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When I discovered I was pregnant with baby number three, the first thing I decided to do was organise birth plans – and this time I wished for a home birth through my local hospital. Baby one was a home birth and baby two, a car birth. (You can read baby 2 birth story at the link below.) Despite doing everything I could to ‘tick the boxes’ for a hospital homebirth I was denied access to this service for a few reasons. After a big cry on my doula’s shoulder, I came to the realisation – if I wanted a home birth, I would have to do it on my own terms, at home, with a private midwife. So that, is what we did.
Lena Fay and Elyssa Tait were my amazing midwives, and along with Sonja Netwon (doula) we had a dream birth team! I was beyond grateful.
Things were looking good until I had some surprises from 28 weeks, with an irritable uterus which made walking anywhere difficult! One afternoon I took the children to a local shopping centre to go to Kmart but I could not even make it into the shop and we had to come home! It was definitely a trying time as life was already so busy with an 8 and 2 year old. There were some concerns that the irritable uterus might mean a preterm babe but luckily she stayed in to term (and even went a week over!) The excitement over having a third baby well and truly made up for any of the challenges that we did face during that pregnancy and while preparing for the birth.
The last week of my pregnancy was a little tough as I ended up having a labour that wouldn’t quite get established properly.
I was used to having lots of contractions (strong ones) all the time – (that was the irritable uterus side of things.) But when I started having contractions 10 minutes appart – then I began to think ‘this is it!’ I was very ready to meet our baby – we all were!
However, we were soon to discover that actually labour was not properly in progress and it really was a lot of false starts. Luckily, all pregnancy I had been very in tune with our baby girls movements (belly mapping throughout to see her position was a big help.)
Now towards the end of the pregnancy when I was approaching 40 weeks, I began to notice her head pop in and out of my pelvis all the time. She would seem head-down and engaged one minute but then bobbing out and off to the right the next. So I would do these left lateral releases on the bed to help her wiggle down.
On the Tuesday of the week she was born, I had my first lot of surges that felt like labour and told my husband something might be happening, told the doula and the midwife. But then, I had a whole night of surges and then they went away. I used the TENS machine to help me when they were strong. On Wednesday I had more surges, and then on Thursday too, but they settled overnight. And then on Friday they started up again. I was feeling pretty tired by this point because the surges were strong enough to interrupt my sleep and over and over again I thought I was going into labour.
At this point I actually apologised to the midwives and my husband for telling them repeatedly I was in labour when actually I wasn’t! And they were lovely about it. But my surges took a long time to get established and speed up. They were slow – strong but slow and steady.
On Saturday morning at 2am I finally thought, this is it. My husband was supporting me, and he came to hug me and hold me and help me get the pool filled. I breathed through the surges and used the TENS. Then the doula came, and the midwives. I hopped into the pool and I was in the pool for a few hours, breathing through the surges. Nothing much was happening so I hopped out, had a shower, sat on the ball, with support from the midwife. Baby girl was happy, peaceful, head down, just not really coming.
Then I did some walking and laps up and down the stairs! We had a laugh and giggle with my midwife and doula. Then I broke my own water! And hopped back in the pool to birth the baby in the water. Things sped up from there and I was breathing her out, and I could feel her head coming and then I birthed her into my arms!
My three year old came into the room shortly after and we all shared some amazing moments. Eternal gratitude to my long term bestie and my in-laws for supporting us with the bigger children’s care that day.
And thank goodness it wasn’t far to my bed for a very long rest after a marathon effort from this mumma – but also from my family, my amazing husband and of course the birth team who were spectacular really.
Welcome to the world baby Eva. Born at 11.30am on Saturday the 10th of August.
Read my second birth story here (baby number 2 – the car birth.)
Elizabeth xx
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