my birth story 👶🏼 positive, unmedicated water birth 💦 Hypnobirthing Australia

Hello everyone! Oh my gosh, I am so excited to be filming my birth story today. I have been wanting to share this with you for two months now, but having a newborn obviously takes up a lot of time. I even tried to put her down for a nap just then, hoping I could come and film, but someone doesn't like to nap on their own. She likes to nap on me, so unfortunately that plan didn't go ahead. So if you hear little baby noises, it's because there's a little baby here. Amelia is two months old already. I cannot believe how fast it's gone. She is just the sweetest little thing. It's definitely been very challenging and there's just so many huge adjustments to get used to, but I feel like we're getting the hang of it, we're figuring each other out. We have really good days and then we have not so good days, but I guess that's just a part of being a parent, isn't it? Especially a new parent. So I did upload a vlog, which was the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy and some footage from my birth. My mum was there and she captured some videos. I'm so glad she did. I love watching them. It just blows me away that I freaking did that. Like, what the hell? All right, well let's get into my birth story. So it was the 13th of April and that morning when I went to the toilet, by the way, this is going to be very open, so I hope you're okay with that, if you're not, don't watch. But I had woken up, gone to the toilet and I had a lot of discharge, so I thought, okay, is this my mucus plug that I hear people talk about? I googled images and compared and I was like, yep, that's definitely my mucus plug. So I called Clinton, he was at work, and just told him, I said I wasn't experiencing any Just like normal Braxton Hicks contractions, which I've been having a lot throughout my pregnancy, but nothing alarming. So I said, just stay at work, like, I'll see what happens throughout the day. I don't know. I potted along, did whatever. And then when Clinton got home, we end up going for a walk, got home, had a shower and then in the shower, more of my mucus plug come out. And in this lot, there was like a little bit of streaky blood, not a lot, but just a little bit. Also, I was 39 and 4, so I hadn't even got to 40 weeks yet. And for a first pregnancy, I was expecting to go over. So then after I got out of the shower, I was sitting down on my little stool and putting magnesium on my calves because, oh my God, the cramps that I would get at nighttime were savage. So I was putting magnesium on my calves and I felt this pop like on the inside and I was like, okay, that is weird. And as I stood up, there was liquid. It wasn't like this huge gush, it was just like this small amount of liquid. And I had undies on and my undies like were pretty wet. I was like, oh, okay. So again, I went out to Clinton, showed him my undies. I was like, I think my waters are broken, like, I don't know. So again, I Googled it. I thought my waters are broken. So I was like, all right, I think this is going to happen pretty soon. So we literally just got into bed and rested. I know the hospital did tell me to call them when my waters broke, but I didn't want to so early because I know they kind of put you on a clock after that. There is a risk of infection, I think, after like 24 hours if you haven't had your baby, but I didn't want to call them. They say come up to the hospital and then things happen and they intervene. Also Clinton and I did do a hypnobirthing course. So for this birth, I had written up a like birth preferences. I didn't really want to call it a plan because if it doesn't go to plan, then I would be the one that's like upset and disappointed. So we just come up with a few preferences. Ideally, I wanted to have a unmedicated physiological birth. So a vaginal birth. I did sign a consent form to have a water birth. Your pregnancy has to be quite low risk and like a few other things to be able to sign that consent form and then say I had to go have an emergency C-section. I also just had a list of things that, you know, we would have liked. So I'd already given that to the hospital. But yeah, so the birth I was aiming for was to be drug free, intervention free, vaginal birth. I had been doing quite a lot of prep mentally beforehand. Lots of meditation, writing up my affirmations, just trusting my body that it will do what it's designed to do. So when my waters broke, I was kind of like, oh my God, like my body, my body's doing it. My body's doing it. So yeah, that was kind of exciting that they broke on their own. So we went to bed. I was like, let's get some rest. It was like 6.30 by this point. I think I was in bed and got some sleep for maybe an hour or two, but the contractions were starting to really ramp up and I couldn't sleep through them. So I went into our lounge room, just had a salt lamp on, like really dim lights. I believe I put some meditation on, maybe some music and just kind of like rode the wave of the contractions. I didn't wake up Clinton at this point. I was like, he can keep sleeping. I'll just go in the lounge room and just get in the zone. From doing hypnobirthing as well, like I knew this was going to be a real mental game. Like I had to be headstrong and I could not believe how quickly my mind was telling me I could not do this. Like I remember being in the lounge room and just thinking, how, how am I going to do this? Like