Thermolicious
30-12-2008, 13:08
I suppose this story starts with our decision to homebirth, Connors birth (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=188814&highlight=Connor+William) was relatively easy, I had no physical trauma but after weeks of prelabour I felt that my body was broken (due to childhood abuse) and it did not know what it was doing so I chose to have an ARM induction after 3 S&S. I delivered a healthy 8p 3oz baby naturally with gas.
After Connors birth I slipped into PND I was a walking zombie for the first 6mths and I really don’t remember much about this precious time with him. We had trouble getting him to sleep and when I fell pregnant with Oliver this took a major toll on my body and I smacked Connor once on the hand one night and this was a major turning point for me but I am happy to say that I did the best thing I could- I sought immediate help, I rang ngala and they suggested going to PMH for respite care. 3 days later I was transferred to a mother and baby unit at KEMH where I began to work through my childhood abuse and they helped me with Connors sleep routine and he started sleeping through the night. It was at this point that I realised that I am not a victim of abuse but a survivor, I have survived.
I became more active on bubhub and discovered homebirth, I knew after Connors birth (7 people in the room because they all wanted to watch a natural birth!) that I wanted a private birth; I did not want anyone watching me. So I sent in my application to the CMP at 16wks I got turned down initially because they were fully booked but a few weeks of persistence and a late cancellation got me a spot. At 26wks I entered the program with a lovely MW called Sue. Our pregnancy progressed normally and I did not have the GD or the GBS test done. I read Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering on the recommendation of a few other HBers (thanks for all your advice ladies). I had no prelabour this time only a few mild BH cx I was mentally prepared this time I knew that my body would birth this baby when everything was right.
Wow thanks for reading this far, should we get to the good bit now??
I woke at 1:00am to feed Connor, at this point he was only having boobies for comfort so I took any opportunity to let him fed. 2:00am cramping starts and I know that it is time for Oliver to start making his way into our world, I try to rest as much as possible in bed snuggled up to Rob, knowing that this time is precious for us- I don’t wake him yet. 3:00am I finally give up on resting, my body is telling me to move so I get up to turn the aircon off and put the heater on, I pick up Connors toys and jump on BH to update the HBers and Nov mums. I finally woke Rob up at 6:00am to help me fill the pool and to call my mum (as we were hoping to birth at night and not need her there I was a little disappointed). I rang my mum while I was in the shower as Rob called Sue to let her know that we were in labour but not ready for her to come yet. Mum arrived around 7:30am and we had some breakfast and read the junk mail, things started to slow down so Rob and I decided to go for a walk up to the shop although we never made it that far as it started raining too much. It was very surreal standing out in the street under a tree having cx with cars driving passed; I wondered what these people thought as they saw me leaning on Rob swaying.
We returned home and had some sandwiches for lunch, Mum and Rob suggested calling Sue and asking her to come (I think they were worried I was not going to call her as I had mentioned free birthing a few times) Rob declared that I could not concentrate through cx and started asking me questions which I was able to answer quiet well but I gave in and called her anyway at 12:30pm. I climbed into the pool not long after feeling the need to escape from people intruding in my birth space, unfortunately I found it hard to get my head into the right zone and having my mum there made it difficult, I thought about asking her to leave with Connor (although it was beautiful looking up to see him playing in-between cx) but I couldn’t bring myself to ask her. 2:30pm and Sue arrived she checked my BP and temp and asked a few questions then left Rob and I alone coming into support us during cx and leaving in-between, it was amazing the time Rob and I had between cx (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213349&id=1068192561), I felt so calm and safe in his arms. As the cx increased I started to Ahhhh quiet loudly, Sue spent this time trying to ease my lower back pain by placing hot terry flats on my back and pouring hot water over my back too and also applying pressure. My back up MW arrived at 3:30pm. I knew I was getting close to transition but there was something stopping me from going that little bit further I knew it was my fear of PND and I started crying I did not want to be that person again but I knew I was doing everything I could to prevent it. The cx were quiet bad now and I was on the verge of screaming through them (Connors presence stopped me at this point as I did not want to distress him). 5:15pm Rob and I moved to the shower in an attempt to have hotter water for my back but the weight from my tummy after being weightless in the pool was too much so I quickly moved back. It was at this point that I started screaming through cx I was having allot of lower back pain even though Oliver was anterior, Sue offered to check me to see what was happening. 5:57pm she discovered my waters were bulging quite a bit and she thought that this was stopping him from dropping any lower so she suggested ARM as she thought that it would help with my back pain, I was not keen on having ARM done, and I wanted my waters to break naturally but changed my mind after the next cx. Sue said it was best to break them during a cx and I knew that it would help towards preventing a prolapsed cord so I agreed. As she broke them I started screaming “No, No, No” and shaking my head, Sue thought that she had over stepped my comfort zone but I later told her it was because of the cx and the pain, I wanted to roll over onto my all fours again and she was trying to make sure that there was no prolapsed cord. 6:00pm as I rolled over onto my all fours the pain disappeared I started pushing straight away, I moved up onto my knee with one leg out to the side and I knew that Rob and Sue were trying to see what was happening, I felt Oliver’s head crown, it felt soft and lumpy, I could feel his hair between my fingers, I kept pushing my body telling me not to stop yet, then his head was out I moved my hand over and around his head feeling his face, the bump of his nose, were his eyes were, I felt his head turn and I knew that his shoulders would soon be born. My body told me to push again and I felt his shoulders pop out one after the other, I scooped him up and brought him out of the water into my arms (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213350&id=1068192561), overwhelming love flooded my entire body and I knew it would last forever.
