Holly Hood’s Birth Story - Baby # 1 (BoCo teacher)

After a relatively long early labour, Thomas arrived very swiftly, less than an hour after being admitted to a room on the Malden Suite in established labour.  It was all quite a whirlwind in the end, and I relied so much on yoga during the whole process.. you are definitely in the right place!  Your body really does 'take over', so the more your body is familiar with helpful postures / movements and how to quiet the mind, the more it will lean towards this.

I had gone to bed on the Sunday night with slight back ache and what felt like menstrual cramps.  Being 8 days overdue at that point, Tom and I were trying not to get too excited.    I was woken in the night as the sensations had become stronger and I made my way to the birthing ball where I sat making hip circles, using golden thread breath & meditating for about 5 hours until morning.  I woke my husband at a more reasonable hour and we watched some Fawlty Towers episodes on Netflix (not yoga, but laughter is said to be good for softening the cervix).  I then took a 60 minute walk around the local park.  At this point I was standing and walking through the surges, slowing down as they started and breathing gently through them.  At home I was on all fours a lot of the time, making big hip circles, or leaning against the wall or my husband and padding my feet quickly up and down.

The day really flew by as we were totally in the zone and by 9pm on Monday evening the surges were coming every 2 to 3 minutes, and my exhales had become much more breathy moving on to 'ooos' and 'soos', so we made the trip into Kingston Hospital, over a bazillion speed bumps!  I was checked over and found to be only 1cm dilated, so we were sent home!  Over the next few hours things intensified and the most natural place for me to be was on all fours making smaller hip circles, resting on my side in-between surges, or in the bath, although the restriction of movement in the bath after a while was too much.  I did find my monkey mind started to kick in then once my body felt restricted, but thanks to my husband breathing with me I was quickly able to get back to a good place.   Please do teach your partners what you are learning - it is invaluable.  By 3 am my waters had broken so it was back to the hospital.
I was eventually admitted to a room on the Malden Suite at 4:15am, after a check found I was 4cm dilated, but things were progressing quickly.  I had an antibiotic drip fitted as I was group B strep positive, which took a while for them to fit - hence the delay.  The next hour was a bit of a blur as I was also taking some gas and air.  The extra oxygen was really helpful in regulating my inhalation as it was so warm on the ward, but I must say I didn't enjoy the way the gas made me dozy!   My exhales were very animalistic - grunting and mooing, which really felt wonderful and Tom says looked and sounded like the most natural thing in the world.  The most comfortable position to be in at this point was on my knees on the bed, facing the back and using the head of the bed for upper body support while I waiting for the birthing pool to be filled.  Shortly before 5 am I was invited to get into the pool, but while moving over there they realised how close I was to delivery, and I was told there wasn't enough time to get in!  Funnily enough a water birth hadn't actually being in my birth plan at all, but at the time it had felt like a good place to be in.  In the end I delivered little Thomas standing up in a goddess squat with the support of the bed and some very quick reactions from the wonderful midwives!   He gurgled as he was born, but the first time he cried was during the vitamin k injection.  We were amazed at how calm he was and still is.
The care at Kingston Hospital was amazing.  We stayed in for one night and found the breastfeeding support really helpful.  I really think that initial support has made feeding so wonderful and productive this first week.

If there is one piece of advice I would give about the post natal period it would be to take it easy and be so, so kind to yourself.  Eat nourishing food, rest during the day, let emotions come and if they are challenging, know that they will pass.  I found it helpful to set an alarm to remind me to revisit my breathing and posture as I'm so wrapped up in our little man that it is easy to forget.
Wishing you all a wonderful birthing experience.  Trust your bodies, trust the yoga and then enjoy the Mum & baby classes!