Birth story - Melissa and baby boy

I had a feeling that it would be quick with this one as my first was out within 7hrs of first contractions to delivery at 38 weeks + 6.

When I got to 40 weeks, I was starting to wonder when I would go into labour. So on the day I gave birth I went for a walk as usual and did my daily squat workout. I tried to stay as fit as I could in both pregnancies which meant doing light weight training most days.

At 6pm, I was making dinner and felt some twinges but I wasn’t sure if it was me going into labour but told my hubby it felt different from the usual pressure I was feeling on a daily basis. Then at 6.30pm it started to feel like mild contractions and we had to call my hubby’s parents to watch my toddler. They arrived at 8pm when my contractions went from every 10 mins to 7 mins and 5 mins by the time they arrived. It was all very manageable using the up breathing. Due to my first arriving quickly and needing antibiotics for GBS I went to hospital slightly earlier than the 3 in 10 mins but by the time i got there I was having 3 in 10 mins contractions. The midwife was so lovely as the first time I had a negative experience with the midwife hurting me when I was being examined and my hubby warned the midwife who was super gentle and understanding. She said I was doing really well and I was 4cms already so thankfully my hubby could stay.

The midwife asked me to bounce on the birthing ball to help speed things up and I started to feel uncomfortable and wanted to sit on the bed as they gave me antibiotics in an IV drip for my GBS. I was having a bit of a wobble and thinking whether I should ask for stronger pain meds as I tried gas and air and hated it so gave up on it. They were running the pool for me as I had a water birth with my first. Then at 10.25pm, my waters went and I felt a gush of warm water and my knickers was saturated with mucus and almost instantly I felt the urge to push. Everyone quickly helped me in the pool and the midwife asked me to breathe him out as initially I was pushing hard and making moaning noises so I instantly switched to breathing and 7 mins later my son was at the bottom of the pool and they asked me to lift him out of the water. Everyone was amazed by the speed of it all. I was in total shock and was shaking. I pushed out the placenta too after 10 mins. It took a couple of attempts as my body was pumped with adrenaline.

They offered me gas and air again to check myself but I rejected it as didn’t need it. Thankfully I only had grazes and zero tears! Amazing given that I had a 2nd degree tear with my first! I was preparing myself for labour using Aniball so not sure if it worked but my little boy is quite small and I’m pretty sure the prep must have contributed to less damage. Overall it was a very positive birth and I keep being referred to as a birthing machine haha but I’m just so glad it went exactly how I wanted it to go. I think the up breathing definitely helped me in the early stages of labour to keep me calmer and more centred. I’d defo recommend doing the course for anyone nervous of labour.