Rob and Sue were a little shocked when I brought him out of the water, they had no idea that he had even been born. Rob and Sue had been talking quietly while I was pushing they were trying to see what was happening, Rob was meant to catch Oliver and I was trying to tell him to get in the pool so he could but I was so involved I could not speak. Sue unwrapped (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213351&id=1068192561) the cord from his body and gave him a bit of a rub with a towel (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213352&id=1068192561). Rob brought in Connor (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213354&id=1068192561) to meet Oliver for the first time and I delivered (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213353&id=1068192561) the placenta while in the pool; the cord had a true knot (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213358&id=1068192561)- Sue said it would have happened as he was born as his heart rate was perfect the entire labour then we hopped out. Rob had his first cuddle while Sue checked me, only a slight graze. We checked and weighed Oliver (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213364&id=1068192561) 9p 6oz Rob cut the cord (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213360&id=1068192561), although it felt a little early to me it had been 15min. Mum had a cuddle as I went to shower with Rob and Connor, Sue made my placenta pills and helped Rob to tidy as we were tucked up in bed eating B.Beans on toast and drinking a cup of tea.
We are both really enjoying having our boys at the moment although they keep us terribly busy we can’t wait to homebirth again.
On reflection I think next time I will try and free birth with just Robert, myself and a doula, having my mum there was a huge hindrance to my birth space as I had prepared myself to labour and deliver at night when we would not need a support person for Connor. Sue was a fantastic MW and she supported Robert and I through each cx and was a great reassurance after the birth.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoyed it :).
After Connors birth I slipped into PND I was a walking zombie for the first 6mths and I really don’t remember much about this precious time with him. We had trouble getting him to sleep and when I fell pregnant with Oliver this took a major toll on my body and I smacked Connor once on the hand one night and this was a major turning point for me but I am happy to say that I did the best thing I could- I sought immediate help, I rang ngala and they suggested going to PMH for respite care. 3 days later I was transferred to a mother and baby unit at KEMH where I began to work through my childhood abuse and they helped me with Connors sleep routine and he started sleeping through the night. It was at this point that I realised that I am not a victim of abuse but a survivor, I have survived.
I became more active on bubhub and discovered homebirth, I knew after Connors birth (7 people in the room because they all wanted to watch a natural birth!) that I wanted a private birth; I did not want anyone watching me. So I sent in my application to the CMP at 16wks I got turned down initially because they were fully booked but a few weeks of persistence and a late cancellation got me a spot. At 26wks I entered the program with a lovely MW called Sue. Our pregnancy progressed normally and I did not have the GD or the GBS test done. I read Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering on the recommendation of a few other HBers (thanks for all your advice ladies). I had no prelabour this time only a few mild BH cx I was mentally prepared this time I knew that my body would birth this baby when everything was right.
Wow thanks for reading this far, should we get to the good bit now??
I woke at 1:00am to feed Connor, at this point he was only having boobies for comfort so I took any opportunity to let him fed. 2:00am cramping starts and I know that it is time for Oliver to start making his way into our world, I try to rest as much as possible in bed snuggled up to Rob, knowing that this time is precious for us- I don’t wake him yet. 3:00am I finally give up on resting, my body is telling me to move so I get up to turn the aircon off and put the heater on, I pick up Connors toys and jump on BH to update the HBers and Nov mums. I finally woke Rob up at 6:00am to help me fill the pool and to call my mum (as we were hoping to birth at night and not need her there I was a little disappointed). I rang my mum while I was in the shower as Rob called Sue to let her know that we were in labour but not ready for her to come yet. Mum arrived around 7:30am and we had some breakfast and read the junk mail, things started to slow down so Rob and I decided to go for a walk up to the shop although we never made it that far as it started raining too much. It was very surreal standing out in the street under a tree having cx with cars driving passed; I wondered what these people thought as they saw me leaning on Rob swaying.
