contraction I use my fingers to see if I can feel babys head, it is just at the tip of my finger so it’s a relief to know that he is only a fingers-length away from being born. Marilyn is trying to check the babys heart rate but cant because contractions are now back to back.
After a few more contractions I can feel the baby move down and he is right there. I am thinking, “no, I cant do this, I want the drugs!!!” (not that there were any on offer!) but in my head I know that I am going through transition, and this empowers me because I know that it wont be much longer now.
3.19am I start pushing with the contractions. After each contraction I reach down and feel where the head is and its amazing to feel it getting closer and closer with each push.
3.22am I can feel him crowning now.
At 3.23am Marilyn reaches into the water to try and listen to the heartbeat and is shocked to find babys head is already out. I am panting waiting for the next contraction so I can give a final push.
At 3.24am I push my babys body out into the warm water. As im on all fours I cant reach him so Marilyn was ready to pass him through to me. He has his cord wrapped around his neck twice, between his leg and around his arm. Seems he had been doing lots of acrobatics in my tummy! Marilyn unravels him and passes him through to me. I sit back against the edge of the pool as I lift him out of the water onto my chest. He is just perfect. The first thing I notice is that he is the spitting image of my first son when he was born, apart from one thing, this baby has really big feet!
Finally...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth057.jpg
At 3.26am I turned to my midwives and said “That was beautiful wasn’t it!”
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth073.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth075.jpg
Had a quick look between his legs to confirm what I had know since the day I found out I was pregnant… It’s a BOY!!
I am feeling a bit uncomfortable now, the cord is pulled quite tight and is hurting where I had one tiny graze. I ask marilyn if I can pull it a bit and she says no, but checks bub and he still has it wrapped around his leg. This gives me a little bit of relief. Now I start getting contractions to birth the placenta. These are quite painful and I just want the placenta out so I can cuddle up to my little boy in bed, as the water is starting to get a little bit cool. We put a terry-nappy over baby to keep him warm while I birth the placenta.
3.57am I have finally birthed the placenta. Its funny that birthing the placenta took longer than birthing the baby!
3.59am I clamp and cut the cord and climb out of the pool with Dean and Marilyns assistance (I am still holding the baby) and we hop into bed for a cuddle and our first breastfeed.
At 5.00am I get into the shower while Dean is having his first cuddle with his new son. I feel a bit faint in the shower so Marilyn helps me out and back into bed.
Marilyn checks over the baby and everything is perfect. He has a bit of bruising on his face and head and burst blood vessels in his eyes, which was caused from being pushed out so fast. He weighs 3350grams (7lb6oz), head circumference of 33cm and length of 51cm. I have a very small graze but it has healed itself after the first day.
At 6.15am The baby has been breastfeeding well and we are settled to have a rest, so Marilyn leaves and will come back later that day to check us over. We decide to name the baby Ethan Michael.
Dean and I just lay there looking at our little boy for quite a while, then Dean starts emptying the pool while I am resting. I am on such a high, I cant sleep for longer than an hour. What a perfect and magical birth, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I feel healed now from the emotional pain of my first birth. I feel complete.
Proud big brother...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth094.jpg (http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth094.jpg)
My boys...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth121.jpg
Thanks for reading! :sunshine:
I found out that I was pregnant again on the 25th of November 2007 and knew straight away where I would have my baby. I sent in my application form to CMWA straight away and when I was 14 weeks pregnant, received the letter I had been waiting for… I had been accepted into the program!
On the 1st of August 2008, my due date, I was laying in bed at night reading when I suddenly felt wet. I cautiously got out of bed and went into the bathroom and saw that I had fluid slowly running down my legs. With a towel between my legs, went out into the loungeroom where my hubby Dean was watching footy, “Oh my god, my waters just broke”. I called my midwife, Marilyn just to let her know in case things started later on that night. She said to put a pad on and get some sleep. Dean called his mum to let her know in case we needed her to come and pick up Nicholas during the night, as they are 30 mins away. I woke the next morning, still pregnant and no contractions.
2nd August… I started to get little niggles during the morning, but they werent any more than the braxton hicks I had been having since 30 weeks. We decided to go up to the shops so dean could get a haircut, I thought walking around the shops might do me some good. When we got home, Marilyn came over to check bubs heartrate. Everything was fine so she left again, hoping that I would have my baby some time this weekend.
During the afternoon, the niggles became a little more uncomfortable so at 5pm we got my mum-in-law to come and pick nicholas up so we wouldn’t have to worry about him later. After they left, I stopped getting them, so was left feeling rather disapointed. I thought my body was failing on me, and was worried that if I didn’t go into labour soon, I would have to go into hospital. I went to bed thinking I was going to be pregnant forever!
I woke up at 12.30am on the morning of 3rd August, to contractions coming every 3-4 minutes. . I stayed in bed until 1am, breathing through them when I was hit with a really stong contraction that went for nearly 2 minutes. As soon as it was over, I woke dean up and told him to start filling the pool. I got out of bed and tried to get dressed in between contractions but was impossible because they were now coming one on top of the other. I wanted to call Marilyn once I was dressed, but after about 5 contractions, told dean to call her because I wasn’t getting a break in between the contractions.
Dean called Marilyn and told her to come now because my contractions were every 3 mins half an hour ago, but now they are coming hard and fast.
Marilyn called back 10 mins later, she is on her way but is at least 40 mins away so is sending another midwife, Corrie, who is only 10 mins away from us, just in case this baby comes before Marilyn gets here.
