14/11/2025
Thank you to the whānau for sharing the wonderful home birth of Elsie Joy! ✨💚
From the moment Jade answered my email and said she would take me on (despite my due date being a week and a half before Christmas) I knew she was going to be the perfect fit to have deliver our baby in our home.
I joked the whole pregnancy that I would do everything I could to go into labour early so she didn’t have to worry about a Christmas delivery………
Well the 23rd of December rolled around and still no sign of baby (41+ 3) so I text Jade at 8:30 my plans to try midwives brew. By 9 am had drunk the entire thing (gross but nice?!).
9:20 I had my bloody show which upon reflection makes me think labour was likely to have been that day, midwives brew or not. However it definitely seemed to get things cranking. Yikes is all I can say.
9:50 Our firstborn was picked up by some beautiful family members (my contractions were 3 minutes apart and 1 minute long but didn’t feel intense enough yet. Josh (Husband) started filling the birth pool.
10:30 I climbed into the pool and after 2 MASSIVE contractions, Josh suggested we call Jade. On the call I told Jade I wasn’t feeling pushy but the contractions were intense (totally down playing the reality!!!!!!!) however the beauty of having a midwife walk alongside your entire pregnancy meant that she knew I was closer to baby time that I realised. She reassured me and said I was doing great then talked to Josh saying she would finish with her client in clinic and be round asap.
11:00 After getting too hot in the birth pool I moved to the lounge to labour on the ground, crunching ice like crazy to try cool down. At this point my groans changed enough that Josh and I looked at each other like “oh snap. Where are the midwives”😅
11:09 My waters broke (with my son my waters broke and he was born 10 minutes later) so this added to Joshs hidden panic that the midwives weren’t here yet.
Thankfully before Josh changed his vocation to midwife, arriving 1 minute after the assistant midwife (11:12), Jade breezed in the door and said “hi darling I’m here, you’re doing so well” and wow the relief that brought was unbelievable. After several contractions and coaching from Jade, Elsie was caught by Josh at 11:20.
After the whirlwind of a fast labour and delivery, I struggled a bit with bleeding and shock, however Jade was sooo calm and helped in every way she could to get me and Elsie as comfortable as possible while doing fundal massage to get my bleeding under control. The professionalism of Jade, her ability to command the room with peace and assuredness, and her beautiful caring nature and support for mamas, babies, and their whānau is truely a divine gifting. Thank you so much Jade 💓
- Thank you guys for sharing your special moments bringing Elsie earthside, if you're had a birthing experience with any of the Manaaki Midwives you're happy to share. Please get in touch, lets normalise birth together! 💚✨
