Birth Stories
Tristram's Water Birth
Tristram was born at 734pm on 1st July 2011 in our home, in a pool of warm water – 36.6 degrees to be exact! Other than his weight of 8 lb 10 oz not many other exact measurements were considered – we felt on another planet, one where magical, ethereal, creative and natural things were happening. We left our logical minds behind and found a rhythm that buzzed with support, love and anticipation for the little one that would soon be born into this world.
In the two weeks leading up to Tristram’s birth, the two weeks that were meant to be his first two weeks on this planet, I set up my birthing shrine, made my birthing bundle and processed many anxieties, fears and desires but still I had absolutely no idea of what I was about to experience. It felt like I was just about to go on a trip but had no idea of where I would end up! And I was starting to think that it might not ever happen!
When I experienced my first contraction (that wasn’t just a niggle, a subtle stomach cramp, or a feelingless tightening of my belly) after a relaxing shower at midnight on 30 June, and then my second what felt like five minutes later I was immediately flung into the moment. All of my fears lost to the acute awareness that I needed to breathe, I needed to find a rhythm that was going to allow me to travel through this experience in the best way that I possibly could – for me and for my baby.
We live in the woods, down the end of a bumpy lane, an hour away from Truro on a busy day. There were many what ifs? to contemplate when deciding that we really did want to have a natural home birth. When I fell pregnant I didn’t really know about the choices I had to how I gave birth to my child – I thought it would inevitably be in hospital and I wanted to take all the possible pain relief I could be offered and I would enjoy them! Little did I know that experiencing labour and giving birth at home with a homeopathic remedy kit, two paracetemol, my partner, doula and inspirational midwives would be the most fulfilling experience of my life.
It was Mandy’s yoga class that was the beginning of this beautiful journey – and thankfully Roddy my partner had joined me at a birth rehearsal class in April! I began to breathe long breaths, maybe not as long as the ones I had been doing in class but I was trying to focus whilst suggesting to Roddy that it might have started. ‘I think we should get some rest’ Roddy said ‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to rest’ I said ‘can you time them?’ Roddy listened to me breathe. ‘That’s 5 minutes’. ‘Hmmm…aren’t we supposed to call the midwife when they are 5 minutes apart?’ ‘lets try and get some rest…they said we needed to rest!’. I slept for nearly an hour and awoke with a strong contraction. I immediately put on a hypnobirthing cd I had bought a few days previously and went in and out of a state of awareness as I entered the trance that would become my labour. The explanations of the stages of labour and how our bodies respond to the hormones released in those different stages were confirmed. My body was doing what it knew to do, what it was designed to do and my mind was to surrender to it’s innate ability. When Roddy woke at 3am and I was still having contractions (rhythmic risings according to my hypnobirthing cd) he rang our midwife and our doula, Kylie. Breathing, breathing. I collapsed onto my yoga mat and began to sway my hips, circle my root chakra and ignite my kundalini energy. Kylie arrived soon after and began to be the fantastic support that we knew she would be. It took our dog a few moments to realise this as she had to process what Kylie was doing sitting on her spot at the end of our bed at 5 oclock in the morning! I continued to breathe. I had found my spot leaning against the windowsill, gazing over our garden, the meadow, the trees and to the horizon and had begun to breathe my golden thread – the trees drew the thread in. My breath turned into the beginnings of a chant, one that would grow and extend my breath to 3 times the length I may have normally been able to breathe. Once the sun had risen Kylie gave me a hand and foot massage – the gentle relief that was very much appreciated at this point, relaxing yet energizing me for what lay ahead. Purdy’s, water, Conscious chocolate and energy balls were offered to me with bendy straws and loving hands. The midwives arrived and set up for the day ahead. Noteably, Nicky began her crochet cushion. I moved (I continued to move, from room to room, house to garden, garden to house, pool to sofa and back again, during the labour). Roddy, our dog and I went for a stroll in the garden and up to the greenhouse – I was wrapped up warm, Roddy was wearing his much admired rosette guinea pig (fake!) fur coat and the dogwas the Royal Fluff. It was a beautiful summer’s day! Once in the greenhouse I immediately resumed the praying position to ease the intensity of the rhythmic risings – this was the position of choice for the next few hours! We came back in and I moved upstairs for rest with Roddy, who spooned me in the most delicate of ways. It turned out Roddy had told me I had rested much longer than I had (20 minutes) – I felt I had built up the energy for the next phase! We went outside again. This time we pottered down the garden zig zag path and back up to the terrace. Before the next rising kicked in (they were about 4 minutes apart!) I heard banging at the top of the garden. ‘Who’s up there?’ – I had never heard the tone in Roddy’s voice as he lovingly searched his mind for an excuse before admitting ‘the electricians - they could only come today!’ I let out a long chant before we headed back into the house. It was starting to kick off. It was about 10 oclock in the morning. The midwives began to move their equipment into the front room…’it’s moving to the next stage then?’ I realised. ‘Why don’t you try out the pool?’ they suggested….so I did!
I got my rubber ring over my head and floated around. The contractions dulled. We felt the angels around us. Then they began again. I saw our dog watching me from the sofa, sending me encouragement and guidance from the comfort of the sofa. Kylie offered me bauhinia, bottlebrush & crowea tincture and Roddy dropped 30 drops (recommended 20!) of Rescue Remedy into a small glass of water – the top ups didn’t stop. Things gradually became more and more intense and I felt like getting out of the pool. I found that no other place was more comfortable than the loo so Kylie and I spent some time in the downstairs washroom. I had discovered an incredibly remedial technique of pulling the towel tightly around my pelvis whilst balancing in a squat position during each contraction – this was one of the many techniques that I feel saw me gently through my labour. I moved back into the pool. Roddy put on the ‘Birth as we know it’ DVD – although I had my back to it grasping Roddy and Kylie’s hands over the side of the pool I knew what they were watching and it too was a soothing remedy. At 1pm Kylie left for London on a prearranged trip. We lovingly wished her luck on what would probably be a tiring trip!
An hour or so later I decided that I wanted to leave the pool again. This time it was not as successful as the last and I found my desire for a rest was not going to be fulfilled and my time lying on my side on the sofa was particularly intense and had it not been for my midwives and Roddy holding my feet as I kicked my legs I may have lost my focus…they got me back in the pool. I had entered the second stage of labour and now needed to apply as much of the lessons I had learnt in the Birth Light Yoga classes as possible. I needed to surrender. I read and re read my affirmations…I repeated ‘trust…I trust my body…I trust my baby…I trust myself and everything is perfect’ I repeated it again and again. I held Roddy tightly, and Mandy my midwife when Roddy needed a break, before I managed to let go and thrust myself up on the hanging bar we had erected from the ceiling beam. The rhythmical lifting , hanging and releasing became another valuable technique. I needed the loo, I desperately wanted to go but I was told it was my baby! Surely not – the pressure on my bowels was immense! I began having overwhelming feelings of needing to push for my baby to move through my cervix and into the canal that would see him into this world. I knew I had to try and breathe. I had to surrender. At this point I began to release a primal groan, short but powerful sounds that allowed me to pace his journey. An hour felt like a minute. A minute an hour. Roddy told me to look at my tummy – it was going down…I was nearly there! It turned out I didn’t need the loo – it was my baby! As the last push came I lifted myself, it felt like I was arching to the sky, legs wide, I pushed and when I knew his head was about to surface I breathed the birthing breath. His head popped out. He twisted his shoulders, and he came into my arms. Sound disappeared. His slippery skin against mine. It was a boy! Our dog cantered into greet our little one with an enthusiastic wag and a gaze over the side of the pool. After a little time the cord was cut, he was given to his father and I decided I didn’t want to go through anymore contractions during the third stage of labour – I’ve just been through hours of them! I had decided I would have an injection to deliver the placenta if it had not arrived after 20 minutes. I tried to get out of the water, out of the pool. The placenta decided to make a rapid exit in the process and the attempted capture was just a second too late as it fell heavily on the floor. I couldn’t look – I am rather squeamish – apparently it was vibrant, glowing against the blue waterproof sheet it had fallen on.
I collapsed on the sofa and our baby was placed on my chest. Our baby was here and it was time to meet him properly and snuggle him proper!
I know with all my heart we wouldn’t have had such a magical experience and Tristram would not have entered this world in as peaceful and loving way as he did if it had not been for the support, guidance and inspiration of Mandy Adams our yoga teacher, Mandy Bellinger and Nicky Flynn our midwives , Kylie Pattnaik our Doula and Seph Moir our massage therapist, all of whom banned the word p*** from our vocabulary and replaced it with intensity! They are definitely now considered as friends and will no doubt be apart of our team again!