Both Joel and I thought that our baby might make her grand entrance in the car, and then in the car park and then the hospital lobby. Luckily we just made it to the birth suite in time for her head to be visible.
My membranes ruptured spontaneously in the early hours of the 19th April. In attempt to bring labour on and avoid an induction, I spent the day walking up and down the gutters and bouncing on the fit ball.
At around 6pm that evening I started having some period-pain-like cramping, so I made sure that I got some rest, knowing that it may be a long night. By 11.30pm I was starting to get uncomfortable and having around 2 contractions every 10 minutes. I popped the tens machine on, started using my birth comb and started focusing on my breath through the contractions.
Joel was able to use the skills and knowledge from the Calmbirth course to support me both physically and emotionally, as well as deal with some of the practicalities, such as when to call the midwife.
I know that first labours can be lengthy, so at around 2am I started to question my ability to cope and thought I must be having the typical 4cm ‘crisis of confidence ‘. Our private midwife came to our home to check my progress and within 5 minutes of her arriving we were on our way to the hospital. It turns out that my crisis of confidence was actually transition, as I was 8cm dilated and baby’s head was really low.
I thought the car trip might slow labour and give me a little bit of relief, but instead I spent the 30 minute car trip into the hospital in transition. I continued to have 4 contractions every 10 minutes and could feel my body involuntarily pushing with each one.
Both Joel and I thought that our baby might make her grand entrance in the car, and then in the car park and then the hospital lobby. Luckily we just made it to the birth suite in time for her head to be visible. My body continued to push involuntarily, so I just breathed through each contraction in order to slow things down.
At 4.49am on the 20th of April Joel was able to catch our baby girl (along with the midwife) and pass her straight onto my chest, where she stayed uninterrupted for hours.
It all felt very intense at the time so I don’t know how either Joel or I would have coped had we not completed the Calmbirth course. It helped us know what to expect and how to overcome the challenging moments as a birth team.
I am so very proud of myself but also of my partner for being everything that I needed to birth our daughter
She has been an absolute dream baby and we have been on cloud 9 since she was born, although a little tired of course
Wishing Lauren and Joel the longest stay on cloud 9 with their beautiful daughter Emerald Rose!
Birth story and photographs shared with permission
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