Kind Hearts, Streetwise Coffee

I continued to sway in the water through contractions and went into my birth zone, eyes closed, focusing inwards on what I needed to do. Mum went and woke up my eldest daughter, Kaylee, who had seen both of her other siblings be born and wanted to be there for this one too. We left Lexi and Archie sleeping. Dinie told me to let her know when I felt ‘pushy’ so she could get her back-up midwife here. Not long after that I told her she had better text Katinka as I was ready to push. With the first push my waters broke and baby’s head moved right down. I was then very slowly breathing him down and out rather than trying to push him out fast, and with only

one or two more contractions he was out! He was born at 4:23am, not quite 2.5 hours from my first contraction. Daniel caught him as he had with our other babies, lifted him up out of the water and placed him straight onto my chest. For me there is nothing else in the world like the moment you first see and hold your baby; best feeling there is! He was covered in vernix - none of my others had any when they were born and, being 41 weeks gestation, I hadn’t expected it. We lay there for a while, snuggled up in the warm water with Daniel, Kaylee, my Mum and Dad, Jill and Dinie looking on. Katinka, the backup midwife, arrived soon after. We waited for the cord to go white, then Daniel cut it. The placenta came with another contraction, then I climbed out of the pool and moved onto the couch with baby safely in my arms. I put him to my breast while Dinie checked me over - no damage, yay!! Thank you again, water birth!! Eli was then weighed and checked over and was, at 9 lb 6 oz, my biggest baby by nearly a pound. Mum made me a milo and some toast. Jill and my midwives eventually left and at about 6:30am Lexi woke and came out to meet her brother, with Archie not long after They were both quite overwhelmed. Lexi was two years and nine months old, and Archie was only 13 months old, so I now had three under three. Daniel went and got us all McDonalds for breakfast and we all settled into life as a family of six. Two days after his birth we decided on his name, Eli Hunter Dredge. Eli is now 17 months old and life is chaotic and crazy but I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

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