Massimo's Birth
When we were planning for our baby we immediately thought that we would have a Caesarean for the birth – scheduled and controlled. Both of us being engineers it suited our thinking and lifestyle. However after doing our own research and listening to our chiropractic friend we changed our minds completely and decided that our first child would be a natural homebirth. Being first time parents it was a daunting task and we wanted someone that could provide us answers or point us in the right direction. We also didn’t suit the Community midwife program due to some of our medical decisions hence we sought a private midwife. Massimo was due mid-January though, and it was very difficult to find a private midwife for that time of the year. Thankfully Vanessa was able to take us on (even with the long commute) and we warmed to her immediately.
The pregnancy went well, until at 30 weeks I suddenly had what I thought was a severe loss of bladder control – having not been doing my pelvic floor exercises. I contacted Vanessa for some tips to improve this, upon which she questioned if I was absolutely sure it was my bladder? That night she came to the house to do a checkup anyway, and sure enough my waters had broken early. So off to the hospital we all went. Despite PPROM, I had no pains and did not give birth that night, or the next day, or that week…
I was discharged from hospital after 3 days, but required to go back frequently for checkups. Vanessa accompanied me for the checkups and helped answer all the questions we had. Our plans for a home water birth would no longer be possible.
Three weeks later I had what I thought was very strong kicking from bub, so much so that it gave me a belly ache. After telling hubby what a bad night of kicking I’d had, quite concerned he got me to call Vanessa to check what to do. The response was to get to the hospital – it wasn’t strong kicking I was going into labour!
Surrounded by the support of my husband, Vanessa, and doula Helena (Dreambirths), and with plenty of massages and using some hypnobirthing techniques I had a short and ‘easy’ labour at the hospital. I was able to give birth naturally without any pain killers or complications. Our little boy Massimo was born premature in the hospital at 32weeks 6 days.
Massimo remained in the NICU over three weeks and Vanessa was on call to answer any of our questions which helped relieve some of the stress. She visited and helped with the process of bringing Massimo home. We were fortunate to bring our little boy home, healthy and growing, just in time for Christmas on the 22nd December.
To say that Vanessa was a god send would be an understatement. She provided support and advice to us particularly when faced with many conflicting medical personnel during the PPROM and the Birth. She went above and beyond when it came to providing support and information throughout and was always available on her mobile even when my husband was pestering her with hospital guidelines. It was bittersweet on our last check up with Vanessa as we had shared the journey with her however we knew that she would always be available to have a chat and pop in for a cuppa when either of us was in each other’s area.
The pregnancy went well, until at 30 weeks I suddenly had what I thought was a severe loss of bladder control – having not been doing my pelvic floor exercises. I contacted Vanessa for some tips to improve this, upon which she questioned if I was absolutely sure it was my bladder? That night she came to the house to do a checkup anyway, and sure enough my waters had broken early. So off to the hospital we all went. Despite PPROM, I had no pains and did not give birth that night, or the next day, or that week…
I was discharged from hospital after 3 days, but required to go back frequently for checkups. Vanessa accompanied me for the checkups and helped answer all the questions we had. Our plans for a home water birth would no longer be possible.
Three weeks later I had what I thought was very strong kicking from bub, so much so that it gave me a belly ache. After telling hubby what a bad night of kicking I’d had, quite concerned he got me to call Vanessa to check what to do. The response was to get to the hospital – it wasn’t strong kicking I was going into labour!
Surrounded by the support of my husband, Vanessa, and doula Helena (Dreambirths), and with plenty of massages and using some hypnobirthing techniques I had a short and ‘easy’ labour at the hospital. I was able to give birth naturally without any pain killers or complications. Our little boy Massimo was born premature in the hospital at 32weeks 6 days.
Massimo remained in the NICU over three weeks and Vanessa was on call to answer any of our questions which helped relieve some of the stress. She visited and helped with the process of bringing Massimo home. We were fortunate to bring our little boy home, healthy and growing, just in time for Christmas on the 22nd December.
To say that Vanessa was a god send would be an understatement. She provided support and advice to us particularly when faced with many conflicting medical personnel during the PPROM and the Birth. She went above and beyond when it came to providing support and information throughout and was always available on her mobile even when my husband was pestering her with hospital guidelines. It was bittersweet on our last check up with Vanessa as we had shared the journey with her however we knew that she would always be available to have a chat and pop in for a cuppa when either of us was in each other’s area.
