Olin‘s Home Waterbirth
Olin's birth was a quick beautiful water birth at home.
I had spent every day since my due date came and went ten days earlier, listening to my Hypnobirthing tracks and practicing the breathing techniques, waiting for labour to start. I couldn‘t wait to meet our baby but I had been having Braxton hick surges so often the last couple of weeks I never thought they would get stronger. So when I went to bed Wednesday night with surges coming often I didn't think much of it, I dreamed that night I was having surges and woke at 3:30 am from a very strong surge. I tried going back to sleep, as this had happened many nights and they had always stopped. This time they kept me awake as the surges came every 10-15 mins and were a bit stronger.
I told my husband not to go to work when his alarm went off at 5 am, as I thought the baby would come sometime over the day. He got up with the kids and made breakfast and I managed to sleep between the surges until I got up around 7 am. I sat down and ate my pancakes, stopping to concentrate and breath through the surges which came every 10-15 mins.
After breakfast, I called my Doula to say labour has probably started as the surges are getting stronger, but I still didn't believe I was far along as they were not so painful, where still very far apart and I felt so normal. I put on my hypnobirthing tracks and lent over the ball and relaxed between surges, when one came I closed my eyes and breathed through it, still staying relaxed. After one really long strong surge, where I really had to concentrate on my breath I decided to tell my doula to come now.
Our Doula arrived at our house at 9:30 am, I opened the door for her and was walking around like I wasn't even in labour, as I really didn't feel like I was and was expecting to be having surges for the rest of the day. My doula asked why we hadn't set the pool up yet, and both my husband and I told her we didn't think we would need it for a while. She said the baby would come soon.
The kids helped set up the birth pool, then my doula suggests we call my mum to take them, she said the baby would come once they had gone. I laughed at that, and said no it won't happen that fast, I still felt so normal and my surges still had a 10min gap, I never looked at the clock but they felt really far apart.
My mum came and took the kids at 10:30 am and by then the pool was filled and ready for me to get in. I was a bit scared of getting in the pool because with my last birth, once in the pool, my surges would be far apart and too strong for me to handle. But I got in the water at 10:45 am and as soon as I was in a very strong surge came and I had to vocalise through it, this surge felt like the real thing, and I was even scared of the strength of it, I even said” see that's why I don't like the water, it makes it hurt too much”.
My lovely doula explained to me that it is just that my body relaxes so much in the water that the baby just wants to come out, she said it's my body pushing. I was like “ oh, OK” and could focus on my breathing and low vocal noises I was making which helped.
My waters broke with the next surge, then the next one came and I could feel the head, I breathed slowly and waited for the surges for the head to come out slowly at 11:04 am. I don't remember using the Hypnobirthing technique for breathing the baby out, but I was doing some sort of breathing and my doula said I was very relaxed. Then I felt the head turning with the next one, and last surge and his body slipped out into the water where my husband guided him around into my arms at 11:08 am.
I was shocked at how fast it all went because before I got in the water I was thinking it would still be hours until I got to meet my baby, but we had our 8 lbs 10 Oz boy only 20 mins after getting in the water, and I didn't tear at all.
The whole time I had my candles going and the Hypnobirthing Australia tracks on, I was saying to myself when surges came, “relax, open” and that helped me. I found the techniques which helped me have the perfect fast birth that I was preparing for, for a long time after two very different births before this one.
At 12:30 am my mum came home with the kids to meet their new brother and we got my mum to cut the cord. Olin's birth was so perfect I can now say I got the birth I always wanted.
Thank you, Shari, for the course and helping us to make it happen. xxxx
Racine & Christoph (Gold Coast)
To book into a Hypnobirthing Australia Course with me on the Gold Coast CLICK HERE to see course date
