Sadie and Ellie
Ellie was due on 8th November 2008. On that day my husband and I decided to go out for a curry; I chose the hottest one I had ever eaten and went to bed content!
At 3.55 am I awoke with a feeling of needing to go to the toilet. As I got out of bed and walked around the end of the bed I felt a ‘pop’ and knew this was my membranes rupturing. This caused feelings of excitement and nervousness as I telephoned the delivery ward to let them know the situation At that time I didn’t have any other symptoms of labour but had to report that the waters were pink, like a glass of rose wine.
Around 5am Edel the midwife on call telephoned me for an update and decided that she would come and check that everything was ok. She arrived around 6am. By then, I had been experiencing dull period pains for about half an hour. After checking me over she suggested I relax in the bath for a while and that at 7am she would examine me again to see what was going on.
At 7am I was told that Ellie was 1/5 engaged and I was 3-4cm dilated. It was also at this time that the surges started to become stronger and regular so we attached the TENS machine. That helped a lot! After keeping a careful eye on me Edel decided that I should be moved to the hospital due to the colour of the waters.
At 8.10am we arrived at the hospital, where Sally Ann my midwife met us. I was checked over by a doctor and was told that Ellie was fully engaged and that I was 5-6cm dilated.
Once I had the chance to settle in to the delivery suite I started to listen to Rainbow Relaxation on a loop. I very easily went ‘into myself’ and listened to my body and my baby. I can honestly say that I didn’t feel any pain nor was I in any way uncomfortable. I was both calm and relaxed.
At 9:25am I was told I was 8-9cm dilated and then by 9.45am I was fully dilated and told that I could push when ready. I started to ‘J’ breathe. Ellie was born at 10.50am.
I truly believe that my labour was this fast because of the HypnoBirthing® techniques, and I had what I can only describe as an amazing experience. I didn’t need any pain relief other then the TENS machine and despite not getting the home water birth that I had planned, I still feel very happy with Ellie’s birth.
