‘Breathe, Relax, Release’
Fully dilated on arrival at hospital!
I wanted to say a massive thank you for your help in preparing for the birth of my little man Lex!!
He arrived just over 3 weeks ago now, he was 2 days late so I had plenty of time to prepare in the end and it really paid off!
I was in labour for about 5 hours in total and spent 3 of those at home. Got to the hospital pretty much fully dilated and Lex was ready to come out.
He did amazingly, speedily getting into the right position with the help of intense contractions having started right anterior.
Rather than quietly going to my safe place I ended up chanting ‘breathe, relax, release’ through the strong contractions. And I was able to push instinctively – went in for some primal noises to get through each push. It was tough but I did feel calm and in control. Even if I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on or how close we were to the end! Henry was amazing, calm in the early stages and throughout, reminding me to breathe and feeding me Ribena and energy tablets through the final stage.
I didn’t get a major self doubt moment either and did the whole thing without pain relief. It was enough to really focus on breathing.
I had a few stitches after Lexy got a bit squished right at the end and I needed a little cut. Was a welcome intervention and has healed really well.
Things are going well now Lex has put on over two pounds and we were discharged by the midwives after 3 visits.
Thank you!