At 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant and after weeks of contractions and being 4-5 cms dilated I was a bit annoyed that I had woken still pregnant. I mean I had both of my other children on this day of pregnancy.

So we went to shops for the day and let the kids play on the play area, that night I did not have many of my usual contractions, so I stayed up surfing the forums. I finally went to bed at about 10pm.

That night I stayed up later than expected on the forums, but when I went to go to bed I still could not sleep, I also realised that tonight I had not been having my usual contractions, this annoyed me a bit. I got up like normal at about 12:00am to go to the toilet, still feeling annoyed nothing was happening. Once I was back to sleep I started being woken by contractions, these were very intense but I was able to go straight back to sleep after each one, I am sure I was dreaming of a contractions and slept through one!

At about 1:20 am I decided that that one was a little more than I was handling so I must of needed to go tot the toilet, I sat on the toilet for a while, and had no contractions but when I stood up I had another one, it had been 10 mins since the last one. So I sat on the bed and waited, thinking maybe something could be happening.

10 mins came….. and went, so I lied down and at 14 mins I had another one, how annoying they were irregular. That was at 1:45am, so I waited, I had another one at 1:55am and it was a ripper for a early labour contraction, then I had another one at 2:05… hhmm these are 10 mins apart and they bloody hurt, I better ring the midwife….

While I was chatting to her I had the next one come at only 8 mins, irregular again, dame it. As our birth pool had a hole in it (air was escaping) I was really worried about not being able to birth in the pool (we were going to replace ours the next morning!) Sonya suggested she would get dressed and bring the birth pool over, 1 ½ hours drive! And if we did not need her just yet she would go back to her mums house (10 mins away) for the night. I rung one of my support people (Kellie) and told her things were started and head over. The next contractions was 10 mins again but was were bloody strong, so I told her to come any way. Eric rung my mum to. I wanted to labour in the pool but was worried about not having enough hot water so we filled the bath first before hubby started on the birth pool.

I had one contraction in the bath, and it was strong. I did not have a clock so gave up on timing them. The next contraction I had in the bath was full-on I could not get over the peak, I started to freak out thinking there was hospitals for this sort of thing, they had epidurals, and I wanted one. As the contraction went away I was still freaking out, WTF was I doing this ****ing hurt!

I called Eric in to the bathroom in hysterics, saying “I cant do this, I need an epidural, I cant do it.” He responds with “your doing really well honey you can do it” This did not help at all and I was scared. I was so scared I started to vomit. Then the next contractions started! I hoped up on to my knees side ways in the bath and he hugged me. He made me safe, secure, loved. I don’t know how he does this but it was the same in Jeromie’s labour. I felt a lot calmer after that contraction so He went to turn to water on for the pool, but as soon as I started having a contraction I NEEDED him there.

This must have been frustrating for him. I would yell out when I started having a contraction. I had a couple more contractions in the bath, but felt I was going to poo so I hoped on the toilet but I started shacking uncontrollably. I think at this point I hoped back in the bath, but there was no relief and I still wanted to poo. So I decided to use the toilet in our room, where we were planning to birth. Its about now Kellie arrived. I was sitting on the toilet with the heater on and a towel around my back. I would call Eric when a contraction would start, he would come running and hug me and I would squeeze him until I did not need him anymore. 

I again had a freak out for a minute and I started to vomit again, but I realised I was thinking a lot between contractions about how these were not going to stop until I had to push this baby out, so I asked for my rock CD my little brother had burnt for me just for labour. It really gave me something uplifting to focus on and I often sung the songs to myself between contractions. Eric kept asking if I wanted to hope in the pool now, and Kellie kept asking if I needed anything… gee how bloody annoying, im bloody singing here! In hind-sight I was entering into transition here, as I was not able to communicate even between contractions. 

These contractions were so much more intense then any of my other labours, the only thing other than Eric that got me through them was telling my self “I can; I can; I can” over and over and over again, and focusing on the breath out.

Eventually I stopped pooing so I decide I would hop into the birth pool. (hubby recons I was only on the toilet for a few contractions- it felt a lot longer) We do not have a big room so it was in the entry with just enough room for one person to get past, in the hope that there would be enough room on the other side to fit the replacement pool when Sonya got here. Some time around now my mum showed up.

It was her job to time contractions (she seems to always get stuck with that job!). Turns out at this point the contractions were 3 mins apart. I was leaning on the side of the pool with Eric squatting beside me hugging me. My back was out of the water so I had a hot water bottle on it. The pain in my back really picked up and it was now worse than the pain at the front. This I do not understand as I could clearly feel the baby at the front on the left.

The baby also kept moving between contractions and that really hurt! At some point the contractions stopped going away the pain in my back was not going away either and it was excruciating. 

I spent most of my time thinking about how if I could just go to the hospital I could get an epidural for the back pain. But I would then remember I would have to get in the car…. Dam it…. Every time the baby would move it would hurt even worse, then another contraction would start. I was still doing the “I can; I can; I can” It did not feel like I was getting any kind of a break.

