I love the fact that Zara had “another perfect and empowering home birth!” How wonderful to be able to share her birth stories with her daughters one day. Going past your estimated due date can be a challenging time. I am always on hand to support the ladies I teach through this, helping them to trust and use their techniques to relax.
When I found out I was pregnant again, all the happy and terrified emotions were charging through me but I felt so excited to birth a baby again! I used hypnobirthing techniques in my last birth and I couldn’t wait to feel even more in control again second time round.
11 days over due, I was desperate to have my second home birth. Midwives kept mentioning monitoring, water breaking and people messaging me “had the baby yet?” I was getting really anxious! This was new territory for me! I used my hypnobirthing relaxation MP3’s cloak of protection, sea of serenity and affirmations to get me through the last few weeks, as well as having a good discussions with Lisa.
Day 12 at 4am surges started around 10minutes apart but I could still talk through them. I called a midwife who came out at 9am and she checked me and confirmed I was still 3cm dilated and when she left I continued on with my day with my 3 year old Daughter (Bonnie.)
10 minutes later, surges were coming every 5-10 minutes and a lot more intense. I kept going in the kitchen, leaning over the side and just breathing through them. I was getting emotional but I think this was relief…labour is happening! Bonnie was asking what I was doing, I reassured her saying that I was practising my breathing.
Got to 10am and the surges were every 5 minutes, I couldn’t talk through them and I was making ‘oooo’ sounds. I called my Husband (Will) at work and he asked if bonnie was still there, which I said yes and he instructed me to call my mum to pick up Bonnie, call the midwife back and he was on his way. I done as I was told! (I think I was in denial at the time as I had so many stop start surges for a week).
Bonnie was gone and everyone was here by 10:30, including Sally our midwife who was present for Bonnie’s birth! I clung on to Will as soon as he got here and he couldn’t believe how active the labour had got and I breathed, swayed and ‘oo’d’ through the surges. He was my safe place. The midwives and Will took it in turns to rub the base of my spine through each surge, and Will was filling the pool too!
I was offered gas and air, which I agreed to… It helped me to zone out to where I needed to be and regulate my breaths. I then found my comfy position in my living room, taking sips of lucozade and breathing through my surges.
My waters broke around 12:20 and then 20 minutes later, the warm pool was ready!
Once I was in the pool, I Instantly relaxed! I found my position and rested my head on the side of the pool with every surge and every rest inbetween. I was holding conversations between surges and still drinking lucozade too.
Like my last birth, I had the thought in my head that I couldn’t do it anymore and I knew things were changing. I then felt an urge to push, a real pulling down sensation…the part of labour that I’ve been excited for, for nearly 10 months! I breathed downwards and the midwives were softly telling me not to push, I felt my baby coming down and I held the baby waiting for the next surge. Will and the midwives could just about see the baby’s head, I felt the next surge, I breathed downwards again really gently, not pushing and imagined the baby moving again. The next surge, I breathed downwards and felt the sensation take over my body and I just let go…the baby come out I moved out the way and picked my baby up out of the water and straight onto my chest at 13:22.
The midwives reminded us (again) to check the sex and we have another girl! Will let me announce her name and we cuddled in the pool for around 20minutes, rubbing in her vernix, delayed Cord clamping and had quiet time with the three of us. I had a few surges to release the placenta, but with worries it was too big and couldn’t be pulled at, we used gravity but…there was no sign of it coming out, so I agreed to the injection as an intervention as I knew I was going into hospital territory. I wanted this risk taken away, as we had such a perfect birth.
We all had hot and cold drink afterwards, celebratory cookies and guessed Lola’s weight. She weighed a very healthy 8ib 9oz, she latched onto me immediately for feeding
and I needed no stitches. The midwives left around two hours after our birth, we carried on cuddling on the sofa and our eldest daughter met her little sister around 5pm.
I had another perfect and empowering home birth! I felt in control and relaxed throughout. All of which I don’t think is possible without the advice and psychological support from Lisa in the last few weeks, my stubbornness of doing what I feel was best for my baby and me, hypnobirthing tracks and affirmations, my Husband and the amazing Homebirth team.