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Harper Olive
30/09/2017 – 7.15pm – 7lb 15oz
Everyone always told me ‘your first always takes a bit longer’. So, I thought we would have plenty of time to get to the birthing unit once my waters broke. Little did I know, Harper had other plans....
When my partner and I met with our midwife, Mel, we were so glad we found someone with the same views as us. We wanted to take the approach that we would just roll with it and not read too much about what to expect. We figured it wouldn’t matter whether we did or didn’t read the baby books or go to the antenatal classes as at the end of the day, bubs was still coming and we would have to learn how to do things one way or another. I had heard a few stories about people not having a good relationship with their midwife and I told myself we would look around till we found someone we could trust and feel completely comfortable with. Mel informed us of the pros and cons for every part of the journey and allowed us to make our own decisions as appose to suggesting what we should or shouldn’t do. She was so supportive. I loved having her with us on the journey.We looked into the different options of where to have bubs. For my partner and I, we felt most comfortable with the birthing home in Rangiora. The team out there were lovely to deal with when we visited and we knew they would look after us if any complications arose. So, that was as far as we had planned...
Looking back at it now, I was in early labour from Thursday afternoon. It was hard to tell at the time as I was getting Braxton Hicks for a good couple of weeks prior. So, I continued to work in the garden, take Storm for a walk, run errands around town and make more meals to put away in the freezer. I do wonder if mowing the lawns helped bring things on but we’ll never know! By Saturday (a week past my due date) morning, I felt a bit off. It was an overcast day so we decided to lay low at home and put a movie on. Around 4.30pm I was making a snack when I thought my waters had broken so I jumped into the shower and let Charlie know things were starting. I got out of the shower and carried on making my afternoon snack. About 20 minutes later I felt a pop and a gush of water between my legs. I then knew that was in fact my waters breaking. So, back into the shower I went and before I could even dry myself properly, the contractions started coming in hot and fast. My contractions were all over the show. Charlie started typing up an email to work with a list of jobs to be done while he would be off and text Mel to let her know what was going on. I tried pacing up and down the house and different positions on the swiss ball but they weren’t for me. I tried running a bath but I had used all the hot water from my two showers already. I was so scared about pooping myself that I thought I’d go to the toilet now before things got messy. Turns out sitting on the toilet was the comfiest position I could find. I got Charlie to bring in my platter of snacks with my water and electrolyte juice and that was me set. Before I knew it, I was pushing! I had no idea how far apart my contractions were but Charlie was on the ball. He had a clip board and stopwatch watching me closely. I didn’t even think to ask Charlie to call Mel, I just had a mission and was focusing only on that. It was when I had one hand on the toilet roll holder, one hand grabbing onto Charlie’s hand and went to lean forward to bite something that Charlie thought he better call Mel. I couldn’t really talk at this point. There was no way I was getting in a car now and as soon as Mel arrived she suggested we move things into the bedroom where she could fully scope out where we were at. I couldn’t even get onto the bed. I dropped to the ground, put my head on the side of the bed and lifted one leg and pushed. I could hear Mel and Charlie quietly talking behind me but I wasn’t even interested in what was said (Turns out bubs was posterior). Must have only been about 2-3 more big pushes and just like that it was all over within 2.5 hours. Charlie helped me up onto the bed and bubs cuddled in on my chest. We were both so overwhelmed by what just happened to see what the gender was. A gorgeous, healthy, little baby girl. I had such a great experience having a home birth, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else for the next time around. I am so proud of myself for listening to my body and trusting my instincts, the human body truly is extraordinary. I am so lucky to have such a supportive partner to have been there with me every step of the way. I’m so proud of Charlie, he is the most caring, loving father and partner. Charlie brought in my snacks from the toilet as I was still peckish. They weren’t satisfying me so I said let’s order a pizza. So, we did just that. The four of us in the bed barely saying a word ready to demolish a large pizza and bubs feeding perfectly on my chest. Perfect way to finish such an eventful night and begin our new lives together as a family.