I've been preparing the birth that I want is going to be hard. Like if these contractions feel like this now, how am I going to do this? Like my mind was really playing games with me and it was hard to stay positive. I don't remember doing this, but the next time I journaled, I had actually went and got my journal and written in it and it said something along the lines of, you know, like how hard this is. Like, I can't believe my mind's like telling me no already. But then I just wrote down, like, I can do this. I trust my body, my body and my baby know what to do. Like just a few of those positive affirmations that I had been already saying to myself. So then they started to like really ramp up. I don't know how close they were together because I wasn't timing them. I was just going with the flow, but they started to get like pretty intense and I don't think there was much of a break in between. So I called my mom. I was like, mom, what do I do? Help me. And like during that phone conversation, when I had a contraction, I could not speak like they were intense. So she was like, all right, Sneaker, like, I think you need to wake Clinton up now. Call the hospital. So I went and woke Clinton up and I got him to put the TENS machine on me first. I had hired it from Bliss Birth, I'm pretty sure it's called. So I got him to put that on my back and it really helped. Like it doesn't take away the pain, but I don't know, it just kind of like distracts your brain. It felt quite good. Like I enjoyed the TENS machine and would definitely recommend it if you want to try and have a drug free birth. So I was working through the contractions. I think it was around about like 10, 1030 at this point. Clinton called the hospital, told them that my waters had broken and what was going on and they were like, yep, come at the hospital. So Clinton finished packing the bags, got everything ready. I was just in the kitchen like, oh my God, going through these contractions. Like it was, it was hard. And I swear like just within half an hour, like, oh my God, they just got so much more intense. Like I thought they were intense before when I was in the lounge room. They were so intense. Just to get in the car. I think I had like three contractions. I remember stopping and leaning on the bonnet of the car and I was like, all right, I'll get in the car. By the time I even walked to the door, another one had come. I was leaning on the letterbox, finally got in the car. I remember Clinton plugging in my labor playlist, but yeah, I just was trying to zone out, just sing along to the music. I had my eye mask on so that I wasn't like distracted with the lights and different sounds and all that, which was suggested through hypnobirthing. They do say that usually when you go from your own environment to the hospital is when things slow down because you're out of your comfort zone. You know, there is the bright lights. It's a totally different environment. You're not as comfortable as you were at home. And so your body stops releasing the hormones that sounded wet. So your body stops releasing the hormones that it needs because you're in this different environment. That was deceiving. I swear the loudest ones are just like skitties and then the silent ones are the messy ones, aren't they? So that ride to the hospital felt so long. It is less than 10 minutes, but it was painful. I think I had like five or six contractions on the way there. It was, it was tough, but we got there, managed to make our way up to maternity ward, like stopping every 30 seconds, I reckon, to a minute for a contraction. So we got up there. They took me into a room to examine me. I didn't really want any vaginal exams because they're just really not necessary. Like you could tell me I'm two centimeters dilated and then in 10 minutes I'll be eight centimeters or in 10 minutes I could only be four. Like I don't know. It's just not a very good indication because you don't dilate so many centimeters per so many hours or whatever. So I didn't really want any exams because I felt like it would just kind of like interrupt me having people all up in my body when I'm trying to give birth. So I told them that, um, they did have to do, it was kind of like a pap smear though to check that my waters had broke. So they got me up on the bed, which was so bloody difficult to get up there and have to lay on my back. Oh my God. But they did this little pap smear thing, checked the pad that I'd had on. They could also tell if I was dilated by doing this and they said that I wasn't. So how defeating, like going through hours of labor already and I wasn't even one centimeter dilated. So again, that's why I didn't want to know because it's like, it just feels like a kick in the guts when you've gone through hours of contractions and nothing, nothing has happened. Like I don't know. So after that they didn't go near my vagina at all. I had to stay in that room for a little bit longer because the doctor had to come and do like a quick ultrasound to check where the baby was. So he come in, did that, said baby was down, everything was looking good. And the midwife said to me, all right, what you can do is either go home and keep going through your contractions or we can put you into a room and we'll go from there. And I was just like, there is no bloody way I'm getting back in that car to go home. Like I'm here, I'm staying here. So I got off the bed and I just went and sat like backwards