
I’m not crying, you’re crying…
Bianca & Mitch,
Your story is everything. Your words, your strength, your power. Thank you for sharing your journey. ‘with knowledge, comes confidence’ – Calmbirth
Hey Jess! Hope you have been well. Just thought I’d update you on some very exciting news and share with you my very positive birth story!
My baby boy couldn’t wait any longer and was born 3 weeks and a day early! Introducing Julian Gregory Napoleone, born 18.8.22
I got the natural birth I wanted and I whole heartedly believe it’s the learnings from your Calmbirth class that made that possible. Your class also gave my partner Mitch the tools and understanding to be the perfect support person throughout. We are so grateful we did your class and we cannot thank you enough.
My Birth Story –
My waters broke at 5am Thursday morning, the day of my work baby shower and the second last day of work before maternity leave . My waters broke everywhere just like in the movies! I laugh because we spoke about how extremely rare it is for that to happen in your class. After a quick call to Jo my midwife, I was advised to head straight to the hospital and meet her there. I had half a hospital bag packed and no baby clothes washed .
It was quickly confirmed that it was definitely my waters (thank god, imagine if it wasn’t) and the doctors were quick to advise if spontaneous labour didn’t happen that day an induction first thing the following morning would be arranged. I was determined that was not going to happen!
I thought I could go home to labour, build up my oxytocin and be in my own space like I’d planned. However, I wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital and had to labour in the maternity ward which was less than ideal. Luckily we made it work.
Mitch was quick to work on my acupressure points and we knew to relax as much as possible. We took some walks outside and came back to the hospital bed to watch some TV. After lunch time my contractions started to pick up. The tens machine was used immediately and I LOVED it. It was perfect and used right up until I had to go to the birth suites. As the contractions intensified I quickly moved into the bathroom to labour in the shower with Bon Iver playing in the background (thank you for the inspiration!). Weirdly enough, it ended up being the perfect space. As they started to intensify, Mitch was so beautifully supportive. His words of encouragement and light touch just made all the difference in keeping me calm.
By 6:00pm my contractions were so intense. I begun to be really vocal and my confidence started to waver. We made our way to the birth suites. After this it was all a massive blur. Between Mitch and my midwife, they were the perfect team in keeping me distracted and encouraged during my “crisis of confidence”. I lost my mojo, began begging for the epidural. Mitch was there beside me placing pressure on my lower back during contractions (unprovoked!!) and continuously saying all the right words of encouragement. Along with my midwife, they both worked really well to get me through. Mitch kept his composure and the tools from your Calmbirth class to really stay calm throughout.
By the time I was ready to really throw the towel in, I felt the most intense urge to push. I was labouring in the shower when my midwife gave me a medicine ball. She had just gone to get the bag of fluids and finished talking to me about the risk of interventions with an epidural, when I started to feel the need to push. It was in that moment she let me know it’s too late and that Im so close to meeting my baby. This changed everything. The intensity was at its peak but somehow that was just what I needed to push through. After some time bouncing on the medicine ball to help baby lower into my pelvis I started to feel the need to push. Shortly after, I met my beautiful baby boy at 10:46pm
Jess I don’t even know where to begin, thank you just doesn’t seem to cut it. Your Calmbirth class really helped prepare my partner and I for the unexpected and ended up giving us the birth we wanted in the end. Intervention free! You are amazing at what you do and will recommend your class as a must for anyone on the journey to parent hood .