15/11/2024
Once we got into our room I went straight into the bath which was an absolute dream. The pain became much more bearable and all the tension left my body, but it also slowed my surges. The midwife read my birth preferences and gave me the space that I wanted to go inward and surrender to my body. My waters eventually popped in the bath (such a weird feeling, like a balloon popping!) and the intensity of the pain really ramped up.
I had done Tracey Askew’s Transform your Birth course which really helped to improve my confidence in what my body was capable of. Inny and I had discussed all the ways that he could physically support me through it, but now that I was actually going through the motions, I soon realised I wasn’t a snuggler when I was labouring. He tried to put his arm around me at one point and I started swinging my head and swearing at him, so he sat back, told me how amazing I was doing and just waited for my cues.
The surges became so intense that I started pressing my forehead into the edge of the bath tub to take my mind off the pain. It actually really helped but my forehead was sore for days afterwards, would not recommend. My midwife came in to check on us, couldn’t get an accurate reading of Rex’s heart and asked me to get out of the bath so she could check again (😫) The second I got out of the bath I think gravity started pushing Rex downward and things ramped up another level, my body started pushing before I was even thinking about what I was doing, it was such an insane feeling. I’d had an epidural with Marley so I’d never experienced the feeling of them wriggling around and moving downwards through you. (Continued in comments, wow this is long sorry)
