View Full Version : ~Ginger the waterbirth babe~
stellarella
11-09-2008, 11:45
This story starts with the birth of my Son Oscar in 2006. His labour was very long and very hard. It was a planned water birth which eventually ended in an epidural. It left me questioning myself as a woman and a mother, shattered and heartbroken. I felt like my body had failed me. While I worked so hard through 36 hours of intense and lengthy contractions it appeared things were happening so painstakingly slowly that I gave up. I requested pain relief, we slept sadly for an hour or so and then I pushed him out over 2.5 hours without excitement or energy. I felt detached from the birth, and angry at the world. The recovery was long, emotional and stained with tears.
At first I made excuses for my failings, defending my decision to have an epidural, hating myself for being pathetic. Then I started to hate the hospital for its role in the trauma…the pressure to induce, the stress, the lack of support when it was all I needed. I swore my next child would be born at home and it would be different.
Fast forward to 2008 as I approach my babies due date. I have been seeing my IM Sue and my doula Kirrah who gives me glorious massages and pampers me through late pregnancy. I have refused most tests…my due date comes and goes with a tranquility I enjoy and bask in. I am totally relaxed and give myself over to the universe to do with me what she will. What I feel now is trust.
Sunday 31st August: I feel the need to go to bed at 7.30pm after a day at the beach. I experience mild cx all night which I notice upon waking, but I doze through them and sleep well.
Monday 1st September: Nothing appears to be happening all day until around 3pm when I experience a series of mild cx which feel like a Chinese burn around my cervix/lower uterus. This is a completely new sensation to me and I wonder what they are. I even get online and ask on a forum if they sound like cx. A few people say their cx felt exactly as I describe. I tell Dion about them. I compare them to my last labour where the pain was hard to locate, was draining and depressing, the pain of a backache posterior labour. These cx have a life about them, a clarity and an energy which I enjoy.
Monday night is uneventful and I sleep like a log again.
Tuesday 2nd September: I have somewhat regular cx all day. Kirrah comes over and gives me a massage an we do a yoga session. We both talk about the positive energy we can feel in the birth room and the serenity that I feel.
Before she leaves I find some clear jelly like mucous mixed with my usual discharge. We both get a bit excited.
Wednesday 3rd September: I wake up at 6.30am after a gorgeous deep sleep. As soon as I open my eyes I notice I am having cx.
7.30am: I have a show.
8.30am: I call Kirrah, Sue and my mum and have them on alert. I tell them all I think the baby will be born tomorrow. I send my mum off to work but tell her to finish up early and then drive here from Grafton. I then send Dion off to work with instructions to have his mobile on at all times.
I go about my day with Oscar and do a few loads of washing, tidy the house etc. I continue to have cx but being so busy I just stop to breathe through them then continue on my way.
9.40am: Cx intensify. They are still irregular although to tell the truth I’m not bothering to watch the clock so I really don’t know for certain. I continue to find blood stained mucous on my frequent visits to the toilet. I drink heaps of water as I continue about my day.
10.30am: Oscar starts to irritate me. I tell him not to touch me or talk to me as I moan through cx. When I am not having a cx, we play playdoh, have morning tea and watch Bob the Builder. Even so I call Dion, tell him to wrap up his day and relieve me of Oscar. I also call my mum and ask her to hop in the car and drive up. She asks me if things are getting close and I snap at her “don’t be stupid, I’ve got days to go.” I am trying so hard to keep my head in the right place, there is no way I want to feel the disappointment I felt during Oscar’s labour.
11.30am: Dion arrives home and I am so relieved. I have been trying to set up the birth room but Oscar is jumping on the futon and messing up my sheet-dropsheet-sheet arrangement. I bounce on my ball through cx while he runs in a whirl wind around me. I hand Oscar over to Dion and shut the door of my birth room. I put on my birth beads, I sing along to my labour playlist and potter around organizing things.
