Sebastian’s Birth Story
Posted on: December 10, 2020
Sebastian Smyth ☀︎ 11 November 2020 9:41am
Scorpio Sun, Virgo Moon, Sagittarius Rising
9lbs 57cms
Water birth at home in London, UK
Firstly this Divine Soul gifted his mommy a very cool date 11:11:2020 ?✨
Seb’s was due to arrive between to 5th – 12th Nov, as I had birthed Tyson on this 38th week we all assumed I would go at the earlier part of the birthing window this time. But no – I was graciously taught patience and practiced slowing down and surrendering in a big way! I had a few false starts – and tried all the well known methods of initiating labour naturally…. but sometimes baby just has other plans…. so we waited!
Unlike Tyson’s home birth, where we unboxed the pool (with no pump) hours before he arrived, this time we had the pool set up ready to go weeks before his arrival – all it needed was to be filled up, that takes about an hour.
In short, things accelerated pretty quickly! ? I went from 2 or 3 easily managed twinges, to waters breaking, to eject mode all within an hour! Luckily we got enough water in there for Seb to have a beautiful water birth entrance to this world!
I was expecting a short labour, as Tyson’s was a “silent” 1st stage and 5 hrs of active labour. Rob and I were coached by our midwives about what to do, it was still intensely quick but we all did it ?
Those initial twinges sent me into managing mode: talking to my body to surrender with ease. Rolling on my birthing ball, headphones and eye mask on, content in my inner world, I sang through a few mantras to encourage relaxation. I expected that to last an hour at least, so Rob headed out to get some coffees while my mom hung about with Tyson (our 4 year old). Well, Rob’s coffee run was cut short and he was quickly called back!
Within a few mins one twinge triggered vomiting and splash! at 8:45am my waters broke. I instantly felt my body naturally starting to bare down. I was quite shocked that was happening already. I went back to sitting on the toilet but realised that despite this being a more comfortable position, gravity was causing baby to come out straight away…. Which would have been fine of course, but why did I want to wait?
Well, I wanted Rob there, the pool filled and our midwife to be there. Having a water birth was the main thing, because it offers huge pain relief, assists my body in deeply relaxing which is conducive to a less traumatic birth (i.e tearing etc).
I am so deeply grateful to Rob and in awe of his composure managing this birth. We needed to buy some time so he urged me to lay on my side on the bathroom floor coaching me to breath through about 7 rolling surges (about 3 mins apart) with long inhales and short exhales to slow my body through this, all while he filled and checked the pool temp ???
{ This kind of breathing was highly beneficial – just like any other labour, a long inhale through the nose is super beneficial at calming the nervous system – regulating my emotions and mind so that my body can enter a more beneficial space to birth. It also encourages the endocrine system to listen to the signal of the body, is pain is felt endorphins are released, if too much is being called upon oxytocin is reduced. If adrenaline is high panic can set in and cause the muscles to seize adding to discomfort. So inhales regulate these sensations and are paramount to composing yourself in labour. }
Jacqui, my midwife, arrived at 9:35am, the pool was not really full but enough for me to kneel in and squat low. And I craved the pain relief of the water. Finding a gap in my surges, they helped me into the pool (I seriously don’t know how he didn’t drop out of me here!!) Within minutes (90 secs) of being in the water, Sebastian’s head was born. Just like with Tyson, I can still vividly remember the sensation of touching his head – my first connection with his physical body – his crown chakra. I felt his cord loosely around his neck, which was fine and Jacqui kept hold of my hips to keep us under the water until the next surge and then his body was born into the pool at 9:41am!
I was ecstatic! Birthing really is such a miraculous experience!
With a little cry out to let his brother know he had arrived Tyson ran in followed by my sister Diana and my parents. It was amazing to have them there for his arrival! Particularly given the year where so many had to be separated from loved ones for these precious moments due to the pandemic, it was really a gift to have them all there.
We are so grateful all is healthy and well with us both. We chilled in the pool that was filling up enough for us to stay warm. The birth of his placenta was longer than his own birth journey after about 45 mins in the pool, I had nursed Seb but no sign of my placenta coming out. Just like with Tyson, I had to sit on the loo (black bag around the basin to catch to placenta) I have read a lot about the placenta and lotus births, and wanted to do a ceremony this time. Especially as this went so fast we all took some time to really slow down and enjoy a cord burning ceremony which really helped ground this experience ? I had asked a good friend of ours to make the cord burning box for us which is such a great keepsake from this magical day.
Apart from the shocking speed, all in all, it was the most beautiful experience!
Now, juggling the two boys is by far the biggest challenge. Tyson is adjusting, inevitably hard at times but he adores his brother and is so helpful.
I am so grateful to my beautiful mom Gabrielle for staying in London for two weeks and cooking up the most delicious healing soups and food for me. (I highly recommend the book “The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother” by Heng Ou
Now, a month on from Seb’s birth, we are all packed up and ready to relocate to Portugal for a little while…. If you have followed my journey you know we like to move around. Chasing the blue skies and sacred seas!
Sebastian is super chilled, a little Buddha Baby, he has packed on the weight – topping 12lbs/5.4kg by 4 weeks old? He looks like a 3 month old!
I am on a high of Love and Gratitude ?riding the emotional mama-rollercoaster, mentally feeling strong. I actually felt a million times better postnatally than when pregnant, the length and weight of him really took its toll in the last trimester. Without oversharing, I really just couldn’t walk properly(with comfort) and just wanted to stay in bed resting. So once he was out I was surprised how much more energy I instantly had. I viewed this as a drag on the Muladhara/Base Chakra, necessary of course to ground a new Soul into this Earth Plane but compeletly delpeting me of my own energy to exurt myself.
Like all births, of any kind, they teach you something special. This pregnancy and birth was one to remember for sure. I am so grateful and in awe of my body for this hugely transformative process! ✨Scorpio season magic at its finest! ?
For those interested in joining my Empowered Pregnancy & Birth Course please note I will resume consultations and calls in Jan 2020 yet the course is available now for those who want to self study.