Ella Anne born 24 February 2013

We welcomed Ella Anne into the world on Sunday 24th February at 12.41pm, 7 pound 13 (3.55kg) .  She is gorgeous and every day she steals our hearts even more than the day before.

Surges started on Saturday evening, so I listened to the affirmations and was traveling pretty well.  Aaron joined me, giving moral support throughout the night.  We arrived at John Flynn at about 7am on Sunday morning (after a night of no sleep and a VERY bumpy drive along the M1), and we checked in and prepared for the observations.

I had planned on being in the water for the most part.  When they examined me I was 5cm dilated and the Obstetrician was quite concerned my water hadn’t broken and that I hadn’t slept all night ” he was pushing for my water to be broken.  I was really reluctant and was trying to manage the pain and get a little more time before they did anything I had originally not wanted.  After spending a few hours on the bed, I was finally able to get in the shower for a little while.. which was amazing.  I ended up opting for an epidural ” this decision, I think, was a catalyst for things to get going.. in the 20 minutes it took the Anaesthetist to get there, I had become fully dilated.  Just before he inserted the needle, my waters broke (over the beautifully upholstered chair I had my legs up on… oops).  I was able to enjoy those last moments before I breathed down (yep, I was able to use that part of the Hypnobirthing)… and what a magical moment.

In hindsight, I don’t think I had practised enough (even though I felt at the time I did) and next time, I would probably look at having a Doula who was familiar with Hypnobirthing.  In the weeks following Ella’s birth, I was still using the sleep breathing techniques and also the breathing down on the loo (hehe).

We now know that Ella was born with a floppy airway and an extra bit of skin over the larynx, which made her sound like a bit of a baby dragon.  I’ve been in hospital with her for the past 10 days (we got out on Monday), she had some laser surgery on her airway.  So that was a bit of a stressful time and I was able to use the sleep breathing ” which was needed when sleeping in a recliner for 10 days in a ward with other babies.

Thank you so much for your support.  I am recommending you to everyone I know that’s looking for a natural way to birth.

I hope all the other couples in our class are doing well or have had beautiful births.

Kind regards

Kesti, Gold Coast