1pm: My mum arrives. She is Oscar’s support person so she takes him off our hands and Dion and I decide to put on a DVD. I bring the birth ball into the lounge room and we try out a few pressure points through cx. We have to keep turning the DVD off for cx and we notice that we have only watched about 15mins of the movie all up. I am vocalizing quite loudly through cx but in between I am normal old me, just chatting, talking about the sensation of the cx, how they are clear and filled with energy.
Although they are intense, they are easy to come through and still being quite short and irregular I think it is early days yet.
Eventually I feel I need to go back to the birth room. Dion and I listen to music and he applies acupressure during cx which doesn’t appear to help much but at least it distracts me. I experience double peak cx and a whole mixture of lengths and times apart.
2.30pm: I tell Dion to call Kirrah as I’d like some massage now. She says she will have some toast and come over. She has to drive an hour to our place.
3pm: I complain to Dion that I don’t know what is going on or when I should call Sue. Although the cx are intensifying they are still relatively short – 1min 30secs – and all over the place. I don’t feel as though I am in real labour yet considering Oscar’s labour, but I wish I was.
I call Sue anyway and explain what is happening – the irregular cx, the fact that I feel like I have ages to go, but the fact that I feel frustrated. She doesn’t want to get my hopes up either so she tells me to have an early night, and that I need a regular labour pattern before I will get anywhere. I tell her there is no way I could sleep as I am yelling quite fiercely through cx now.
I get off the phone feeling a bit upset and disheartened. We go back to the birth room and I set my mind on another long hard labour. In hindsight Sue and I decide that I was entering transition during our phone conversation, but who knew!
stellarella
11-09-2008, 11:46
Dion and I start to time cx and I really concentrate on relaxing through each one. I even try lying down through a few to conserve energy. I am really vocalizing now but the gaps in between I feel totally normal and at ease, I smile and chat and Dion and I cuddle. I tell Dion to fill the pool right about now as I feel like getting in.
I continue to experience double peak cx, different lengths and intervals. Our record of the cx looks a right mess.
3.40pm: I notice that my legs are shaking through each cx. As I yell through them I don’t know what I am saying or doing. Dion is out of the room for a moment and I have a whopper of a cx which leaves me reeling. I recall that the whole room took on a crystal clear, surreal look and I remember staring up from my position over the birth ball and feeling as though I was in some parallel universe. That or the biggest drug high of my life!
After this cx I decide to check my dilation. I prepare myself to be 1 or 2cms, but I am itching to know what is happening because the clarity of these cx is amazing - almost enjoyable to experience their power. Every single one is a burst of energy through my uterus.
I reach inside to feel my cervix. I locate the soft slippery sensation of my membranes and start to make wider and wider circles looking for the cervix. I quickly realize that there is no cervix to be found, only a large diameter of membranes. This is my FAAAAAAAAAAAAARK moment.
I scream to Dion with panic in my voice. He comes rushing in and I tell him, tripping over my words, to call Sue as I think I am “pretty far dilated.” He bounds out of the room and I get down on the floor, bum in the air and start cursing myself for being so stupid by not checking earlier.
3.50pm: Dion calls Sue, explains the situation and rushes back in to me. Sue is having a shower and coming over. The drive is 40mins.
Dion comes and grabs me by the shoulders as I start to weep. I am muttering “I never wanted to freebirth…I don’t want to do this on my own…I feel so stupid…I didn’t even realize I was in proper labour…” He hugs me, stays calm and reassures me that we can do it alone.
The birth pool is half full of glorious hot water and we have run out. It’s pretty hot so Dion runs a bit of cold and I jump in. It’s pure bliss. I’m kneeling to begin with and during the next cx I feel my body give two tiny pushes. I panic again and yell “OMG my body is pushing!”
Dion races out to call Sue again and let her know I’m starting to push. He asks her what we should do if the baby is born without her, she says “everything will be fine Dion, just keep the baby warm.”
4pm: He races back in to me and my body is in full blown pushing mode. This is what the Fetal Ejection Reflex feels like! My membranes break and I feel the fluid gush out.
