Raelene's Birth Stories
I will never forget the first time it was suggested to us that we consider homebirth as an option. We had just welcomed our first child into the world after a 4 hour labour and our midwives thought it would be a good option for future births! We both looked at each other incredulously and said no way were we doing that
Second time around things were quick again and our daughter was in our arms 2.5 hours after my first contraction. The worst part of the entire pregnancy and labour was sitting in the car on the way to hospital. We started to think that homebirth actually wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
When she was 10 months old we found out we were expecting another bub. We talked about options and just thought we’d go through a private obstetrician again. However, through the fabulous network of friends I’d made through an online parenting forum, we were introduced to the idea of homebirth through the Community Midwifery Program. We decided it did sound like a great option and I was quite pleased to not have to think about getting in a car again while in labour.
Over the ensuing months, we developed a fabulous relationship with our midwife and our children were both strong participants in our journey. No visit would be complete without them taking her out to see something new in the yard or to help with listening to baby’s heart or checking their size. During this period, we met Vanessa who was assigned as our backup midwife.
We entered the final days of pregnancy feeling prepared for anything and joked with our midwife about not going into labour while she attended an event on our due date. We would hate for her to miss the birth. However, our young lady decided to oblige and labour began early on a Thursday morning. Within a short period, my husband made the call to say things were happening but I was ok and we thought our midwife had time to get ready and head over. Instantly things changed and by the time she arrived 20 minutes later, she was greeted by our third daughter’s first wails. We’d not even had time to fill the birth pool so she was born in the shower in the presence of her daddy and her grandmother.
By the time we were pregnant again with our fourth child, protocols had changed and my history of fast labours, large babies and my age appeared to exclude me from the Community Midwifery Program. We again considered our options and after much discussion agreed that using a private midwife and having another homebirth were the best options for us again. My last labour had been approximately 45 minutes and the idea of being in a car during that intense period was just not palatable.
We had been aware for some time that Vanessa was now practicing as a private midwife and so we sought out her services. Our pregnancy journey was so calm and well supported with both Peta and Vanessa and again they become a part of our family. Our three daughters weren’t home for most visits but were always a part of everything they wished to be involved in when they were home.
Knowing my history of fast labours, it was agreed that we make contact as soon as things started to happen and Vanessa would be ready to go. I spent my due date busily grocery shopping and sorting out bits and pieces until I’d picked our daughters up from school. As we started to prepare dinner, I felt my “Braxton Hicks” become a little stronger but nothing too serious. I spent the next few hours going through our usual routine with dinner and bedtime. Around 8.30, I had another BH and almost instantly felt that knowing “pop” and my waters broke. Unlike my three previous births, I’d not had any full contractions until this point. Suddenly things were happening and happening fast. My husband rang Vanessa while I headed back to the bathroom where we had the bath already running. Within 10 minutes, I was in the still running water and it was around then that Vanessa gently slid into the room. Instant calming presence. Through the next half hour, her calm voice would offer guidance and support as needed while holding regular conversation with our 8.5 year old and explaining what was happening. Our not so little man entered the world at 9.10pm and my husband declared him our smallest baby yet… until we weighed him in at 10lb 3oz!
Our daughters who were asleep were woken to meet their brother and our eldest daughter came back in to meet him. She had supported me so beautifully right up until the final few minutes when it all became too much. She was delighted to finally have a baby brother and there were cuddles all round. Vanessa became photographer at this point and took a heap of photos of our new family. The next 6 weeks seemed to fly by and all too soon we were saying goodbye and not expecting to see much of Vanessa and Peta again.
When our surprise bundle decided to let us know of her presence, to me, there was only one option. We were delighted to have Vanessa and Peta on board again with our journey and having our little man so involved in the journey was beautiful. He loved to help turn on machines and find baby’s heartbeat as well as forcing me to drink water! Many laughs were had through the process.
Our fourth daughter’s birth was perfect. We had a strong family presence in the room and our children were free to come and go as needed. They felt confident and supported in our caregivers and did not need outside support people. Our littlest girl entered the world with her three sisters, her brother and her father in attendance, as well as the family cat. Vanessa was again a calm presence in the room and even through the scary first minutes with our rather blue little girl who was too lazy to breathe, our children were unaware of the concerns. There was no panic, just gentle guidance and suggestions then pure relief and joy when she finally decided that she’d like to grizzle and breathe.
For me, the choice to homebirth was not something I would have considered and the initial suggestion to think about it was quite a shock. Through my birth and parenting journey, I have learnt a lot about myself and my body and now I would look back and say that I should have been able to consider it from my first pregnancy. Homebirth just isn’t an option that was openly discussed. Every woman should be able to consider it as an option if she wants to. A lot has changed in the area of homebirth since my first nearly 10 years ago and it’s disappointing that it’s not a readily accessible option.
