Birth story - Camila and baby Marcus

*Trigger warning* - Use of word contraction, pain, stitches

Baby Marcus was born in the early hours of his actual due date, 16th April weighing 3.770kgs (8lbs 5oz).

I can only say I've been really blessed for having a really quick conception, a straight forward pregnancy and a natural water birth using only gas and air and breathing techniques as pain relief, as I've always wanted!

I woke up on Thursday around 3 am with a bit of period pain which was on and off... I managed to go back to sleep and by mid morning it was gone... then around midday it was back on, and shortly after I lost a bit of my mucus plug! I called the midwife and she said that this might be the start of labour and that going for a walk would probably help to bring on the contractions.

So I started monitoring my contractions using the Freya App while practicing my breathing but they were so mild that I was always losing track...

We went to a shop to get one last item on my list and do some walking... when we were home at around 18:00 pm my waters broke! And it was a big gush of water! So I called the hospital straight away and they advised me to go there for checking. I put on a pad to make sure my waters were clear. At this point my contractions were roughly 5 minutes apart. I just had time to put last bits in our bags, have a quick shower and go straight to the hospital. On the way there I had another big gush of water in the car!

We arrived there and were taken straight away to the dolphin suíte, which had a bath, bed, bouncing ball and ropes. The contractions were getting stronger and more frequent, but the Freya App helped me focus on my breathing.

At around 21:30pm I was in established labour. Just after that my contractions started being on my back and as they were quite strong I asked my husband to start preparing the tens machine! The midwife said my pain level was probably past tens machine and that if I was going to go in the water it would be better to start using the gas and air... which I was happy to!

The warm water definitely helped easing the pain, and the gas and air also helped me relax more and focus even more on breathing.

At 1:15 AM on the 16th I was fully dilated and we started pushing at 1:30. I remember checking the clock and telling my husband I can't believe he will be born on his actual due date! We were so happy! 1 hour later and a lot of pushing he was born in the water!

The midwife reckons at one point he turned back to back, maybe the reason why my contractions moved to my back early on. Just before my final two pushes I had almost 5 minutes without any contractions, which the midwife said was my body allowing baby time to move to the correct position! Our bodies are amazing! I even had time to eat a full cereal bar!

We delayed the cord clamping and did lots of skin to skin with me and later with dad.

I took the injection for the placenta but it took a while for it to come, luckily once I was transferred to a different room the doctor managed to get it out at 4:00 AM, with only gas and air as pain relief. I had a second degree tear so had my stiches done straight after as well.

So in total it was just under 24 hours since I started feeling mild contractions. From established labour to delivery it was 5 hours, which included 1 hour pushing.

Baby did a bit of poo just before being born, so had to stay in the hospital for 12 hours for observation and testing. I was home on the same day though at around 18:00pm.

My tips are...

- If you have time to do the hypnobirthing course from the positive birth company I think it is really worth it, as they explain each stage of the labour and knowing why you are going through each contraction definitely helped plus all the tips they give to make it more bearable. Also make sure if it is possible to watch the videos with your labour partner, my husband was such a great help ! He followed all the tips we learned from the course and really helped me with everything, it made the total difference having him there!

- The Freya App was extremely good to help me focus on my breathing in each contraction, instead of focusing on the pain. The midwife's were really impressed with how good the app was as they didn't know it.

- I managed to relax in between contractions, because believe me the pain goes completely away! The midwife's said this was what made my birth experience so relaxed. So try and relax when the contractions stop.

- Try and stand up and keep moving so gravity will help baby come down easier. I didn't like laying on the bed while having contractions as I felt like I wasn't in as much control as when I was standing up. Also, when pushing in the water they asked me to lay on my back, I did a few pushes in this position, but kept remembering I didn't want to give birth on my back, so as soon as I had the energy I moved to all fours, not sure if the midwife's were happy about it but I did it anyway! So follow your instincts.

- Loads of drinking and snacks. I'm not a fan of lucozade, but went easily through 4 bottles plus plenty of water and muesli bars.

- Time goes really fast, I remember checking the clock when it was 8 pm, then looked again and it was 1 am already!

And most of all... your body was made for it! So you can do it! Just focus that each contraction is one step closer to meeting your baby

Wish you all that everything goes to plan in your labour as well and if anything needs to be adjusted that you and your baby are healthy and safe at the end, because this is what matters!

Once you have your little baby in your arms nothing else matters! It is all worth it!!