Danielle, 25, Sheffield, United Kingdom
First child
@Dannincm
At around 10 pm on the 26th of July 2017, I was feeling pretty blissful. Everything was quiet, I had just bathed, changed into my pyjamas, and was folding the last bits of clothes and blankets to put away for my baby's arrival. Her due date was the 31st of July and I was well prepared.
My partner had arrived home around 9 pm that night and he was busy in the kitchen when I literally felt a "pop", as if a balloon had popped inside me, followed by water gushing down my fresh pj bottoms. We were filled with excitement, but we remained calm and relaxed on the sofa.
Within minutes, I started to feel intense contractions that were about 2 minutes apart. I knew I was going to meet my baby soon. I composed myself between rushes and went and sat on the toilet (because that's what my body felt like it needed to do!) as I was previously advised to empty my bowels before giving birth. Nothing happened, so I ran a bath as I wanted a water birth and I tried to rest by laying down in bed.
My partner was by my side offering support and with each contraction my body was curling up and laying down on my back became excruciatingly painful. My body forced me onto all fours and this was the most comfortable position I could get into. I managed to get into my bath and realised that there was no where near enough space for me to get into the position I needed to be in. It was ridiculously uncomfortable, but the heat from the water was relaxing and really helped me loosen up. I was biting down on a towel and feeling the strongest urge to push. I thought surely it wasn't time to push yet, it had only been about 2 hours. But I listened to my body and went along with what felt natural. Pushing gave me so much relief and I could feel my baby moving down gradually with each push during contractions.
I had to take myself back to the bedroom for more space and to cool down. I knew I needed to be on my own at this point so I could get fully in tune with my body with no distractions. I asked my partner to leave me to it, which he was happy to do.
For the next 1-2 hours I remained on my bed on all fours biting into a pillow and literally roaring through each contraction. Thank God for the breaks in between them by the way! During each break (which seemed to last 30 seconds to a minute), I would almost fall asleep from exhaustion and the relief felt heavenly.
I continued to push my baby down and could feel her head crowning by this point. It became more and more intense and I started to want to give up as the rushes were so strong. My legs were cramping and I had pins and needles in my feet from being in the same position for such a long time. I felt so dehydrated, but I was in such a trance that I couldn't bring myself to ask for water. Then suddenly, my partner appeared with a glass of water and I screamed at him, "Leave me alone, I don't need any water!!!!" LOL.
As soon as he left the room I took a sip and, it sounds completely crazy, but it gave me such a boost. It was alkaline water and it literally gave me life. I felt a huge surge, followed by the dreaded "ring of fire", (which by the way lasts about 10 seconds, but stings like no other pain), and I pushed the hardest I'd pushed. My baby's head was out! I pushed a bit more and there she was! Birthed onto the bed! I stood up, picked her up, and held her to my chest to soothe her first cry. She was perfect!
It was around 2 am and my partner came in. I soon managed to bring myself out of the zone back to Earth and started to feel normal again. I laid and enjoyed the moment with them both whilst our baby had her first feed.
Around 40 minutes later I felt more contractions - my placenta was on its way. We cut and tied the umbilical cord and whilst my partner held Ina, I went to the bathroom to deliver my placenta. I also quickly rinsed myself off in the shower before getting back into bed feeling extremely blessed, emotional, relieved, and exhausted all at the same time.
It was the most magical experience and my heart burst with love and joy to finally have our beautiful & healthy daughter with us!
Inayah
July 27, 2017