Welcome to the newest 'About Birth' baby – Kip, born on 27th April, 2016. Congratulations to Felicity and Andrew.

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I started having contractions on Monday morning but far apart and not too bad. Then by Monday night I was having them frequently and they were a lot stronger, the longest I'd go without one would be 15 minutes but they were sometimes 2 minutes apart. The contractions were regular up until he was born on Wednesday, so I couldn't sleep at all as they were so frequent. I did the breathing techniques the entire time and Andrew was amazing!!! Every time I would tense up he would remind me how to breathe and soften my body which made such a difference! It still hurt but nowhere near as much when I was tense.

It got to the hospital Wednesday morning at 4am and the lack of sleep was really getting to me and I also just needed to know if I was in labour or if these contractions were pre labour..we called the hospital prior and they told us it didn't sound like labour as they weren't consistently 2 minutes apart..but I didn't care, I just wanted to go regardless to find out where I was at even if they sent us home..once we got there I was 5 cm dilated so good thing we went in and was also so relieved to know this was it and it wasn't going to go on forever! They did an internal to find out but I'm glad they did as it helped me mentally knowing this would be over at some stage that day! That was the only internal they did.

The midwife that birthed Kip was so amazing!! She really respected our birth plan and helped us achieve it! We turned the lights off and just had our led candles and aromatherapy diffuser in the room as well as some photos from home. I had a shower for about an hour and a half and then went to the bath. As soon as I got in the bath Kip started to push and wanted to come out. By that stage I just wanted it over so, I could sleep so, I did end up pushing (a lot) and he was born within an hour. His head came out and he turned straight away and then really quickly his body came out. He came out into the water so peacefully at 10.09am, it was so beautiful to watch! He just looked around in amazement really calmly and then they put him on my chest and he was looking into my eyes for a while. We did the delayed clamping which we feel so happy about as we didn't know what it was until doing your classes, and feel like by doing it we have really given him the best start. I had him with me for a few hours and fed him, he was either with Andrew or myself the whole time.

I was offered gas as soon as I got into the hospital but said no to it, once we gave them our birth plan they didn't offer anything. Kip was calm and healthy throughout the entire labour and birth. The midwife even commented on how there's such a difference to babies being born with no drugs as they are so much calmer and alert.

We are so very grateful for the classes we did with you and really believe that we achieved everything we wanted to because of doing the classes. It most likely would have been a completely different experience had we not done the classes. I would have been a nervous wreck and I believe the breathing really helped me to stay calm which in turn helped Kip stay calm. I am also so happy we achieved a natural birth with no drugs or intervention, I probably would have gone for the gas if we didn't learn what we did with you! I'm not going to lie, it was quite painful for me, but I was in a really good mental state and was very internal the whole way through! Although when it came to the pushing stage, I never knew I could Roar like that haha! It seemed to help me, though! I had 2 stitches which I probably wouldn't have if I didn't push and let Kip do the work, but like I said I was so exhausted by then that I just wanted him out so, I don't regret that! Maybe next time I'll try that! I also did ask if gas would help with the pushing pain but I couldn't have it at that stage thankfully as I would have regretted it. I did have a bit of gas when I had the stitches tho, that was quite fun haha!

We also had the placenta put into capsules! I'm not sure how I would have felt without them but I'm sure they have made a difference! Kip is doing really well and has been putting on lots of weight, he is a lil pig!! I am breastfeeding him which has gotten a lot better than initially when it really hurt and I had no idea what I was doing! Everything is going really well, though, still getting used to the broken sleep but it's all worth it!

Hope you are really well and thank you so so much again for all your support and knowledge!! I have been recommending your course to everyone!!!

Felicity and Andrew

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