After this cx I lay back in the pool and concentrate on relaxing and remaining calm. I feel ok with everything as it is and just enjoy the breaks. I guess there are about 6 mins between cx now. Dion races out to my mum in the backyard and tells her that I’m in the pool pushing. She doesn’t believe him at first but she follows him in with a worried look on her face and I have to tell HER not to worry!
4.10pm: Kirrah arrives and is carting her massage chair up the driveway when my mum laughs and tells her she wont be needing it. When she comes in Dion and I set her and my mum to boiling water as the pool is getting too cool for me.
When I have a cx I reach down and cover my yoni with my hand, it’s instinctual as I am trying to slow everything down. The force of her head ramming against my pelvic floor is immense. I don’t push once, I just try to relax and ride them out. I know already that at this speed and force I will probably tear because even if I breathe and nothing else, my body is pushing her out with full force.
In between cx I chat, smile and talk to Oscar about the baby being born. I even say in my labour trance that “this doesn’t hurt guys, its just sooooo intense (man)…”
For part of the second stage Oscar is even in the pool with me, splashing around and playing with our duck thermometer.
During a cx Dion sits behind me, holding me tight. At one point he is whispering during a cx “just breath, just breath”….I yell at him to “shut the **** up, just let me do what I want to do..” which is roar the bloody house down. Kirrah tries to massage me arm and I tell her to stop touching me! After the cx I apologise immensely and explain that I have no control over my yelling, I’m just doing it, I feel like I am possessed. They tell me not to apologise, its fine.
I know the baby is getting close and I reveal that I am scared of what will happen when she crowns. They all reassure me and tell me I’m doing great.
All through this I am asking where Sue is. I desperately want her to arrive and help me…I don’t know what she is going to do to help me, but anyhow I want her here.
At one point Kirrah calls her and Sue asks how close I am to birthing. Kirrah says not too close as I am so relaxed, chatty and smiley, not visibly pushing and the cx are far apart. Haha, I have them all fooled. Sue is only 5 mins away now.
stellarella
11-09-2008, 11:46
The next cx I have is a whopper, I yell with all my strength through the burn of crowning as her whole head and shoulders are born in one go. I feel around and note that her head is huge and very wide. Right at this moment Sue is walking up the driveway, hears my roar and exclaims to my mum “that sounds serious!”
She comes into the birth room a sea of calm, I reach out my hand and wail “Sue help me, is that a head?” She peers into the water and notes that it is a head and shoulders. I am relieved it isn’t a bottom because that is what it feels like, a fat little waist and bum hanging out of my yoni.
We all chat and smile, I tell Ox his baby will be born soon. There is a big gap between the last 2 cx and Dion and I both stroke her head and gush over its silkiness.
One final cx as I roar Ginger earthside. The power of my roar and the sight of a little purple baby being lifted from the water is too much for Oscar and he bursts into tears. She is born at 4.35pm. Her back is thick with vernix, she doesn’t cry but she pinks up quickly as I hold her to my chest. Now everything is in slow motion, that surreal, beautiful moment where a baby meets her family for the first time. I grin from ear to ear, Dion kisses me, finally after a few minutes Sue asks if we have a baby boy or girl. I take a peek and announce a girl, then I check again to be sure.
We sit in the pool for a while. Oscar hops in and plays.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s291/stellarella_pics/story1.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s291/stellarella_pics/story2.jpg
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s291/stellarella_pics/story3.jpg
Eventually I want to get out and hop on the futon where we start to BF. The after pains were worse than labour so I want to get the placenta out. I sit on the edge of the bed and push it out, but I find pushing hard as I haven’t done it all labour. Placenta out the babymoon continues, we drink tea, eat toast, chat about the incredible labour and bask in the glory of birth.
My support team leaves me at 8.30pm. We wander down theh all to our room, Dion puts Oscar to bed and we hop into our own bed with fresh clean sheets and a fresh baby girl to cuddle.
