Catherine's first birth story

I spent all of Sunday contracting after the contractions started up along with some pinkish discharge and spotting in the early hours of the morning. I used a hot water bottle all day.

In the afternoon they spaced out to 10 minutes apart and I dozed between them. We had McDonald’s for tea, stopping for contractions every few bites.

I called my midwife late evening getting discouraged, she came over for a chat.

She suggested a bath and napping in bed between contractions. She reassured me it was real labour, just slow. The baby was coming!

I couldn’t last in the bath not being able to move around. I got in bed and managed to doze between contractions. Around 5am I went to the bathroom and had to call out to my husband to bring a hot water bottle. He started talking about filling the pool but I thought it was too early still.

When I heard myself going high during vocalising in contractions I would bring it down to a low pitch again to try to keep my jaw soft and allow my pelvic floor to relax.

We called my midwife and she decided to come over after hearing me mooing!

Around 6:30am the midwife arrived. I was eating scrambled egg and apple sauce in the kitchen.

I started needing hot towels for pain relief and noticing I was getting grunty at the end of contractions. I didn’t realise how far along I was but did wonder if that was a pushy sound.

I felt all the pain in my lower back and hips - nothing in my stomach! I knelt on the floor in the lounge for a bit, then sat on the loo for a while. I was still completely relaxed and dozing or talking between contractions.

I got in the pool and my midwife said to push if I felt the need. I took it really slow and alternated between pushing and breathing through contractions. I could feel the tip of baby’s head which gave me the motivation and confidence so I knew when to push and when to relax.

I felt the ‘ring of fire’ a few times as baby’s head started pushing against the perineum but it was nowhere near as intense as I’d expected!

My waters broke as her head came out and I caught my baby and pulled her up myself. The cord was really short. She was born at 9:11am on Tuesday. I delivered the placenta standing up in the pool about half an hour later.

Tips to takeaway

• Do your research thoroughly and be confident in your decisions

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• Stuff loads of cushions under the pool before you fill it - your knees will thank you!

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• Skip the pads and buy adult disposable underwear. Much more comfortable.

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• Don’t stress. Unless you drop baby or shake them, any mistakes you make are unlikely to have any long lasting effect!