Summer Breeze
Mummy!
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2009
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Hello All
I've not posted much on here but have lurked an awful lot and have found so much comfort in peoples posts.
I just wanted to write a quick note to say I got my perfect home birth!
Our little girl Summer arrived a week late on May 1st weighing in at 7lbs 12oz and is absolutely perfect.
Heres my story:
I started with surges on the Friday night at about 11pm and within a couple of hours they were getting quite intense, I sent my husband off to bed as I had a feeling he would need his energy. I laboured through the night and the surges got closer and closer together, by 6am they were coming every 3 minutes so I woke my husband and he decided to call our doula who told us to get the pool filled up. As intended my concept of time is a bit blurry but I remember Hannah our doula turning up and then shortly after some midwives. At about 8am I was checked to see how I was progressing, I was starting to get the urge to push so I was convinced things couldn't be too far away. However the midwife told me I was only 2cm dilated. This had such a negative impact on me and I had a bit of a melt down I have to confess. The midwife told me that the baby was back to back which explained my slow progress and also my urges to push. The midwife left and said she would be back in 4 hours.
Our lovely doula and my husband managed to regain some peace and calm again and we decided to get into the pool for a bit of relief. Oh the wonderful, wonderful feeling of getting into that warm pool for the first time!! I remember saying "Oh God, this is amazing, who needs drugs?!" haha!
Honestly, it was a godsend.
After this point things get really muggy in my brain, it's quite tricky trying to piece it all together. But around 2pm I was getting really strong pushing sensations, I spent a lot of time on the toilet and was advised to go with what my body was telling me and not to resist the pushing, often I would collapse to the floor in a squatting position the urge was that strong. It was ever so tiring but I think instinct just takes over, I just tried as hard as I could to have faith in my body but I did doubt it at times I have to confess. I had a few mental hurdles where I thought I just couldnt carry on like that for hours and hours, the thing I found hardest was not being able to rest throughout the whole experience, but with the help of my husband and our doula I regained faith that each time that I could do it.
The rest of the day was spent between the pool and the toilet, the toilet became my place I went to escape from the midwives when I needed some total privacy for a while, just me and my husband.
I had a few more checks along the way every few hours, 6cm, 8cm, 9cm.... Each time I would find the experience totally crushing I have to say, so next time I don't think I would have the checks at all.
After the last check when I was told I was almost there I went into the bathroom and did some serious squatting, I had a feel and finally I could feel the baby's head. Oh god what a wonderful wonderful feeling that was!! God what a sight I must have looked, I came waddling out of the bathroom totally starkers, hand between my legs, trying to run down the stairs shouting joyously, "I can feel the head! I can feel the head! She's coming! At last she's coming!!" Haha!
Anyway, got back in the pool and the head midwife came in and said that they were concerned about the baby's heart rate, it had dropped initially and then had risen. They wanted to give me an hour and if she hadn't made an appearance by then they wanted to transfer me to hospital. This had such a psychological impact on me as suddenly I felt like I was racing against the clock. I just kept thinking, I'm not going through 24 hours of natural labour only to be transferred at the last minute!! So I got a bit panicky, I stopped following what my body was telling me and just thought, "push for the love of god push!!" But it didn't do me any good and the baby's heart rate started to go up (the midwife was now checking her heartbeat every 5 minutes). My husband and our doula tried to calm me down and explained that the reason the baby's heart rate was going up because I wasn't getting enough oxygen to her. I was so intent on pushing I was forgetting to breathe. But they talked me through my breathing and sure enough her heart rate dropped again. However the midwife at this point said that they strongly suggested we transferred to hospital as it had been an hour and they were concerned. My husband asked what they would do in hospital and he said they would attach me to a monitor to track the baby's heart rate. We had a good chat about it and reasoned that that's exactly what they were doing already by checking her every 5 minutes so what would the benefit be really?? I couldn't see how an ambulance journey and change of environment would help the situation. I felt like I was so close but it was such a hard call to make. It's one thing if you're told your own life is in risk but when you're making a decision about your child, that's another story. However after consulting with our doula we felt sure we were doing the right thing in standing our ground and staying put. Once we'd made that decision I felt a renewed sense of calm and confidence again and sure enough within what felt like 10 minutes she started to crown. I was physically shattered by this point and it took so so much energy, I don't know where it came from. My inner animal came out and our doula nicknamed me "The Lioness"! Eventually I felt the head come out, and then I felt like she got stuck, I was asking anyone to pull her out as I didn't think I could do it but of course I could and eventually out she came. My husband caught her, I turned her round and he placed her in my arms. I cannot put into words that feeling, without doubt the happiest moment of my life.
