My birth was EXACTLY how I imagined it would be!
Monday morning I woke up, I was 11 days past my estimated delivery day, I had this beautiful birth planned out in my head, natural, calm & in control after practicing hypnobirthing this pregnancy, desperate for a better experience this time around.
Induction was crossing my mind every day - the hospital I was delivering at wouldn’t let me go over 42 weeks gestation, they always start the induction process at 41 weeks which I was able to prolong, I called the birth suite at the Redlands hospital to request a stretch & sweep, as I had been having surges that I had to breathe through some evenings the week prior & I would wake in the morning they would be gone. I was determined to avoid induction that was booked for the coming Wednesday. The midwife that took my call said yes, Ashleigh come in for a quick stretch & hopefully we can get your body to realise what has to be done.
I went in & had the procedure, it was quick, intense but over very quickly, the midwife explained to me my cervix was low easy 3cm dilated, bulging membranes & my body was very ready to go!
Off I went to enjoy my day with my family, all day I was having irregular cramping and tightenings. We had a beautiful lunch & relaxing day. At 3pm my surges were ramping up, we were seeing a pattern roughly 5/7 mins apart. I was ever so lucky enough to have my beautiful sister in-law Kelly as my Midwife she had started her shift at 3pm, we let her know that my surges were getting regular & my husband John said I needed to listen to my body & he decided we should head home to set up my calm birthing space, he put up all my affirmations & wanted me to relax on my fit-ball with my hypnobirthing music, dim lights & left me in our en-suite to get in my zone. I had my diffuser blowing clary sage & my roller blend applied to my temples, wrists & down my spine, I was comfortably swaying through my surges, My mum came over to play with big sister Kalani so that when we were ready to go John could be my full support.
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At 6.30pm my surges were roughly 3 mins apart lasting 50 seconds, John decided it was time to place on the tens machine so it would take some focus off my surges but he & the hospital were saying that they thought I should go in. We decided to take our time & make our way in to the hospital.
We arrived just after 7.30pm, I was happily breathing through my surges. Once we got into the birth suite our midwife Kelly had set up a beautiful birthing space, John raced around to make the room perfect for us to bring our baby into the world, he added our positive affirmations around the room & made the space dark, he requested the diffuser on with Clary sage oil & scattered all our fairy lights around, it was calm & absolutely the perfect space for us. I had some time leaning on the floor with the fit-ball, after some time settling in I had a hospital assessment, I was in active labour & comfortably laboured around my big birth space.
At 8.30pm John let my support team know to come, my sister Tahnee & Kirby my birth photographer/doula. They arrived quietly, I recall Kirby saying she couldn’t gauge how far along I was as my surges were so beautifully quiet and I was so in the zone.
Around 9pm I felt the urge to wee, so I went to the bathroom, I had about 5 surges here, was so comfortable opening up my pelvis here on the toilet, I remember my loving & supportive husband being right by my side the whole time, offering me water, moving my speaker with my hypnobirthing affirmations playing closely by, offering light touch massage to my shoulders & neck. And when he could see my body start to tense up he would say relax your face -breathe down to your baby, this sent me into deeper relaxation, I felt safe & supported. He never left my side.
My sister-in-law said to me that she thinks I should move back to the mat, she could tell with my breathing that something was happening, so I moved over and leaned on the basin I had two surges here & I could feel my body naturally pushing. Kelly advised that I really needed to move back to the mat, I reluctantly moved to the mat. As soon as I got to there, leaning over the fitball my next surge came I had a big urge to push, this is when my membranes ruptured, was the best feeling of relief. My surges were only 2 min apart & then the next one came & my baby girl was making her way earthside - her head was crowning & I was feeling so strong, John was right by my side, Kelly said Ashleigh quickly feel her head, but my body was shaking & I wanted to save my energy for my next surge, and here it was...two more surges & my beautiful baby girl was out, I leaned back & Kelly passed her through my legs, the most amazing feeling holding our baby girl safe in my arms!
I rested here until her cord finished pulsating, then her cord was cut by her dad & we moved up to the bed so I could have a physiological third stage & deliver the placenta, took roughly 9 mins & out it came with a few little pushes, that little home that housed our perfect girl was incredible. The environment in our birth space was so beautiful, so much love & support exactly how I always imagined it, it was my zone & my happy place. All thanks to my husband John, Aaliyah May was born at 9.54pm on the 7/10/2019 weighing 3.4kgs & 51cm long.
The Dr came in & had to stitch up a second degree tear and some grazes as she came out compound presentation, fist under her chin and arm across body. I did take the gas & air for this process. We left the hospital the next day, home to my new life a family of 4.
These beautiful birth photos where taken by www.olivejuicelifestylephotography.com.au
To book a face-to-face group Hypnobirthing Childbirth Education course with Shari Lyon on the Gold Coast Australia CLICK HERE
To purchase the Journey to Birth Hypnobirthing Online Course CLICK HERE
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