“So the obstetrician eventually came. She walked over to me, said lets have a look how your going. She lifts the sheet up, and she went “Oh, your baby has crowned already!.”

XAVIER’S BIRTHING DAY

Steve and I welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Xavier Stephen Hale. He was 3.72kg and 53.5cm long.

I commenced surges at 9pm on the Thursday Evening, so Steve went to sleep so he could get some rest for a few hours after a big day, and so I could just be quiet and work through the early stages on my own. I listened to the rainbow relaxation on my Ipod and rested in between surges, and also did some yoga moves whilst I had the surges which I learnt at active yoga classes. I did this for a couple of hours and then went into the bath for a while, but this resulted in my surges becoming very close together (3 min apart), so I hopped out and woke up Steve. I asked Steve to time them for me again (in case I got them wrong myself) and when he was timing the second one, my membranes broke (which resulted in a mad rush to get towels as I was on the bed). Then I called the hospital and advised where I was at, and they said come on in when I was ready.

So we arrived at the Mater at 3am in the morning, and spent over half an hour in the pregnancy assessment unit. They monitored baby’s heart beat as well as my contractions. I didn’t mind this as I was still going very well with my breathing and felt relaxed working through the surges. The midwife commented, given that I was having surges very close together and also they were also recording to be very strong, that I had a very high pain tolerance!

So the first OB came in, and he didn’t even check where I was at ” although I didn’t ask to be checked admittedly. And he pretty much advised me that I had a while to go as I was only 2-3cm dilated not long ago. As I had lost my focus in the shower, I ended up getting a pethidine shot in the leg, which didn’t diminish the strength of the surges, but assisted with a bit more relaxation in between surges.

I moved to the bed to lie on my side after the shot as the heat of the shower, plus the shot led to me feeling a bit light on my feet. So on the bed I pretty much looked into Steve’s eyes each time I had a surge and breathed through as best as I could. However I quickly came to the point where I could feel my body pushing. I was telling Steve and the new midwife that I was pushing ” even though I was breathing through it, I could feel my body pushing so to speak. The midwife again said ‘don’t push, don’t push’, it is not possible, and she thought I was breathing wrong etc. Well I couldn’t help it, as my body was doing it not me ” and so I said to Steve, that I could feel something down “there”. The midwife didn’t check but kept on messaging that I had a while to go, and I was getting frustrated so I wanted to see the Ob again to see what options there were. So the OB eventually came a bit after 7am, checked my birth preferences and got an update from the midwife. She walked over to me, and she said lets have a look how your going. She lifts the sheet up, and she went “Oh, your baby has crowned already”. I thought “yes I knew it” and then I was so pumped up with excitement that I didn’t feel anything else after that, as I just had to do two nice bearing down breathes and Xavier was born!

The second OB was great and respected all our other birth preferences (wait for the cord to finish pulsating etc) and said this was the easiest birth she had attended, thinking this was one of the best examples of Hypnobirthing.

Although I admitted I felt guilty at the time that I had the pethidine shot, as I wanted to go natural…but given all the messaging I got, I just lost my focus. But now I have moved through these feelings and look on my experience very postively and proudly. I think because it was my first there was some naivety, where I didn’t trust that I was right about what was happening for me, believing that “I had ages to go” when really we knew I had transitioned quickly and that when my body was pushing, that I was birthing. I know next time I will be more trusting of my body, and Steve even though he was a wonderful advocate and support (it was really me and him doing all the work so to speak), will be even more assertive next time.

I also know that Hypnobirthing, and the relaxation techniques and CDs, played a significant part in me having a wonderful pregnancy, as I was relaxed all the way through. My blood pressure was always top notch ” despite working right up to 38 weeks, and my work got quite busy and stressful with the floods hitting Brisbane and beyond. In my last weeks of work, I was actually acting in my business manager’s role, and thus coordinating all the social work support for the flood response in Toowoomba, Ipswich, Goodna and Brisbane. I worked 14 days straight at one stage in the height of the disaster…and despite this, I felt well in control, relaxed at night and looking forward to the birth.

I also believe all the relaxation techniques I did, has also contributed to me being a relaxed mother. As well as Steve being so relaxed himself. As a result, we have a very bright, alert boy, who is a very good sleeper!

I went to a parents group the other week, and it only affirmed that I was going incredibly well with motherhood, and that we have a “easy-going” boy. I feel absolutely blessed and of course thank you for your course as it certainly has assisted us in creating a wonderful experience for family.

Maike and Steve, Red Hill, Brisbane.