Ellie and Neill's Story

"On the evening of 16th March (a week 'overdue') I started having some pretty convincing twinges, and we settled down to listen to our natal hypno CD. During the CD the twinges slowed down so I went to bed at 11pm, miserable and deflated. An hour later, I woke from a dream where I was having contractions to find that it wasn't a dream and that this was the real deal! I timed them for a bit and they were every 4 minutes or so, so Neill started inflating the pool while I came downstairs and laboured over the back of the sofa. I called my midwife Mandy and she said she'd be over straight away, as my last labour was only 4 hours. I tried to call my friend who'd offered to look after my older two children but I couldn't get hold of her, so I tried my back up childcare and they didn't answer either! Eventually I called my mum and she said she'd be straight over. During this time my contractions became quite sporadic and were between every 4 and 8 minutes. As soon as I knew my mum was on her way over they went straight back to every 4 minutes. In my previous labour I loved it when Neill did the 3 2 1 relax from our hypo class, and he did it throughout this labour too. Mandy arrived after about 40 minutes and my contractions were already feeling quite intense. She just kept her distance and didn't do or say very much which I liked! My mum arrived and went straight upstairs to the kids bedroom in case one of them woke up, but luckily neither of them did. Neill continued to set up the pool while all this happened but he was having trouble getting enough hot water in there, so it was getting pretty cold. I kept begging to get in and getting annoyed when I couldn't. I asked for some gas and air to get me through until the pool was full, which I'd asked Neill to question if it happened. He said 'are you sure?' and I think I said something along the lines of 'do it or die, Blumes'!! I kept going upstairs to pee and my mum kept asking if I was okay, I think she was worried but I managed to stay in the zone. The contractions were getting really really intense by this point and I kept imagining putting all my fears and pain in a hot air balloon and cutting it free, which I think I'd heard in one of Maggie's CDs. Eventually the pool was ready and I got in, and the water was such a relief. Almost immediately I felt like I was in transition as I felt out of control and scared, but knowing that it was natural and that it meant I was closer to birth, I relaxed through it. I felt a small urge to push so followed it, but nothing happened. I carried on trying to push for about an hour but my contractions slowed down until the were practically non-existent. Mandy was great and really let me follow my instincts, and eventually I told her I thought something was wrong and she suggested getting out for an examination, which we did. She found there was a lip of cervix in the way which is why nothing was happening. She moved it out of the way which was really uncomfortable, but I breathed through it and it was over in a jiffy. I got back in the pool and I felt the need to push straight away. Because there'd been no natural hormonal build up it was super overwhelming, but just knowing there was a reason for it feeling so intense was helpful and I stayed calm, although I did scream a lot when pushing which I hadn't done in my previous two labours. I gave a huge push and got most of his head out, then gave another little push for the rest of it. Then I had a breather for about 10 seconds and pushed out his body in one push. I sat down and lifted him out of the water to look at him, and he was perfect  he was born at 6.12am, 6 hours after my labour started. We had skin to skin while Neill got my mum and the kids, who all came to have a good look at him. After 15 minutes I felt like getting out of the pool, so Mandy suggested trying to push out the placenta. I didn't feel hopeful as it hadn't come easily the last 2 times, but it flew out with one tiny push this time which was a relief! I lay on the sofa to be examined for tears while Neill had cuddles, and luckily I only had a tiny graze. I sat upon and gave baby his first feed while Neill and the midwives tidied up, then Neill dressed him while I had a quick shower. After that we all had a cup of tea together before the midwives went home, and I got to spend the whole day relaxing in my own bed with my brand new baby - bliss!  It was a much harder birth than my second, but still so empowering and even when things were a struggle I was armed with the knowledge that told me why it was tough, and I knew to trust my instincts, and I couldn't have got through it if it weren't for that. Neill and I often say our natal hypno class was the best money we've ever spent, as we have beautiful memories of our two hypno births and I guess you can't put a price on that!"

Ellie Blume- attended a refresher course in March 2016 expecting baby number 3

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Holly having a cuddle with Earl