William Jack

Our birth story:

I had been having irregular contractions from the early hours of Friday 25th August. I started to lose my mucus plug that day, so I was hopeful labour was imminent.

That evening I woke up several times with period like cramping, waves coming and going, but not regularly. I would rotate between resting with a heat pack, bouncing on the fit-ball and stretching. This continued throughout Saturday. I became quite tired at this point so tried to rest as much as I could, which was somewhat difficult with a 2.5-year-old running around.

I decided to have a bath and listen to a podcast that evening. This really helped me to recover. I went to bed and woke up at 10.30pm with heavier cramping. I focused on my calm breaths and was able to doze back off. By 1am, a contraction woke me up rather suddenly. I opted to move to the couch so my husband could keep sleeping. By 2am the contractions were rolling in every 6mins, so I asked my hubby to do sacral counter pressure during each wave. By 2.30am we decided to call my mother-in-law to come over and babysit. I was now having 3 contractions every 10mins, arriving at LGH by 3.30am.

We had rung ahead to request the bath, absolute heaven! Things were going steadily until 5.30am but the contractions were dissipating, so I decided to hop out of the bath to move around. There was talk of sending me home, which was disheartening. Thankfully, the midwife that arrived for the 7am shift suggested we try some spinning babies exercises. This worked wonders. The obstetrician popped in at 9.30am and offered an examination. To my relief I was 5cm dilated, encouraging me to keep doing everything we had been.

I relaxed at this point and noticed a dramatic shift in contractions. I used the shower to help with pain relief and movement. By 11am things had escalated, I hopped back in the bath. Contractions were now 2mins apart and becoming very uncomfortable. I had to really focus on my breathing, as I knew transition was happening. At midday I found myself instinctively groaning and mooing like a cow. My midwife suggested we hop out of the bath as she could sense pushing wasn’t far off. I found side lying on the bed to be most comfortable at this stage, starting to use gas to breathe through contractions.

At 1.07pm our beautiful son was born. An uncomplicated birth, no intervention and no stitches required. The knowledge from Calmbirth allowed me to trust each stage of labour and to stay in control of my breathing. A complete contrast to my first birthing experience. I am beyond grateful for Cherie’s course and would recommend it to everyone!

Cam and Laura