Innes’ positive birth story
Christina and Fraser’s Water Birth with Hypnobirthing
Christina and Fraser did an Online Hypnobirthing course with me during Covid and had began planning for a home birth. Unfortunately things didn't work out that way, but they bossed an empowering birth in hospital instead.
Hypnobirthing Plans and a Surprise Show
raser and I hadn’t really thought about the birth of our first born and how it might happen until we started our hypnobirthing course with Claire. During the first session the possibility of a home birth was spoken about and after lots of discussion between the two of us we decided it would be amazing if our little one was born in the comfort of our own home. I spoke about this with my midwife at my next appointment however the team was already full with home births over the period of my estimated delivery date. Although initially disappointed, Fraser and I were happy to plan the birth of our little one in the midwife led unit. We planned to stay at home as long as possible and for me to birth our baby naturally with no pain relief.
My last day of work was a Friday exactly one week before my estimated delivery date. The girls at work had organised a small baby shower for me and I left work that day feeling amazing and excited about becoming a mummy!
I wasn’t uncomfortable and wasn’t expecting baby to arrive anytime soon, so Fraser and I had planned to spend a week or so together relaxing and dining out. Little did we know our wee one had different ideas!
On the Sunday evening I appeared to have a ‘show’. I felt excited that baby was coming soon and quickly made my way downstairs to tell Fraser. After, I went to bed as normal that evening, had an amazing sleep (the last for a while!) and woke feeling refreshed the next day. I was feeling fine and didn’t appear to have any other signs of labour so decided to go for a bath and relax while Fraser was on some work calls.
I started to get some ‘twinges’ but nothing major and, believe it or not, I decided to get myself dressed to go for lunch.. however, my surges started to become more powerful. As we wanted to stay at home for as long as possible, Fraser filled another bath for me and returned to finish some work calls.
From Bath Twinges to Hospital Dash
When Fraser returned from his work calls, he found me on all fours in the bath! He decided it was time to phone the hospital, but I was still unsure. Nevertheless, we phoned the hospital and they advised we make our way there.
On the drive to the hospital I was listening to my relaxations and breathing through my surges which were getting closer and closer together. We arrived at the hospital around 2.30pm and the midwives had beautifully prepared the birthing room with low level lighting like we’d requested in our birth plan. I immediately felt relaxed and knew this was where our baby was going to be born.
The midwife examined me, and I was 8cm dilated.. wow!
Welcoming Baby Innes into the World
After watching me labour for a short while, the midwife suggested to Fraser I get in the pool. This was not on our birth plan but sounded like a good idea. I had been in the pool for little under an hour when our beautiful little boy, Innes, was born at 4.20pm. I managed to reach down and catch him, and he had his first cuddle from mummy.
We didn’t know we were having a boy and one of the first things I did was look between his legs and shout ‘it’s a boy, little baby Innes!’.
Fraser and I looked into one another’s eyes and knew life had changed forever thanks to our beautiful baby son. The love we immediately felt for this tiny human being was indescribable. I had done it. We had done it. I had breathed our baby boy into the world with no medical interventions, no pain relief and I didn’t need stitches.
I relaxed and listened to what my body was telling me to do. Fraser was prepared to support me at each stage of labour with light touch massage, keeping my breathing on track and showering me with cuddles and kisses throughout.
After Innes’ checks, we were able to leave the hospital later that evening and spend our first night as a family at home.
Never did I imagine I would spend my first day of maternity leave the way I did, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.