At the ripe age of 19, I found myself pregnant with my first baby! With no idea of what I was getting myself into, it didn't take long for me to realise how quickly I needed to grow up! A little after I turned 20, it was time to give birth! At 39 weeks and four days, my waters broke in the middle of the night… when I say break, I mean they BROKE! It was definitely like the movies for me; a gush of liquid bursting out causing me to wake up at 1:40am in the morning - I was soooo excited. My excitement was quickly diluted by the midwife on the other end of the phone telling me to “go back to sleep, it’ll be a long few days” - seems as though everyone thought because it was my first birth it would be long...days long… boy were they wrong!

Within 20 minutes of ending the call with the hospital, the cramps began, mild and easy to get through for the first 3 then it was on, hard and fast pretty quickly. I couldn’t wait, I called the hospital again, trying to convince them I wasn’t overreacting so they advised “come in but be prepared to be sent back home”… and I was prepared for that, but I knew that the next time I walked through those doors, I would have my baby with me, no longer in my belly but in my arms.

We arrived at the hospital by 2:30am. I got examined pretty quick and low and behold, I was 3cm dilated - phew! They admitted me and told me to get comfy because yet again, I was hearing the phrase “it’s gonna be a long day”. To make a short story even shorter, I dilated quickly, had a long warm shower, tried the gas and spewed…everywhere, hopped up on the bed, experienced a silencing pain in my back that was due to bubba being posterior (ouch!), pushed for 35 minutes, and she was here at 7:54am, screaming her lungs out, wearing a perfect shade of pink and purple, covered in vernix for her birthday!

She stayed on my chest for the next two hours, feeding, staring at each other and not even noticing the rush of drs coming in. The silence and love bubble was abruptly interrupted as it turns out I was a little too eager for her to get here and pushed when I wasn't supposed to - a thought to be 3rd degree tear urged the doctors to send me to the operating room to have it mended. Turned out to only be a 2nd degree but they stitched me up nonetheless. Before long, I was back with my baby, and we were back to our bubble.

Due to the spinal tap for the surgery, I wasn't allowed to go home until the next day. It was OK though because the midwives helped with latching, feeding, showering etc and for a first time mum, it helped immensely! 

Fast forward 4 years later and I fell pregnant with another bubba only this time I was a little older, more mature (IMO) and felt much more ready to have a baby than what I felt with my first bubba. To prove again, that old wives tales are a myth, my second baby didn't come sooner than my first... he decided to wait a few extra days to juice himself up for his arrival.

At 40 weeks and 4 days, I was at my limit; the weather was getting warmer, I was getting tired and sore and thought I had been doing everything I could to get him out; bouncing, walking, lunging and fooking. I ventured into the hospital for my post-date check-up and they discovered that I was 2cm dilated! Yay! I was too eager to wait so I asked for a stretch and sweep, which the Dr obliged to, then also asked to have my waters broken. "One thing at a time darling" said the doctor.

Fair call. She booked me in the have them broken the next morning.

A final night at home before we became a family of four was quiet, chill, and uneventful to be honest. Back to the hospital at 7:30am for check-in, everything got started and just before 9am on Saturday the 16th of December, they whipped out the crotchet hook and tugged on my waters and whooosh out they came. I put on a glamourous, arms-length pad/nappy hybrid and strutted myself and my enormous belly around the hospital, up and down the stairs until my feet were wider than, well, me!

Within 2 hours, it was on - I was "wooooo"ing through the contractions, attempting to complete sudokus in between them. The clock struck 11:30am and the sudoku book had been slammed shut, I couldn't concentrate anymore, all I could think was "I'M GONNA SHIT MYSELF".

I got off the bed, waddled into the bathroom and indeed shat myself... in the middle of a contraction... yelling for help because the pain in my pelvis and lower belly meant I couldn't twist around to wipe my bum... so my partner, god bless him, went around the back and did the deed for me. Poor guy. Once I was wiped of both poo and what was left of my dignity, I wanted to have a shower cause ew! Seemed like a good idea, except for the fact that I couldn't possibly stand for much longer so a somewhat stubborn midwife insisted I "relax" in the bath instead, despite my protest (crying). I will admit though, once I was in the bath, I agreed and hesitantly thanked the stubborn midwife for the suggestion because boy did I feel better.

I was open to trying the gas again and the midwife mentioned that it was "less strong" than the gas canister out in the delivery room so I was happy to try it. Thankfully it did ease some of the pain, whilst making me the most emotional, sentimental, heartfelt person I've ever been; I was crying about my first born and wanted her to be there, exclaiming how my partner was going to be the most amazing dad (Delilah and Bobby have different dads), and couldn't stop wailing about how much I love midwives. They all thought it was pretty funny.

I was surrounded by beautiful people, my playlist on in the background with dim lighting and essential oils in the air - it was so beautiful. Soon the pain overtook me and all the niceties were pushed to the side along with the gas as now it was "time to push". My midwife and partner rolled me onto my hands and knees much like they do for whales beached at the shore, still submerged in funky coloured bath water, and it really was time. I had a towel scrunched up in my mouth, my hair comb pressed into my palm, swaying my hips side to side because remaining still wasn't an option. 1, 2, 3 then 7 pushes later, bubba was here! He came out very quickly, with me scooping him up and introducing him to the world from the water.

1:43pm he took his first breath however I still didn't know he was in fact a he! My umbilical cord was quite short so I couldn't lift him to my chest, plus combined with the dimmed lights, murky water and delicious chunky thighs in the way I couldn't see the good stuff! It wasn't until I moved the rolly legs out of the way that I saw what I knew was there all along. Little man wasn't quite as loud as his sister when he came out so they put him on oxygen for 5 minutes and was put straight back on my chest where he stayed for hours. Another delicious purple/pink bundle of pure bliss.

Latched straight away, did a yummy tar poo (lucky dad), and got his shots. I questioned whether I could go home that night, and the midwives gave me the all clear!!! After a few final checks, a quick stitch of a few grazes and one tear, we were on our way home with our fresh bubba the same night. Absolutely magical.

What do you wish you knew before birth?

You have every right to do what YOU want, it isn't always as bad as people say, old wives tales are horse shit lol. Having an epidural or any pain relief is not you giving up, it's you taking the right steps to give your body the rest it deserves, but also be proud of your strength if you don't have pain relief; that's an epic battle you just won! 

If you could, would you do anything differently?

I would've stopped pushing when the midwife told me to stop lol other than that, nothing! They were both perfect! 

What did your partner do that really helped during labour/birth?

Encouragement, cracking jokes (when appropriate), playing with my hair, not talking too much! 

What advice/honest truth would give a mama-to-be about birth?

Your birth doesn't define you and your capabilities as a mother OR woman! Birth is birth, in every form. Do it your way, and if it doesn't work out, that is OK! It may be easy, it may get really scary, main thing is to remember how far you've come and that your body will not fail you. And don't feel bad if you have to say no to overbearing mothers who want to be there... they've had their turn, it's yours now.