on the toilet because there was so much pressure. I was seriously like, I don't know if I'm going to ---- myself. So I just need to sit on the toilet just in case because I don't know what's going on. So we waddled down to that room and I just went straight into the bathroom and sat on the toilet again. Um, I think it was probably like 1130, 12 o'clock by this point, Clinton ended up calling my mom and she come up the hospital. So I'm not sure what time she got there. I don't know how long I was laboring on the toilet for, but I remember Clinton just like turn the lights off for me, put on some meditation and just like set up the room how I wanted to. And as I said, I was really battling with my mind telling me I couldn't do it. So he was in my ear, like reassuring me, telling me my affirmations and that was really helpful and I really needed that because my, my mind just was telling me no. So I needed him to tell me, yes, like you can do it. The contractions were just getting so intense. There was so much pressure. It got to a point where I felt like the TENS machine was kind of making it worse. So I asked if I could hop into the bath and I just wanted to make it hotter, but they have to like have it at a temperature. I think like your body temperature or I don't, it's gotta be at a certain temperature, but I wanted it hotter. I was like, scold me like this ain't doing anything. And so every time the midwife would walk out, I remember just like turning the cold off, like cranking the hot and every time she'd come in, she'd do the opposite because she'd check the temperature of the water. I think Clinton said I slapped her hand away from the tap at one point, which I apologised to her for the next day. So then I just laboured in the tub for a few hours, I guess. The pressure was just insane, like I could not believe the pressure. I just don't really know any other way to describe the pain. It is just intense pressure. I was moaning and groaning and making all kinds of noises. In some of the hypnobirthing videos we watched, these women were silent and I'm like, how? Like, I don't get it. I was really trying to stay calm and relaxed and breathe through it, but it was really, really hard. Like I said, it's just a massive mind game and when you are battling that pain and that pressure, it's hard just to be like, yeah. So again, Clinton was in my ear just reminding me like, breathe, like relax your shoulders, like telling me it's okay, which again, I just, I really needed him to do that. Like I said, I didn't have any more vaginal exams. The only thing that the midwife did was come over with like the Doppler, is that what it's called? And check the heart rate of the baby occasionally. And so that was amazing. I just got to be in the bath, in my own space, like comfortable, not really comfortable, but you know what I mean? Like without anyone's hands all over me, like just annoying me kind of thing. It did get to a point though, where my mum come over and said, look, the midwife would like you to hop out soon, like in the next half an hour, if we're not really seeing anything, they want you to hop out and they want to like examine you, like if you're okay with that. And at that point I was just like, I can't even make a decision. Like, okay, I hear you, but I can't answer you right now. Check back with me in 30 minutes. Within that 30 minutes, she was born, so I didn't have to get out of the tub, thank God. But as I said, the pressure was just so insane. It was getting just more and more and more intense. I was like, she is coming out. They put a little mirror underneath with the torch to have a look and they couldn't see anything. And I was like, bullshit, like, there's got to be something there. And they were like, look, stop pushing because we don't see anything. And I was like, I am not pushing, it is not me, like I am not like pushing. My body is doing everything, like I can feel her coming out and it's not me. It's my body is doing it. And so the next contraction, they put the mirror back under there and they're like, oh my God, like her head was there, like you could fully see just all this hair. And they were like, OK, like she's coming. I was like, yeah, I told you. And I just remember feeling like, am I allowed to say this on YouTube? My CLIT was going to rip. I was like, something, something's going down. Something is about to tear, like this is hurting so much. So then I'm pretty sure the next contraction, like her head was coming out and I felt the rip. I end up tearing on my inner labia, which I didn't even know you could tear there. I thought you only could tear like down the bottom, but no, you can tear up the top as well. But I'm pretty sure that contraction or the next contraction, her head was out, which oh my God, was such a relief. I did include that video in the vlog if you want to watch. And then I had the longest break within contractions. It's like my body knew I just needed a rest. And I had this huge break, I reckon it was a couple of minutes. So isn't it just so amazing that the baby's head can be out, just underwater, doing its thing, like it just blows my mind, like water births in general. So anyway, I had a really long break. The next contraction, I felt it peak and then her body just, just come out. Like before she come out, I did have in my birth preferences that I would like to grab her and pull her out. And the midwife actually come up to me and asked like, all right, like