The Home Waterbirth of Tahlia Jayne

 

Tahlia's Mum wrote this birth story as a letter to her new daughter:

 

 

"To my darling daughter,

 

Tahlia Jayne born 20th June 2009 at 1:33pm weighing 4kg (8lb 12.8oz).

 

Tahlia even before you were born you were proving to us that you will do things in your own time and in your own way. A couple of false labours in the week leading up to your arrival had us excited that we were going to meet you but you had other ideas.

 

Pictured above, Tahlia's three big sisters excitedly help their Mum prepare

for their new sister's birthday!


Finally, 12 days past your due date, you were ready to meet the world. I had a few cramps during the night and contractions settled in at about 8.30am. Over the next hour and a half they got more intense and closer together so we started filling the pool and rang the midwife and my support person. I hopped in the pool for some pain relief but contractions started to die down. Just before the midwife and Heather arrived I hopped out of the pool to get the contractions moving again. I did a bit of knitting to keep my mind occupied until I felt it was time to get back in the pool. What a relief that water was!


Your birth was nice and quick with you being born gently into the water about 2.5 hours after labour established.  You waited peacefully for your first cuddle, looking up at me from under the water. I feel truly blessed to have been able to lift you out and into the world.

 


Bethany, Faith and Shanay were very excited to come and welcome you. Another sister for them to play with and love.

 


Before long you were looking for your first breastfeed.  Still in the pool, you snuggled in for a feed while we waited for the placenta to be delivered.

 

 

We look forward to watching you grow and seeing what further blessings you have for us.

 

 

Love from Mummy xoxoxo "

 

 

Some thoughts on the La Bassine pool:

 

* Fast and easy to put up. We used the electric pump which took around 10 minutes to fully inflate and install the liner. I was able to put this up with the help of my children while having contractions.

 

* Super comfy. This was my 3rd water birth and this pool was by far the best one I have used. No sore knees from kneeling and no need to soften the sides with towels during contractions.

 

* Sturdy. The sides were nice and sturdy to lean on during contractions and made relaxing in the pool with baby nice and easy. The kids were able to lean in for a peek at their new sister without disturbing us.

 

* Compact. The fact that this pool fits into a suitcase is just perfect when expecting bubs. The last thing you want when nesting is something cluttering up the house.

 

For anyone having trouble finding a suitable way to fill the pool we used a large nappy bucket. We couldn't hook a hose up to the bathroom tap and the laundry was too far from the lounge and had terrible pressure so DH dutifully filled it for me.