We were then left, thanks again to our doulas request, for 10 minutes to spend some time together just the 3 of us. This time was just magical, I wish I could live it over again! The midwives returned, my husband got to cut the cord and I delivered the placenta on my sofa after one more easy push.
She was born at 00.24 on the Sunday, May 1st.
It was just perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. However next time I would definitely think long and hard about when I called the midwives and how much intervention I wanted. I found the dilation checks quite soul destroying. And the baby's heart checks, although reassuring most of the time, really disrupted my focus. Trying to push the baby out only to be stopped every 5 minutes to check her heart rate, then my blood pressure, then my temperature etc, just seemed counter productive.
I would so highly recommend having a doula, she was just wonderful, she kept me fed and watered, when really I just had no interest in either, she knew better. She kept me calm and helped me regain my trust in my body when I had moments of doubt. She was wonderful at managing the midwives, we had 3 shift changes, so many people in and out, but she kept them quiet and at a distance in the kitchen! She was invaluable when it came to decision making, she gave us the confidence to trust our instincts. She knew how to create the perfect calming atmosphere and was always a step ahead in arranging the perfect journey.
My husband was truly my hero, it always felt like we were going through it together, he barely left my side and his support was my energy.
Well that's my story, thank you for reading, I'm hoping over time and the more I write that I may be able to fill in some of the blanks! Apologies if I sound gushing and high as a kite but I still havent come down off cloud 9!
xx
I've not posted much on here but have lurked an awful lot and have found so much comfort in peoples posts.
I just wanted to write a quick note to say I got my perfect home birth!
Our little girl Summer arrived a week late on May 1st weighing in at 7lbs 12oz and is absolutely perfect.
Heres my story:
I started with surges on the Friday night at about 11pm and within a couple of hours they were getting quite intense, I sent my husband off to bed as I had a feeling he would need his energy. I laboured through the night and the surges got closer and closer together, by 6am they were coming every 3 minutes so I woke my husband and he decided to call our doula who told us to get the pool filled up. As intended my concept of time is a bit blurry but I remember Hannah our doula turning up and then shortly after some midwives. At about 8am I was checked to see how I was progressing, I was starting to get the urge to push so I was convinced things couldn't be too far away. However the midwife told me I was only 2cm dilated. This had such a negative impact on me and I had a bit of a melt down I have to confess. The midwife told me that the baby was back to back which explained my slow progress and also my urges to push. The midwife left and said she would be back in 4 hours.
Our lovely doula and my husband managed to regain some peace and calm again and we decided to get into the pool for a bit of relief. Oh the wonderful, wonderful feeling of getting into that warm pool for the first time!! I remember saying "Oh God, this is amazing, who needs drugs?!" haha!
Honestly, it was a godsend.
After this point things get really muggy in my brain, it's quite tricky trying to piece it all together. But around 2pm I was getting really strong pushing sensations, I spent a lot of time on the toilet and was advised to go with what my body was telling me and not to resist the pushing, often I would collapse to the floor in a squatting position the urge was that strong. It was ever so tiring but I think instinct just takes over, I just tried as hard as I could to have faith in my body but I did doubt it at times I have to confess. I had a few mental hurdles where I thought I just couldnt carry on like that for hours and hours, the thing I found hardest was not being able to rest throughout the whole experience, but with the help of my husband and our doula I regained faith that each time that I could do it.
The rest of the day was spent between the pool and the toilet, the toilet became my place I went to escape from the midwives when I needed some total privacy for a while, just me and my husband.