your baby's about to come out. Like you did have written down that you want to do this, like do you want to change positions and get that happening? And I just, I could not move. I was like, look, thank you so much for like respecting what I want and checking with me. I was like, but I can not move positions right now. Like I, not, I can't, I was like, you just do it. So I'm really pleased with the midwives. They really followed what we wanted, which I'm so, so grateful for. So yeah, her body come out, they lifted her up and put her on my chest. And it was just the most surreal feeling. I remember just looking up at Clinton and he had tears in his eyes and I just, I couldn't believe what I had just done, like what my body had just done. Like I had the birth that I wanted, like, like I was blown away. Yeah, you come out, that's how you come out, yeah. Doing the hypnobirthing course and, you know, practising my affirmations and, you know, putting this trust into my body, like I knew there was a possibility that I could have the birth I wanted, but I didn't want to get so hung up on it in case it didn't happen because you can't plan this stuff. You just don't know what is going to happen. So the fact that I had this birth, how I envisioned it and, you know, everything went smoothly, I was just gobsmacked. I still am, I still cannot believe that I got to have a water birth and my body did that, like my body did that. So they put her on my chest, she like cried a little bit, but then they rubbed her back, like put some warm blankets on us and then she let out a nice big cry. She was all good. We just got to chill out in the bath for a while and just kind of like, you know, wrap our heads around what the hell had just happened. I did get a little bit concerned though because so much blood come out after that, like the water literally was blood. I was like, um, am I okay? They were like, yeah, yeah, it's fine, it's fine. And it was a weird feeling like that she was still attached like to the cord, like I could feel the tug of the cord, like coming out of me and being attached to her. It was just, it was a strange feeling. But anyway, we eventually got out and got up onto the bed and I just got to lay there with her. I did want delayed cord clamping and they were absolutely fine with that. We got to do that until the cord went completely white and then Clinton cut it. We then got to do skin to skin for quite a long time. I don't really know how long, but we just got to lay there and snuggle together. The nurses did examine and like I said, I had a tear, so they had to get the doctor to come in and fix that up with the placenta. I wanted to try and birth that physiologically as well, so I didn't really want them to like help if, unless it was necessary, like I think they usually give you an injection to help the placenta come out, but I was like, no, no, I want to like let my body do it. So they did have a time on that. It was about an hour. So I did try to push it out, but I think I was just like too scared to push after what the hell had just happened. So we got off the bed and sat on the toilet and I was like hoping that gravity might help it come out. But again, I was just like, I couldn't push. I was way too scared. So we got back on the bed and they helped get it out. So they like pushed on my stomach a bit and pulled it out. And so that's what I mean with like having birth preferences, like I would have liked to have got my placenta out by myself, but it just wasn't happening. So I'm happy for them to jump in and give me a helping hand. So they got the placenta out and then I think that's when the doctor come round to stitch me up and, oh my God, I'm just going to put her in the carrier because I think she's getting tired. All right. She said no to the carrier. So we're swaddled asleep. I'm just going to talk a bit quieter now. So yeah, the doctor come in to stitch me up and I don't remember this, but Clinton said when he like had a look, he goes, oh, she come out like a cannonball. And Clinton was like, oh, that's a bit rude. It was like, she did come out pretty fast, but you don't need to describe the state of my vagina like that. Thank you. Okay. So anyway, he put some numbing needles into my labia, which does not feel good. And then I went ahead and stitched it up. So it kind of tore. Is this too much information? It was a first degree tear and it like, say this is your labia, it like that. So he was stitching that up. Like you can't feel the pain, but I could feel like the texture of the stitches. It was so gross. So for this, I did use the gas and air and it really helped me just like breathe. But then it got to a certain point where like I could feel pain and I was like tensing like my butt and like getting really like angry, groany, like with the noises that I was making. And you know, I was trying to stay calm, but it was hurting. And he goes to me, if you want, we can put you under to finish this. And like with attitude like that. And I was like, no, I do not need to go under. I was like, it's just hurting. I literally just pushed a baby out of my vagina. Sorry, I'm a little bit irritable. And so another doctor come in, a woman, and she ended up finishing it off. And she actually gave me more of the anesthetic. Is that what it's called? General anesthetic? No, that's when you go under, isn't it? And more of the numbing stuff, because when he was stitching, like he hadn't numbed enough. And that's