Our amazing waterbirth

I'm so happy to share such an amazing experiance.

At 11 days overdue I had a few really mild contractions before lunch and then things started to heat up (and speed up) just after 12pm where the waves felt like mild to strong period pains. By 1pm I was then convinced that "this must be it" and by 1:30pm the contractions were 5 minutes apart and we got ready to leave for the the hospital.... Believe it or not I still wasn't 'sure' because it was happening so fast! LOL We arrived at the hospital at 2pm and by that stage the contractions were 2-3 mins apart. From there I went into the birth suit and had our baby boy 2 hours later in the water. Just amazing! The midwife tells me the 2nd stage was only 45 minutes and I had a natural 3rd stage where it took around 20 minutes to birth the placenta. My beautiful husband recieved bub which is so special as he was the 1st person to touch our baby, from there he lifted bub onto my chest and I can't explain how much love I felt for both of them at that moment. Bub was really alert and looking into our eyes, so very, very special. The labour was an experience I will never forget, it all happened so quickly I didn't really have time to think of anything much.... When I got to the hospital I was in shock, pale in the face and scared not knowing what to expect. I remember the waves before the 2nd stage being uncomfortable but bearable and then I was really surprised when I felt the urge to start pushing. DH was the most fantastic support, reminding me to breath and supporting me through each wave, I honestly don't know if I could have done it without him. After bubs was born we stayed in birth suit for another hour and half or so while bubs was on the boob and I birthed the placenta naturally. After I had a shower and dh had a snuggle we had something to eat, then we went back to our room. I'm so happy with the way the midwife left us alone as much as possible and acknowledged our wishes to have a natural birth with no internal examination and injections for me or bubs.

Our stay at the hospital was also good, we had a huge family room where dh and I had a double bed to sleep in and they even allow co-sleeping so bub was rarely out of our arms for the first 4 days :) bubs1st bath was probably the highlight after the birth for us, one of the midwives organised for us to go back to the birth suit for a 'family bath' Omgoodnes it was wonderful! We walked in and they had the towels warming up for us, oil burner on, lights dimmed and music playing, we both started crying as all the emotions of the birth came back. We then took our time and enjoyed not only bubs 1st bath but our 1st family bath :)

This wonderful birth experiance hasn't been without challenges as we entred the world of parenthood... Breastfeeding OMG! I would honestly rather give birth again than endure the pain of my nipples :crying: the 1st week the sensitivity was unbelievable!!! Like torture my hands and feet were breaking out into sweat with each attachment. THANK GOD they are much better now and our little one is feeding like a champion and mum is now relaxed and enjoying looking into bubs eyes when he's having a good feed. It was a God sent having midwives on hand for the 1st 4 days, due to the sensitivity of my nipples we buzzed the midwives for each feed so that they could make sure he was attached properly so we managed to avoid any more damage to the nipple then necessary. Again dh has been an amazing support as he learnt what the correct attachemnt looked like and helped me put bubs on the boob properly for the 1st week, he also made sure I was proped up with pillows and as relaxed as possible. The tension of breastfeeding left my body really sore and today we had someone come around and give us both a massage which was really nice.

I also had a bit of a melt down when we got home as reality sunk in that this beautiful little soul is now relying on us for everything. There has been heaps of tears from me and for some reason as the night settles in I have been getting really emotional. I went through a whole range of emotions including thinking I didn't know how to look after him and being so deeply thankful that I have the most amazing husband in the world who I couldn't not do this without. I'm slowly getting better with the tears (none today so far) :crossfingers: as we get to know our little one and what he likes etc.

All in all the experiance has been overwhealmingly special :babyboy:

wonderful darl!!

i looove the family bath, how very special :clap:

What a beautiful birth story hun! Thankyou for sharing, enjoy all the cuddles.
I must ask where did you give birth i want to give birth there sounds gorgeous! :loveshower: xx

:loveshower: Beautiful story!

Aww cherished that is a beautiful story! I love the details of the things that happened after the birth too, wow the family bath sounded lovely!

Enjoy hun, you have earned every precious moment of this!

Thank you for sharing your beautiful birth story.

Regards,
Dianne

Oh well done to you all and congratulations!
I hope the feeding is on track and your nipples are healing well. All the best to the three of you

Congratulations and what an amazing story! Your family bath sounds so special. I understand the evening tears, my little baby blues hit most nights as the long days of painful feeds ( I had the same pain for quite a while :hug:) took over and I knew I had long nights ahead so my tears would flow at around 7 every night. Enjoy your baby moon and I hope feeding settles in for you quickly as well. xox

what a beautiful birth journey! congrats to you and your DH on the arrival of your wee man!

*oh and i am also totally emotional in the evenings too...even something on Home and Away set me off lol*

What a gorgeous experience you have just been through. A family bath....that is simply beautiful, those midwives sound just wonderful. After waiting such a long time it makes that birthing experience such a treasured time. You should be incredibly proud of yourself Cherished, you have birthed a beautiful little boy who is so lucky to have you and DH as his world :hug:

Beautiful story!

One thing that stood out though was the emotional feeling as the sun sets. I got this too and I would be fine all day and then as night closed in I would bawl my eyes out. Do you find the nights lonely? I found a few things to help. One was rescue remedy as soon as I felt that feeling, I also started lighting a candle each evening to remind myself how strong and capable I am. That initial shock of responsibility os huuuuuge! I used to imagine everything being a danger to my dd, even myself because my senses were so heightened to protect her.

