Lucy Rae’s positive birth story
Lyndsay and David’s First Birth Experience with Hypnobirthing
Lyndsay is one of my oldest friends, she was my bridesmaid and is considered as ‘Auntie’ to my two kids. We went to school together and have shared many a milestone over the years. It was the biggest honour to be able to share my passion for empowered birthing with her and when she went on to have an amazing experience, I was not only so proud of her, I was in awe of her.
I was convinced baby was going to be ‘late’
On the 22nd of August - Lucy Rae Mitchell arrived into the world!
I had a midwife appointment earlier in the week and was advised that she wasn’t engaged yet. I was so convinced she would be coming late that I was telling everyone that she was going to be a September baby. This also helped to take the pressure off the “Is she here yet?” comments.
I’d had discussions with the midwife about the possibility of a sweep, if I wanted one, the week after my due date but I must admit I had the fear of a possible induction and other interventions due to hearing about other’s bad experiences. However, Claire worked on this with me, and it helped so much! In the run up to my due date, we’d kept up our daily walking with our dog, Hudson and I enjoyed watching my beloved Disney and having in-car karaoke sessions to keep my mood great!
Early Signs and Keeping Cool
I started having contractions on the 21st of August, as soon as I woke up in the morning although, when they started, I was convinced they weren’t really contractions (I mean, how could they be? The chances of her arriving on her due date were so slim!).
I knew I needed to keep calm and not get too excited, so I kept things to myself, and my partner David went to his golf competition, unbeknown to him that I was in early labour. I carried on as normal, doing the housework, going out walking with the dog and then watching some telly to get the oxytocin pumping! I was timing my contractions and they were getting more regular!
David returned home and I explained what was happening. We kept an eye on how I was feeling for a wee while and when my contractions started coming closer together, we decided it would be good to call the hospital. It was about 7:00pm and I wanted to see how far along I was, so we headed to the hospital, where it was confirmed that I was 2 cm dilated. I was offered a sweep, which I decided to accept. I stayed relaxed and breathed my way through it and surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all! The midwife said she was sure they would see me later that night or the next morning!
We then headed home to try and get some rest. We chilled out for a bit, then I tried to get some sleep, but it was really uncomfortable to lay down, so I found myself standing and swaying and moving about which really helped. David recommended a warm shower (remembering Claire’s classes!), and this did help but he heard me mooing from the bathroom so recommended that we call the hospital back, as this was another sign Claire had mentioned!
Moo'ing from Home to Hospital
So, back to the hospital we went and when we arrived, I was told that I was 4cm dilated.
We got into our room and the midwife who was so lovely, had dimmed the lights and had read our birth plan. She understood that I would prefer to ask for any pain relief rather than be offered them. Unfortunately, it was very busy so there were no birth pools available, so I tried having a bath instead, but laying down just wasn’t working for me so I kept moving about the room. The midwife brought me in a birthing ball, and I listened to my body, tuning into how I would be most comfortable and followed that. The midwife would come in and check on me and the baby, so quietly without disturbing me while I was in ‘the zone.’
As my contractions ramped up, I started using the gas and air. Our little girl had moved and was facing side on, so the midwives recommended that I lay on my side to try and get her to turn. This was more uncomfortable, so I asked for something a bit stronger to help ease things, so I opted for diamorphine to take the edge off. David was also giving me light touch massages at this point.
When I was examined, it was found that my waters were bulging, but they just didn’t want to break, so the midwife offered to break them for me at about 7:00am on the Sunday morning, which I agreed too. Things then got moving and I was listening to my MP3’s to keep me in ‘the zone’ and feeling calm.
There was a changeover in staff, so a new midwife came in, who asked if a student midwife could also come in. Originally this wasn’t something we wanted, but we asked them to confirm that this wouldn’t mean more checks or slow anything down and she confirmed it wouldn’t, so we agreed. I’m so glad we did as she was wonderful!
The Final Push
Soon afterwards, it was time to push, and I found the most comfortable position was leaning over the back of the bed! This is when I really needed to focus on my breathing! David was championing me and telling me I was doing great and encouraging me to remember my breathing. I really needed him here as at one point I thought ‘Oh God, I can’t do this anymore!’ But I remembered during the course that Claire had mentioned the transition period, and this would be when I might feel like that – realising this, gave me a kick start and I knew my body could do this!!
A few more pushes and our beautiful baby girl, Lucy Rae Mitchell, was born at 09:21am - on her due date!! I felt amazing being in a little bubble of love, with my baby and my partner. This really helped me continue to feel so zen which really helped with what was about to happen next…
Unfortunately, my placenta just didn’t want to come out, so I did need a little assistance and a trip to theatre to remove it. Beforehand I had some lovely time with Lucy doing skin to skin and then her dad got to take over whilst I was away for a little bit.
I only needed a small stitch for an artificial tear which they only done because I was in theatre anyways, but even with this, I felt so calm and still in my oxytocin bubble!! I do believe the saying “Floppy Face, Floppy Fanny’ helped!! This was a phrase that came to my mind when I felt myself tensing up and this really made me focus on making sure my jaw was relaxed!!
After a night in hospital where we got to bond with our new baby, we were making our way home to start our lives as a family of four. Hudson, our Labrador, got to meet his little sister for the first time! Apart from the crazy hormones, I felt so proud of what we achieved!!
We didn’t know just how much we didn’t know about birth
We didn’t know just how much we didn’t know about birth
Thank you so much Claire, for everything. We didn’t know just how much we didn’t know about birth and the whole process for that matter, until taking part in the Hypnobirthing course. Knowledge really is power! We would never have been so calm, and I genuinely do not believe we would have had such an experience without you.
- Lyndsay, David, Lucy, and Hudson.