Birth Story Series: My third birth - 2026, part 2
While I was focusing on contractions Simo sat the girls down at the table to give them some lunch, and pulled out a range of snacks and drinks for me. I knew I needed to eat, but I definitely wasn’t feeling like I wanted a full meal - and was feeling even less like I wanted to sit down to a full meal! I did make sure I ate though, since I knew later on I might not feel like eating at all, but I knew I’d need the energy!
As Haylie was leaving home at 2:40 she messaged me to ask if contractions had started getting closer together, as she was trying to decide whether to call the second midwife yet or not. At that stage I told her they were mostly 3.5-4 minutes apart and lasting 50-70 seconds, although I had just had a spacing of 5 minutes, so there was still definitely some variation and irregularity. Dilation is rarely a perfectly linear process!
Around 3pm Simo gave me a belly massage with the clary sage oil (in between contractions of course!) and it was about 3:30 when Haylie arrived. By then the contractions were somewhat irregular again, around 4-6 minutes apart. I was interacting quite easily in between contractions, though the contractions themselves were getting more intense at times, and I was starting to vocalise while breathing through some of them.
By this time the girls had long finished lunch of course, and had been playing or reading. When they realised I was having a contraction they would often follow Simo’s lead in coming over to stroke my shoulders, arms, legs or whatever part of me they could reach while I moved through the contraction. I would generally have my eyes closed through the contractions for a better focus. As I was coming out of one I opened my eyes to see L standing in front of me, looking up into my face, with a little toy hanging out of her nose. Now, of course we never encourage our kids to put things up their noses, but in the moment it was so unexpected I couldn’t help myself, and I burst out laughing! Less than a minute later I had another contraction, so I’m not sure if it was brought on by the laughter or if it was a coincidence!
Haylie checked baby’s heart-rate at regular intervals and it was always perfect. I could feel P moving around, which as I said I hadn’t felt with the girls through labour so that was new for me! It’s true that I had posterior placenta with him, and anterior for the girls, so I’m not sure how much of an impact that might have had. Contractions were generally spaced out to 5 or 6 minute intervals by the time the second midwife Nerinne arrived about 4:30. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or if my subconscious had been waiting for her, since after she came we moved fairly quickly to regular contractions every 3 minutes.
Simo had started filling the birth pool early on in proceedings, and soon after Nerinne arrived he asked me if I wanted to get in. While I wanted to use it (another first for me, since I hadn’t with my previous labours), I didn’t want to get in way too early, and also I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to take the TENS machine off! But I decided I’d give it a go, knowing that I could always hop out again and put the TENS back on if I preferred. I went to the bathroom to pee again, which I’d been aiming for every 30mins or so since labour started. At 5pm I climbed into the pool. It felt so nice and I wondered why I hadn’t done it sooner! But when the next contraction came around I did find it a bit more intense without the TENS. It was doable though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the pool in between contractions! The contractions spaced out quite a bit, and between 5-5:30pm I think I only had about 4 or maybe 5. Then at 5:30 I felt a shift and a little pop, and started feeling the urge to push.
The pushing contractions came at regular intervals, and although I thought that “pop” at 5:30 might have been my waters breaking, it turned out not to have been, since at 6pm they did break. I started feeling quite hot and sweaty with the effort of pushing, and asked for a cold washer on my forehead. Haylie prepared some icy water and some washers, and she, Simo and the girls took care to keep me cool with cold washers on my forehead and shoulders. Sipping cold water and coconut water also helped to keep me cooler and hydrate. I was kneeling in the pool, leaning over the side of it, nice and close for kisses and caresses from little girls 🥰. Simo and the girls all stayed close, and although I was very focused on getting through contractions I could hear Simo telling them that baby would be here soon!
Continued in part 3.
[Image credit: Photo by Nerinne Chalmers]