Evelyn's Birth Story
My original birth plan was to get an epidural and try not to have a panic attack. How different it turned out thanks to my TENS machine!
Contractions kicked off at 1am on the 31st of January. They were around 40 minutes apart so I managed to sneak in 10 minute power naps in between - I was just a bit too excited that I was finally going in to labour!
At 7am contractions started to ramp up to around 8 minutes apart. They were ALL in my lower back. I woke my husband up to make me some breakfast because I knew this was finally it! We showered and then he pottered around the house to leave me to it (which was great. I was totally in the zone from 9am).
At 10am, contractions were getting quite strong and were 5-6 minutes apart. I put on my TENS machine at this point as I had read on the Mama and I TENS Instagram page that they are most effective when you start using them before things get too crazy. I also started to fully put my hypnobirthing techniques to work. I focussed on my breathing and visualisations until 1.30pm. At that point contractions were 3 minutes apart and like strong period pains, but still all in my back. I wanted to keep going at home but my husband was starting to get a bit twitchy! So we left.
We checked in and I was labouring at the hospital from 2pm. The doctor asked to do a check and I was already 6cm! Nobody could quite believe it, especially me! The pain was so manageable with the TENS. The midwives, my husband and I were having a laugh and chat between contractions. It was such a good vibe!
Everything went okay until transition stage. I’m so glad I knew what it was, otherwise it would have been so overwhelming. Still, I asked for drugs towards the end but they said it was too late! I had a little sob but then instinctively moved to my hands and knees on the bed to get to work. I focussed on using my boost button on the TENS machine as a focal point to get me through. The midwives asked me to not push which totally sucked because I needed to! But I was 9.5cm… so close!
Finally I could push but baby just wasn’t coming due to the shape of my pelvis. This explained the back labour. The doctor asked me to flip on my back which felt like the worst thing in the world at the time. But from there pushing felt productive and I could feel the head! The midwives made me feel like a total boss bitch, and I totally loved having a cheer squad. Unfortunately baby’s hand was up by his face so they asked to do an episiotomy. At that point I just wanted baby out. So they did the cut and he was out and on my chest! All pain was forgotten so quickly. I pushed for about 30 minutes. Baby had an APGAR score of 9.
I used my TENS machine throughout the entire labour, during stitching and for the after birth pains. I could not have gotten through without it. I went from my birth plan being to get as much pain relief as possible to doing it all medication free! I still can’t quite believe it. THANK YOU!
Contractions kicked off at 1am on the 31st of January. They were around 40 minutes apart so I managed to sneak in 10 minute power naps in between - I was just a bit too excited that I was finally going in to labour!
At 7am contractions started to ramp up to around 8 minutes apart. They were ALL in my lower back. I woke my husband up to make me some breakfast because I knew this was finally it! We showered and then he pottered around the house to leave me to it (which was great. I was totally in the zone from 9am).
At 10am, contractions were getting quite strong and were 5-6 minutes apart. I put on my TENS machine at this point as I had read on the Mama and I TENS Instagram page that they are most effective when you start using them before things get too crazy. I also started to fully put my hypnobirthing techniques to work. I focussed on my breathing and visualisations until 1.30pm. At that point contractions were 3 minutes apart and like strong period pains, but still all in my back. I wanted to keep going at home but my husband was starting to get a bit twitchy! So we left.
We checked in and I was labouring at the hospital from 2pm. The doctor asked to do a check and I was already 6cm! Nobody could quite believe it, especially me! The pain was so manageable with the TENS. The midwives, my husband and I were having a laugh and chat between contractions. It was such a good vibe!
Everything went okay until transition stage. I’m so glad I knew what it was, otherwise it would have been so overwhelming. Still, I asked for drugs towards the end but they said it was too late! I had a little sob but then instinctively moved to my hands and knees on the bed to get to work. I focussed on using my boost button on the TENS machine as a focal point to get me through. The midwives asked me to not push which totally sucked because I needed to! But I was 9.5cm… so close!
Finally I could push but baby just wasn’t coming due to the shape of my pelvis. This explained the back labour. The doctor asked me to flip on my back which felt like the worst thing in the world at the time. But from there pushing felt productive and I could feel the head! The midwives made me feel like a total boss bitch, and I totally loved having a cheer squad. Unfortunately baby’s hand was up by his face so they asked to do an episiotomy. At that point I just wanted baby out. So they did the cut and he was out and on my chest! All pain was forgotten so quickly. I pushed for about 30 minutes. Baby had an APGAR score of 9.
I used my TENS machine throughout the entire labour, during stitching and for the after birth pains. I could not have gotten through without it. I went from my birth plan being to get as much pain relief as possible to doing it all medication free! I still can’t quite believe it. THANK YOU!
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