We are Emily and Grant, Emily is a medical and scientific artist and Grant is a GP. Cleo is our first baby and she’s 9 weeks old.
We had trouble getting pregnant and had to have IVF, but once we got there our pregnancy went very smoothly! Emily felt very well emotionally and physically and we felt very positive about our birth. HPHB helped us feel confident in making choices and in our birth plans.
We planned for a home birth because we felt this is where Emily would be most relaxed and would progress through labour with all the right hormones in all the right places. We ended up going into hospital due to staffing issues, but we found it didn’t matter where we were in the end as we were so focused on our labour. The staff, environment and birthing pool were wonderful.
We had a wonderful and empowering vaginal birth in the pool in hospital. Emily had been examined at home several hours before we arrived at the hospital and was 3cm dilated, so Emily got straight into the pool without a further vaginal assessment. Our midwife was very supportive of this decision, and once Emily was in the pool and on her hands and knees she said she could see the purple line, indicating that we were well on the way. Soon after getting in the pool, Emily started feeling a strong urge to push which she couldn’t breathe through. Her body took over and she pushed instinctively and birthed their baby in the pool with Grant’s support and encouragement. She caught her and picked her up out of the water herself and held her skin to skin.
We had decided not to find out what we were having at our scan so had an incredible surprise when we found out we had a baby girl. She started looking for the breast very quickly after birth and started feeding. We had nearly an hour in the pool, breastfeeding skin-to-skin, without cutting the cord, waiting for the third stage. When we felt ready, Emily got out of the pool and delivered the placenta without medication. She didn’t need any stitches so Grant enjoyed some skin-to-skin time whilst Emily had a shower. HPHB helped us to trust our instincts and trust in the body, hormones and the birthing process. We were able to make decisions that were right for us, without feeling rushed or pressured. We had an incredible birth experience.
Breathing techniques 5/5 – my number one coping strategy for my contractions. Breathing through them was the only thing I could focus on.
Labour positions 5/5 – for me, leaning forwards, whether this was standing or on my knees, was the only position I could be in during my contractions. I found lying on my back completely unbearable.
Birthing pool 5/5 – I can’t tell you if being in the water reduced the pain but it was a wonderful place to experience birth. I felt very safe and protected under the water, in my own “bubble”.
Entanox 4/5 – Helped keep my breathing under control in the later stage and took the edge off my contractions. Left a horrible taste in my mouth.
TENS machine 3/5 – a good distraction in the latent phase of labour. I could focus on the TENS sensation which distracted from the contraction pain.
We both find this very difficult to put this into words! Grant felt very emotional, despite not being a very emotional type. Emily felt elated and emotional and completely amazed by how perfect our baby was. Finding out we had a girl was incredible, the most amazing surprise!
The baby blues hit Emily hard around day 3 and she was very anxious and tearful, we were happy to have been prepared for this in our antenatal classes. Emily didn’t sleep much in the first few days as our little girl wanted to feed constantly and we think this impacted on the baby blues. Her recovery was good, she didn’t have any stitches but had a small tear and some grazes which stung a lot. Taking regular pain relief worked well. Her postnatal bleeding was normal but I was glad I was prepared and aware what to look out for.
The birth was definitely Emily’s top triumph. Birthing our baby in water was an incredible and empowering experience that she’s so proud of and will never forget.
Breastfeeding was a difficult journey for us. Emily’s milk didn’t come in until our daughter was 4 weeks old for some reason, so we had to pump and give expressed breast milk. The process was very challenging and exhausting, but we are now exclusively breastfeeding and very glad we persevered and overcame our difficulties.
Getting through our breastfeeding difficulties.
We were not expecting Emily’s milk not to come in. We felt just as confident in breastfeeding as we had in our pregnancy and birth and expected it to be just as smooth.
Booking a supermarket delivery when you’re likely to be having a baby. Of course ours turned up while Emily was in labour!
We have a great WhatsApp group where we can share our experiences and ask eachother questions. We’ve already met up several times and its lovely having a group of people in the same place as us.
We hardly used anything from our birth bag in the end but Emily was very glad to have packed some mints! The gas and air left an bitter taste in her mouth so she was really glad to have them after we’d had our baby.
We had packed a mini bottle of fancy hair and body wash which was such a wonderful treat in the shower after birth, Emily used half the bottle, it smelt amazing!
Sleeping bag and black and white cards.
Ergo baby carrier.
Don’t feel you can control what happens during labour and birth. Have your birth preferences but stay open minded!
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