A positive second labour: Penelope’s birth story
On the day of Penny’s birth, I started contractions around 7am and so Neel put the birthing pool up. Around 2pm I thought it might be wise to call the midwife and check what progress I was making. She said I was only 2cm dilated and left. By 9pm my contractions were coming short and sharp every minute and I was struggling to cope with the pain. I called the midwife again who came out and said that I was still only 2cm dilated. I’d hoped I’d have made more progress because I really felt like I needed some gas and air! Therefore I decided to go to hospital for pain relief. When we got to hospital, I was feeling like I needed to push.
Luckily when I was assessed by the midwife at the hospital, I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. Neel had left the car outside the hospital entrance unlocked with the hazard lights on. He was told not to move it because he might miss the birth as the baby was coming quickly. My midwife was amazing at coaching me to push and in what felt like no time, our baby was born! She was delivered onto my tummy and Neel cut the cord.
We arrived at 1am and were out by 5am which was fantastic. I’m a bit sad that we didn’t have our home birth. If I’d known how close I was to having the baby, I’d have definitely stayed at home. The birth was easy and my recovery quick and the midwife excellent but our family is complete and I’ll never have a homebirth.
The first moment I saw Penelope I was just shocked how big she was. That was my first thought when they lifted her up! At 9lb 3oz she was almost as big as my first baby was at 3 months!
Our first days at home were such a baby bubble as we couldn’t go out or have any visitors. HPHB opened our eyes to new products that I’d never heard of like the haakaa breast pump that collects let down - genius. My husband had never done a baby first aid course which we’ve never needed but was helpful.
I would absolutely recommend the HPHB antenatal course! We joined the course to get to know other parents in Southend having moved from London and many others were in the same boat. It’s so reassuring to have other mums to talk to at all hours of the day and night. It’s much more sociable than other courses and they’ve offered lots of support after having the baby from online classes to hooking us all up with a doorstep photographer. You feel like part of a wider community.
Top Tips
Don’t buy too much baby stuff. You don’t know what you need. So many expensive items are purchased and not used. Babies also don’t need loads of expensive toys and bouncers, rockers etc.
A baby carrier is amazing to hold baby hands free, especially with a second baby!
Baby sensory! As a teacher I think it’s so important to strengthen pathways in the brain and open it up to future learning.
You can read lots more Positive Birth Stories here. We have positive birth stories from all types of births, including homebirths, water births, induction of labour, instrumental deliveries and Caesarean section births.
Download our free birth plan template and other resources for your pregnancy here.
Find out more about our antenatal and hypnobirthing classes in London, Essex and online and book your place here.
Access free hypnobirthing relaxations and videos to support you through your pregnancy on our Instagram TV page here.
Watch our free pregnancy and postnatal exercise classes here.
