I remember walking around eating snacks saying I could not believe I just gave birth – I felt great!

This was my second pregnancy and it was exactly like my first, right down to another low lying placenta and another cheeky breech baby until around 33 weeks. I experienced the usual nausea, vomiting and fatigue throughout my first trimester, then caught Covid at 18 weeks which developed into Bronchitis and left me feeling pretty awful for a while. Aside from this I had a wonderful pregnancy and really enjoyed being pregnant again, but it’s certainly more exhausting having a busy toddler to chase after!

 I had a very empowering natural birth with my daughter Nora in 2020 after completing the Hypnobirthing course with Renee.  Because this pregnancy was so similar I assumed my birth would be similar too, but we decided to do the refresher course with Renee to make sure we were well prepared and back in the right mindset for birth.

 I chose to have a student midwife follow my pregnancy which was a wonderful experience. Due to Covid, the hospital policies around birth support people were constantly changing, but student midwives were considered staff. I was quite anxious about how my birth would look due to Covid restrictions, but found it very reassuring that I was guaranteed to have my student midwife present to support me and advocate for my birth preferences.

 A few weeks before my due date the restrictions on support people eased and I was able to book a birth photographer too. This was something I thought I would never have the chance to do, due to having my babies during the pandemic, so it was very exciting to have this opportunity at the last minute!

 At 39+1 I woke in the night to some cramping which felt like early labour. They were consistently 10 minutes apart for 2-3 hours, then I managed to get back to sleep, and when I woke in the morning they had stopped.

 A few days later at 39+4 I noticed some cramping throughout the afternoon. They started to develop into more intense tightenings over a few hours, and at 5.30pm I called my husband to come home from work early as they were coming consistently 10 minutes apart.  They were gradually getting more intense over the next few hours and felt like labour so we decided to send Nora to my parent’s house for a sleepover, rather than have to wake her up during the night if things progressed quickly.

I set up my labour space and let my student midwife and photographer know that labour was starting. The tightenings continued every 10 minutes until around midnight, but I decided to try and get some rest as they weren’t getting closer together. I fell asleep around 2am then woke up at 4am and they had completely stopped. I couldn’t believe it. I tried bouncing on the fit ball and expressing colostrum to get things going again, and I had a few more random tightenings but nothing consistent. I felt really confused and defeated.

We decided to go out for breakfast and go for a big walk. With no more signs of labour, we picked up Nora and carried on with our day.

 Around lunch time (now 39+5) I noticed the tightenings starting again. By 2pm they were back to 10 minutes apart, and around 4pm they were 5 minutes apart. They felt more intense than the night before but I didn’t want to get my hopes up again. I carried on with our normal evening routine, and during Nora’s bath time I found myself leaning on furniture breathing through my surges. We decided it must be really happening now, so we sent Nora for another sleepover and prepped my birth team again.

I decided to go to bed, knowing my body needed the rest if labour was going to progress, and sure enough around 1am I woke up to very intense tightenings. I sat on the ball and listened to my Hypnobirthing tracks.  Around 3am I decided to lay down and continue listening to the tracks as I was exhausted. I fell asleep and when I woke the sun was coming up and my surges had stopped. I could not believe I had just laboured for 12+ only for it to stop again! I got straight up and went for a big walk along the bush track near our house – the same walk that brought on labour with Nora – but nothing happened.

By 8am I was messaging my midwife and Renee for support as I was feeling so defeated. Both were amazing in reassuring me that this was prodromal labour, and although frustrating it is often nothing to be concerned about.

I was physically and emotionally exhausted, and losing faith in my body, but decided I really needed to shift my mindset. Around 9am I picked up Nora and decided we would just have a fun day together and let go of any expectations that this baby was coming soon, as I was only 39+6 and knew it could still be days or weeks.

 That afternoon I saw my midwife just to check that my baby was still happy and in a good position, which they were.

 I had random tightenings throughout the day but nothing significant, and that night I got a full night’s sleep. I woke up on my due date feeling excited and grateful that I got the chance to refresh my body and mind before the real deal. I continued having sporadic tightenings but didn’t give them much attention. By the evening I accepted that I would be going “overdue” and I was completely at peace with this. I felt really calm and managed to get another full night’s sleep.

 40+1 marked a week since my first batch of surges. This week had been an emotional roller coaster, as prodromal labour was not something I had ever considered or prepared for. This just goes to show how every birth is different. I had now reached a point of complete surrender and was just carrying on with daily life, joking that this baby was never coming. I even took myself out shopping and made an eyebrow appointment to make the most of this extra free time with my husband off work. I started losing parts of my mucus plug throughout the day, but I didn’t think too much into it, as I was so settled in my “this baby is never coming” headspace.

That evening around 6.30pm I sat down with Nora to eat our dinner and my waters spontaneously broke! I remember smiling. After everything I had been through this week, labour was now starting the exact same way Nora’s did. 

We ate dinner then sent Nora off to my parent’s house. She had started asking to go to Nanna and Grandad’s after dinner each night, which gave me massive mum guilt for confusing her, but this time I knew I wouldn’t be picking her up until I had the baby. It’s hard to describe that bittersweet goodbye to your first baby, knowing they won’t be the baby anymore next time you see them.