The placenta
This is the placenta portion of the story.
Before Sue left we requested to Ginger that we remove some of her placenta for her homeopathic tincture and also for mum to consume. We wrapped these and put them in the fridge. Gingers placenta was wrapped and left attached.
We cut her cord after 24 hours once it has started to dry. Her stump came off on day four.
At our next visit Sue prepared the first stage of our homeopathic tincture using part of the placenta and cut some into pill sized pieces for me to freeze and consume later. The pills are a gorgeous ruby red colour.
I remove one from the freezer, use a spoon to place it on my tongue and swallow it down with water. There is no taste. It feels like nothing more than a tiny ice chip on my tongue. The rest of Ginger’s placenta is in our freezer ready to be buried under a Ginger plant.
My homebirth was amazing, uplifting and empowering. It was a walk in the park compared to Oscar’s birth, something I would do again and again. I never once wanted to have pain relief, it never once got too much. I love my body again and I have a new appreciation for what I went through with Oscar. Now I don’t feel like I failed with Oscar at all, I know how hard I was working.
Experiencing the clarity and power of a natural birth in my own home has been the best and most fulfilling experience of my families life.
Good :D
That's all I can think of to say really. "I told you so" sounds too smarmy, and going into raptures over the amazingness of it makes it sound like its something hard to achieve instead of just a lovely normal birthing experience which is always amazing in itself.
Grasshopper, you have much wisdom to impart and I and many others look forward to your lessons :goodvibes: :goodvibes:
84zsazsa
11-09-2008, 12:05
Well done....beautiful and inspiring :thumbsup:
A great read :goodvibes:
Danni
That is amazing, Ella... I felt it all... well done, well done.
You are the woman.
:yelclap::yelclap::yelclap::yelclap::yelclap:
NibbleCurlynBub
11-09-2008, 12:08
I LOVE the photo of all three of you in the pool.
That is just so sweet. He just jumped in with you both. :p Perfect.
You certainly did it! :yes:
You birthing MACHINE, you.
onemummmy
11-09-2008, 12:09
That made me cry, what a story!:goodvibes:
Phyllis Stein
11-09-2008, 12:09
Oh WOW!! I'm crying. What a beautiful story, Ella! Well done, you gorgeous birthing woman! :yelclap::yelclap:
:flowerz: :flowerz: :flowerz:
You did AWESOME!!
The photos are beautiful,i got teary looking at them because they really capture all the emotion!
Congrats on your fantastic birth and your beautiful baby girl:goodvibes:
Congrats again Ella :) That 3rd photo is lovely.
cmd'smum
11-09-2008, 12:17
aaaawwwwwww so beautiful!!!!!!!:goodvibes:
Welcome to the world ginger!!!:flowerz::babydust2::wizard:
~Emmylou~
11-09-2008, 12:18
Oh ella...the look on your face in those photos says it all really.
Such a contrast of experiences....and so wonderful that Ginger's birth has brought you so much healing.
You rock girl. :flowerz:
borntobemummy
11-09-2008, 12:26
Wow! that's just perfect!! Wow! I can't believe I will get to go through this soon, I'm praying I get to have a beautiful labour like yours. How did you find the birth ball?
Congratulations again!! And welcome to the air-breathing world Ginger!:yelclap:
NibbleCurlynBub
11-09-2008, 12:29
Get an exercise ball! :laughing:
That's all they are. :yes: Just used during labour.
Mathermy
11-09-2008, 12:31
:goodvibes::goodvibes: Lovely!! :goodvibes::goodvibes:
and what a beautiful family you are!!:valentine:
How beautiful - I'm crying at work :o. Well done, Ella. Welcome again Ginger - what a peaceful way to meet the world.
I. AM. IN. AWE.
:sunshine:
Congratulations :cloud9:
What a beautiful story. :smiliedance:
You must be so proud :goodvibes:
borntobemummy
11-09-2008, 12:44
Get an exercise ball! :laughing:
That's all they are. :yes: Just used during labour.
no, I meant how did she find it in labour? how effective was it;)
WOW!
