The Birth of Penelope Rose

On Sunday the 1st of October me and my Husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world at 1809pm. Our due date was 24th September but Penelope was determined she was going to be a October baby. I reminded myself everyday that ‘baby would come when baby is ready’.

I carried on working up until 2 days before Penny arrived. Working with members of the public many people would share their stories of how their friends were overdue and their bad experiences. I took Abby’s fantastic advice I would remember to be selfish and ask them not to share their negative experiences with me or try and remove myself from the conversation.

The surges started on the Friday night, they started slowly and were very mild to begin with so we carried on as normal watching TV and getting an early night to ensure we were well rested. It was difficult to sleep but I used the relaxation techniques I had been practising throughout my pregnancy.

By the Saturday morning the surges had completely stopped which gave me time to relax and rest. We watched TV, slept and watched movies throughout the day. I also watched the movie UP to remind me and help visualise the upwards breathing.

At midnight on Saturday I felt like I was in active labour and decided to ring the birthing centre. They examined me once we got there and I was still only in early labour, they gave me the option to stay however I felt I would be better at home. When we got back home I used breathing techniques and relaxation to help me through the surges. I also had a couple of baths throughout the night as the water felt very soothing. By 7am Sunday morning the surges were coming stronger and closer together we once again returned to the birth centre were I was 3cms which did disappoint me as I felt I should have been further along. The midwife and my Husband Chris reassured me that I had done well to get to that point and everything was moving in the right direction. At this point the midwife advised us that we should stay at the birthing centre.

I decided to get in the birthing pool straight away. Chris made the room a calming environment by putting out fairy lights, candles and putting our music on. Throughout the day we listened to our wedding playlist which made us both think back to our amazing wedding day.

Our Midwife Laura who was fantastic had listened to our wishes and respected everything we wanted to achieve for the birth of our baby. She stayed in the room the whole day chatting and reassuring us throughout the experience. She not once mentioned the word pain and told me to listen to my body. At4pm I was examined again and had got to 8cms and my waters soon broke after that. Penelope was not born for another 2 hours after this and the surges started coming stronger with no break in between. It felt like it was getting a bit too much for me and was becoming quite intense, Chris continued to remind me to breath through the surges and was making sure I was drinking plenty of water to keep hydrated. After pushing for quite some time Laura was concerned that Penny was not arriving into the world and that I would need some assistance. She advised me to get out of the pool and onto the bed, I was extremely disappointed at the thought of any interventions as I had come this far with no medication or interventions. I knew this was something I could not control and needed to be done to ensure the safe arrival of our baby. With the help of Chris and the midwife I started to move out of the pool. I was so exhausted my legs started to shake, as I moved I ended up in a squatting position. As soon as I got in this position Penelope was born with no interventions required. Her body quickly followed her head and we both brought her out of the water together revealing that she was a little girl.

Penelope weighed 7lbs 4oz ‘the right size for my body’. I did require the injection to remove the placenta as Laura was concerned about the amount of blood loss. I reminded myself that this was something I could not control and it was in my best interest. Other than that I did not require any drugs to relieve the surges and was so happy to have had a completely natural birth just the way I had wanted and imagined it to be.

We would like to thank you so much for the valuable techniques you have taught us. I believe we would not have had the same experience if we had not attended your course. It made both me and Chris feel empowered that we could achieve the experience we so desperately wanted. We have taken some great techniques that will also help us throughout our daily lives. I could not have gone through the whole experience without Chris and thank you for enabling us to achieve something so amazing and a positive experience that we will never forget.

Thank You Again

Josie and Chris, Huddersfield