Corrie arrived at 1.40am. Checked me over and checked bubs heart rate. Contractions are coming every 2 minutes and lasting 60 seconds. I am coping well rocking and swaying through the contractions while holding a heat-pack to my lower stomach.
The pool is finally ready at 1.55am and after another contraction, I strip off and climb in. Ahh the water is beautiful and warm and is absolute bliss. It doesn’t take the pain away but is so much easier to cope with. I am amazed at how different the labour feels this time, because I am totally “with it”. When I had the pethedine and gas with nicholas, I felt so out of it in mind and body. My birthing room (our bedroom) is so calm and peaceful. The lights are off and I have candles lit next to the pool and there is rainforest music playing in the background.
Marilyn arrives at 2.00am and I am leaning on the edge of the pool and gently rocking through the contractions. I am happily chatting to dean and the midwives in between contractions. I keep telling myself that it wont be long and I will be holding my little baby in my arms.
Resting in between contractions
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth027.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth034.jpg
At 2.33am I tell Marilyn that I can feel the baby moving down and that im starting to get that pressure in my bum.
Its getting intense now and I am really having to concentrate on the contractions. I am on all fours now rocking in a circle around the inside of the pool, it’s the only way I can get through it. I didn’t want to be touched or massaged during contractions, but I did have a terry-nappy over my back with Dean pouring water over it. It was as good as having a heat pack on!
At 2.42am I am starting to moan through the contractions, it feels so good and primal to roar with the waves of pain. Its amazing that I am still totally “with it” in my head. I am telling myself “You can do this, you are in control” which I apparently also said out loud a few times. During every contraction I am repeating in my head “cervix open…baby down” which I read in a hypnobirthing book, and I believe it really helped bring the baby down easily.
Rocking (midwife is getting my hair off my face)
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth037.jpg (http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth037.jpg)
3.02am I am getting very vocal now and moaning and groaning loudly through the contractions, still on all fours rocking around the inside of the pool. My hands are going tingly from the weight I am putting on them so after every contraction I am shaking my hands in the water to try and get the tingling to stop, you wouldn’t think you would notice something so minor during labour, but it really irritated me!
3.11am contractions are really really intense and I am moaning so loadly I am sure the neighbours must be able to hear me! After a contraction I use my fingers to see if I can feel babys head, it is just at the tip of my finger so it’s a relief to know that he is only a fingers-length away from being born. Marilyn is trying to check the babys heart rate but cant because contractions are now back to back.
After a few more contractions I can feel the baby move down and he is right there. I am thinking, “no, I cant do this, I want the drugs!!!” (not that there were any on offer!) but in my head I know that I am going through transition, and this empowers me because I know that it wont be much longer now.
3.19am I start pushing with the contractions. After each contraction I reach down and feel where the head is and its amazing to feel it getting closer and closer with each push.
3.22am I can feel him crowning now.
At 3.23am Marilyn reaches into the water to try and listen to the heartbeat and is shocked to find babys head is already out. I am panting waiting for the next contraction so I can give a final push.
At 3.24am I push my babys body out into the warm water. As im on all fours I cant reach him so Marilyn was ready to pass him through to me. He has his cord wrapped around his neck twice, between his leg and around his arm. Seems he had been doing lots of acrobatics in my tummy! Marilyn unravels him and passes him through to me. I sit back against the edge of the pool as I lift him out of the water onto my chest. He is just perfect. The first thing I notice is that he is the spitting image of my first son when he was born, apart from one thing, this baby has really big feet!
Finally...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth057.jpg
At 3.26am I turned to my midwives and said “That was beautiful wasn’t it!”
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth073.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth075.jpg
Had a quick look between his legs to confirm what I had know since the day I found out I was pregnant… It’s a BOY!!
I am feeling a bit uncomfortable now, the cord is pulled quite tight and is hurting where I had one tiny graze. I ask marilyn if I can pull it a bit and she says no, but checks bub and he still has it wrapped around his leg. This gives me a little bit of relief. Now I start getting contractions to birth the placenta. These are quite painful and I just want the placenta out so I can cuddle up to my little boy in bed, as the water is starting to get a little bit cool. We put a terry-nappy over baby to keep him warm while I birth the placenta.
3.57am I have finally birthed the placenta. Its funny that birthing the placenta took longer than birthing the baby!
3.59am I clamp and cut the cord and climb out of the pool with Dean and Marilyns assistance (I am still holding the baby) and we hop into bed for a cuddle and our first breastfeed.
At 5.00am I get into the shower while Dean is having his first cuddle with his new son. I feel a bit faint in the shower so Marilyn helps me out and back into bed.
Marilyn checks over the baby and everything is perfect. He has a bit of bruising on his face and head and burst blood vessels in his eyes, which was caused from being pushed out so fast. He weighs 3350grams (7lb6oz), head circumference of 33cm and length of 51cm. I have a very small graze but it has healed itself after the first day.
At 6.15am The baby has been breastfeeding well and we are settled to have a rest, so Marilyn leaves and will come back later that day to check us over. We decide to name the baby Ethan Michael.
Dean and I just lay there looking at our little boy for quite a while, then Dean starts emptying the pool while I am resting. I am on such a high, I cant sleep for longer than an hour. What a perfect and magical birth, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I feel healed now from the emotional pain of my first birth. I feel complete.
Proud big brother...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth094.jpg (http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth094.jpg)
My boys...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb303/kritso/birth121.jpg
Thanks for reading! :sunshine: