The journey to Malibu Ocean - our surprise baby š
Third and final baby (unless TimĀ gives intoĀ #4Ā š«¢), itās no secret I love all things birth and pregnancy, so I was feeling all the feels about my last time growing a little miracle.
I had a very clear plan of what I wanted birth to look like for me, I kept it close to me and I did all the inner work to make it happen. My birth month came around, I passed all my āguess datesā and I was so ok with that because I LOVED being pregnant; I was sad it was coming to an end - I wasnāt over it, I wasnāt impatient, I was soaking up all the last moments and trusted my baby to pick their perfect birth date.
I hadnāt experienced a spontaneous labour before and I was determined to - but also didnāt know what to expect but waiting comfortably and patiently was my game plan and I was happy and confident going to 43 weeks.
Last day of school holidays, I took Mac and Ziggy to the playground and water park - I felt different this day, I was tired, I felt achy, it was mid summer I was hot and bothered and I just put how I felt down to that. Tim finished work early so I decided to take advantage of that and booked in some acupunctureā¦.
6pm acupuncture appointment, home by 7pm straight into the hustle of getting ready for the first day of grade 1 for Mac!
Everything ready for school, kids fed, our dinner cooking, and we tucked the kids into bed unknowingly what was ahead for our night.
8pm I was experiencing Braxton hicks, which was normal, though I noticed they were a little more frequent then normal they kept happening so I decided to start timing - part of me was thinking sit down nothing is happening but the other part of me just knew tonight was different. After timing them I realized these āBraxton hicksā were 5 minutes apart and lasting 50 seconds consistently. I went and let Tim know how frequent they were but I also was in denial and said they will most likely fizzle out and that I think they are a instant response from acupuncture.
By 9pm I was still getting 5 minute back to back pains and noticed I started to close my eyes and breath through them and sway (still in denial š
) Tim saw me in the kitchen and said itās game day isnāt it- and he started setting up our space - the pool, the candles, the diffuser with clary sage, he turned on my hypnobirthing tracks, played my birth playlist, pulled out the towels and whatever we might need.Ā By this point I was leaning over my fitball rocking through the surges, and seeing the space set up my body was surrendering to the birth.
10pm I was feeling good, I was managing the pain well, I was breathing, rocking, swaying through it all, but I was ready to hook up TENS machine and wow what a lifesaver! The tens machine took any pain I had away, myĀ two-minute back-to-back contractions were so manageable.
10.30pm was when I finally accepted that my baby was on its way and this wasnāt a false alarm - I messaged my friend who was coming to support/watch the kids if we needed.
11pm I was still feeling pretty good through contractions with theĀ TENSĀ machine but with surges being a minute apart- although it didnāt feel like it, I knew baby was close, and I knew I wanted to be in the water so I decided to take the TENS off and hop into the water
Into the pool I got, still feeling like the baby wasnāt nearby due to the lack of pain I was feeling. I felt a pop, and that was my waters - already feeling on top of the world I had finally got my spontaneous labour I had been longing for.
Next set in a glimpse of panic, and fear but I quickly snapped out of that as I knew I didnāt have time to back myself into a state of fear.
I felt a big wave of pressure (if you know you know)- then the words I had prepared my support team for āI canāt do this, help meā thatās when they knew to step in and calm me down and remind me of what Iām capable of.
It was 11.21pm at this point leaning over the edge of the pool and with a contraction I felt all the pressure; my body pushed instinctively and babies head was born, I was holding her head and I said to Tim help me catch the baby and I turned over and quite literally out flew the baby, Tim helped the baby to my chest, so calmly lowered her down and unwrapped her cord twice and placed her on my chest where she let out a big cry and so did we - she was here, she was healthy.
Born at 11.24pm on 23.01.23 - the anniversary of Timās mums passing - a little angel handpicked for us.
We just stared and took her all in, then after a few minutes we checked the gender - a little girl.
Tim went and woke the kids up to come and meet there little sister. The most special time Iāve ever experienced and Iām so glad they could witness it!
Beyond proud of myself for free birthing my final baby, thankful for Tim supporting me and so blessed with our little lady Malibu Ocean š