Ella what an uplifting and extremely positive birth story!
Well done hun! U are truly amazing!
Congrats on the Beautiful birth of precious lil Ginger!
:hugs::hugs::hugs:
stellarella
11-09-2008, 12:48
Thanks everyone. It was an amazing experience. I am amazed at what my body did, I was just along for the ride.
The birth ball was great, sitting on it just relieved so much pressure. Also I liked hanging over it and rocking my hips.
Beautiful birth story stellarella. You rock. :D
Almost makes me wanna have another..... almost. :o
MilkOnTap
11-09-2008, 12:53
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful birth story - its just... gah! Gorgeous! Thank you :hugs:
Congratulations again :bee:
Sammilee
11-09-2008, 13:12
Purely inspirational!!!
Thank you so much for sharing. And welcome to the world :babydust2: Ginger :babydust2:
That's an awesome story:yes:.
Congratulations you did wonderfully.
Grizabella
11-09-2008, 13:22
Thanks for sharing :) So beautiful and natual. You are a champ :D Welcome beautiful Ginger - you did an awesome job entering this world!
Shanaynay
11-09-2008, 15:50
Oh wow sounds beautiful, amazing :goodvibes:
Congrats to your family on their new little daughter/sister :cloud9:
reAllytee
11-09-2008, 17:00
Beautiful beautiful beautiful !
It brought back so many memories & didnt help my cluckiness atm !
Well done what an awesome story !
Amazing, awesome, loved how you said you were along for the ride, reminds me so much of the parallel between my first birth and my second birth to both of yours.
And yeah, you make it sound so lovely and described so much of how i felt that you make me feel like i could do it again and again! :laughing:
BubbaNoogie
11-09-2008, 17:17
What a beautiful birth story:goodvibes: thanks for sharing it. Makes me more determined to have a home birth. All births should be this good!
Well done:smiliedance::yelclap: and congratulations on the birth of your gorgeous daughter Ginger!. :flowerz:
Duchessa
11-09-2008, 17:17
Oh Ella. That was just so beautiful. And to think you doubted if you could do it with another midwife - you can do it all on your own woman! You marvellous, amazing, awesome woman, YOU! xx
Baldie's Mum
11-09-2008, 17:29
I dont have any words......
:goodvibes: :bee: :smiliedance: :yelclap: :D :crying:
they will do....
misskittyfantastico
11-09-2008, 19:05
Well,* sniffle, sob, hic * I am without words...no wait, here are some. Awesome. Mother. Strength. Beauty.
PookieLady
11-09-2008, 19:09
Your a birthing goddess for sure ella, congrats.
Sarah
SalTheGal
11-09-2008, 19:53
Awesome...inspiring...:goodvibes:
Ella- you did exactly what we as women are meant to do- you birthed a baby: naturally!!! You trusted your body and she responded perfectly!! :yelclap:
Yay for you, welcome to the world Ginger....thanks for sharing a beautiful story. :flowerz:
Tam-I-Am
11-09-2008, 20:11
Oh, Ella. How wonderful, what a BEAUTIFUL story, what a beautiful family - I'm so touched by your story (and a bit like Vee, reminded of the parallels between my 1st and 2nd labour/birth and yours :))
Congratulations - well done! :hugs: And welcome to the world, Wee Ginger :D
Beautiful, thank you for sharing. An empowering birth is such a wonderful healing experience! Thanks for sharing the photo's. I love the photo of you Oscar and Ginger. The look on your face says it all! May your birthing high last for a very long time to come.
Congratulations:)
Powerful is the word i would use to discribe that birth story, you explain it all in such detail, and the entire thing is just so powerful. Thank-you so much for sharing!
You are women! enjoy your time with your new baby girl!
Mariposa
12-09-2008, 20:20
Thanks for sharing such an inspirational birthing experience Ella. Congratulations once again. :yelclap:
NewBeginnings
13-09-2008, 23:04
W.O.W!
