…as my midwife came back in something changed. I felt something move, and in hindsight I think it was my baby making the final turn.
My birth support team prayed for me, and as my midwife came back in something changed. I felt something move, and in hindsight I think it was my baby making the final turn. At 11.30am with two friends on either side of me I started pushing, really pushing. It felt so good, and I started to regain some of my lost confidence. I felt strong. People started lighting the fire to get the truck warm, flannels, blankets, pots and equipment came out.
There were 8 of us in the bus and we were all buzzing with excitement for the moment we had been waiting for over 24 hours to happen. Each contraction, I would bear my weight on both people holding me up, slowly squat and push, and in between someone would wash my head with a cold flannel and give me ice cold juice to drink with a straw. I started to feel the baby moving down and at 1pm someone declared that I was giving birth to an avocado! My husband Caleb nervously knelt in preparation to catch the baby with the help of our midwife Jenny. With every push and grunt I could feel more and more of my baby’s head and at 2pm I felt the ring of fire. Crowning was a mix of pain and joy. My baby was nearly here. With a few more contractions my baby gushed out and Caleb awkwardly caught our baby, slightly surprised with the baby’s likeness to an oily pig. Our friends welcomed our baby earth-side with song.
I was helped onto our couch, and our friends gave my husband and myself some space to meet our baby. Wow, we did it! Caleb checked the baby’s gender, a wee boy. I got up and delivered the placenta, I had no idea about that part! My midwife looked like she had been a part of a Texas chainsaw massacre. Baby was weighed and changed, turns out Caleb isn’t the best at distinguishing genitalia, the baby is a girl.
After being wiped down by Jenny, I was tucked into bed with my new babe, Freda, who suckled away as the both of us fell into well deserved sleep.
A posterior birth is not the wrong way to have a baby, just a unique way. I couldn’t have asked for a better birth.
Thank you so much for sharing Freda’s birth, Liz! Long births ARE normal too – thank you for shedding some light on your amazing labour and birth.
