Welcome lovely Ella!
I can still remember vividly the moment Ella came into the world, was laid on my chest, opened her eyes and looked straight into mine. I hope I always will. The memory of the preceding birth has faded a bit, but what is still strong is the feeling of being supported and loved throughout...
The decision to have a doula was prompted by a close friend who was training to be a doula, and as neither my husband nor I had experienced birth we felt it would be great to have someone on board who could provide us with support and advice who wasn’t medical staff or a family member. I had also made the decision to try for a natural drug free birth and was booked into a birthing centre for the delivery.
We had met with two other doula's, both with different levels of experience but after meeting Rachel we knew we’d found the right person for our ‘team’. She has such a calm and quiet confidence as well as genuine warmth. We met with Rachel regularly in the last months leading up to Ella’s birth and she provided some great information on the body’s natural ability to birth instead of focusing on pain relief like the hospital birth classes did. She also did some wonderful relaxation exercises which left me feeling recharged and peaceful.
I had been feeling fantastic throughout my pregnancy and although I was excited to meet my bub I didn’t think she’d be so punctual, but Ella ran out of room the day after her EDD. On the evening of the 18th I had taken my dog for a walk around the block and struggled to make it home as I had a severe stitch like pain, which I just put it down to my uterus and stomach muscles doing some final stretching. At midnight I realised that I might have been in labour. I started timing the contractions and they were 5 mins apart, so I alternated between sitting on my fit ball and trying to lie down while watching early morning TV. By 5am the contractions were getting stronger and closer together so we decided to call Rach. She arrived just after 5am and didn’t blink an eye as my very large dog joined us in the bedroom for the event!
I was loving the idea of the large bath in my room at the birth centre so we decided to head to the hospital just after 7am, I tried to relax in the bath and by midday the contractions were getting more intense and I was getting the urge to push but felt like Ella was just hitting a wall. The midwife did an internal examination and discovered that my hind waters hadn’t broken so she would have to rupture them to get things moving more quickly. I was pretty exhausted by this stage and Rach suggested we take some time out, so everyone left the room and my husband and I crawled into the bed and tried to rest between contractions. I remember the only thing I could think was ‘Do you think they’d let me go home and I can just try again tomorrow’. No such luck though, my waters were broken and after a very tough couple of hours Ella Grace was born at 7.57pm on Wednesday 19th March, and Rach cut the cord of our Easter Egg (a giant 8lb 9oz egg)!
I can’t recall exactly who did what and when during labour only that my husband and Rachel were always there with a hand to grip, a reassuring word or a cool wipe of the brow. Although the birth was not exactly what I’d hoped and imagined, the support was, and I can’t imagine having done it without Rach.
Thanks Kylie, Ella’s birth was a challenging one for you, however your perseverance and inner strength, willingness to give it 110% was wonderful and well worth it! Your gorgeous Ella can be very proud of her mum and dad, bringing her so safely and lovingly into the world xo Rach
The decision to have a doula was prompted by a close friend who was training to be a doula, and as neither my husband nor I had experienced birth we felt it would be great to have someone on board who could provide us with support and advice who wasn’t medical staff or a family member. I had also made the decision to try for a natural drug free birth and was booked into a birthing centre for the delivery.
We had met with two other doula's, both with different levels of experience but after meeting Rachel we knew we’d found the right person for our ‘team’. She has such a calm and quiet confidence as well as genuine warmth. We met with Rachel regularly in the last months leading up to Ella’s birth and she provided some great information on the body’s natural ability to birth instead of focusing on pain relief like the hospital birth classes did. She also did some wonderful relaxation exercises which left me feeling recharged and peaceful.
I had been feeling fantastic throughout my pregnancy and although I was excited to meet my bub I didn’t think she’d be so punctual, but Ella ran out of room the day after her EDD. On the evening of the 18th I had taken my dog for a walk around the block and struggled to make it home as I had a severe stitch like pain, which I just put it down to my uterus and stomach muscles doing some final stretching. At midnight I realised that I might have been in labour. I started timing the contractions and they were 5 mins apart, so I alternated between sitting on my fit ball and trying to lie down while watching early morning TV. By 5am the contractions were getting stronger and closer together so we decided to call Rach. She arrived just after 5am and didn’t blink an eye as my very large dog joined us in the bedroom for the event!
I was loving the idea of the large bath in my room at the birth centre so we decided to head to the hospital just after 7am, I tried to relax in the bath and by midday the contractions were getting more intense and I was getting the urge to push but felt like Ella was just hitting a wall. The midwife did an internal examination and discovered that my hind waters hadn’t broken so she would have to rupture them to get things moving more quickly. I was pretty exhausted by this stage and Rach suggested we take some time out, so everyone left the room and my husband and I crawled into the bed and tried to rest between contractions. I remember the only thing I could think was ‘Do you think they’d let me go home and I can just try again tomorrow’. No such luck though, my waters were broken and after a very tough couple of hours Ella Grace was born at 7.57pm on Wednesday 19th March, and Rach cut the cord of our Easter Egg (a giant 8lb 9oz egg)!
I can’t recall exactly who did what and when during labour only that my husband and Rachel were always there with a hand to grip, a reassuring word or a cool wipe of the brow. Although the birth was not exactly what I’d hoped and imagined, the support was, and I can’t imagine having done it without Rach.
Thanks Kylie, Ella’s birth was a challenging one for you, however your perseverance and inner strength, willingness to give it 110% was wonderful and well worth it! Your gorgeous Ella can be very proud of her mum and dad, bringing her so safely and lovingly into the world xo Rach