At 4:35 am the midwife finally arrived, and with her was the other pool, so everyone set about to get that set-up. The first thing I said to her was “I think you need to ring Liska” (our back-up midwife) Now remember there was only space for one person to fit past the birth pool? Well Eric was in the way, so he kept moving, and he needed to help them with things, so if I needed him I would bash with all my might the drawers beside me, it got the point across and would come running! At some point the midwife wanted to check the baby’s heartbeat and I just looked at her like “WFT I aint moving” thank god the Doppler is water proof!

I could hear them setting the pool up. I also could here Sonya getting things ready for the birth but because Eric was in the way she had to ask for things, she asked for the O2 and the resus bag, and she also asked for the syntocin out of the fridge. All I kept thinking was “we don’t need that stuff, im having a baby” lol. I started to feel the bag of waters move down and I felt like I wanted to tense my tummy muscles, not so much a push but just tense them.

I knew if I stood up the water would break, but I did not want to stand up, so I had two contractions just hoping they would brake by them selves. Then I was told the other pool was ready, I was starting to have another contration so I jumped up and jumped from one pool to the other (over the walls of both pools!) and sure enough as soon as I was in the second pool, pop and I had a gush of clear fluid with vernix in it!

Not what I had expected (both my other kids had passed meconium, and I was 41 weeks 2 days). So I knelt down and realised that contraction that started in the other pool was still going to happen, I think I had forgotten about that. Eric was no where to be seen (he was behind me) so I grabbed the midwife and she held me through that contraction. During this contraction I could feel the head was moving down VERY low. When that one was finished I reached down and could feel my baby’s head just in side my yoni!

I started saying “Hello My Baby” over and over again, and everyone realised I was serious and I started hearing people talking with excitement. I looked up and could see the sun had risen and all the light around me, the adrenaline had kicked in and I realised that Tenysha was not there, so I asked for her, and it turned out they were only just going to get her and Jeromie now! When the next contraction started I wanted to push a little but that felt just wrong, and at the same moment my midwife reminded me to breath. What felt good was to pant really quickly, and then I started to feel my perineum stretching, I tried to reach down but could not reach and the midwife put the mirror there so I could see but I couldn’t.

As I panted I felt his head stretch it more and more and more until I felt it was almost out! I had just birthed my sons head, with out pain, and without pushing!!! It still felt really screeched as the contraction finished so I pushed a tiny bit and the very last bit of his chin came out. I reached down and felt his beautiful head while his body was still with in me. It felt really soft and squishy and slimy!

I was rubbing it when I realised I was right he was facing backwards. As the next contraction started again I went to push again but it did not feel right so I started panting again. I wanted to push gently on his head, I don’t know why. This bit was a little painful, then I realised his back shoulder was out, then I felt the other shoulder come out, then he slithered out. As I opened my eyes the midwife had her hands in the water and I blurted out something like “im getting him!!!!!”

I still had my hands in the water around his body so I grabbed him and pulled him up to my chest as I fell back onto the edge of the pool. I started saying over and over things like “Hello Baby,” “he’s perfect,” “He’s Beautiful” and I started to bawl my eyes out. It was the most amazing feeling! Better than anything I have ever felt!

He was born at 5:09am. He did not cry just kinda made a little squeak, then just looked around and at me. This was bliss, everything I had ever wanted at my births. 

Not long after he was born I started having 3rd stage pains. They were just like the contractions of the labour with the back pain and all. I squirmed to get comfy while trying to take in my new little man. And they seemed to last forever. For one I turn on my side in the pool and he just latched onto the boob like a pro! After a few contractions I decided that I needed to put some effete into them so I got up on my knees and pushed a little, it did not feel nice, and after the next one I did not feel like I was getting anywhere.

My midwife offered me some magnesium and phosphate to help. At this point I decided to stand up and try to birthed the placenta. They put an ice-cream bucket between my legs and I gave a little push and I could feel it in there, so with a bigger push out dropped my baby boys placenta. The midwife felt my fundus and could feel something, then explained there was something that needed to be removed, and what she needed to do. She just seemed to pull ever so gently on a piece of something that was in my vagina and out came lots of ‘stuff’ I don’t really have a better way to explain it.

 After that I hoped out of the pool and baby and I sat on the bed in full skin to skin contact with blankets wrapped around us. It was bliss I loved looking at him and smelling him. His placenta was still attached, we let Tenysha cut it when he was 2 hours old. I have since chopped it up and consume a couple of pieces each day.

Midwife checked and not even a tear.

His ‘stats’ were:

Weight- 4990 grams- 11Lb 0 oz
Length-57cms
HC-37.6 cms

When we weighed and measured him i was so proud of my yoni, i had to comment “Gee i have a perfect Yoni!”

My beautiful boy Rhylan Eli Milton – 

If you have gotten through all this good on you and i hope you enjoyed it.