I had a few more checks along the way every few hours, 6cm, 8cm, 9cm.... Each time I would find the experience totally crushing I have to say, so next time I don't think I would have the checks at all.
After the last check when I was told I was almost there I went into the bathroom and did some serious squatting, I had a feel and finally I could feel the baby's head. Oh god what a wonderful wonderful feeling that was!! God what a sight I must have looked, I came waddling out of the bathroom totally starkers, hand between my legs, trying to run down the stairs shouting joyously, "I can feel the head! I can feel the head! She's coming! At last she's coming!!" Haha!
Anyway, got back in the pool and the head midwife came in and said that they were concerned about the baby's heart rate, it had dropped initially and then had risen. They wanted to give me an hour and if she hadn't made an appearance by then they wanted to transfer me to hospital. This had such a psychological impact on me as suddenly I felt like I was racing against the clock. I just kept thinking, I'm not going through 24 hours of natural labour only to be transferred at the last minute!! So I got a bit panicky, I stopped following what my body was telling me and just thought, "push for the love of god push!!" But it didn't do me any good and the baby's heart rate started to go up (the midwife was now checking her heartbeat every 5 minutes). My husband and our doula tried to calm me down and explained that the reason the baby's heart rate was going up because I wasn't getting enough oxygen to her. I was so intent on pushing I was forgetting to breathe. But they talked me through my breathing and sure enough her heart rate dropped again. However the midwife at this point said that they strongly suggested we transferred to hospital as it had been an hour and they were concerned. My husband asked what they would do in hospital and he said they would attach me to a monitor to track the baby's heart rate. We had a good chat about it and reasoned that that's exactly what they were doing already by checking her every 5 minutes so what would the benefit be really?? I couldn't see how an ambulance journey and change of environment would help the situation. I felt like I was so close but it was such a hard call to make. It's one thing if you're told your own life is in risk but when you're making a decision about your child, that's another story. However after consulting with our doula we felt sure we were doing the right thing in standing our ground and staying put. Once we'd made that decision I felt a renewed sense of calm and confidence again and sure enough within what felt like 10 minutes she started to crown. I was physically shattered by this point and it took so so much energy, I don't know where it came from. My inner animal came out and our doula nicknamed me "The Lioness"! Eventually I felt the head come out, and then I felt like she got stuck, I was asking anyone to pull her out as I didn't think I could do it but of course I could and eventually out she came. My husband caught her, I turned her round and he placed her in my arms. I cannot put into words that feeling, without doubt the happiest moment of my life.
We were then left, thanks again to our doulas request, for 10 minutes to spend some time together just the 3 of us. This time was just magical, I wish I could live it over again! The midwives returned, my husband got to cut the cord and I delivered the placenta on my sofa after one more easy push.
She was born at 00.24 on the Sunday, May 1st.
It was just perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. However next time I would definitely think long and hard about when I called the midwives and how much intervention I wanted. I found the dilation checks quite soul destroying. And the baby's heart checks, although reassuring most of the time, really disrupted my focus. Trying to push the baby out only to be stopped every 5 minutes to check her heart rate, then my blood pressure, then my temperature etc, just seemed counter productive.
I would so highly recommend having a doula, she was just wonderful, she kept me fed and watered, when really I just had no interest in either, she knew better. She kept me calm and helped me regain my trust in my body when I had moments of doubt. She was wonderful at managing the midwives, we had 3 shift changes, so many people in and out, but she kept them quiet and at a distance in the kitchen! She was invaluable when it came to decision making, she gave us the confidence to trust our instincts. She knew how to create the perfect calming atmosphere and was always a step ahead in arranging the perfect journey.
My husband was truly my hero, it always felt like we were going through it together, he barely left my side and his support was my energy.
Well that's my story, thank you for reading, I'm hoping over time and the more I write that I may be able to fill in some of the blanks! Apologies if I sound gushing and high as a kite but I still havent come down off cloud 9!
xx
I can't wait to TTC again so I can look forward to doing it all again.....
