After a tricky birth with my first baby I was extremely apprehensive about
falling pregnant with baby number 2 and experiencing a hard birth again. With
my first pregnancy I came across hypnobirthing but all of that went out the
window when it came down to a failed induction resulting in a tricky and
difficult birth. Due to to my previous experience I was desperate to have a
more positive birth and I was over the moon after winning an Instagram
competition for a free hypnobirthing course with Claire!
Fast forward a few weeks and my due date was fast approaching and after the
amazing course with Claire, myself and my partner were feeling informed and
ready for when it came to our birth. At 38 weeks I was sent for a scan after being
diagnosed with ICP, I was feeling panicky as I had set in my mind that I was
absolutely against being induced so this felt like a road bump. After our scan
we were sent round to the midwives who explained that during the scan they
had picked up that baby is measuring big and ideally would like me to be
induced TODAY. I instantly felt a wave of dread but knew I had to calm down,
focus on my rights, and ask the correct questions. The decision was made
that I would wait to meet my consultant in 2 days time so discuss further.
Thursday came around and again my consultant explained the risks not only
to me but to our baby. I knew that scans can be inaccurate but something
about they way the consultant spoke we just knew we didn’t want to take any
risks and agreed to be induced in 2 days time (boy was this the right choice
when our little one did arrive haha).
Saturday came and I felt relaxed about heading into hospital. We hugged and
kissed our little girl goodbye for now and off we went. Knowing being induced
can take a few days we got ourselves settled and the hours seemed to pass
quite quickly. I was given the 24 hour pessary and as expected, there were no
changes to my cervix after the 24 hours. A first round of gel was given and I
got some rest. Feeling hopeful after some tightening's I was hoping for some
good news when I was examined again, but nope. Still a thick cervix so
another gel was given. I stayed as active as possible, out for walks, bouncing
on my birthing ball, listening to music and keeping the good vibes going. The
time came for me to be examined and after some positive changes I opted for
a third gel as I didn’t want to have my waters artificially broken if I could avoid
it. A third gel and only a few hours later things were definitely happening. We
went on a walk and 10 minutes in I said to my husband, I think we should
head back to the ward, these are definitely contractions and getting quite
regular. After wobbling back to the ward I popped in my headphones and
started bouncing on the birthing ball. 3 bounces later and all of a sudden I
stopped and said to my husband either I’ve just wet myself or that was my
waters. We were both in a bit of shock but also extremely excited as we knew
it was nearly time to meet our baby. When my waters went I looked down and
saw that they were a funny colour, during the course with Claire we spoke
about meconium in waters, so I knew this was what it was. The midwife
reassured me this was common but we would need to get along to the labour
ward straight away.
At this point my contractions were coming on fast, but using my breathing
techniques and birthing comb I was able to manage and push through. I
walked along to the labour ward, albeit slowly and stopping for contractions.
We finally got along to our room and I felt a rush of excitement but also felt
extremely calm, hugely different to my first birth. My husband set up the room
with our projector light (something I LOVED from the course when Claire
showed us hers), played some relaxing music and I really got myself in the
zone.
My contractions were now back to back and things were really ramping up. The
midwives offered to examine me, to which I declined as I felt in control and
knew our baby would be here soon so I wanted to stay in my zone. My
husband was amazing and was reassuring me the full time with positive
affirmations and also ensuring the midwife team respected my wishes. I
stayed active on my feet, focusing on my breathing and knowing soon my
baby would be in my arms. After an hour I decided to have some gas and air
as I was feeling a lot of pressure and felt as if baby was on its way. The midwife
explained she didn’t think it was time yet, however I knew that the baby was
closer than she thought. I got up onto the bed on my knees, leaning over the
back of the bed and felt a huge urge to push. The midwife said she was just
quickly popping out for something however I shouted over “this baby is coming
right now, I’m pushing”, she hurried back over and with a shocked look she
said yep okay baby is right there. I knew it! 2 more contractions and 2 big
pushes and I had birthed our baby. I immediately took my baby up into my
arms and my husband shared the gender with me, a beautiful baby boy.
I had an overwhelming feeling of emotion, I was SO proud of myself and so
proud of my body for creating and birthing such a beautiful boy. The midwives
congratulated us and the stated what a big boy he was!
After 3 glorious hours of skin to skin and our first breastfeed I agreed for him
to be weighed and dressed. I’m glad I trusted my instincts and agreed to be
induced as our boy, born at 39+1, was a whopping 10lb 11oz!!! The midwives
were all shocked as they hadn’t expected him to be that big, but there
he was!
My birth, although not my plan A, was the most magical and special
experience. I couldn’t have delivered such a big baby, on just gas and air if it
hadn’t been for the knowledge gained on the hypnobirthing course. I put
complete trust in my body and mind, and I did it! After being so nervous and
apprehensive about birthing, I can honestly say I would do it all again in a
heartbeat.
Our beautiful boy Thomas is loved soo much by us all and his big sister.
To you Claire, for all that you did for us, we can’t thank you enough!
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