Chloe
Welcome to the world
Fleur Billie Klarenbeek
Born on the 22.5.2019
This week, I had the privilege and honour to support one of my beautiful clients as she delivered her baby daughter into the world.
As a doula and as a woman, it was such a moving experience to witness my client embark on her own personal birth journey - trusting in herself, her birth team, her inner strength and her resilience to push fear to the side, go deep inside herself and work hard to birth her baby the way she had wished and planned for.
She said to me, “I think you’re more excited in labour than I am?” 😂 It was true! I have hindsight. I knew I was going to witness a truly beautiful moment... the birth of not only a baby, but also a mother ♥️
A moment that takes my breath away every time. 🥰
When I use the word “Birthing Goddess” I mean every single word of it. My new mum really prepared herself in the 9 months leading up to her birth, the same way you would prepare for any special ‘once in a life time’ event.
This is just the beginning of a whole new adventure, and who doesn’t want to start this new chapter of their life feeling like they are invincible. ♥️🌈♥️
“I think one of the best things we could do would be to help women/ parents /families discover their own birth power, from within themselves. And to let them know it’s always been there, they just needed to tap into it .”
-John.H. Kennell, MD ♥️🤰🏻♥️
21st. - 5.19
Tightening started in the night around 6 minutes apart and the mucus plug starts to come away. Chloe wasn’t sure if she was in labour and just tried to continue to sleep.
It seems this little baby girl was giving out some subtle signs that she was to make her debut.
Our babies birth days is one of the most memorable days in our life. Birth is beautiful, mind-blowing
And intense. It’s exciting and life changing and it’s all coming up very soon for this beautiful Mumma.
22nd - 9am
Chloe calls me to update me on the night before. The tightening’s are still around six minutes apart and fairly mild. More of the mucus plug has come away and Chloe has also lost a small amount of amniotic fluid.
Billy has gone to work, and together, we decide that I will come down for a visit to keep Chloe company.
11.30am -12.30pm
I arrive to meet Chloe at her home at Bell Buoy Beach. Chloe seems in fine spirits and her tightening’s are very manageable at this time. We decide to try and give her body and baby an opportunity to turn up the dial and get this show on the road. I set up the aromatherapy diffuser with some clary sage to promote a calming and stress-free environment, combined with some relaxation music. Our plan is now to engage in some of the spinning baby techniques to make sure Chloe’s body is balanced and aligned, helping to release any tight ligaments and twists in the uterus. This will enable labour to progress and make space for the baby to engage into the pelvis. Chloe sits on the birth ball and I perform some acupressure to promote stronger tightening’s (contractions).
We finish off with a spinning babies sideline release, then we get the result we were looking for:
Chloe’s waters break and with that comes stronger and more frequent tightening’s. She is now in established labour. Chloe looks at me from the birth ball and says, “Krista, you are a Witch Doctor.” I laugh, I will take that as a compliment.
12.10pm-1.46pm
Chloe’s tightening’s are now taking up all of her concentration. Just like the birthing goddess I knew she would be; Chloe is finding positions that are comfortable for her, breathing through each tightening and relaxing into each sensation as best she can, drinking fluids and emptying her bladder as needed. We talk and laugh when Chloe is not in the birthing zone. Our conversations start to move towards the reality that Chloe is going to have her baby today and as she wasn’t planning on a home birth with her doula, we best start thinking about heading to the LGH as we have an hour’s drive ahead of us. Chloe is also missing Billy and he will meet us at the LGH.
1.46pm
We are on our way to the LGH. Chloe is doing an amazing job to manage her tightening’s and her breathing. Travelling in a car when you are in established labour is definitely not an experience that any woman enjoys. I don’t think we truly know what we are made of until we are put to the test. Labour and birth are one of those times when we truly recognise that there is a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful, it is that women are strong. I pull over as we reach Launceston and Chloe has to find me Billy’s phone number mid-tightening (the number I had for Billy was not connecting). Billy now knows that we are only 15 minutes away and he is already at the LGH maternity entrance waiting for us.
2.50pm
We meet up with Billy and make our way up to the Labour ward on the fourth floor. We settle into our room, meet the midwives and hand over the birth plan. We also begin to dim the lights, plug in the aromatherapy diffuser and play relaxing music to recreate a warm and relaxing environment for Chloe.
3.30pm-6pm
Chloe’s tightening’s are now three minutes apart and the intensity is building. Chloe continues to concentrate on her breathing and finding positions that allow her to rest and assist her labour to continue to progress (working with gravity). Billy and I make sure we offer her all our support and natural pain relief options to help keep her as comfortable as possible. By 6pm, Chloe is sitting on the birth cub and feeling a lot of pressure in her bottom. There has been another change in Chloe that has become very apparent to both Billy and I, Chloe’s birthing instincts have really kicked in; she is completely surrendering to the birth process. The powerful hormones of birth have taken over and the part of her brain that is firing is the limbic system (the primal part of our brain) that is in charge of our basic functions and primal animal instincts. Chloe is in “Labourland” and there is no force equal to that of a determined woman. Billy and I are Intune with this change in Chloe’s shift of consciousness, our model of care changes to work with how Chloe is feeling. Chloe benefits from our presence and our instincts require us to pull back on touch and words of encouragement as Chloe wants silence. The midwives and care providers have also recognised that their presence needs to be minimal and they only come into the room to do their observations and intermittent doppler monitoring of the baby.
