Birth Stories
A beautiful account of a fabulous birth from participants of our classes
Wanted to let you know that our beautiful little girl arrived in a hurry at 4:12am on the 3rd after a labour of 2hrs and 16mins which I went into from sleep!! Our midwives Cree Hatfield and Christine Jackson were fantastic and with how fast it all went it ended up being an amazing home birth beside the bed right where i jumped out
I had had niggles for a few days on and off so it wasn’t too much of a shock. Thanks to your loan of Ina May’s book and a couple of the stories in it which we both recalled during the event (we discovered this later when we talked about it) we both found reassurance, we also had great success with the acupressure points for pain relief (the only thing we used) and Brad talked me through each contraction with the wave visualisation and reminding me I didn’t have to do that one again just like you guys said
Thank you for all that you guys did for us and continue to do for others, your advice and help was invaluable.
I look forward to catching up on the other stories in February.
Thanks again
Here is another beautiful birth story written by one of the women who attended our classes.
To My Darling Poppy,
You have had the most beautiful transition from my womb into this world, I feel you deserve to have the whole story from beginning to end….
Throughout the whole time you were in my tummy you were a gem, not once did you cause me any pregnancy problems. I worked at Nana’s pool teaching swimming lessons until two weeks before you were due. I hope you enjoyed all the songs I’d sing with the children. Term 4 ended and I had Christmas and the birth of you to look forward to. Although Daddy and I were certain you would be at least 1week late, your due date was the 29th of December.
As time went by I spent it getting ready for your arrival, spending time with friends and family. Uncle Jamie came over from Australia. Aunty Chelsea, Nana and I went Christmas shopping. All the family were looking forward to your arrival.
On the 27th of December I had our wonderful midwife Sahra come over for a routine visit. I told her I was having some little cramps, which was exciting, but not to get too excited at this stage. That evening at 8pm I had a show, which was the first sign that things could happen quicker than we thought, but still not to get too excited.
I was discovering that the onset of labour was one of the most unpredictable acts in life.
Daddy and I plodded along calmly like normal, we phoned Sahra in the morning to let her know about the show from the previous night.
Daddy had Friday 28th of December off work, he woke with an energy for life. He made a list of all the things to finish off before your arrival- Here is the list….
-Fit car seat into car
-Make up bassinet
-Tidy house, mop floors, clean bathroom, and vacuum
-Find hot water bottle to use while in labour
-Also for labour hand towels, tarpaulin, big pots for pool, buy a buckets.
-Pack hospital bag just in case
-Go food shopping
-Pick up new microwave
-Pay the power bill
-Water the garden
-Take Bella for a walk
-Inflate the birthing pool ready top fill
Poppy, your Daddy was fantastic and worked away at the list until it was all done. I stayed at home while the cramps started to turn into more. I managed to get a couple of naps throughout the day and also a few small snacks.
4pm Daddy arrived back from Pak’n’sav and I was needing to focus a lot more on each contraction. Daddy started using acupressure points with his knuckles on my back that was relieving the pain beautifully.
Nana was up in Hamilton visiting your old Nana and Grandad and was due to fly back at 12pm the next day. I was keeping her updated on the events; Nana didn’t want to miss your birth so she caught a flight back that evening. It must have been mothers intuition, your Nana knew you were going to be born that night.
At this stage Daddy and I were thinking you would arrive within the next few days. I was slowly working through each contraction with Daddy by my side for support. With everything all ready for a natural home birth, all we had to do was wait (which mummy is not very good at)
9.30pm Nana called in on her way back form the airport to see how we were all going. She stayed for about 45mins before leaving us with the words ‘Maybe see you later on tonight’
Daddy and I tucked up in bed at 10.30pm to try and get some sleep, with the contractions becoming more intense it was wishful thinking. Around 11.30pm my waters broke, with a wave of excitement on went the light so Daddy and I could time the next hour worth of contractions before calling Sahra at such a crazy hour.
Just as we suspected things were progressing along smoothly. Contractions were every two minutes lasting up to a minute and a half.
12.30am Daddy phoned Sahra to update her on our progress. Sahra asked if we wanted her to come over to see how far along I was…I said ‘Yes please’
At 1am in came Sahra, just seeing her face reassured us that we were doing a great job and then to our delight I was 4-5 cms dilated I said the words ‘I could cry with happiness’
My next question was, can I get into the pool now? Sahra said ‘Of course’
So Daddy began filling the pool.
To know at that point all the contractions and all the work we had been doing had taken us to the half way mark lifted our spirits so much we were able to continue with renewed energy. Also to know I was finally ‘in labour’ and the thought of holding you in my arms in a few hours was amazing. It was all the inspiration we needed to carry on.