I cannot say much more than that because I am literally like this! :eek::crying: (good tears of course!)
I am in absolute awe! congratulations on such an amazing birth!:hugs::bee:
Brilliant story ... amazing picures, thanks so much for sharing
and congratulations on the birth of Ginger - great name :D
Foxymoron
15-09-2008, 20:18
Congrats Ella Hun!
I've been trying to message you via the usual haunt, but it doesn't work for me!
So glad you had a wonderful birth :yelclap:
And OMG Ginger is a wonderful name! Love it!
HoopDeeDoo
16-09-2008, 22:00
AMAZING!!
What an awesome birth experience, so glad it went so well for you!
grass is always greener
02-10-2008, 21:11
it is stories like this that make me want to have more babies. I am determined to have a home birth next time.
2SPUNKRATZ
09-10-2008, 09:57
gorgeous!
El,
I have only just jumped back on to Bubhub and I found your story...... wow!!.
I remembered so clearly us talking about our birth experiences in 2006 and how they shaped our lives and who we thought we were as mothers and women.
As I sat here reading your empowering journey, still questioning my own choices with Dante`s birth and wondering what I should/would like to do, for number 2 birth, whenever we are blessed again.
I feel so completely happy for you and your family, it sounds like you had everything you had ever hoped for and dreamed of with Ginger's birth.
You have inspired ME to believe in what I had forgotten.... we are so very capable of birthing our children when given the space to do it "our" way.
Congratulations and I hope you are still relishing in the babymoon bliss.
Love and Hugs Shell
stellarella
10-11-2008, 13:29
El,
I have only just jumped back on to Bubhub and I found your story...... wow!!.
I remembered so clearly us talking about our birth experiences in 2006 and how they shaped our lives and who we thought we were as mothers and women.
As I sat here reading your empowering journey, still questioning my own choices with Dante`s birth and wondering what I should/would like to do, for number 2 birth, whenever we are blessed again.
I feel so completely happy for you and your family, it sounds like you had everything you had ever hoped for and dreamed of with Ginger's birth.
You have inspired ME to believe in what I had forgotten.... we are so very capable of birthing our children when given the space to do it "our" way.
Congratulations and I hope you are still relishing in the babymoon bliss.
Love and Hugs Shell
Thanks darling, that is a beautiful post :hugs:
Welcome back. I hope you stick around.
xxx
kipdoula
11-11-2008, 17:23
Oh Ella,
What a beautiful story it is! You recalled every moment so clearly, and I can believe it, you were so incredibly lucid the whole time!
You are a beautiful and amazing woman and what a gorgeous family you have created. Thank you one million times (again) for allowing me to be a part of your journey- I loved every minute!
Ell, It made me laugh though when you said that your MW thought you were in transition on the phone.
So much of what you experienced in you labour and how clear it all was to you, was just like Dante's...made me smile to realize how lucky we really are to be able to experience a birth like that.
Ruby_Slippers
22-01-2009, 06:20
what an amazing birth - well done :)
now for the nitty gritty ...
you didn't tear with the head and shoulders born at once?
wasn't the pool full of poop and blood when Oscar jumped in at the end?
just curious as it sounds so romantic, but I have laboured in water too and it was very icky, visually not that pleasant.
I don't want to take away from the experience, Im just curious x
Wow, I have tears in my eyes! What an amazing, beautiful story! Truely inspiring!
I read the story, then yelled to my DH to come and read it too!
We both agree you're an AMAZING woman! Well done! :hugs:
fai firinne
29-01-2009, 07:56
Hi Stella Rella, I remember some convos with you last year as you worked through what you needed to to get to this. I just want to say, I am SOOOO happy for you, massive congratulations to you, lovely woman. Gorgeous photos, your bliss is obvious. Thank you for sharing your amazing journey, I hope you write it all in a book or blog because many women would be hugely encouraged & inspired by your story.
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