why I was moaning and groaning because it freaking hurt. So she put more in and that was much better. So that felt like it took forever, but I did get to hold her the whole time and just like try and enjoy that while he was doing that. So now I've given birth, the placenta's been delivered, cord's been cut, I'm stitched up. Finally, I am done. Like everyone, get your hands off of me. I wanted to have a shower by this point, so I think the nurse, like the midwife, then did all the checks for baby, like weighed her, measured her, gave her some needles. So she did all that while I got up and had a shower. When they did my stitches as well, I had to get a catheter in. So Clinton helped me into the shower and there was just blood everywhere. Like it was still coming out of me. It was all in the bath from before. It was all over the toilet from when I tried to deliver my placenta. Like it was just dripped all over the floor. Like it looked like a freaking massacre had gone down. I was like, um, is this normal? They were like, yeah, that's fine. I was like, alright. And then we got ready to go into another room. They started like rushing a bit because they needed the room we were in. But when I was in the shower, I was feeling quite dizzy. They, like we packed everything up. They put me in a wheelchair to take me out. And I just said like, oh, like I'm still feeling dizzy. And then like everyone just started to panic. And they had changed, like the midwives had swapped over too. So the two that I had and absolutely loved, like they were gone. And it was this new, two new midwives and an AIN. And they just were all like in panic mode. And so they shoved me back up on the bed. And the AIN's trying to shove like a needle in my arm to put me on a drip. Meanwhile, the two nurses are putting like ECG all over me to check my heart. And she couldn't get the needle in. So then she's trying on the other side. And I was just laying there like eyes closed, like just whatever, like do whatever. Like I'm over this. Clinton started to get quite upset because like, you know, we've just gone through this whole birth. Like it was hard for him to see me in pain and, you know, go through that. So then to see this, I think just like that tipped him over the edge. And the AIN was like, she's fine. She's fine. And like, they just, their vibe really affects you. The other two midwives were so calm the whole time, like just so patient and relaxed. And then these three people were just panic mode. I was like, I just need some water and like some snacks. I'm fine. I understand they have to check. But anyway, it just felt really stressful. So they were carrying on about how much they need the room. And then they ended up putting me on a drip for like an hour. Anyway, finished the drip, got back to the other room. I don't even know what time it was. Oh, because I don't think I said that she was actually born at 2.50 in the morning. So we got to the hospital about 11pm and she was born at 2.50. So like that is pretty fast considering like my water's broke at 5.30 as well. Apologies if this video is just like all over the place. Like my story is all over the place as well. I've been wanting to film it for so long. I am just going off the top of my head trying to watch the baby at the same time. So you get what you get. So we end up staying in the hospital for one night. I felt ready to go home the next day. We went home like in the late afternoon. But yeah, that's it. That is how I gave birth to my little miss Amelia. She was 3.6 kilos and I think around 51 centimetres long. As I said, I am just so blown away and really proud of myself and my body for giving birth. It is my biggest achievement. Like I cannot believe I grew and birthed a baby. I'm really glad that we decided to do hypnobirthing class. It taught us a lot about birth and just how your body works to get this baby out. It was really interesting to hear about interventions. Like what is necessary and what's not. So that in itself taught me a lot about my boundaries and what I was going to say yes and no to. Again, we weren't like super strict on any of our preferences. But before any decisions were made, I wanted it to be talked through thoroughly and all the information given to us. Like not just quick decisions made without my permission kind of thing. I'm glad we didn't really have to do that. And I'm really thankful for the two midwives that we had. They were just amazing and we didn't have to remind them once of our wishes. They were all over it. I also used a comb when I was in the bath for pain relief to like squeeze in your palm. And boy was I squeezing that hard between Clinton's hand and the comb. I was squeezing things. Well, yeah, I think that is pretty much it for my birth story. I hope that you enjoyed watching. If you did, you can give this video a thumbs up. And if you haven't seen my birth vlog, I'll link it down below, as well as my first, second and third trimester vlogs. Overall, pregnancy was a journey, like a roller coaster. And then birth was just like, blew my mind. And now having her here, I'm back on that roller coaster. It is such a wild journey, but I just love her so much. Oh my god, it's like you fall in love with your husband all over again. Just how supportive he was, how much he, he just knew what I needed. And just him being so proud of me as well. Like, it's just the best. Yeah, thank you all for watching and I will see you in my next video. Bye!