Sahra sensed the connection Daddy and I had and felt comfortable to leave us together to work through the next few hours. We were to call her when we felt we needed her next.
For the next 3 hours Daddy and I were a team, each and every time I opened my eyes he was there, each time I lost focus with my breathing, he was there and each time I said ’I cant do this’ he would look deep into my eyes and say ’Yes you can and you are’
Things changed about 4.20am I had an unbearable urge to push, that’s when I asked Andy to call Sahra, Nana and Aunty Chelsea. I could feel the top of your head with my hands, although at that stage I wasn’t 100% sure it was your head.
Sahra arrived at 4.30am to find me in the pool, Daddy sitting right next to the pool, together working through each contraction, one at a time.
Sahra gave me the reassurance I needed to go with my body and push when I wanted. Nana arrived at about 4.45am and Aunty Chelsea 5-10mins after her, both came into the living room quietly watching with supportive eyes. My breathing had changed from long and slow to short and rapid.
Sahra suggested we could (if I wanted) do an internal examination, to check the cervix was fully dilated just to make sure it was ok to push. I said ‘Ok’ as I didn’t want to tear, so I got out of the pool and slowly walked to the bedroom where Sahra checked, she showed me with the mirror and there I saw your head, I touched you with my hands and that gave me all the energy I needed to get back into the pool and give birth to you, after nine months of waiting I was itching to meet you.
5am I got back into the water and my body just knew what to do, your head was crowning and I could feel that ring of fire pain so many people had told me about. All of a sudden with one big contraction out popped your head, I was draped over the birthing pool and you came out from behind me. Daddy held your head while we all waited for the next contraction to push your body out.
Daddy said you opened your eyes at that stage and Sahra said she saw your wee tongue poke out to taste the water. About a minute later with one last push out you came, Aunty Chelsea and Nana said you shot out with your arms flung out.
5.14am Daddy caught you and brought you to the surface for your first breath of air. With your first breath came a tiny wee cry and I turned around to see you looking gorgeous and content.
I instantly fell in love, I brought you to my chest and there we sat in the water and met each other for the first time. Around me was an energy so amazing I can’t describe, Daddy and I sat feeling so proud of ourselves that together we made you and together we brought you into this world.
Grandad and Uncle Jamie came over after about 1hour.
The morning sunlight was streaming though the windows; it was a beautiful day in every possible way and the best day of my life.
Everything we planned for and wanted for your birth we got, and for that we thank each other, Sahra our magical midwife, our supports Nana and Aunty Chelsea and of course you for making it happen.
As I sit here and write this, I look at you 2days old and I look forward to each and every minute of you for the rest of our lives.
All my love Always and Forever
Your Mummy. xxxxxxxxx
Another Kapiti Birthing Story: a VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Caesarean) at home…
On the day after I was due to have my second baby I dropped off my 2 3/4year old son Jacob at his carer’s house and went to a café for a cup of tea. It gave me a moment to sit and take stock of the strange feelings that comes with waiting to give birth. I was excited but anxious; what if I never went into labour; never gave birth?! It seems such a bizarre thought but it felt so real at the time. I remembered feeling this before Jacob’s birth, ten days overdue. I also recognised the familiar feeling of incompletion and suspension that still lingered after Jacob’s great labour which ended in a C-section. It had been a wonderful experience to labour at home but it was disappointing not being able to stay there. Not having a vaginal birth had become heavy weight that wished I didn’t have to carry. This time I so desperately wanted to have a natural birth at home.
As I walked home I reminded myself of all the work I’d done for this birth, I knew that despite anxieties I felt confident and well supported. A little mantra began to ring in my head “trust, surrender, trust, surrender…” By the time I got home my mood was lifted and then I went to the bathroom and discovered a show! I was so excited: things were really starting to happen, it was going to happen!
The next morning our midwife Mandy arrived for a routine visit. I was disappointed; nothing had really come of some promising cramps the day before. Another day rolled out, much like the day before with more irregular cramps. When my husband Owen got home from work I got him to drop me at the beach so that I could have some time by myself. It was a windy wild afternoon and it was great place to be, soaking up the energy of the ocean. While walking I felt some stronger and more affirming cramps.
After returning home the dinner/bedtime hour rolled along and then I headed out to the veggie garden to finish off planting some seeds. I was interrupted by a phone call from my friend in Glasgow, Fiona. What wonderful timing! She had been the support person at Jacobs’s birth and I would have liked her to be there for this one, so she was the perfect person to talk to. She said some beautiful reassuring things about my last birth and my ability to birth. It was dark when I finished talking to her, but I had a huge urge to finish my planting, so headed out to the garden with a torch. I remembered this kind of energy prior to my last birth and I felt quite certain that my labour would become established soon.
