Vanessa and James Magical Birth Experience
We were so excited to welcome our little girl Naia Maree O’Loughlin on Friday 13th at 5.27pm. She was somewhere between 8-10 days post ‘guess date’ but I think she was just waiting for the full moon and Friday 13th magical goddess energy!
I found the last couple of weeks of pregnancy a roller coaster and very challenging physically but luckily I had some great midwives at the MGP (Midwifery Group Practice) who never pressured me into an induction. I was doing all my spinning babies exercises, eating dates, drinking raspberry tea, Acupuncture, labour inducing massage, beach walks, essential oils, lots of sex, you name it we tried it!!! And luckily my waters broke spontaneously on Friday at 11.30am. But as there was meconium present I had to go to hospital straight away and the midwife said I couldn’t be in the birth centre rooms, that a doctor would want me continuously monitored and probably on a drip.
Luckily I had James and my friend Leanne who has just completed her Hypnobirthing teacher training course there with me and they helped me stay as calm as possible. I found it hard the first hour or so being on the CTG and unable to get comfortable and I was worried by how intense the surges were already. Luckily at about 3pm the amazing MGP midwife found me a room with a bath and was happy to monitor with a Doppler.
Things progressed very quickly from then but being in the bath was magic! As I lay back James was patting my head and doing the light touch massage as Leanne coached me through every surge and I managed to drop into a deep hypnosis.
I hummed through every surge and all I really remember saying through the whole labour was she has the hiccups and she’s coming I felt her move through my pelvis in just a few surges and had a moment of alertness when I realised she was coming and I wasn’t pushing at all. No one realised how far along I was and after two or three long surges with about 2.5 mins of glorious rest in between her head came out. She was in a perfect position chin tucked arms crossed and the moment her head came out she turned and wiggled one shoulder out then shimmied out the other and she was here! I don’t remember much of this they described most of it to me afterwards. But I do remember catching her on my chest and she cried straight away. She was pink and still completely covered in vernix.
Afterwards they told me that the obstetricians and midwives in the labour ward kept saying there was no way I wouldn’t have complications. The doctors tried to come in a number of times but the midwife stood guard and said we were doing great and they never came in. From the moment I got to the hospital she protected my birth preferences fiercely and I’ll be forever in her debt! During the labour I only remember being there with James and Leanne, apparently she only came in to check the heart and my blood pressure and never said a word. It felt almost like a home birth
The midwife said afterwards it’s one of the best births she’s been to in a long time, if ever.
(James also did an amazing job and has been so supportive through this first week. She’s already a daddy’s girl and loves when he sings to her.)
Little Naia weighed 3.9kg and was 50cm long. She is beautifully healthy with only a touch of jaundice which has passed. It has been an up and down week with some early latching issues but we’ve seen a lactation consultant a few times which was amazing and now she’s self latching and feeding every 3-4 hrs. She’s a super calm little baby but very alert when she’s awake. We are of course very biased but we think she’s pretty darn cute!
Thank you for everything and for your support throughout. I had the most magical birth experience and I’m so grateful.
With love from Vanessa, James and Naia xx
Don’t you just love their story? I sure do and I was so excited when Vanessa gave me permission to share it with you all. Please feel free to leave a comment of well wishes below or if you have any questions for me.
Nikki x