Alex Thoma

Birth was everything and nothing like I had imagined, intense yet calm, humbling yet incredibly empowering and the best damn thing I’ll ever do in my whole life. 

At 39+4 after going to bed early I woke up at 10.30pm and as I got up to go to the bathroom I felt my waters break. Yay! Getting very excited but with only very slight cramping I told my partner Tim and texted my midwife Veronica and our doula Charlotte to let them know. I knew I had to rest as much as possible so got back in to bed with a heat pack and over the night the contractions started building.  

By early morning I was too excited to sleep and was starting to get uncomfortable in bed so jumped in the shower to relax and enjoy the water on my back .  

The day went on and as contractions got more intense I started using the tens machine and other pain relief techniques like massage, breathing and acupressure. 

To give us some reassurance Veronica came over to check in on us and listen to bubs heart rate in the afternoon. 

I got a little sad when Veronica said she would go home and get some rest before things really kicked off (I was hoping she’d say I was looking like I’d birth soon and I was just coping really well! Ha!)  

When she left that’s when active labour really started and I went into labour land. Tim called Charlotte our doula for extra support around 6pm and she arrived not long after and started working her magic.  

I jumped in the shower and stayed there for several hours before trying to rest on the bed having some micro sleeps while having my little team cheer me on.  

By about midnight I needed a change so I got in our bath and everything started to feel wildly intense and overwhelming. Tim called Veronica around this point and she snuck in without me even knowing. Eventually I got out of the bath and sat on the toilet and not long after the urge to push took over my body. Finally! Tim and I locked eyes and smiled, almost there!  

After pushing for a bit in the bathroom I moved to the birth pool. All the sensations were so intense but with some position changes and the unwavering support from Tim and my incredible birth team our beautiful daughter Nell was born in to my arms in the early morning just before the sun came out, just as I had imagined it. Absolute magic.  

We stayed in the bath just soaking in our gal for a while before moving to the couch to deliver the placenta. A much harder task than anticipated as I started bleeding a bit but it was so calmly and efficiently managed from my midwives I felt completely safe and finally the placenta was out and we were warm and cozy on the couch. Nell had her first breastfeed and after doing a cord burning ritual to acknowledge the amazing job my placenta did at growing our baby, I rested while Tim enjoyed a little skin to skin. Birth was everything and nothing like I had imagined, intense yet calm, humbling yet incredibly empowering and the best damn thing I’ll ever do in my whole life.  

Birth story by Alex Thoma.