We were absolutely ecstatic about the way our birth went and so happy with our choices

Initially when I fell pregnant I was very nervous and scared about giving birth. I started off with a lot of fear and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to tackle it.

After completing the Hypnobirthing course with Shari I instantly became fascinated by the whole birth process. I no longer had any fears as I practised my fear release and daily meditation. My partner also left the course with a wealth of knowledge on how to support my during pregnancy and labor.

We chose the midwife program at Lismore hospital and loved how flexible and intimate the care was, with home visits and I was able to call the Midwife’s at any point during my pregnancy.

I was told by the OB I was having a “big baby” and there was suggestions that i should be induced at 39/40 weeks. With all the knowledge I gained from the hospital birthing classes and the Belly2Birth course Reg and I knew that it would be safe to let our bub choose his birthday. I had the confidence that my body would work with bub to deliver safely. I also knew the benefits of falling into labour naturally and the the natural oxytocin and endorphin hormones flowing at home in our safe place. 

Sunday morning around 6am, 3 days after the due date,I started to have period style cramps on and off all day, gradually getting stronger but still quit far apart. I was able to relax and get into positions on the fit ball where I felt comfortable.

I had a deep relaxing hot bath and had the positive affirmations track playing in the background, I was able to feel my body slowly and gradually getting ready to move baby down.

I was able to go to sleep confident that things would progress naturally overnight and around 2am in the morning I woke up with a really strong surge and had to get out of bed to grab the tens machine. I instinctively started rocking my hips from side to side standing up and walking around. I woke my partner up around 4am as I really needed the support then, we lit some candles and had our essential oils burning along with the 'Surge of the Sea' track playing in the background, I was able to really focus on my breath whilst Reg giving me the light touch massage. I hopped in the bath again but quickly got to hot and flustered and decided that getting up on all fours on my bed was the most comfortable at that point. Reg used a sarong to slowly loosen my pelvis using techniques we learnt at the course. I could really feel the notion of drawing up my belly starting from my ovaries all the way up and then back down again, like a strong wave.

My contractions were around 4 mins apart and I then felt it was time to call the midwife around 8am. As the contractions grew stronger and I began moaning I knew it was time to hop in the dreaded 40 min car ride to Lismore. Mum, Reg and I couldn’t get in a comfortable position with my seatbelt on and my back pain started to really kick in. I put an eyemask on and earphones and shut out the outside world, before I knew it I was at the hospital on Monday morning around 9:30am. This was the day the COVID19 really started to ramp up and there was a big line/crowd of people lining up to go to the fever clinic which was quite daunting I had to stop every 3 mins while my surge passed until I got up to the birth suite. 

When I got there i instantly felt safe as my midwife had the aromatherapy diffuser on and relaxation music playing. We took down the clock and shut the blinds. I stripped down and jumped into the shower and had the hot water running on my back. I was there for about an hour or so where I really started to get exhausted, the intense surges in my back we’re becoming to much to handle so I hopped out and started using the gas which really relaxed me and helped me to focus on breath. Reg would do the pelvic squeeze for each surge I had and I would lean on my Mum standing up for support we did this for almost 2 hours straight. 

It was around 12:30pm that I began to loose control my legs felt like jelly due to exhaustion and I couldn’t lay or sit down anywhere comfortably. I started asking about pain relief but my mum and partner kept me focused for another hour and it was then that I asked for a vaginal examination where I was 8cm dilated, we also discovered Sunny was posterior, hence the back pain. It was at that moment that I asked for the epidural as I knew I needed some relief and time to rest before I needed to push his big head out.

I was confident with my decision and after I had the epidural I was able to lay down, relax and eat something. I was lucky my epidural worked really well and I was still able to have some movement and get up on all fours when it was time to push.

When it was time to push the epidural was turned down and I was able to feel the contractions slightly again so I was able to know when to push. I stayed focused on the bear down breathing which I continue for about 2 hours, it was then that the obstetrician came in and noticed some swelling on Sunnys head and his heart rate starting to drop, the position his head was in was just not allowing me to push him out.

They then suggested that they would need to intervene with a forceps delivery and an episiotomy. We felt confident that we wanted to get him out safely and that this was the right way given the circumstances, at no point were we scared as we were educated in the process of a forceps delivery and had full trust in our birth team to delivery him safely. 

Within 10 mins of the next contraction he was born and I was in shock I had been so focused on my breathing and pushing that I had forgotten almost what I was doing. The next hour was absolutely beautiful both had skin on skin and he latched on to my breast for about 1.5 hours.

Even though it hadn’t exactly gone to plan we never felt disappointed as we were so prepared with whatever turn our birth had taken. We were absolutely ecstatic about the way our birth went and so happy with our choices it was beautiful and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! 

Thanks so much for teaching us about the beauty of birth we will be forever thankful!

Elise & Reg

Gold Coast

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