Well it was actually 2 firsts. My first homebirth and the first time I have worked with a doula. Although we did not get to work together for long……..

My phone rang at 3:20am on the 3 july. It was the husband of on of my homebirth clients saying that his wife is having contractions 5 min apart. I jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on then into the car for the 15 min drive. As I was pulling into the driveway phone rings again. It’s the husband wanting to know how far away I was. When I said I was pulling into the driveway he said ok and hung up. Thinking that things must be getting close I quickly collected my bags from the back of the car I went to the house and finding the front door locked I knocked…..Nothing. I knocked again. The husband opened the door looking quite stunned and said she is in the bedroom. Walking into the room I see mum kneeling on the floor next to the bed with a baby on the floor behind her I wrapped in a towel. Mum said “It just happened, It was so quick”. Now I know why it took DH so long to answer the door. After a quick check on mum I went to the baby who was making those cute little noises that only babies can make. Everything was well apart form feeling a little cold. Mum wanted the cord cut and the placenta out as soon as. At about this time the doula arrived. Here’s a tip. If you are going to have a baby, also have a doula. In fact if you can get Julie doula, She does a fantastic job. After Julie arrived I was able to spend a little more time with the baby. A quick check showed a healthy baby girl but her temp was only 34. We got mum to strip and put the baby on her chest and put them both into bed. 2 hours later the baby’s temp was back to normal. Unfortunately mum had a tear and needed 2 stitches. The 2 other children slept through the whole thing.