We returned home and had some sandwiches for lunch, Mum and Rob suggested calling Sue and asking her to come (I think they were worried I was not going to call her as I had mentioned free birthing a few times) Rob declared that I could not concentrate through cx and started asking me questions which I was able to answer quiet well but I gave in and called her anyway at 12:30pm. I climbed into the pool not long after feeling the need to escape from people intruding in my birth space, unfortunately I found it hard to get my head into the right zone and having my mum there made it difficult, I thought about asking her to leave with Connor (although it was beautiful looking up to see him playing in-between cx) but I couldn’t bring myself to ask her. 2:30pm and Sue arrived she checked my BP and temp and asked a few questions then left Rob and I alone coming into support us during cx and leaving in-between, it was amazing the time Rob and I had between cx (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213349&id=1068192561), I felt so calm and safe in his arms. As the cx increased I started to Ahhhh quiet loudly, Sue spent this time trying to ease my lower back pain by placing hot terry flats on my back and pouring hot water over my back too and also applying pressure. My back up MW arrived at 3:30pm. I knew I was getting close to transition but there was something stopping me from going that little bit further I knew it was my fear of PND and I started crying I did not want to be that person again but I knew I was doing everything I could to prevent it. The cx were quiet bad now and I was on the verge of screaming through them (Connors presence stopped me at this point as I did not want to distress him). 5:15pm Rob and I moved to the shower in an attempt to have hotter water for my back but the weight from my tummy after being weightless in the pool was too much so I quickly moved back. It was at this point that I started screaming through cx I was having allot of lower back pain even though Oliver was anterior, Sue offered to check me to see what was happening. 5:57pm she discovered my waters were bulging quite a bit and she thought that this was stopping him from dropping any lower so she suggested ARM as she thought that it would help with my back pain, I was not keen on having ARM done, and I wanted my waters to break naturally but changed my mind after the next cx. Sue said it was best to break them during a cx and I knew that it would help towards preventing a prolapsed cord so I agreed. As she broke them I started screaming “No, No, No” and shaking my head, Sue thought that she had over stepped my comfort zone but I later told her it was because of the cx and the pain, I wanted to roll over onto my all fours again and she was trying to make sure that there was no prolapsed cord. 6:00pm as I rolled over onto my all fours the pain disappeared I started pushing straight away, I moved up onto my knee with one leg out to the side and I knew that Rob and Sue were trying to see what was happening, I felt Oliver’s head crown, it felt soft and lumpy, I could feel his hair between my fingers, I kept pushing my body telling me not to stop yet, then his head was out I moved my hand over and around his head feeling his face, the bump of his nose, were his eyes were, I felt his head turn and I knew that his shoulders would soon be born. My body told me to push again and I felt his shoulders pop out one after the other, I scooped him up and brought him out of the water into my arms (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213350&id=1068192561), overwhelming love flooded my entire body and I knew it would last forever.
Rob and Sue were a little shocked when I brought him out of the water, they had no idea that he had even been born. Rob and Sue had been talking quietly while I was pushing they were trying to see what was happening, Rob was meant to catch Oliver and I was trying to tell him to get in the pool so he could but I was so involved I could not speak. Sue unwrapped (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213351&id=1068192561) the cord from his body and gave him a bit of a rub with a towel (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213352&id=1068192561). Rob brought in Connor (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213354&id=1068192561) to meet Oliver for the first time and I delivered (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213353&id=1068192561) the placenta while in the pool; the cord had a true knot (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213358&id=1068192561)- Sue said it would have happened as he was born as his heart rate was perfect the entire labour then we hopped out. Rob had his first cuddle while Sue checked me, only a slight graze. We checked and weighed Oliver (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213364&id=1068192561) 9p 6oz Rob cut the cord (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8953&id=1068192561#/photo.php?pid=213360&id=1068192561), although it felt a little early to me it had been 15min. Mum had a cuddle as I went to shower with Rob and Connor, Sue made my placenta pills and helped Rob to tidy as we were tucked up in bed eating B.Beans on toast and drinking a cup of tea.
We are both really enjoying having our boys at the moment although they keep us terribly busy we can’t wait to homebirth again.
On reflection I think next time I will try and free birth with just Robert, myself and a doula, having my mum there was a huge hindrance to my birth space as I had prepared myself to labour and deliver at night when we would not need a support person for Connor. Sue was a fantastic MW and she supported Robert and I through each cx and was a great reassurance after the birth.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoyed it :).