First time mama, Bodhi's birth story by Sydney

With this being my first pregnancy, I was determined to educate myself as much as possible, which is why I ordered the Zen Mama book the day I found out! I also listened to the Mother Daze podcast episodes about Teresa & Sarah’s birth stories which were so special to listen to. After that, I became obsessed with listening to birth stories and loved reading Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (a Zen Mama recommendation). 

My due date was January 7th, 2023, but EVERYONE was telling me I would go into labour early. That made me slightly nervous, but I made sure to keep a positive attitude and remain open to anything. Hospital bags were packed and car seat was installed. Baby boy was going to come when he was ready! 

I remember waking up on Christmas Eve, going to the washroom and wondering “is this my mucus plug?!” Since this was my first pregnancy, I couldn’t be certain but looked out for any other signs of labour in the following days. So many mamas had told me how 3rd trimester was going to be the worst but I was honestly feeling amazing! 

However, on December 27th, I began having Braxton hicks and just feeling very uncomfortable for the first time. Again, as this was my first pregnancy I remember wondering why my stomach was hurting. Was it gas? Did I need to poop? Or is this real contractions?? I took a hot shower, got ready for bed and was asleep by 11pm. At midnight exactly, I sat up in bed and had zero time to react before vomiting everywhere. My first thought was I must have the flu, it did not cross my mind that I was starting my labour. 

After that, I felt totally fine except having some cramping. Again, labour still did not cross my mind and I think I was a little in denial as my due date was still 11 days away. I called my mom and she was convinced that the time had come! I spent the rest of that night going in and out of sleep, still had cramping but nothing too painful. By 6am, I finally accepted that today I would meet my baby boy. From then until about 11am, I tried to sleep and monitored my contractions, which were still about 15 minutes apart and uncomfortable but not painful. 

By noon, I could no longer stay in bed so I moved to my birthing ball and listened to some labour meditations (Built to Birth on YouTube is amazing!!) I began repeating my birth affirmations and just focused on my breathing. I timed my contractions again and they were now 5 minutes apart. They began to get a little more painful, but not unbearable. I woke up my partner, who I had sent to bed as he had gotten home from work that morning at 8am. I told him it was time to go, we packed up the car and finally were on the way to the hospital. 

This tiny voice in the back of my mind was still telling me that this wasn’t the time yet and the hospital would probably check me and send me home. But as we arrived to the hospital and I walked through the halls, now the pain had really started to increase. They admitted me and came in to do a cervical check at about 1:30pm. To my surprise, I was 4cm dilated! I called my doula and my mom to let them know and my partner stayed with me and helped me get comfortable in the room. 

I had my labour playlist on and spent a lot of time bouncing on a birthing ball. Once my doula arrived, she applied some essential oils to my feet and began providing some back pressure during each contraction. I had already said no to an epidural and my partner was shocked! I had always talked about wanting to have a natural birth throughout pregnancy, but even I was unsure of it I could do it until the time had come to decide. 

I repeated my birth affirmations and listened to the music. I was so focused on my breathing and bouncing on my ball that somehow 2 hours had passed and the doctor came in to see how I was progressing. By 4pm, I was 7cm and the doctor accidentally broke my waters. Things began to intensify then and by 5:30pm I was 9.5cm dilated. The doctor informed me that she could easily lift my cervix slightly and I would be 10cm. I felt the urge to push not long after but unfortunately 2 hours later, baby still had not arrived. 

At this point, I felt like I was still managing the pain very well but I was extremely fatigued from the pushing. I remember my partner holding a fan to my face and my doula applying cold compress to my head as I was so hot. This was when my breathing was no longer helping ease the pain, so I began being very vocal instead. This was the moment that I felt like I was in an entirely different world. Just me and my baby working together and everything else around us disappeared. Noises were coming out of me that I did not even know were possible but it really helped me ease the pain of each contraction. 

While pushing, I tried many different positions as I had wanted to avoid birthing on my back. But in the end, my back was the best position that relieved the pain I was experiencing in my hips and helped me conserve my energy. It was at this point that the medical staff realized the baby was actually in a posterior position (which also explained the hip pain). The obgyn wanted to attempt turning the baby manually, which would be extremely painful due to no epidural. Instead, baby decided to move into a slightly better position on his own. 

It was 8:00pm and I remember saying out loud, I want baby here by 8:30pm. They gave me some Pitocin to increase my contractions and made a small episiotomy cut. A couple final pushes and at 8:29pm, Bodhi came earth-side. I was exhausted but so over the moon in love. My placenta was delivered a few minutes later, which I asked to keep so I could bury it in our backyard (a Native tradition). 

Once my partner knew baby and I were safe, I sent him to get us some much needed food. The memory of lying in the hospital bed, getting sewn up, with a nurse helping my beautiful baby latch to my breast and my partner hand feeding me fries and chicken with gravy will always be one of the most beautiful moments of my life. 

My name is Sydney and I am 27 years old from Montreal, Canada. This is my first pregnancy and child. I am a Physical Education teacher at the Elementary level and love working with children. I also enjoy being active and living a healthy lifestyle. I always knew I wanted to be a mama but had a history of bad relationships in the past. I started to believe I wouldn’t find love until I met my partner 3 years ago. Now we have bought our first home and have one beautiful baby boy to start our family. I love everything about pregnancy and giving birth, women are such incredible, empowering, badass goddesses!!!

My Instagram is @ssoulshinee