I trust my body. I can do this!

The whole week before going into labour, I had this feeling that baby wasn’t far away. On the Friday, I remember having such a beautiful day with family and my husband, Tony. I felt relaxed, strong, and ready — and baby was certainly ready too.

At 1am on Saturday, right on my due date, my contractions started. They felt like cramps at first — similar to what I’d been having all week, but more intense and happening regularly.

At around 5am, I woke up Tony, and told him I thought I was in labour. I got up and went into the lounge room, feeling a bit of disbelief. I wanted to move around to see if the pains kept coming. I got on my gym ball and started doing pelvic circles to loosen up my lower back, where I was feeling most of the pain.

Once Tony got up, we got stuck into building our oxytocin bubble. We went for a walk with our dog Marley — something we loved doing and had become a treasured ritual in those final days of pregnancy. I was still having contractions while walking, but they were mild enough that I could talk and move through them. I remember thinking, What a beautiful day to have a baby — the sun was shining, it was warm and it felt like the perfect day.

When we got home, we put on the Harry Potter movies — an absolute favorite of mine. Having something so familiar and comforting on in the background while I laboured felt perfect.

By about 10:30am, the contractions picked up in intensity, so I put on my TENS machine to help manage the pain. It didn’t take the pain away completely, but it definitely took the edge off and helped me get into a rhythm for each contraction.

Towards the end of pregnancy, I’d been doing daily meditations and breath work to prep for labour — something we’d learned through Calmbirth. Using that breathing during labour really helped me. I focused on breathing deeply through every contraction, relaxing my shoulders and jaw, and keeping myself calm. I reminded myself it was still early and told myself that every contraction was bringing my baby closer to me. I also found using sound on the exhale helped — I was “mooing” and “ahhhing” through every contraction. It made me feel like I was doing something productive with each one.

I moved around the house throughout the morning, changing positions as needed. By the afternoon, I settled into our bedroom, which turned into this beautiful little labour cave where I stayed for most of the day. The blinds were down, it was dark and cozy, and it felt safe. Marley wasn’t far away, lying on the bed with me. I cuddled and patted her — she helped keep me relaxed. Tony was there, counting contractions, squeezing my hips, and repeating the affirmations we’d practiced.

Later in the afternoon, I wanted a change of scenery, so went in the shower. I felt like I’d weed myself. What came out was a very dark yellow colour. As I got into the shower, I didn’t think much of it — I figured my body was just relaxing. I was so deep in the zone I didn’t even realize it might’ve been my waters.

The warm water in the shower felt amazing. It helped me relax and stay mobile. Tony stayed with me, sitting on the bed, talking to me and still timing contractions. He was starting to get eager to head to the hospital — things were definitely progressing. When I got out of the shower, more “wee” was running down my legs and all over the floor. 

I got dressed while Tony packed up the hospital bag and loaded everything into the car. I stayed in our little labour cave for a bit longer, soaking in the safety and peace. Part of me didn’t want to leave — I had loved labouring at home. I was also nervous about the car ride, worried it would disrupt my rhythm.

But I finally made it out to the car. Before starting the engine, Tony turned to me, held my hand, looked me in the eye and said, “Let’s go meet our baby.” That grounded me. I put on my sunglasses and headphones to listen to music and help me stay focused. As we drove down the hill, Tony said, “I reckon I’ve got you there in two contractions.” And he was right — two in the car and one in the hospital car park.

Once we got to the birth suite and I was checked, we found out it wasn’t wee — my waters had broken, and there was meconium in the fluid. I was hooked up to monitors, but baby was relaxed and happy at that point.

Then it was operation: make the birth suite feel like home.

Tony set everything up beautifully. The hospital had fairy lights, we added our electric candles, our speaker with music. The room was an absolute vibe. I loved it just as much as our bedroom and settled back into the zone pretty quickly.

We had a shift change, and midwife Kate took over our care. Kate was a literal angel. She was incredible and such a huge part of what made our birth experience so special. I came in with a pretty detailed list of birth preferences — nothing wild, mostly just what we’d learned at Calmbirth — and Kate immediately got on board. She supported us fully and created the calm, relaxed space we wanted, where I could just let my body do its thing.

I’d worked my whole pregnancy for this: an active labour, a resilient mindset, and embracing the whole experience. And Kate helped me stick with that. When I started to doubt myself, she reminded me I was already doing it — to trust myself and my body. I repeated that to myself for the rest of labour: “I trust my body. I can do this.”

And Tony — my other angel. He didn’t leave my side for a second. He held my hands, squeezed my hips, he cuddled me, rubbed my shoulders, and reminded me of all the work we’d done to prepare for this. He told me how much he loved me and how proud he was. Talk about an oxytocin boost!

But despite all the oxytocin and calm vibes, around 3am — 26 hours into labour — my contractions started to slow. They’d been steady at about 3 in 10 minutes, but now they were coming one every 8 minutes. Baby’s heart rate also started to rise.

I’d requested not to be told how dilated I was — just whether I was progressing — but at that point, I was 5cm, and baby wasn’t in the best position. 

Kate sat with Tony and me between contractions and gently explained that things had stalled and she recommended starting syntocinon to get things moving again. While I was scared about more interventions, I also knew we needed to move forward.

Once the drip started, things picked up quickly. Within 15 minutes, contractions were back on track. 

By 5am, Kate checked again — I was 8cm. Things were really ramping up now. I entered a whole new world — still breathing and using the TENS, but I gave Tony control of the TENS because I couldn’t focus on it anymore. My mooing turned into deep, primal, guttural sounds. I had no idea I could even make sounds like this, they just happened. 

I’d said in my birth preferences I didn’t want to be offered pain relief and that I’d ask for it when I was ready. But Kate gently suggested I try the gas, as my breathing was starting to lose its rhythm. She was so calm and respectful about it, and honestly, it helped me get back on track. I was so proud of myself — nearly 30 hours of labour with just breath work and a TENS machine — and the gas helped carry me into the final stretch.

But by that point, it wasn’t a calm, serene birth anymore. I was exhausted, saying I was done, that I couldn’t do it anymore and begging for it to just be over. I think there was a part of me that was willing myself into transition because I knew that would mean it would be over soon.