Shelby and Will’s birth story

After several weeks of Braxton hicks I went into labour at 8:30pm the night before our due date. Contractions started about 7 mins apart so I popped on the tens machine & tried to rest in between them in bed for a while. Will got out his Calmbirth folder and did some last minute revision and strung the fairy lights. He advised me what stage of labour he thought I was in based on his studies, and told me after witnessing a contraction “you breathed really well through that!”, to which I promptly told him thank you but please don’t ever say that to me again. I got up and started moving when I realised I couldn’t really rest, and as soon as I started moving contractions really ramped up. Will put his counter pressure skills learned in Calmbirth to use which I enjoyed in the early stages.

Around 11pm my sister arrived and contractions had progressed to 2-3 mins apart. I was feeling unsure about when to call the midwife because my last 2 labours were 20 plus hrs, so I didn’t want to call too early, but was becoming concerned about how quickly contractions had progressed. The very next contraction I felt a strong urge to bear down… needless to say we called the midwife promptly. She came right over and arrived just 6 minutes before Juniper came rushing into the world in just 3 pushes! I was surprised at how conscious I was this time of the feeling of baby moving down and preparing to crown.

Juniper Rose was born at 12:36am on her due date. Will was still trying to fill up the birthing pool via the kitchen sink up to a few mins before baby’s arrival. I had to tell him in no uncertain terms he needed to come and sit next to me or he was going to miss the birth. Needless to say neither of us was expecting such a quick labour and were utterly unprepared, so baby was born on our couch!

Unfortunately Juni had some trouble breathing after 2hrs of blissful skin to skin and our first feed, so we were transferred to hospital and she spent her first 5 days of life in special care on breathing supports. A very emotional time but we’re now home and extra appreciative of our comfy little newborn bubble.

Calmbirth really bolstered our decision to have a homebirth after learning how important oxytocin is to the process. I think being at home in my safe space and not having to think about when to leave to get to hospital may have helped this labour progress more quickly than my last two. I suspect baby was also in optimal position after practising our spinning babies regularly in the lead up to her birth. We highly recommend Calmbirth to any expecting parents.