My Home Birth
- Georgia
- Oct 3, 2024
- 5 min read
"Mummy has been eating too much chocolate." This was my response to Lex, whenever he asked why my tummy was getting bigger.
He was 6-years-old, and Sonny was aged 3. I had fallen in 2020 but lost the baby at 14 weeks during the second lockdown. It was traumatic, and in hindsight, I would have done so many things differently (but I'll save that for another blog post).
But one thing I was determined to do, was protect the two boys, and withhold my pregnancy announcement until my 20 week scan. So that's what we did.
Sienna's pregnancy was turbulent itself, I had a stage uterine prolapse during pregnancy (which apparently only happens to 1 in 52,000 mothers) and the 20 week scan flagged up issues so my husband and I were having some pretty big, pretty serious, "what if" conversations and decisions.
"Sienna's pregnancy was turbulent...the 20 week scan flagged up issues so my husband and I were having some pretty big, pretty serious, "what if" conversations and decisions."
Miraculously, everything was fine and as the due date neared, and yes I was flagged as another potential breech birther, she turned and we were fall steam ahead for a home birth. I still couldn't believe it.
I hadn't initially planned for a home birth but Covid was still rife during the winter of 2021 back in the UK, and as we went into the New Year, we decided it felt right.
Her due date came and went, this wasn't my first rodeo with an overgrown baby. I knew when I conceived her, as with Sonny, and I was very confident the NHS due date was incorrect. So her being overdue was not a surprise.
With the help of acupuncture, clary sage oil, vigorous walks and reflexology I went into labour on a Thursday evening around 9pm. I danced around the house to the Spice Girls, did some crazy squat drops and watched comedy all evening to get the endorphins and laughter flowing. Alongside this, we tracked the surges to monitor my progress.
"I danced around the house to the Spice Girls, did some crazy squat drops and watched comedy all evening"
At around midnight my husband, Fe, called the midwife and the photographer. Yep, I chose to have a professional birth photographer present and it was the best!
But when they arrived it was like watching a boiling pot, I wasn't really moving into active labour. The boys were sound asleep upstairs and Lex had already expressed that he did not want to see me in pain or struggling (I had asked if he wanted to be there - it was a firm no!).
With that in mind, I was desperate for the labour to speed up, and the boys come down to a baby sister. That was the problem...my head got in the way.
The midwife had gone home to leave us in peace, the photographer was kipping on the couch and I went to bed with my trusty comb and laboured in bed trying to get rest in between surges.
The hours passed and then by the time it got to 5am, I called my mum to come and take the boys out. They knew it was happening, they went down, got dressed and sang Happy Birthday as they danced around with excitement. Meanwhile, I was in the throes of labour alone in my bed upstairs.
"They knew it was happening, they went down, got dressed and sang Happy Birthday as they danced around with excitement"
The moment I heard that door slam, the moment I knew the boys had left, then boom! My surges came thick and fast. I went downstairs, got in the pool surrounded by affirmations, twinkly lights, clary sage and jasmine in the diffuser, relaxation tracks, the perfect birth environment.
Just two hours later I got the urge to push, the midwife just made it back in time, and then with that powerful almighty roar that I'd come to know, my baby girl came into this world.
She had the cord wrapped around her neck, which I knew wasn't dangerous as people fear, and she was handed to me and put on my chest for that all-important golden hour.
What shocked me most was the cheese, oh the cheese!!! There was so much of it. It's called "Vernix caseosa", or vernix, as we call it.
It is a waxy white substance that coats the skin of newborn human babies. Not all babies have it, it's relatively rare and tends to be on earlier babies as around due date the newborn skin learns to absorb the vernix and all it's goodness. It is thought to have some protective roles during fetal development and for a few hours after birth.
The midwife took one look and said, "That baby is not 12 days overdue." I looked at her and smiled as if to say "I told you so..." It just goes to show we are the experts of our own body, the due dates, the medics, they are great guides, but they are guides. They are not always 100% accurate.
There's a great Ted Talk which hits this message home, you can watch it here. It's super expowering.
I sat in the pool for a while just taking her in, thinking "Oh my god, I'm a girl mum now." It wasn't long before I was on the sofa with a cup of tea and toast as I passed the placenta and had a good look this time.
An hour later the boys were back home and got to say hello to their rainbow baby sister (n.b. rainbow baby is a baby born after loss). It was one of the most magical moments I've ever experienced, they were absolutely besotted.
Sienna's birth was wonderful. I remember it fondly as a stormy, cosy night in February with twinkly lights and warm water. She appeared as the sun rose, hung low, beaming rays of light across the room on a cool crisp morning. And just like that, our family was complete.
"She appeared as the sun rose, hung low, beaming rays of light across the room on a cool crisp morning. And just like that, our family was complete."
I'm a mum of three, two boys and a girl, and I feel so unbelievably blessed.
Get ready motherhood! Join my Hypnobirthing Course today. For more information on all my upcoming courses, click here.
I've got you!
Georgia x
Some other posts you might like:
Yes we filmed all 3 births, and Sienna has a birth photographer too.
"Wow, I'm definitely going to Hypnobirth my babies!" These were the first words to leave the student midwife's mouth as I cradled my new baby boy...
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