Jess's Birth Story

My Birth Story (for those who love a birth story as much as I do!)

A week before Griffin was born I had a dream he arrived on his due date, so the 29th of June was already holding my anticipation before the day arrived. I really wanted to go into labour after a good night’s rest because that was not the case with Halo, so when I woke up on the morning of the 29th and felt what I thought was the start of my waters breaking, I couldn’t believe it. I then sat at the table eating my breakfast and my water completely broke. Not wanting to rush to the hospital yet as I wasn’t having contractions, we had an appointment with my doctor booked for 10am already, so we dropped Halo off at daycare and headed to see the doc. She performed a scan and said that baby was engaged and labour would probably kick in soon. So we decided to go for a walk on the beach promenade to see if we could get things moving. On the walk, I started to feel light contractions building but nothing rhythmic just yet. We didn’t last long on the walk because I really wanted to go home and be in my own space. When it comes to birth I’m a bit like a cat, I don’t like being around people and prefer silence and entering into my own bubble. So we got back home and that’s what I did, I went into a dark room, put on my birth playlist, and started concentrating on my breathing. Whilst in this place of starting to slip into a very calm and relaxed state, I felt a wave of emotions building up, and after a very intense few months in our lives, I knew I needed to “let go” of the past season and go into this new season without holding onto any burdens. So I consciously let go of it all and felt a wave of peace wash over me. By this stage, I was having rhythmic contractions but they were manageable and I was using the time to practice breathing properly and also visualizing getting to hold my baby soon so that all the feel-good birth hormones could flow and hopefully speed things along. By lunchtime, I was established in early labour and although I was loving being in my bubble at home, I knew it was time to head to the hospital to get settled in there sooner rather than later.

Before long I felt the relief of entering the pool and shortly after, had about 4 to 5 extremely intense contractions. In my mind, I was hoping that this was the transition phase (the most intense part of labour), but since I didn’t feel like wanted to give up or that I ‘couldn’t do it,’ I questioned whether I really was in transition. The whole time in the birth pool I was looking at the clock on the wall and I told myself that baby will be born at 5 pm. After my 4 to 5 intense contractions, I felt a shift and my body began to involuntarily push the baby out. I couldn’t believe it because this meant I was now at the pushing stage and it felt like I’d barely been in labour for long at all. The midwife rushed to call our obstetrician to head over to the hospital and all of us were a bit shocked at the speed things were progressing (she thankfully arrived just in time!). Getting to push the baby out in the water was infinitely better than lying flat on a hospital bed in stirrups in the way I birthed Halo, and so leaning over the side of the pool my body began to push the baby out with incredible force. Adrenaline started pumping furiously and I was shaking like a leaf as I pushed a few times, then felt baby’s head crown, and after a total of 6 or 7 pushes, he was born and in my arms at 4:57 pm, just three hours after we arrived at the hospital. It was the most incredible birth experience, calm and peaceful, and that’s how it’s felt ever since Griffin arrived. I loved how the midwife and our obstetrician picked up on our vibe during birth and “let us be” without talking to us much or interfering at all. They were outstanding!
Halo and Steve’s mom were able to visit us shortly after Griffin was born whilst we were still in the birthing suite getting him weighed and measured. It was a day I’ll never forget. Birth is sensational!