Please pm me if you want to chat. I wrote a diary during those early weeks and it shares a lot of this.

You're amazing, and your birth was incredible...try and find that magic in each day...it's in your baby and within you...:hug:

Wow, what a beautiful birth! Sounds like it was an absolutely divine experience :loveshower: I wanna give birth at the same place, the family bath afterwards sounded magical.

Wow cherished, that truly is a beautiful birth story, and it sounds like you did so well! The family bath brought tears to my eyes, that is so special.

It sounds as though you have a fantastic DH too.

All the best for a wonderful future with your new little family

Wow Cherished, thank you for sharing your water birth with us. I feel honoured to have read your story. How beautiful for you and your DH and your baby. I am a little emotional after reading all the details. Your doing a wonderful job with your baby, and baby can be in no better place than mum and dads arms... Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby. Much love to you and yours. xx

Danni

WOW! Congrats Beautiful story!! I also would love to know where you birthed?

Congratulations Cherished and thanks for sharing the story of your birth - I'm so glad you got your beautiful waterbirth! And the family bath sounds like such a loving, wonderful moment. I found wiggling my fingers or toes helped with those early attachment sensitivities, distracted my pain brain! Thanks again for sharing :)

Aww thankyou so much for sharing ur birth story with us, so beautiful!
Congrats again hunni!!!

Gorgeous story. I remember feeling that weepy feeling with S, too (he was also really alert and just looked at me as soon as he was born - it's just breathtaking, isn't it?) and it settled down after about 10 days, I think.

Have a wonderful time getting to know each other :)

Gorgeous story hun!
It was an honour doing your BA :) xoxox

Wow, such a beautiful, beautiful birth story.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family. Your birth story was such a beautiful one. A pleasure to read and one that I know I will go back and read again.

Congrats again and thanks so much for sharing.. you did a wonderful job, what a beautiful birth!

The family bath sounds amazing, sounds like a great hospital!

All those emotions your feeling hun are normal, when i left the hospital i was freaking out, i felt sick thinking OMG theres no-one here now but DP, myself and this tiny little girl... ARGH i wanted to run screaming for the hills.. it gets easier until you accidently cut their finger while do their nails or they fall over cos you weren't quite paying attention... their job is to show us the most pure love and make us feel insecure all at the same time... keep up the great work!

I am sitting here bawling my eyes out!!! What an amazing birth experience you had, so happy for you all xox

cherished such a beautiful birth! Damn shame you're not in Melbourne because I'd love to go to your hospital for my next one! Such precious moments to, well, cherish!! lol xoxo

Gorgeous birth story hun! - Congrats again on the safe arrival of your little man :hug:

What an amazing story!!

:loveshower:

that is so amazing, what an beautiful birth for you little boy to arrive to. im so happy for you and you lovely family!! well done to you and you DH, sounds like hes been great!

that was a beautiful story... you had an amazing birth and you did such a good job... enjoy your new little man.

Naw, family bath. That was so special.

Congratulations on a beautiful birth cherished. You are a natural :)

And I'm so happy you have such an awesome husband to help you through the emotional roller coaster of first time parenthood :hug:

Lovely story.

Emotions are so normal with being a parent. I still feel overwhelmed with love and teary when i see DD asleep on my bed!

Enjoy your gorgeous son. oxox

Oh Cherished I had tears rolling down my face reading your birth story thank you so much for sharing it, congratulations to you and your beautiful little family your little man has some pretty amazing parents. Dont worry the nipples will get better lol xxxxx

Thank you for sharing!!

I love that you all got to have a bath together... Awww such a nice moment!!

Congratulations again, what a beautiful story! The family bath would've been divine.
Your DH sounds alot like mine! He knew more about attachment than I did in the early days lol.
The hormones and emotions will settle down, continue being kind to yourself darl.

Oh my!!

Sounds like an amazing experience!!

Where do we get an experience like that!!

Well done and Congratulations :D

Oh honey what a beautiful story. So calm and beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing your story. We have kinda been through the ttc journey together and to read this is just gorgeous. Congratulations to you and your DH. Welcome little bubby boy! :hug:

Oh how embarrassing, I have tears pouring down my face and I am at work lol.
WOW . . . what an amazing Birth Experience. I only hope I have one "exactly" the same :) Well done, keep at it with the breastfeeding, my friend had cracks, holes punctured in hers etc and they were bleeding, but kept at it and it quickly fixed itself up and she loves every second of it "No pain, no gain they say". Good Luck for the journey ahead, I am very happy for you xx

Yipppeeeeee...congratulations Cherished, I'm so pleased you had such a lovely birth. Another one with a positive birth story - we will soon take over the world.

Enjoy your gorgeous little man. I want the family bath!

WOW! What can i say but what a truely beautiful birth story! what a fantastic experience! and that family bath!!!!!! im yet to have one of those LOL!
your hubby sounds wonderful, and ur little man is adorable! u deserve it all!
As for those "baby blues" i understand completly how you feel - i think mine lasted 2wks! it was just a build up of emotions on everything, trouble breastfeeding, having this tiny bundle that depended totally on me, adjusting to it no longer being hubby and I, it was everything! and having a supportive husband is what helps and will get you through!

Big HUGS and Big CONGRATULATIONS once again!

Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us xoxo

Beautiful story honey....the bath sounds lovely and relaxing.

Aim xxx

That was such a beautiful story.. So deep, intimate and honest..Thanks for sharing :)