Second time around things were quick again and our daughter was in our arms 2.5 hours after my first contraction. The worst part of the entire pregnancy and labour was sitting in the car on the way to hospital. We started to think that homebirth actually wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
When she was 10 months old we found out we were expecting another bub. We talked about options and just thought we’d go through a private obstetrician again. However, through the fabulous network of friends I’d made through an online parenting forum, we were introduced to the idea of homebirth through the Community Midwifery Program. We decided it did sound like a great option and I was quite pleased to not have to think about getting in a car again while in labour.
Over the ensuing months, we developed a fabulous relationship with our midwife and our children were both strong participants in our journey. No visit would be complete without them taking her out to see something new in the yard or to help with listening to baby’s heart or checking their size. During this period, we met Vanessa who was assigned as our backup midwife.
We entered the final days of pregnancy feeling prepared for anything and joked with our midwife about not going into labour while she attended an event on our due date. We would hate for her to miss the birth. However, our young lady decided to oblige and labour began early on a Thursday morning. Within a short period, my husband made the call to say things were happening but I was ok and we thought our midwife had time to get ready and head over. Instantly things changed and by the time she arrived 20 minutes later, she was greeted by our third daughter’s first wails. We’d not even had time to fill the birth pool so she was born in the shower in the presence of her daddy and her grandmother.
By the time we were pregnant again with our fourth child, protocols had changed and my history of fast labours, large babies and my age appeared to exclude me from the Community Midwifery Program. We again considered our options and after much discussion agreed that using a private midwife and having another homebirth were the best options for us again. My last labour had been approximately 45 minutes and the idea of being in a car during that intense period was just not palatable.
We had been aware for some time that Vanessa was now practicing as a private midwife and so we sought out her services. Our pregnancy journey was so calm and well supported with both Peta and Vanessa and again they become a part of our family. Our three daughters weren’t home for most visits but were always a part of everything they wished to be involved in when they were home.
Knowing my history of fast labours, it was agreed that we make contact as soon as things started to happen and Vanessa would be ready to go. I spent my due date busily grocery shopping and sorting out bits and pieces until I’d picked our daughters up from school. As we started to prepare dinner, I felt my “Braxton Hicks” become a little stronger but nothing too serious. I spent the next few hours going through our usual routine with dinner and bedtime. Around 8.30, I had another BH and almost instantly felt that knowing “pop” and my waters broke. Unlike my three previous births, I’d not had any full contractions until this point. Suddenly things were happening and happening fast. My husband rang Vanessa while I headed back to the bathroom where we had the bath already running. Within 10 minutes, I was in the still running water and it was around then that Vanessa gently slid into the room. Instant calming presence. Through the next half hour, her calm voice would offer guidance and support as needed while holding regular conversation with our 8.5 year old and explaining what was happening. Our not so little man entered the world at 9.10pm and my husband declared him our smallest baby yet… until we weighed him in at 10lb 3oz!
Our daughters who were asleep were woken to meet their brother and our eldest daughter came back in to meet him. She had supported me so beautifully right up until the final few minutes when it all became too much. She was delighted to finally have a baby brother and there were cuddles all round. Vanessa became photographer at this point and took a heap of photos of our new family. The next 6 weeks seemed to fly by and all too soon we were saying goodbye and not expecting to see much of Vanessa and Peta again.
When our surprise bundle decided to let us know of her presence, to me, there was only one option. We were delighted to have Vanessa and Peta on board again with our journey and having our little man so involved in the journey was beautiful. He loved to help turn on machines and find baby’s heartbeat as well as forcing me to drink water! Many laughs were had through the process.
Our fourth daughter’s birth was perfect. We had a strong family presence in the room and our children were free to come and go as needed. They felt confident and supported in our caregivers and did not need outside support people. Our littlest girl entered the world with her three sisters, her brother and her father in attendance, as well as the family cat. Vanessa was again a calm presence in the room and even through the scary first minutes with our rather blue little girl who was too lazy to breathe, our children were unaware of the concerns. There was no panic, just gentle guidance and suggestions then pure relief and joy when she finally decided that she’d like to grizzle and breathe.
For me, the choice to homebirth was not something I would have considered and the initial suggestion to think about it was quite a shock. Through my birth and parenting journey, I have learnt a lot about myself and my body and now I would look back and say that I should have been able to consider it from my first pregnancy. Homebirth just isn’t an option that was openly discussed. Every woman should be able to consider it as an option if she wants to. A lot has changed in the area of homebirth since my first nearly 10 years ago and it’s disappointing that it’s not a readily accessible option.
