Silas' birth
By Suze Keys
The pregnancy had been a dream. I had loved every moment of it–feeling the baby move, getting lots of attention from people (even complete strangers), the good health and great skin, hair and nails. Even the massive amount of stretch marks I had proved to be an amusing show-and-tell piece! I was completing my final year of study at Teachers’ College at the time and the year went really well–I was quite invincible and none of the study stressed me at all (which I found unusual compared to the high stress levels of my classmates!)
But for the last two weeks of the pregnancy I was just hugely pregnant, tired, uncomfortable and really over it. We started trying all sorts of things to bring the labour on but nothing worked and the due date came and went–when would it ever end??! I was all ready–study had been postponed till the next year (only two papers to go!), all the baby gear was organised, the birth kit was waiting for use, Mum was up from Invercargill to be at the birth and now all we needed was for this baby to decide to arrive.
On Monday the 28th of October 2002, we went to bed a bit later than usual, about 11pm, because I was making a keepsake box for the baby and had stayed up that night to get it done. I was pleased to have it finished and had a very unreal sense of accomplishment-that the baby could come now, I was properly ready.
Kevin (Silas’ Dad) went to sleep fairly quickly that night but I had been suffering insomnia for a few weeks and, as per usual, I couldn’t sleep. I was watching the clock and finally got to sleep about 11.45pm.
Dead on midnight I woke with this amazing need to go to the toilet–diarrhoea. I didn’t think too much of it as that had also been happening on and off for a while, so I went back to bed. But I just couldn’t get comfy–there was definitely a weird feeling in my tummy.
12.15am back to the toilet–same. Back in bed again, still uncomfortable, I was wondering if this was it. At 12.30 when I was back in the toilet again, I was fairly sure this was it. I paced around for a while and, after another toilet episode at 12.45, I woke Kevin and we got mentally prepared for what seemed to be about to happen.
At 1.00am I rang Juliet, our midwife, who said to see how I went and call her back later for an update. Kevin and I started to get organised, moving the lounge furniture out of the way so we could set up and begin filling the pool. I placed candles in just the right spots and made sure the birth kit was at hand. I paced a bit with the contractions that were coming every 10-15 minutes-ish during this time.
By 2am the contractions were about five minutes apart and felt very intense–extremely tight. I felt like there were two peaking, one immediately after the other, with a rest in between the sets of two. I couldn’t get comfortable at all and had to focus on breathing through these contractions. Kevin called Juliet, Heidi (our support person) and Mum to come–Heidi made a usually 40 minute trip in 30 minutes, having had a shower as well! Everyone arrived by 2.30am, by which stage I was on my hands and knees across the beanbag, fire breathing and panting through the contractions. Being on my hands and knees was the only position I felt comfortable in. Fortunately the pool was filling up quite quickly. The caliphont we had borrowed was a god-send, as I was starting to instinctively need to be in the water. Kevin rubbed my back and put a hottie across the pain in the lower part.
At 3.15am I got in the pool. Immediately the contractions slowed to one at a time and I felt more relaxed and in control. I still had to stay on my hands and knees as any other position was too uncomfortable for my tailbone.
Everyone was really helpful–Heidi boiled the jug over and over for cups of tea and hot towels, Mum mopped my brow and Kevin and Juliet dealt with the business end–they used hot towels and pressure on my lower back with each contraction, which was amazing relief for back pain.
My waters broke at 3.30am and the contractions then intensified. I started to need to push with some of the contractions and was mortified to be making “mooing” type sounds with them (was that because all I could think of was the birthing cows on my family farm? I remember thinking repeatedly: if the cows can do it in the paddock, I can do it in my lounge!) However, the deep, primal nature of those noises really helped.
At 4.30 Michelle (our backup midwife) was called and I was pushing with every contraction. It was then that I felt a new stinging sensation which I assumed was the baby’s head coming down the birth canal. With this stinging feeling I decided that I had had enough of all of this pain and I wanted this baby out NOW! So I pushed with all my might. I was really tired by this stage and my arms were sore from spending so many hours on my hands and knees–but I knew it would be over soon.
Throughout the birth my senses were sharp and smells, lights and sounds annoyed me, which was quite unexpected since I’d planned using music and incense for atmosphere during the birth. Even my support people talking annoyed me and I remember, as I was pushing at dawn, the birds’ early morning chorus was another surprisingly irritating racket!
By 5.30am Kevin could cup the baby’s head and, at 5.42am, Silas was born into the pool. Kevin caught him and passed him through to me–all slippery and wrinkly. We all cried (even Silas) and I remember the tears in my Mum’s eyes being a bit of a surprise. There was lots of vernix floating in the pool and Juliet scooped it up and put it into a pottle for use on his skin later.
I got out of the pool on wobbly legs, to birth the placenta on the birth mat we’d made. It came away at 6.25am and Kevin cleaned it and wrapped it with fennel and salt for the Lotus Birth which was beautifully gentle, the cord separating after 4 days.
Silas’ birth was awesome–short enough (at 6 hours) to be over fairly quickly and long enough to allow my body to adjust into the birthing process. I felt in control of my body and what was happening within. I felt powerful and spiritual, and the ancient, innate wisdom of birthing worked in me–I am woman! Hear me (moo!) roar. My body worked perfectly. My support team and the midwives, especially Juliet, were great. It was an amazing, empowering experience that I am eternally grateful for–thank you to everyone and the Universe for supporting me to achieve that!
Published in Birthplace Magazine - Autumn Edition 2009.
Last updated 30 April 2009.
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