Owen and I went to bed and cuddled. It felt really good. He went to sleep. I tried to sleep or just relax in between what were now becoming strong contractions. After a while I plugged in some headphones and listened to a birthing meditation. It was my intention to try and use breathing and meditation to stay relaxed for the birth. While listening I had three strong contractions and since the meditation was about twenty minutes long I realised they were less that ten minutes apart. It was 1:30am, I texted Mandy to tell her. She asked if she needed to come but I felt that we were fine. I wanted to stay in bed as long as possible.
At about 2:30 I woke Owen. He got up, lit the fire and set up the birth pool. Our house became like a little cave, dimly lit with candles. We put on some meditation music. I sat on an exercise ball, on a baluster, on the floor, leaned against the wall and then the door frame; trying out different positions while my body contracted. I was so focused on breathing and it got me through each contraction. But there was a point where I felt easily distracted and loosing focus. Then Owen stepped in and did such a good job of guiding me through my breathing, slowly counting out each breath, in and out, as if breathing for me.
I was hot and clothes felt awful, I needed to vomit a few times. I found myself naked standing over the toilet. Here we found a rhythm with Owen gently, slowly rubbing my back and breathing with me. At one stage I felt inside and could feel my cervix was open, I didn’t really know how much (it felt strange!), but it felt like progress. My contractions were strong and regular and it felt like the right time for Mandy to come.
Owen called her and when she arrived about at 4:30am. Owen and I were in front of the fire, still following our breathing rhythm. She just stood back while we continued, till I said I might like to get into the pool soon. Was it a good time? I had been saving it up till I really needed it.
Mandy checked my blood pressure and then got me to lie on my bed to check how dilated I was – about 7cm. I said that I was scared that I wouldn’t get past the point Id got to with Jacob’s birth (he got ‘stuck’ at the point of being almost dilated). She said to just acknowledge the fear and let it be there. It was amazing how these wise words and me being able to voice how I was feeling, really made me relax. With the next contraction I felt a strong urge to poo, unlike anything I’d felt before it. I lay on the bed for quite a while. Mandy put socks on my feet and covered me up with a blanket. With each contraction she pushed on the pressure points on my lower back which really helped. I grunted and could feel the baby moving down and in between I would drop off to sleep.
After about forty minutes or so I got up and into the pool which felt great. There bigger pushing contractions that made me cry out, sob and shake. At this point it seemed my body had totally taken over. Mandy checked me and confirmed that I was fully dilated. Things seemed to be happening much faster and less linear than I expected. My waters had not broken and I could feel the membranes just inside. Mandy suggested trying to break them by me pushing down on her finger with the next contraction. She put her hand inside me waiting for a contraction but it took a long time. It made me self conscious and that seemed to slow things even more. When the contraction came nothing happened. Then things felt a muddy, I felt uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do when a contraction came. I said something about feeling a bit over it all.
Mandy gave me the homeopathic remedy caulophyllum and it was amazing, as the next contraction was so clear and strong. Then I remembered how stoked I thought I’d feel to have reached this point, to be actually pushing my baby out! It made me feel in total command; pushing became a joyous experience. I could feel the membranes crowning, then with the next contraction I felt a pop and knew that my waters had finally broken. I reached down and could feel the head right there, but it didn’t feel as I expected: I thought I felt the cord. After saying so, Mandy checked and said with great relief that it wasn’t the cord, but the folds of skin on the head. She said it would probably take about 30 minutes to an hour now to birth my baby.
The next contraction was big and long, with each breath I pushed down as much as I could, with my new found focus. I could feel myself opening more and more. It stung! Especially the last breath, but just as I made this final push I felt the head slip between my legs. Unbelievable! Once the contraction ended I told Owen and Mandy that the head was out, and then just held it saying “Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!…” We were all so amazed that it happened so quickly. The next contraction took a while and when it finally came the body was born. It was about 7:30am, I scooped up our tiny new baby with Owens help and we discovered that he was red haired boy, just like his brother.
After a while I got out of the pool and we sat down on the couch and cuddled our beautiful new wee boy. Mandy checked me out, I didn’t even tear! After cutting the cord Owen held our baby while I stood up and delivered the placenta with a good cough. Then we all sat back while our little boy soon to be named Arthur had an enthusiastic feed. We ate our breakfast and began calling family and friends with our news – a big surprise as no one had known that we were even in labour. I had wanted this birth to be personal and intimate without bells and whistles and it had rolled out exactly as I had envisioned. I was so elated to have had a vaginal birth at home and humbled by the relative ease in which it happened. It provided a new perspective on Jacob’s birth which had required so much more effort and endurance. It left me feeling equally proud of both births and with a deep respect for the spectrum of experience and life lessons that can come through giving birth.
Please feel free to post your story if you have recently had a birth after attending the classes…….