Layla's Beautiful Hypnobirth
This beautiful birth story is one that bought me to tears, probably because I got to know Amy and Tony so well in the lead up to their beautiful birth but also because it was just so amazing to be part of a lot of their birthing experience. Amy and Tony did a private course with me and it was so lovely to watch them grow as parents in this birthing journey. Absolute Hypnobirthing Super Stars!! Grab a cuppa and enjoy this beautiful birth story - Nic x
At 38 weeks I lay in bed listening to my hypnobirthing tracks, preparing for a journey into the unknown…. Relaxed into the track, I could feel my cervix ‘moving’, and told my husband that we should get a good sleep in case tonight was ‘the night’. Five days later on the Sunday of 39 (+2) weeks, I noticed the anticipated light pink discharge, and felt excitement and fear of the unknown quickly build inside. “This is it,” I told my husband. It would be another 4 days until we met our baby.
On Monday (day 39 + 3) my husband went to work in the morning to tie up loose ends, before returning to meet me for lunch and a foot massage that afternoon. Surges were becoming more frequent than the day before, spaced at around 10 – 15 minutes apart. They intensified throughout that evening and there wasn’t much sleep to be had.
Tuesday (day 39 + 4) and surges increased to one to two every 10 minutes, and during that evening they were consistently two and quite intense. I was exhausted, and pretty confused as to what was going on, so we decided to contact our home birth team. When a midwife arrived at 1am on the Wednesday (39 + 5), we asked for an examination, and I was 2 – 3 cm dilated at that stage. The beautiful midwife (who was our second midwife) could see the concern in my ability to birth at home increasing, so slept on our couch, advising us to get as much sleep as possible. Sleep at this point was near impossible, though unfortunately, although I persisted and tried to rest where I could. At 5am our first midwife came to swap out the other, and advised my husband to go back to bed for some more rest. He joined us a little later, where we were breathing, listening to hypnobirthing tracks, walking up & down our stairs, squat/pull ups, three sisters, in the pool, out of the pool, under the shower, backwards on the toilet, forwards on the toilet. When I had reached a wonderful rhythm in the pool around lunch time the second midwife was again called, and we were all sure that this was it, with surges increasing to 3 in 10 minutes…… But, at around mid-afternoon when I was pretty much spent, surges decreased. An examination saw that I was 7cm dilated. We had to come to a decision, as the home birth midwives are restricted to 12 hours of birthing supervision. Honestly, at this point, I just wanted my baby out. I was absolutely done. So we decided to safely transfer to the hospital via their ambulance service, which occurred around 5pm.
Upon arrival at the hospital, we were greeted by two familiar faces in our hypnobirthing & student midwives, who looked after us in our initial hours in the hospital. I had an innate feeling that we were exactly where we needed to be at this point, as I provided our Birthing Preferences to hospital staff. Requesting an epidural, I had the kindest Anaesthetist come to assist. And at this point, I wished I’d thought about what underpants to wear to hospital before leaving home……… Everyone got a giggle when my gown opened up from the back to reveal some obscure slogan, and it lightened the mood of my intense surges still at only 2 during every 10 minutes. I was fully aware of the need for artificial oxytocin at this point to help with dilatation, after our amazingly extensive hypnobirthing course.
Soon after, we were greeted by the wonderful midwife who would later deliver our baby, and both my husband and I were urged to get some rest. After not resting in days, you honestly didn’t have to tell me twice, and I was out like a light for the next 2-3 hours. Awoken by a beautifully friendly, calm voice, our midwife asked if she could do a quick examination, which revealed that it was time. My body had gotten the rest it needed, and it was time to meet our baby. Our midwife advised that kneeling was still an option should it feel comfortable after my epidural, and after a little while that’s where they helped me climb to. It was a bit weird bearing down after an epidural, but my midwife really helped me in knowing when I was doing it right – just like my very own cheerleader! About 45 minutes later, when I felt as though I didn’t have any more to give, I heard my midwife’s voice say,
“let’s have a baby hey” – and this was all I needed. I found a new inner strength, with the support of my husband, and shortly after at 12:37am (day 39 + 6) I felt the greatest feeling that I have ever felt. A feeling of release, relief, and love. Both my husband and our midwife caught our baby, and swiftly passed her up to me, when I in fact revealed the gender. We did it. It was all worth it. Every. Single. Second. And there she stayed, right with me on my chest, building our little bubble of love.
Later that day at around 3:30pm we were allowed to go home, where we introduced Layla to our other family member, Aladdin the Labrador. A moment we captured on camera, and one which is so special to reflect back on.
It is true when they say that no one can really prepare you for the birth of your first child. What an amazing experience; full of highs, immense challenge, endurance and everything in between. We were as prepared as a team could be, and in the end, our preparation is what got us through.
