I had always wanted a water birth and again I was told this wouldn't be a problem. Caroline also got in touch with a top pharmacist who emailed me a lot of research/trials and studies that had been done on women in Pregnacy on my medication. There was no evidence to suggest it would cause harm by breastfeeding. So I was beaming by this point, like a Cheshire Cat :)
Then it almost went completely wrong. I was 26 weeks pregnant and having contractions so I went to the hospital and was kept in for 3 days. Again Caroline visited everyday and supported me and my husband through a very scary time. I found out then I had group B Strep.
Everything died down again until 37 weeks and I had contractions again, so I phoned Caroline and she met us at the hospital, I jumped in the birth pool for everything to stop. We ended up going home.
The early hours of the morning on the 17th September (38+4) I woke up with pains again, this time I delayed jumping on the bandwagon and waited for a bit. I paced about the house for ages then all of a sudden my waters broke and I made lots of small puddles on my tiled floor. Even then I still wasn't sure if this time would be the real deal. Anyway I phoned Caroline and we went off to the hospital again.
I got in the birth pool for about 1 hour, and I had to get out, I was getting too hot and prune like and I didn't like it. Even though I was dead sure I wanted a water birth.
I sat on the ball for about 6 hours, connected to a drip with anti biotics for the group B strep as they found it in my urine. The ball was amazing I bounced, And bounced.... And bounced.
About 9am I was 4cm and asked for gas and air (amazing stuff) felt like I had one too many sambucas :) although it made me sound like a man when I spoke. No one else thought so. My husband went off to get some Lavender essential oils to keep me calm. I was completely away with the fairies I couldn't really smell it, but my husband said you could smell it down the corridor.
Then all of a sudden I felt myself starting to get all emotional and lose the plot. Caroline said this was normal and not to worry.
I got on the bed to be checked and well I didn't get off, that was it. (I always said I wanted a water birth and didn't want to be on the bed) but it just goes to show how things can change.
I was so high on this wonderful stuff... I started to push, my word it was an odd feeling. 20 minutes later my baby girl was born straight onto my chest... 'I did it, I actually did it' she weighed in at 6lb 9oz. I had delayed cord clamping, I tried to deliver the placenta without the injection but it took forever and I didn't like the umbilical cord between my legs so I asked for the injection.
Caroline knew I wanted to see the placenta and she showed me, it was amazing to see what keeps your baby alive. I wanted to live and breathe every part of delivering my baby. I never got to experience it the first time. I managed to get my baby latched on to my breast with Caroline's guidance. Everything felt perfect. The sense of achievement I got from delivering my baby was so overwhelming, and I still feel those emotions to this day.
After 24 hours I was discharged, Caroline came to see me at home over the first month, very regularly which really was lovely.
Caroline was a godsend. I don't know how my pregnancy would of turned out if I hadn't found Wessex Independent Midwives. Thanks to Caroline, I gave birth naturally, I was the first to hold my baby, and I breast fed her too :) remember earlier I was told I couldn't do any of that...
Saying goodbye was hard, just saying thank you didn't seem enough.
Best money ever spent, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you Caroline xxxx