It was such an empowering, incredible experience!

Born: 5th March 2021 

Time: 01:19am

Length: 54cm 

Weight: 3995g / 8.8pound 

Gestation: 41 weeks + 4 days 

We had the amazing support of a private midwife Meredith who was also our private midwife for Evelyn. I had a beautiful healthy pregnancy with no complications all the way through. 

I decided to do hypnobirthing this pregnancy as I found myself a little apprehensive about giving birth again even though I had a beautiful birth the first time - it was a very long exhausting 18 hour labour and I really didn’t have the mindset or breathing techniques to ride my surges. 

Hypnobirthing was honestly amazing and I would highly recommend it to any mothers who are pregnant. I learnt so much more about my body and the relaxation and breathing techniques are priceless and helped me so much in the lead up to birth and also during my labour and birth. 

We had planned to have Jack at the Royal Brisbane hospital again in the private birth suites, the same place we birthed our daughter as it has a huge private room with a big bath, shower and bed all to ourselves. 

As our estimated due date came and went, we weren’t showing any signs of baby coming so we had an induction booked as we were almost 42 weeks.

This was always the furthest away from my mind and a road I never wanted to go down however I surrendered deeper and deeper to the process that whatever way my baby would arrive safely, I would bring him into the world. 

The day before our induction I went for a huge long walk with my family, I had 2 very long and relaxing clary sage baths listening to my birthing affirmations and connecting in with my baby and talking to him. Reassuring him that I was here supporting him and that I trusted him and my body to do what they needed to do to bring him earthside. 

I reached even deeper states of surrender fully trusting in whatever the process would be to birth our baby. 

That night around 7pm I started to lose my mucus plug and I did lots of accupressure points before bed and then put on my hypnobirthing relaxation meditation and laid down. 

As soon as I laid down, I felt this massive pressure and a POP and my waters broke! 

I called out to my partner to quickly get me a towel and we called our midwife with excitement! 

She said to try and get some sleep and wait for some contractions. So I laid down again And Sure enough within 5 minutes, I had my first contraction! This was at 11pm

I will be honest it shook me as it was super intense straight away and then I remembered my surge breathing and breathed up through my nose with every surge and breathed out through my nose as long as I could each time. 

I was timing my contractions to keep track for my midwife and instantly my contractions were 1.5 minutes long and coming every 2-3 minutes 

I knew I was in deep labour very quickly. I had all the lights off in the house, I was extremely hot and felt instantly nauseous. I couldn’t talk and my partner was constantly putting cold face washers on my neck to cool me down. 

My partner wanted to call the midwife and my mum to come and get my daughter but I told him not to as I wouldn’t be ready for another few hours however he went ahead and called them both and they both said they were on their way. 

In the meantime I tried so many different positions to find comfort, going from leaning against the wall,

To kneeling and laying down. The only way I could get comfy was against the wall and all I wanted to do was lay down but my body wouldn’t allow me to. 

I needed some sort of help with the strong surges and my partner suggested the shower. It took me 5 minutes to walk to the shower and the handheld shower head definitely helped with easing some of the sensations however some of them took every ounce of my might and concentration to stay super relaxed through every one 

Next thing I know my midwife comes into the bathroom and places her hand on my back and listened to the baby with the Doppler. I remember feeling this huge sensation roll over me that I couldn’t do this anymore, I felt exhausted already and I just wanted to kneel or lie down. I said to my midwife I can’t do this anymore and she reassured me I was doing beautifully and that I am doing it. 

I realised then that I was in transition- however I thought to myself there is no way I can be in transition already! 

Then I felt this huge pop in my cervix which I look back and it must have been when I fully dilated and I started to slightly push uncontrollably 

This is when it ramped up for me and the sensations were getting stronger again! 

My midwife suggested that she run a bath for me and I agreed.

It was half full and she said I could get in and lay down. As soon as I laid down in the bath, I let out this deep primal sound and my body was instantly pushing and bearing down without my control 

She quickly called out to my partner to get her birth kit out of the car as we are about to have a baby - and also to call an ambulance as we were having an unplanned home birth. 

He quickly returned and I let out another deep primal roar and I felt the baby about to crown and said baby is coming! 

They had to move me upright as the bath wasn’t full enough to birth the baby in and they picked me up and I pushed again with my midwife coaching me through the crowning and the brow presentation and once his head was through - one more push and he was here!!!! 

We didn’t know what we were having and I remember looking down and bursting into tears seeing my baby and then realising he was a boy. 

He was born at 01:19am and 2 hours and 20 minutes total of labour . 30 seconds after I gave birth - my mum walked in the door and my 2 year old woke up! 

I was able to do delayed cord clamping and had my golden hour with my baby in my own bed and allowed him to find the breast on his own and birthed my placenta naturally with no intervention. 

These last few things were things I wasn’t able to do with my first birth and I feel a deep sense of healing that I was able to experience everything I wanted in my first birth - in my second birth and completely unplanned. 

It was such an empowering, incredible experience! 

I am still in awe of how it all played out and I would 1000000000000% go back and do it again.

Lauren