A Christmas Baby

Aruna Anemone Esther, our beautiful baby girl was born on Christmas Day at 5:01am.  The birth experience was so much more than I could have hoped for, perfect, an incredible journey that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my days. 

My mum and brother arrived on Christmas Eve to stay.  William was excited and we had all been enjoying the preparations for Christmas.  After a good supper and William tucked up in bed, I arranged the presents around the Christmas tree and got some stockings ready.  Eventually, we all retired to bed, I at around 11 pm.  Sleep did not come easily.  Around 1:15 I started feeling some cramps and noted their regularity, and just quietly observed for a while.  Several loo visits and some time later, I allowed myself the realization that I was in true labour and gently wakened Raj.  He got up and set to on preparing the pool in the lounge downstairs while I moved around and listened to some birth affirmations by Marie Mongan.

Raj had lit some candles and the oil burner with some lavender fragrance in the lounge and everything felt calm and peaceful.  Around 4 am I made a call to the Womens' Hospital Delivery Suite from the kitchen to alert the on-call midwife to my situation.  By now, I was seeing colours and hues like I'd never appreciated them before, beautiful, although the smell of the rubber hose filling the pool was strong.  Julie called back 10 minutes later and I let her know how I was feeling, which at this point was well, with slightly stronger cramps.

She reassured me she would be here in half an hour.  Raj then phoned Paula, our doula and she set off straight away.  The pool was ready, and in good time because I was ready to get in.  We exhausted the hot water capacity of our ancient heating system, so could not have the water to optimal depth, but I was comfortable.

Perhaps I should've been more prepared for the speed with which things eventually progressed, having had a precipitous labour first-time round.  (With William, my waters suddenly broke almost without warning and I reached transition in less than an hour.)  Of all my preparations for this birth, visualising a slower, more gentle pace to labour was foremost in my mind.  In fact, I did have more warning this time, with things progressing gently between the onset of labour and my getting into the pool about 3 hours later.  However, once I was in the pool, what I previously describe as 'cramps' soon became more all-encompassing contractions and I became very inwardly focused and lost my sense of time.  A tap on the door at about 4:30 indicated Julie had arrived though, and, after a quick scan of my birth plan, she noted my remark that I was now experiencing a lot of pressure: she could see the vertex of Aruna's head.  I was very excited to meet her, so soon now... 

This last half hour or so became the most intense physical experience I will probably ever know.

Julie phoned the second midwife at 4:46 and I overheard her explaining that she didn't think she'd get here in time.  At 4:50 am I gratefully accepted some Entonox, and, it seemed in just a few minutes and 3 or 4 contractions, Aruna was born.  At the first big contraction, the membranes released.  I could see the whole of my abdomen tightening with the contraction and felt an overwhelming urge to push, although I focused on breathing her down.  Her head was born.  After another contraction passed without further movement, Julie gently assisted because Aruna didn't initially achieve restitution (one of the cardinal movements of the baby as it negotiates the pelvis during delivery).  This was easily overcome with a turn of her head and during the next contraction, she was born.  I guided her up out of the water onto my tummy and she gave a lusty cry.

Paula arrived moments after Aruna was born.  (In the end, we hadn't called her early enough as she lives an hour's drive away, but at 4 am, I didn't expect to be looking at Aruna an hour later.)  I was sorry that she had missed being there during the birth but she spent some precious time with us all in those early hours of Christmas Day.  Ann, the second midwife arrived and the others awoke early to find the newest family member resting serenely in her father's arms.  I delivered the placenta sans chemical inducement, gave Aruna her first breastfeed and went upstairs to be sutured after a second-degree tear and rather ragged laceration to my perineum.  All that remained was to rest, celebrate and enjoy an extraordinary Christmas as 4.