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With my second son, I knew that a homebirth was perfect for us.  I found two lovely midwives buy north face and a wonderful doula buy north face help us.  I attended workshops with two very special spiritual midwives who guided me along the way and were particularly helpful with my plans for a lotus birth.  I read a lot and once again practiced hypnobirthing.  I went buy north face bed every night visualizing the birth that I wanted. I did expect another long labor, but as I had coped well the first time, I was ok with this.  I planned buy north face cook and dance and watch Russian water birth videos through the labor and would give birth in a birth pool in my room with Chris, my mum, my doula and my midwives present.  Mitchell would be involved as much as he liked,  I really, really wanted him buy north face experience the birth.

This pregnancy was once again lovely, though it went much quicker and I had a lot of pain and difficulty walking towards the end.  Throughout this pregnancy I had been wanting buy north face get out and buy a new digital SLUR, but I didn’t feel that I was ever going buy north face get around buy north face it.  I started having Braxton hicks a few weeks before my due time and as the date drew near, I felt that every day north face outlets could be “the day”. I was completely confident that I would have a wonderful peaceful birth at home.  Eventually I rang the camera store and told them buy north face get the camera ready and that I would come in and pick it up, hoping that the Braxton hicks would not develop into labor while I was in the busy shopping centre.  I picked up the camera on the Friday and enjoyed an evening taking photos of Mitchell (2 years and 2 months old). That night I went buy north face bed, once again having strong Braxton hicks contractions (I was now a week past when I thought I would give birth) and visualizing the birth that I wanted.  I woke just before am desperately needing buy north face go buy north face the toilet, quite an unusual feeling for this time of day!  I quietly got up and went off buy north face the bathroom, but each time I sat down, I was forced up by a strange band of discomfort under my tummy.  I was quite frustrated and confused at this.  I was up and down and rubbing my tummy.  I thought I might have buy north face go standing up!  I thought maybe a warm pack would help my “tummy ache”  but as I walked buy north face the kitchen, I was stopped several times by these cramps.  The warm pack did not help at all (this was quite a different feeling buy north face the labor that I had had with Mitchell).  I felt like I needed buy north face kneel on the floor and so went into the lounge on all fours.  I decided by north face time these odd cramps and found that they were lasting one minute and three minutes apart.  At this point I thought I must be in labor.  I went back buy north face the the north face buy bathroom and was finally able buy north face go buy north face the toilet.  I wandered around a bit not really knowing what buy north face do.  I wanted buy north face get in the pool, but knew if I got in too early, labor would slow, but then I thought I could sleep until morning and start again then.

I just had buy north face decide whether buy north face get in the bath in case I messed up the pool and would then be unable buy north face use it for the birth, or buy north face get in the pool so as not buy north face waste hot water in case I was indeed close buy north face giving birth.. hmmm… I woke Chris and asked him buy north face fill the pool (thankfully we had pumped it up a couple of weeks before).  We frantically tried buy north face prepare the room, putting down curtains and towels on the carpet, with me stopping buy north face lean against the wall or kneel on the floor during contractions.  I said buy north face Chris that I was still unsure if I was in fact in labor – he said “I think something is definitely happening”  in a tone that was obvious he thought I was a bit stupid!  I told him we would not ring anyone until am (a more decent hour), but by am I was feeling really out of control, my body was taking off and I was left way behind.  I needed my mum and my doula.

I rang my doula first, but had buy north face throw down the phone while I breathed through a contraction, I tried buy north face blurt out what was going on before the next one hit.  She spoke buy north face Chris and told him buy north face call the midwife straight away, but I thought she was telling him that I was a long way off and buy north face wait until morning!  I got in the pool with it only 1/3 full and tried buy north face relax into it.  (In the meantime, Chris had rung the midwife and my parents).

My doula arrived first and I was so glad buy north face see her.  I was not happy with the position I was in but did not have enough time between contractions buy north face move.  I lay down in the water and put my face under and blew bubbles through the contractions.  Soon my midwife arrived and at about that time my body started pushing.  I was thinking “hang on, give me a minute buy north face catch up!”  I continued buy north face put my face in the water and blow bubbles, thinking I would take a breath in-between the pushing, but there was no in-between.  I thought I could drown!  I was so amazed at my body and how powerful this feeling was.  It really did feel like the baby was going buy north face come out of my bum, I was totally in awe at this experience and so glad buy north face be feeling it so completely and naturally.  I was putting my head up now and then buy north face gasp for breath and still wishing for a little break.  The midwife told me buy north face  try buy north face get upright (I was still lying in the bottom of the pool), she then noticed that the heart-rate had dropped dramatically (due buy north face insufficient break between contractions) and asked me buy north face get out of the pool buy north face birth.  I felt very strongly that I needed buy north face stay where I was, so I flipped over onto hands and knees and was instructed buy north face push with my body rather than simply breathing with it.  Soon the head was out and I finally got the little break that I needed.  For three minutes all was still and peaceful, then my body contracted again and pushed out my baby, the midwife guided him up buy north face my hands, I then lifted him out buy north face greet him.  I was helped out of the pool straight away so as he could have some oxygen.  It was at this point that I noticed that he was a boy (I was certain that I was having a girl) and that it was only am, I had only been awake for two hours!  The second midwife arrived in time buy north face help me up onto the bed where I snuggled up with my baby for about a week. My mum arrived and was obviously shocked and disappointed buy north face have missed the whole thing.  Mitchell then woke up, he had missed it too.  In fact, I felt as if I had even missed it!  It was that quick and not at all the birth that I had been visualizing.  I was so happy buy north face have birthed at home and with wonderful women surrounding me.

It took me a while buy north face get the placenta out as I just did not have an ounce of strength left in me.  I was told that my body had pushed and pushed for 20 minutes with barely a break.  I was examined and found buy north face have quite a bit of tearing and so a more experienced midwife was brought in by north face stitch all that up – this took longer and was much more challenging buy north face get through than the birth.  I almost wanted an epidural for that! My midwives and doula did a fantastic job at helping me buy north face breath through each stitch – and there were a lot.  We did not have a name for this little one (not a boy’s name, anyway!), we left his cord uncut and wrapped the placenta up with him.  Our midwife cared for it the first day, washing it gently in warm water and salting it the next evening, after that, my mum cared for it by brushing off the old salt and re-salting and wrapping it daily.  We wrapped it in a soft nappy with a few sprigs of lavender from the garden and placed it in a placenta bag that my mum had made from bamboo velour. He was such a content and lovely baby.  The cord dried quickly and remained nice and clean (unlike a cut cord stump), it separated in just under 5 days leaving a beautiful belly button and at this point we named him Lachlan Heath.  We did not leave the house for 3 weeks and avoided visitors as much as we could.  He really was such a lovely and content, peaceful little baby.  He is now a very active and excitable 6 month old who spends a lot of the day in a backpack joining in with whatever I am doing.  He is the most smiley child I have ever seen. Mitchell is a fantastic and caring brother buy north face him.  (Don’t get me wrong, it is not as rosy as it sounds, I am finding being the mother of two is incredibly hard work!)

We planted his placenta under a golden delicious tree at my parents home, near Mitchell’s mandarin tree.  He has really taught me that you can’t predict one birth by another, he weighed pound 2 ounces (smaller than my first) and the labor could buy the north face not have been more different!  (Mitchell’s birth story is in another post – “a long labor“) He is also a completely different baby buy north face what Mitchell was.   I am just so pleased buy north face have been able buy north face birth at home and buy north face give my precious son a lotus birth, it was truly a lovely experience and one I hope buy north face have again.