Birth story - Christina and baby Avgi

It was around 9pm, after kissing my toddler goodnight, that I started feeling some contractions stronger than the ones I was used to. So, I decided to have a shower and lie down in case it was be the real thing. And it was! I was 40w3d pregnant and very eager to meet my little one!

By 11pm, I couldn't handle the contractions by lying down anymore and felt like moving. I went to the living room, put some candles and fairy lights on and started pacing and dancing slowly around, while my partner was trying to get some sleep before it all began for him too.

Things escalated rather quickly and contractions started coming every 5 minutes, so I called the midwives who arrived after a while. I felt extremely happy to see them there. I was also grateful that my toddler was not waking up despite all the fussing around or the electric pump for the pool :)

By the time the birth pool was ready, I was dealing with one wave after another, curled over my birth ball; I was extremely happy to get into the warm water, it was such a relief!

Transition soon came, which was the most tricky part for me. If I hadn't been reading about it in other birth stories and because I had an epidural in my first birth, I might have been scared. But at that point, my brain informed me about what I was experiencing and gave me the confidence to continue with my breathing and vocalising.

Last part, the pushing, came where I was kindly guided by one of the midwives to touch and feel my daughter's head pushing through and going back in. This allowed me to follow her rhythm. It was amazing that I didn't feel any pressure to "push" or do it in any specific way. All I needed was to connect to my baby and to my body's rhythm and there she was! Avgi (Aurora in Greek) was born at 6.20am, on the 12th December 2021.

With the support of my partner Andy, two amazing midwives, a lot of relaxation/meditation preparations before, I managed to have the birth of my dreams! It was one of the most powerful experiences!