I always planned a homebirth. My mother had planned for me to be born at home and it always just seemed like normal. But unfortunately due to a haemorrhage after my first was born I felt safer in hospital for my next two births.
A third baby was a crazy decision! I always thought I’d have two, and there were so many rational reasons not to have another baby, but my family was incomplete. I felt like my baby already existed, waiting for us, always belonged in our family and just needed me to be ready too.
My pregnancy was long and tedious. I was huge and tired. Nausea, anaemia and a ruptured ovarian cyst later and I’m done with being pregnant. Three times is DEFINITELY enough.
But just to make sure I knew that this is my last baby I was still pregnant at 42 weeks. We tried everything!!! Acupuncture, chiro, induction massage. When my clary sage oil and raspberry leaf tea ran out I even tried a few stretch and sweeps… Nothing!!
My mental health couldn’t take any more so I chose a medical induction.
I arrived at hospital with my husband and my independent midwife, after having a big breakfast and dropping my big kids at my mums.
We started by breaking my waters, but four hours and lots of walking later and there was no movement. I was tired and impatient by then and so asked for synthetic oxytocin.
Contractions finally kicked in in the afternoon and I felt so excited and relieved to finally be meeting my baby.
I was nervous because I had heard inductions cause stronger contractions, but my experience was only positive. My length of labour and intensity of contractions was similar to my natural births.
Clancy was born at 9.15pm on Thursday 23rd June after about five hours of active labour.
And he was HUGE! 4.64kg which is 10.2 pounds or top 1%!!!
Although I was in hospital my independent midwife and student midwife made it such a peaceful and supportive environment that I really felt like I was at home. Midwives are amazing! Two of the things I was most scared of were a medical induction and having a big baby. I got both and it was still a really beautiful birth experience, thanks to their skilled support.
Best of all my 6 year old daughter was there. She wouldn’t leave the room for a moment. She was calm and quiet and she was the first person to put her new baby brother to sleep. My 4 year old son was in the waiting room asleep, he wasn’t bothered about being at the actual birth but was very excited to meet his baby brother right afterwards.
And I finally have my boy in my arms!! He’s gorgeous and we are all sooo in love! I’m pretty sore everywhere but have heaps of help and good food and feeling great.
My older children are doing great too. They made him a birthday cake and generously ate it for him too! He slept through his “0” birthday party.
I spent the whole first week in bed which was glorious! We have had a few doctors appointments and things in the second week, but when I can I spent my time lying in the winter’s sun in my back garden, or in front of the heater. Breastfeeding, cuddling, reading books, watching Netflix.
It was a beautiful birth followed by a peaceful and joyful postpartum.
Julia Jones is an Ayurvedic postnatal doula, recipe book author and online educator. She is passionate about preventing Newborn Mothers from feeling exhausted and overwhelmed in the transition to motherhood.
It is her mission and her life’s work to create a renaissance in the way we care for Newborn Mothers… but she can’t do this alone.
After a decade and thousands of hours studying the transition to motherhood from every angle she discovered that there are very simple tools and techniques used by nearly 200 traditional cultures around the world that bring new mums peace and joy… and they are backed up by neuroscience!
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