I’m celebrating Misty’s first Birthday by sharing our birthing story… on this day, one year ago I was in LABOR!!! I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in almost a whole YEAR… these twelve months have flown by, both of us adapting to each new phase and the growth that each month brings on ever deepening levels. I’ve tried to embrace the past twelve months and be as present as I can for each moment, but as I look back now it’s hard to recall the specifics of each stage, I blame sleep deprivation and the bodies inherent ability to forget!

Anyway, luckily I wrote down Misty’s Labor story for my Hypnobirthing classmates shortly after her birth and now I am here, back on my blog after sooooo long to share it with you! I found labor stories so captivating and inspiring when I was in the third trimester so hope I can be the same for someone!

Even though I met a few hurdles in my pregnancy during the last few weeks, in hindsight I see that all was divinely organized and turned out exactly how it was meant to be!

First hurdle: I tested positive for Group B Strep. Seeing as I try to be as holistic as possible I really did not like the thought of intravenous antibiotics, but choose to make peace with it believing that the receiving the meds in labor would be best for baby.

Second hurdle: I had chronic itching for about three weeks which drove me wild!! I can’t even begin to describe how uncomfortable it was, I couldn’t sleep at night, trying to claw my skin off and beat an unstoppable itch. My OB tested my blood for Cholestasis and I had to wait EIGHT days (of agonizing itching) to get the results.

So at 38wks & 5 days, Tuesday 29th May came, after the long memorial weekend and I called the Doctor’s office at 8am (after a restless night) to get the results. The receptionist said that my OB had to give them to me so I had to wait for him to call back between patients. (😩)

I was sooooo uncomfortable that morning and had been having Braxton Hicks all night (which I’d also had for weeks) so I decided to go out for a looooong walk with Johan and wait for the Doctor to call back.

By 11am we still hadn’t heard anything so we stopped at a cafe for brunch. I was miserable, uncomfortable and worried if the results were positive what the outcome would be. Cholestasis can be really serious for the baby. (I made the mistake of googling 😱). I was almost certain that if I did have it then I would need to get induced… Third hurdle: an induction was something I did not want!!

Around 12.30pm I got home and laid on the couch whilst Johan went to work. I realized the Braxton Hicks tightenings were pretty regular although I didn’t really feel any pain with them. After an hour of timing them being ten minutes apart I called Johan and asked him to come home to help me. (He had a flexible work schedule that day 😉)

By 1.45pm I was really upset that the doctor still hadn’t called us back, I just wanted an answer. I knew deep down that this wasn’t the normal ‘dry-skin’ itching of pregnancy… it just didn’t feel right, so when Johan got home he called the Clinic and was very stern that he had to speak to our OB immediately 👊🏼

Our doc came on the line and told us that yes, the results had come back positive, and, as I expected, was instructed to go in to Cedars and get induced. I burst into tears. I really didn’t want artificial hormones. 😭We called our doula who calmed me down and said she’d meet us at Cedars once I was in active labor.

I got in the shower to freshen up before the potentially long stint in hospital (even did my hair, lol) and Johan had to go and get the car seat installed before we set off, (yep everyone had said first baby usually comes late so we hadn’t done it yet) stopping on the way to pick up food, which we ate on the street outside Cedars.

By 5pm we were in triage and the nurses had to run some tests on me before they could approve the induction. 1) to monitor the “Braxton Hicks,” which were now 4 minutes apart and 2) to check if my waters had broken… which, to my complete shock, came back stating that they had?!!! Oh wow… I thought the slight dampnessI felt that morning was perhaps a little week 38 bladder leakage? But my waters breaking??? (Certainly not like I’d seen in the movies! 😹)

The nurses informed me the Braxton’s were in fact, proper SURGES (contractions), and with my waters having already broken…. I was IN LABOR!!! There was no need to be induced… subconsciously, knowing I had cholestasis even before the results confirmed it, I must have already induced myself!!!! (The power of the mind!)

Full speed ahead, we were given a room in L&D and by 7pm our doula had arrived and sent Johan across the road to eat a snack and grab a beer… she said it’s going to be a long night!

Johan returned at 8pm and as soon as he walked through the door suddenly the game was ON… the intensity of each surge increased and things started to move really fast!

We had the hospital lights dimmed, LED candles, armotheraphy oils, soft piano music (somewhat like a spa 😆) and I held crystals in my clenched fists. The beautiful full moon shone through the window and reminded me that intuitively I had always known she was coming on the full moon, even though it was 10days before my due date.

I labored on my hands and knees, leaning onto a peanut ball, Johan really stepped into gear and spent the entire time stroking my back whilst my doula compressed my hips. He also helped me breathe & groan through each surge.

During this time a midwife came in and I was told she needed to check how far along I was. Reluctantly I let her, and that was the most painful part of the whole experience. I screamed for her to stop. I was informed I was 5cm/6cm. But whatever caused that awful sensation also provoked me get to 8cm in the next hour. (Which again I reluctantly had to let the same midwife check because I was feeling the urge to push already… she was much more gentle the second time.)

It was 11pm, they told me I couldn’t push yet but that I was in transition which was moving pretty quick. I was on all fours leaning over the headrest of the bed and by the time my OB arrived just after midnight, I was 10cm (he checked this time, lol) and was ready to push. I went from 5-10cm in just 4hours.

15 pushes, breathing the baby out and bearing down with all my might until the head and body slithered out and Johan announced “its a girl” as our surprise was revealed and our baby Misty Ruth May Carlsson was delivered, 10 days early, 01.53am under the full Moon on May 30th 2018.

In calling my parents to tell them the great news, my dad informed me it was a very special date for him as it would have been his late brothers 70th birthday. The perfect way to keep Keith’s memory alive when Misty is old enough to hear stories about her uncle, who’s birthday she shares.

When I look back now there were many magical moments leading up to Misty’s birth and ‘signs’ we received along the way. I definitely felt so connected to my mind/body and intuition and am glad that despite the hurdles we were still able to have our magical Hypnobirth experience to bring our baby into the world. 🧘🏼‍♀️💖