 My surges ramped up fast. By 8.45pm they were strong and lasting a full minute. I set up my labour space (candles, birth playlist, vision board) and got into my zone. Around 10pm I decided to go to bed out of fear I would exhaust myself again if this wasn’t the real thing. But by 11.30pm I was back out in the living room and my birth photographer Hayley was on her way over.

This stage of labour was very intuitive and familiar. I relied on my breath and movement - lots of walking around, swaying, leaning on furniture and the fit ball. Trent was supporting me with light touch, hip squeezes and acupressure we learnt in Renee’s course.

I remember joking with Trent and Hayley that I think this must be real labour now, but truly there was a small part of me still doubting my own body.

 Around 1.30am I started saying we might need to head to hospital soon, although I really wanted to stay home in my comfort zone a while longer. We put on the TENS in preparation for the car ride. I had been coping fine without it, but if you’ve ever been in labour in a car, you will understand why I wanted some extra help for this part! Suddenly around 2am something in me switched and I decided it was time to go to the hospital. Trent and Hayley got things organised and we left home soon after. I had one very strong surge in the car and felt a lot of pressure. I was sure this baby wasn’t far away.

 We arrived at 2.30am and I had another very strong surge on the walk through the car park. I had to lean on Trent because I couldn’t hold myself up.

We checked in at the Covid screening area then made our way up to maternity ward. My student midwife Abbey met us there.

I agreed to be examined because there was still a small part of my mind doubting my body, and I wanted to return home if I wasn’t dilating as I did not want to be “on the clock”. I requested not to be told my dilation (this was a big part of my birth plan for both births) but the midwife told me that my baby’s head was “right there” and I could move to the labour suite. This midwife also directed Abbey to give me a cannula as a precaution due to my blood loss in Nora’s birth. Trent was quick to jump in and decline this as we did not believe it was necessary – I didn’t end up needing cannulation after Nora’s birth and there was no evidence that I would require it this time, plus Trent knew having a precautionary cannula stuck in my hand would totally throw me off. I heard this all going on around me but was able to stay focused while Trent was advocating for me.

 We got into the labour suite around 3am. I continued pacing around, relying on movement and my breath to get me through each surge. Without me saying a word the room was quickly set up to suit my birth preferences - dimly lit, calm, music playing on our portable speaker, Hypnobirthing sign on the door.  This is why you need support people who know what you want!

 At one stage Trent asked me how I was feeling and I remember saying “I feel like I can’t do this, which means I’m transitioning”.  I then started to feel unwell (like I might vomit or faint) so I decided to lay on the bed so I could rest between surges. My baby had other plans and I started to feel a huge amount of pressure. Just a few surges later and my baby’s head was crowning. I couldn’t believe it!

Nora was posterior and I had pushed for almost 3 hours, but this time I wasn’t pushing at all, I was experiencing the fetal ejection reflex. I was very vocal at this point, relying on my breath and my voice to keep my body relaxed. I was still laying on the bed, which was not what I had planned, but it felt perfectly intuitive and it never crossed my mind to change positions. I was totally surrendering while my body and my baby took the reins.  I remember hearing the midwife return to the room and say “oh are we crowning?” but she didn’t interfere. Trent was cooling my face with a flannel and I heard him ask for a compress on my perineum, which Abbey quickly provided and the relief was amazing. Once again, having support people who knew my plan meant I didn’t have to ask for these things to happen. In just a couple of surges my baby’s head was out. I was instinctively reaching down and holding my baby’s head, then Abbey supported the head and I held my baby’s body and pulled them up onto my chest. I took a moment to catch my breath and then lifted them up to see the gender - a girl!  I cuddled her then lifted her up to check again because I could not believe I really had another girl! Of course I would have been happy with either gender, but I was really hoping to give Nora a sister and I was ecstatic that this came true. Zarlie Maeve was born at 3:37am, just one hour after arriving at hospital.

 Zarlie was calm and alert just like Nora was at birth. She latched and started feeding beautifully straight away. The midwife asked if we were ready to cut the cord, but it still had quite a strong pulse so we asked to wait a bit longer.  I declined the Syntocinon injection and had a physiological third stage while enjoying skin to skin and examining all her perfect little features. Once the cord was white Abbey clamped it and Trent cut it. 

 I couldn’t believe I had birthed her laying on the bed, which I swore I wouldn’t do again, but that is the beauty of trusting your body and your instincts rather than following a strict plan.

I also found out I was 5cm dilated when I was examined upon arriving to hospital, which really reinforced why focusing on a number would be detrimental. If I was told I was 5cm I would have asked to go back home, assuming I still had a long way to go, when in reality my baby would be in my arms less than an hour later.

 After soaking up our golden hour, I agreed for her to be weighed and checked around 5am. She was healthy and perfect, weighing 8lb 1oz, a whole pound heavier than Nora at birth. Trent had skin-to-skin while I had a shower and got dressed into some comfy pyjamas. Then I remember walking around eating snacks and saying I could not believe I just gave birth – I felt great!  

We transferred to the ward around 5.30am, then were discharged at 1pm the same day.

 I thought nothing could top how empowered I felt after my first birth, but this certainly did. I cannot thank Renee enough for the knowledge, skills and encouragement she provided to help me achieve two beautiful natural births.

 Photographs by Raising Us Photography https://www.raisingusphotography.com.au/