BIRTH STORY: Meet baby Wyatt

Introducing our son Wyatt who joined the world on 24/01/2018 (4 days before his due date) at 4.27pm weighing in at 7lbs 2oz.

It was a marathon effort to bring him into the world! Our naughty wee monkey had been happily hanging out head down and to the left at every midwife appointment (even the one I went to an hour before my contractions started) but decided that it was more fun (for him perhaps) to rotate into a posterior position for the main event.

Contractions started around 12pm after a bloody show the day before and waking up feeling that familiar ache of period pain. I laboured at home and 'continued as normal' by cleaning the house then watched a movie on netflix whilst bouncing on my fitball. I also diffused some essential oils and spent time walking around the house and leaning against the wall massaging my back with my two tennis balls in a sock (anyone whose been to pregnancy yoga with Loz will know what I'm talking about). I phoned the midwife at about 9pm - by then the intensity of the contractions had ramped up significantly (they were about 5 mins apart and lasting a minute) and I was most comfortable labouring on the toilet. The midwife suggested I was coping well at home and recommended I get into the shower to see if it would help reduce the pain I was feeling in my back (which it did). 

In the active birth classes we talked about our fears about labour - my big fear was feeling nauseous/vomiting and getting overheated. Of course this is exactly what happened to me so when the midwife called me to check in and see how I was doing at about 1.30am it was decided that we would meet her at the birth suite at about 3am so I could take some anti-nausea medication and she could check on my progress.

When we arrived at the hospital my contractions were about 2 mins apart and lasting for a minute each time. After the journey to the hospital I opted not to have an internal exam upon arrival and made a beeline for the shower. I quickly had the anti-nausea medication and explained that I was feeling a lot of pain in my back - it was only then that I found out he was posterior (which explained the discomfort I was in). We discussed the option of sterile water injections and went ahead with these (they stung so bad for about 30 seconds but absolutely took away the pain in my back) and I continued to labour in the shower and on all fours over a beanbag. 

At about 5.30am we checked and I was 4-5cms dilated and the midwife then had me on all fours with my head down doing various manoeuvres trying to get baby to turn, we also tried the rebozo technique which we learned about in the active labour classes. Baby wasn't having a bar of it though so we pressed on (I was pretty cranky about this and was stomping about in the shower for quite some time after). By 9.30am the intensity of my contractions stepped up again, I was 8cms dilated and on all fours hugging the beanbag - at this stage I was really quiet but in control. If I were to explain what my contractions felt like - I would say they felt more like pressure than pain and that they came in waves and with varying intensity. I took each contraction as it came and focused on my breathing, bossed my husband around a bit demanding he hold my pelvis (with his thumbs pressed into the sacrum) for each contraction as I leaned back into him. In between contractions I drank water and he helped keep me cool with flannels on my neck and forehead.

Things got a little bit dramatic when baby's heart stopped during the next exam at around 1.30pm - we were whisked 'down the hall' from the birth centre to the birth suite so the specialists could check that baby was doing ok via a continuous heart rate monitor. It seemed to be a one-off drop though and after some lingering hindwaters were popped baby finally turned just as I reached full dilation. At 3.45pm I started pushing however after about 40 mins of pushing there was concern that baby was taking a bit long to recover after each contraction. I was really tired & both me and my husband were a little unnerved by all the people in the room all of a sudden and in this moment our amazing midwife advocated for us beautifully - she told the specialist to let me complete one more push myself and then calmly explained that they wanted to secure a vacuum cap to baby's head to help gently pull him around the final bend as I pushed with the next contraction. I agreed on the proviso that they didn't complete an episiotomy, would delay cord clamping if baby was well, and made sure we had skin to skin as soon as possible. And with that at 4.27pm our baby was born with lots of loud noises assuring everyone in the room it was A-ok. We had chosen not to find out the sex during pregnancy but I was so stunned when our baby was finally put up on my chest that it took me about a minute to 'take a look' and realise we had a healthy baby boy. 

Despite refusing the episiotomy I only had a 2nd degree tear which has healed beautifully. Wyatt took to breastfeeding like a duck to water and was well above his birth weight at his first weigh-in and is a happy and calm baby. I can't wait to introduce him to everyone at Mums & Bubs yoga classes soon!      

I am so glad that I attended the Yogababy classes in the lead up to my labour. I have no doubt that without the tools and knowledge I gained from Suzanne that I would not have coped as well as I did nor had the clarity to speak up in the final moments to voice my preferences when we had to divert to 'plan b'. 

Frances attended our Pregnancy Yoga, Active Birth Yoga classes and the Active Birth Workshop with her partner.