Birth story - Nicola and baby Lucy

I’m sorry it’s a long one... cuppa & cake kind...

I can’t actually believe it’s my turn to write this!! I started this journey with such apprehension after a traumatic first birth, a miscarriage and years of built up stories of how horrible labour was. I only saw it as a means to an end...

After being incredibly unwell myself throughout this pregnancy, illness after illness, I was if I’m honest in a dark place & not someone a first time mum wanted to ask advice from. I had become that person sharing how bad it all was 😑

I used Aquabellies in my first pregnancy which was set up by my very lovely & talented friend who I’ve grown up with for years, so it was a no brainier I’d get my self back. It was my little slice of time to be with other pregnant mummies, take the weight of the bump off, get some exercise & most importantly do some yoga & relaxation ❤️ it was this time round that I was also introduced to a new affordable way to use hypnobirthing & The Positive Birth Company :-)

Before I move into my labour story, I just want to give a very high level review of FREYA.. just WOW!! I have to say it’s what kept me going, having the calming count through of the breathing was invaluable & the ability to jump straight back into calming music & chat.. my husband also said it made him feel like he could make a difference by just pushing a button for me ❤️

My waters broke at 11:20pm on Wednesday the 13th, having no previous experience of spontaneous breaking, I woke my husband and we debated for an hour if it really was them. I phoned to labour ward who wanted me to go down to be checked. I used my BRAIN to decline at this stage as I had my 4 year old sleeping down stairs in bed, I wasn’t getting any surges & knew the process would interrupt my happy hormones. I did agree that if nothing much was happening by 4/5am I’d come in to confirm it was indeed my waters. So after a couple of hours sleep and some irregular surges we got my mum round at 4am and headed off to the hospital. We met a lovely midwife who understood I had no intentions of staying and once the formality was over I wanted nothing more than to go back to my bubble at home.

We got home about 6am, my surges as expected had all but stopped but after some Oasis singing on the way home and just getting back into the house they returned every 6 minutes. I had only purchased FREYA 4 days before, so without having even looked at it, found it so easy to begin to use straight away. The breathing counter really helped me focus on me and what my body was doing. My daughter & my mum got up & we had the mostly lovely time eating & chatting between surges, I explained to Ellie what was happening. I really believe that by being able to zone into the app for each surge and focus on me for those few minutes, Ellie remained so calm and this allowed me to remain calm and enjoy the last special time as a 3 💗

Around 7:30am my husband agreed it was time to take my daughter to her Grannies as my surges were getting stronger & I didn’t want to worry her. At this point I had a major wobble & a good cry, the next time I was going to see my beautiful 4 year old her whole life would have changed. I continued with my breathing and added my TENZ for some support during the surge. Due to my first labour being completely different I didn’t believe I was anywhere near close & was sure i was still hours away from delivery.

Around 8am the surges jumped up to 3 mins apart with a few back to back, my husband still wasn’t back & I realised I couldn’t sit down any longer without an urge in my bum. All I’ll say is the drive to hospital when he finally returned was me kneeling on the chair hanging on for dear life, telling him I was sure she’d be born in the car 🙈

We got to the hospital at 9:05, met our lovely midwife who turned out to be my husbands friends wife ☺️ This instantly helped me move back to green & I felt in safe hands. I knew I wanted to be in the pool, for the pain relief but wasn’t sure if I wanted to deliver there. So after accepting to be examined at 9:16 to help me prepare my mindset for how much I had achieved at home, I was over the moon to be told I was 6/7cm dilated & very thin. Getting in the pool was the best feeling ever, I started with the gas & air and just trusted my body. I believed I had the time to decide if I wanted to stay or get out to deliver...

I was utterly amazed to feel my body take over, the process begin and my baby moved down. I genuinely felt like I was witnessing someone else’s body do this incredible thing. I knew that my body had chosen for me and a water birth it would be. After 15 minutes in the pool & 3 pushes, baby Lucy made her speedy entrance. I’ll admit at this point my down breathing went out the window as my body took over, I just focused on making sure I was breathing any which way. The midwife had brought a student into witness her first pool birth & she was only in the room 3 minutes, she said it was incredible to see.

We had the most incredible golden hour with no lights on & just the sun shining through the windows before her big sister came to join us for some time just the 4 of us 🥰

I cannot thank The Positive Birth Company enough for helping me achieve such an amazing birth. I’ve gone from being that person you didn’t want sharing her birth story to someone who actively tells everyone about how incredible your body is if you just trust it & the pack. 💗