Birth story - Chloe and baby Elia Rae

So I have been reading all these positive birth stories & so excited to finally contribute mine! I have always wanted to try a home birth but wasn't confident enough with my first so knew I'd love to try one this time round.

Purchased the online course at about 20 weeks pregnant & loved going through it. Did hypnobirthing with my first but wanted to be refreshed, it was so informative & my partner loved listening in to all the videos!

I very much thought baby would arrive before 40 weeks but she had other plans! Was offered a sweep at 40+1 but used BRAIN & declined as I didn't feel my body was ready & wanted to give it a few more days.

On the Monday when I was 40 + 5 I woke at 5.30 am with some light surges, tried just sleeping a bit more & practicing my up breathing. At about 6.30 I decided to have a bath to check if this was the real deal as I wasn't convinced but I needed to inform my MIL if it was so she could come get my 2 year old! Once I got into the bath the surges started to intensify & quicken, even though this was happening I still didn't think I was in labour as I felt so calm & was just breathing through it. My husband suggested I use Freya to time them so I got out of the bath & lay down in our bed listening to Freya. I honestly didn't think I would love this app as much as I did but it was amazing!

After checking the timings Freya was telling me I was in established labour! At this point I rang the midwives to let them know. This was at 8am & they couldn't come out until after 9, I ensured them it was fine & I felt really good. At this point my partner blew up the birthing pool & I stuck on my tens machine for a bit of relief. All I wanted to do was lie on my side with a cold flannel & listen to Freya so that's what I did. The midwives came & stayed in our kitchen filling the pool & listening into baby now & again. At 10.40 I started feeling a bit of pressure & was told the pool was ready so jumped in. The relief the water provided was amazing & almost instantly I felt my body change & baby was on their way down! I was so aware of this change & got so excited!

Started doing my down breathing to help baby make their way down slowly. The midwives were on my sofa beside me just telling me baby was going to be here soon! Once I felt the 'ring of fire' I took a few inhales of gas & air. My water broke just before this & baby slowly made their way into the world at 11.15am! I got to pull baby up & soak in every second. The midwives were astounding, one of which cried as it was her first home birth & loved it! She also complimented how calming the affirmations were & how it even relaxed them! They were so respectful & I didn't need any examination or intervention, they just let my body do what it wanted to. I adored the empowerment hypnobirthing gave me & helped give my partner & I the confidence to deliver our baby girl ❤

Due to her size I expected a few stitches which up breathing also helped with! But the best bit was getting to snuggle on our sofa two hours after she arrived. Thank you Siobhan & team for helping us achieve this positive experience, recommending the course to everyone!