So at my last OB appt at 40 weeks, we scheduled an induction to be started at night time at 40 + 6 days. I was slightly worried about induction knowing it can lead to more interventions etc but to be honest I was so mentally and physically drained from pregnancy that I just wanted the baby out- I hate pregnancy, I don’t like not feeling like myself for 9 whole months. Don’t get me wrong, I love that my body grows an amazing mini human but the whole process of actually being pregnant is just not enjoyable for me (I bloody love everything about birth and giving birth though, I’d do that part 10 times over). So that, plus the OB said my waters were starting to get low and I decided that induction was the best thing for me. I was strict on the fact that I wanted to try to gel first, then have my waters broken and given time before any drips were started but we never got that far!
I had the cervidil tape inserted at 7.40pm and was told it was normal to have some cramping and period type pain. Luke and I then ordered Maccas and sat around watching tv shows and laughing at the fact we were about to be parents! Luke goes to sleep and as I put my head down to sleep I started having cramping which was around 11.30pm. I slept on and off and they woke me at 1.30 to have a trace done on baby to make sure all was good. After the trace, the pains were ramping up but nothing major, just bad period pain on and off. I raised the bed head up and sat leaning over it rocking my hips which eased the pain. At this stage, I’d convinced myself I wasn’t even in labour and that this period pain was just my body preparing for what was ahead. I think I was worried that if I asked for pain meds at this stage, it would lead to a whole shit load of interventions that I didn’t want, so I literally convinced myself that I wasn’t in labour. Luke was asleep this whole time. He woke up at once stage to me pacing the room using a sarong to do counter pressure on my own hips. He asked if I was in Labour and I said no I just had period pain and back to sleep he went I timed surges and they were like 1min 30 long and 2 mins apart but the pain was totally bearable (and in my head I’m still telling myself I’m not in labour 🤦🏻♀️🤣).
At like 6am, I went to the bathroom and the cervidil tape fell out and at that time I started having a show. I called for the midwives as they said if it falls out they’d need to reinsert it (because upon admission to the hospital I was not dilated or effaced at all and they expected that they’d need to do two doses of the cervidil tape lasting 12 hours each). There was a critical birth happening though, so a midwife didn’t come straight away. In the mean time, my surges went from “period pain” to full blown intense surges lasting 3 mins each with about a 10-15second break between. I kept using my sarong wrapped around my hips and had Luke pull as tight as he could and it relieved so much pressure for me, I kept walking around the room and rocking my hips, focusing on my breathing and telling myself out loud that “you can do anything for a few minutes”. At this stage, I still thought that this was only that start of labour and told myself to suck it up and keep hypnobirthing but I started to get really overwhelmed when I buzzed again and a nurse came saying a midwife would be in shortly. I wanted pain relief at that stage and when no midwife came I panicked a bit, then reality hit me in the face that I was actually in that final transition and that I was going to have my baby soon! So I buckled down and told myself to control my shit and focus on breathing. I managed to bring myself back to reality and focus on what had to be done, and got Luke to keep doing counter pressure on my hips because that was really calming for me.
I got that intense urge to go to the toilet and knew that it wasn’t really needing to poo, but I still went to the bathroom just in case- also was highly concerned that I was going to get blood on their carpet so thought the bathroom was the easier to clean option 🤣🤣. My body took over and the involuntary pushing started. I told Luke to “go out and tell them I’m fucking pushing” . He did as I asked, and a midwife finally came but I think she thought I was being melodramatic. She suggested we do a trace to monitor the surges and check on baby and I told her there’s no "fucking way I’m laying down for anyone" lol. She then walked around the corner and looked into the bathroom where I was and it was perfect timing as I started to push again. She then promptly said “oh shit I’ll call your doctor”. I was like, yes lady I told you I can fucking feel his head and you didn’t believe me!
I waddled to the delivery suite and I still think the midwife was a little apprehensive about how far along I was. I consented to an internal as babies heart rate was spiking super high with each surge. Much to her surprise I was ready to go and babies head was already visible. My doc rocked up a few mins later and his first comment is “oh I see a head of hair”! So I was literally already crowning and they didn’t believe I was even in labour. The doctor laughed and said I was like the “star patient” labouring alone like a champ and staying totally calm, cool and collected the whole time. The surges were soooo intense at this stage because I literally had no rest time between them and I was getting exhausted. I begged for pain relief and he said “sorry, we are doing this all natural baby” (so glad he advocated for me and my birth plan knowing that I didn’t actually want pain relief if I could avoid it). He suggested I try 4 pushes with each surge but it didn’t feel right. First surge I pushed 3 times and he was encouraging a 4th but I knew it wasn’t right and could feel that I was going to do some damage if I pushed that 4th time. Babes heart rate was going sky high and I saw the doctor preparing scissor looking things on the table in front of me. I remember looking at him dead in the eye like a savage bitch and saying “do not even fucking think about cutting me”. He responded “oh you’re observant aren’t you” then explained I needed to get baby out or he’d have to do a 1cm cut to get him out. I said to him “leave me be, I’m doing it myself and I’ll get him out”.... and in a total of 3 surges (only a couple of mins) he was out and I had no tears! I had a super super minor graze internally and other than that, was completely fine.
It was a bloody amazing experience, and I’m so glad that I never had to have the drip during induction. I was literally talk of the maternity ward. Everyone was so surprised that I laboured so quietly and was so impressed that I progressed as quickly as what I did. I honestly think that hypnobirthing kept me so calm that I had myself convinced the first few hours wasn’t even actual labour . Minus the induction, I had everything I could of wanted in labour. I was left alone, in the quiet of the night to do my thing and the induction process wasn’t bad at all, it was a super positive experience and I', so glad that I did it now. It’s a blessing in disguise that the midwives were busy because I think if they had of come when I first buzzed, I would of asked for pain relief and think that may have lead to more interventions than were necessary. My doctor said next pregnancy, I should probably camp out in the carpark of the hospital because if it happens as quickly as Hudson’s birth, I probably wouldn’t make it to hospital haha. I’d say that the actual intense part of labour only lasted like 30 mins! It was crazy fast and Hudson had some fluid in his lungs as a result, but he was fine after a few days of coughing and sneezing!
My doc was super happy for me because I basically did everything that I had in my birth plan. Hypnobirthing literally made my birth amazing. I was so aware of everything that was happening and actually got to enjoy the process without becoming too overwhelmed.
