Birth Story of Milan du Sart

It was my 8th little fetus (and surviving twin)  but only my 2nd baby that survived and grown to term so I was very excited to just hold this little bundle in my arms. My first baby had come at 38weeks after only 1hour of labour so I was sure this one was coming sooner and faster as I had done some research about labour (since I had never really experienced it properly).

 

10 March 2009

The minutes turned to hours and the hours turned into days … I was 39 weeks 5days when the doctor told me to come back the following week for a check up as baby was not ready. I sat there in disbelief. Was this little boy ever coming. This was sure to be a real hospital drawn out labour intensive birth I missed first time round and was not looking for to.

 

12 March 2009

Two days later I reached my 40th week mark with no sign of baby at all. What a busy day it was too sitting at SARS offices and preparing for a family function and baking cake at 7pm for my stepdaughters for school. Everything was normal. I felt fantastic .. just a little tired. We sat down to eat and round 10.30pm supper was over and we started cleaning up. I started feeling slightly  nauseas so I went to sit in the bedroom for a while. Our cousin finished helping with the dishes and said goodbye as they could see I felt ill. My husband then told me to go sleep and I went to brush my teeth.

WELL let me tell you ….at 11.30pm I got one cramp (not even a contraction) just a cramp and I sat down on the toilet as I felt a urge to push and I called my husband who was taking his shoes off in the bedroom. Then as I stood up off the toilet my water just broke and my husband said what was that – perhaps I had vomited? I wiped myself and saw the show of blood and told my husband baby is coming. He told me to wait he was putting his shoes back on to take me to hospital. As I held onto the basin I just screamed to him to hurry up and bring me towels as the baby was coming right now. I lay down next to the shower and was already pushing. It seemed involuntary and I could not stop. By the time a few seconds had passed and he was putting the towels under me he said our little baby’s head was already peeking out and he could see the black spiky hair sticking out. Our 3yrs old son Michel had woken up with all the noise and came to see what was going on. He stood next to his daddy and witnessed everything. I was just concentrating on giving birth … but my two boys were there guiding me. What seemed like a few seconds passed and he told me one last push and baby is here and I held my breath and pushed and I felt that famous ‘slip out’ of the body and my husband said he turned baby around and his eyes were wide open. In between all of this we had called my doula Lana who helped soothe my  husband’s stress and we called my husband’s parents to come help us. My little angel had been successfully born. My husband placed our new precious little baby gently on my chest and covered him with a towel and I just held him and kissed him all over. This was purely a miracle as my husband was not allowed to be present at his 3 other childrens birth (2 from previous marriage and our son Michel) and here with our last baby to the family he had been able to do so much more than he ever anticipated, he caught our baby and delivered him into the world. The joy of being the first person in all eternity to touch his offspring.

 

With baby here and on my body now, I tried to feed him immediately but he was not interested. He just lay there so still. Our 3yr old Michel was all around our new baby … he was so excited and started speaking to his brother telling him ‘don’t worry brother you can wear my pyjamas’. He asked so many questions and I think that took our minds off everything. After about ten minutes my placenta came out and my husband wrapped it in newspaper. My in laws had arrived by then and came to see to me and soothe me. Michel was telling them that the baby had come out my bum!!! I was given Rescue as I started to shake. Shortly after the ambulance arrived, the cord was cut by a paramedic and I was put onto a drip. We were taken to hospital around 1am and by 4pm the same day me and baby were released all perfect healthy and happy.

 

Milan Massio du Sart is now 16 months old and the healthiest child. He is so peaceful and content. Had no colic and not one day of sleep problems. I wanted a home birth from day one when I first fell pregnant but I suffer from PCOS and have to be under medical supervision but I had no choice with Milan and I can say it is the most amazing life experience ever. I recommend it to every single person I meet who is pregnant or asks me. There is nothing as amazing as delivering a life into the world yourself. It completes the meaning of life and love. If I do fall pregnant again I will do it the same way again. With no changes. No doctors pulling and tugging and proding. No bright lights and machines beeping to stress a person out. Just embracing the creation of life in your own comfortable space with peace and what a life changing experience for my husband as well who had the highest privilege .. to be able to deliver his very own baby.

by Laura Lee