The day of your birth...
Our adorable little Zechy, you were born at 6:47 PM on 1 June 2023. You arrived in lovely time for winter.
But you started to make your way into the world on 31 May at 10:30 PM...
It was the end of Autumn, the days were getting cooler & our excitement getting stronger to meet you.... not just because we are lovers of cooler weather (we love u melbourne!!), but we were about to meet you, our precious little love in a matter of days.
Some of my beautiful friends were midwives, nurses & mums, and they had all recommended such incredible & valuable resources for me to prepare myself for birth. We are so thankful for our friends!
In the lead up to your due date I attended some beautiful, calming, stretching birth yoga classes with Yoga for Mama, spent time reading books suggested by my midwife, and convinced your father to come to a Yoga Partner session (which was the BEST -ask him about it)!
It's safe to say after listening and reading everything I could, we totally wanted a natural birth for you.
You were now 40 weeks + 4 days and we decided to finally take a picture of you in my big belly.... boy am I glad we took this photo...
Your dad and I lied down in bed after a lovely roast lamb for dinner around 10:30pm, and I thought I was getting gas pains (sorry you delicious roast lamb!)... these pains were wrapping from the back around to the front and up the stomach. I started to notice that these gas cramps weren't my usual feelings... and so, as you do, I opened the contraction timer app. I had a kick of excitement when I realised they were frequent & similar in timing!!! Eeeeeek!
12:00am I asked your dad to help me put on my TENS machine and go back to sleep (our silly Wally was very happy to be out of his crate & have snuggles with dad).
From this point on I was using the acupressure comb and TENS during each wave of a contraction, swapping it between kneeling on all fours and walking around the coffee table in our lounge room. At this point I was really longing to meet you.
2:00am we called our midwives & I called your Nanna to head on up as I was starting to feel like you were getting closer & closer!
Around 5:00am I started to hear the traffic out the front of our house pick up and I had a strong urge to get to the hospital (this meant we would struggle getting out of our driveway quickly the lonnger we waited). We called our midwives, they agreed it was time to come in, and we drove to John Hunter Hospital. Yay :)
I remember feeling excited as we walked, and stopped (alot), on our way to the birthing rooms.
We laboured in and out of the bath, shower, birth stool, bed, floor all while using TENS & the comb. Your dad reminded me of the truth in Jesus and that God is with us and my incredible mum coached me through breathing & staying present... to this day I remember well how much their support helped me.
I had told our midwife I didn't want to know how close you were. But when you were I was acutely aware of what was happening in the room and I remember sensing the midwives getting the baby delivery stuff ready...my excitement built up. (After birth I later found out at 10:30am I was 9cm dilated and a few hours later I had passed stools).
At 1pm (I later found out) I was still feeling relatively good, but you seemed to not have been making much further movement so with the midwives help, we tried various spinning babies techniques during contractions (I will admit these were problably some of the toughest moments in our labour).
Around 3pm my body and mind were really starting to stop and slow down... i wasn't sure how much longer i could manage not seeing you so soon!
I had done some thinking a few weeks prior to birth that if I got to this type of point, I wanted to go for a caesarean if I ever got here in mind & body...
Time was passing and the obstetrician on shift offered me the two pathways; synthetic oxytocin (and the cascade of intervention until I birthed my baby which COULD have ended in a caesarean anyway) or ceasarean right now. I told him pretty quickly what I wanted (and needed)... and then as he was explaining what was going to happen, your mum projectile vomited right infront of him! 😅 the entire room was in shock, to which i then vomited again!😁
5:45pm they wheeled me away with your dad trailing behind in excitement. I arrived in the theatre room and they set me up with the spinal and attached me to all the other necessities.
This part all I really remember is shivering SO badly & being so exhausted. (My neck was aching for the next few weeks because of this + starting breastfeeding).
At 6:47pm you, our son, was born... making it the absolute BEST day of our lives :)🥹😭
It was such a relief to see you, our baby & know that you were OK, your mum was so exhausted & relieved to see you with my eyes, I had a short nap straight after while your dad held you & sorted you out ready for your first feed.
You & i stayed in hospital for 2 nights, then went home to journey with your dad (& wally) into the next journey into my motherhood .... that story is best kept for another time!🥹
So thankful for our beautiful midwives who stayed by me until we were settled in a ward hours later, and for your dad & nanna who provided such immense support that day and our friends & family in the weeks & months after.
Your birth wasn't what I had expected, but I am SO thankful for this lesson of patience & trust that God has put me through. I know He has a plan for me.
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