6pm
Chloe decides to hop in the bath for relaxation and pain relief. Chloe would also like the option to birth her baby in the bath. This option is available to Chloe as her labour thus far has been problem free. I leave Billy with Chloe at this time as I feel they may like some alone time and privacy.
6.30pm-7.12pm
I return to the bathroom to join Chloe and Billy. The midwife is using the doppler to frequently monitor the baby. Chloe’s tightening’s are now 2 minutes apart and she is feeling a lot of pressure, plus, the urge to push is strong. Billy has been an amazing support sitting next to Chloe and holding her hands. His presence and kind caring nature must be a real comfort to her. Billy intuitively knows how to support his wife in the way she needs. I feel Billy is also feeling in awe of what he is witnessing at this time.
“Just as a woman’s heart knows how and when to pump, her lungs to inhale, and her hand to pull back from fire, so she knows when and how to give birth.” —Virginia DiOrio
6.30pm-7.12pm
Continued Chloe is on all fours for most of the time in the bath now. I have to say I don’t think I have ever seen a woman so Intune with her natural birthing instincts. Chloe looks so empowered, with her dark ringlets covering her face, concentrating with a strong intention, a relaxed body and an open mind. A Birthing Goddess if I ever saw one. Our midwife is sitting quietly by the bath, respecting Chloe’s privacy.
7.50pm
Chloe needs to use the toilet and her knees are hurting. The toilet is a great birthing stool to labour on. I’m not sure if it was Billy or Chloe who made the comment “what if the baby is born on the toilet and falls into the bowl?” Luckily, we didn’t find out that day.
8.05pm
Chloe is on all fours by the bath. By the signs we are seeing, I don’t feel like this little baby is far away from making her appearance. A vaginal exam confirms that Chloe is 10cm dilated. I add hydrolyte to Chloe’s water; I feel she needs some energy. Labour is not called labour for nothing. This business of birthing babies is hard work. I also offer her a jelly bean but she isn’t interested in eating. I eat the jelly bean.
8.34pm
Chloe immerses herself back into warm bath and continues to work with her mind and her body. The knowledge about how to give birth is born within every woman; It is apparent to me that Chloe has faith and trust in her own body and her ability to birth her baby. Our midwife, Brenda, sits with her long gloves on ready to help Chloe bring her baby up onto her chest if she decides to birth in the bath.
Around 9pm-10.12pm
Chloe continues to listen to her body and push with each surge and strong sensation. Out of the bath again and kneeling on a padded mat and leaning over the birth cub feels the most comfortable position for Chloe to be in. We all encourage Chloe, as she continues to transcend and rise above what she is accustomed to, reaching deeper inside herself, further than what she may be familiar with. With this faith and trust, Chloe can allow her birth experience to enlighten and empower her.
9pm-10.12pm continued
Chloe has been pushing for a few hours now and the midwives (Brenda and now also Anita) make a call that they would like her to return to her room, hop up onto the bed, lay on her back and let them perform a vaginal exam to see what’s happening. Then, they can reassess her birth options. Chloe, Billy and I keep ignoring these comments, neither of us say anything to each other at the time, but all our instincts know that this precious little baby needs to come now and leaving the room will only slow progress down and maybe include the pressure to have medical interventions. Chloe you have come this far. You’re not going to back down now; I can feel it in my heart. I whisper into Chloe’s ear, “Chloe, you don’t want to leave this room. You need to go really deep inside yourself now. If you’re holding anything back, you have to let it go and surrender yourself and use every last breath you have to birth your daughter.” I told Chloe I was sending her all my energy to help her to birth her daughter.
“Let choice whisper in your ear, and love murmur in your heart. Be ready. Here comes life.” -Maya Anjelou
And with that, beautiful Miss Fleur Billy Klarenbeek made herself known to us all. There she was; A little head of black hair and a set of lungs that she was well and truly testing out. I’m not sure if Fleur was overly impressed at being evicted from her warm and cosy home. A few more pushes and at 10.12pm she made her full entry into the world and her daddy Billy had the honour of helping to receive her. Words cannot express the joy and love that was felt in that moment.
There was some excess bleeding that required a Syntocinon injection to deliver the placenta and a small labia tear needed some stitches.
Welcome to the world Fleur Billy Klarenbeek. We have been patiently waiting for you.
Weighing-3440g
Length-50cm
Head circumference-34.5cm
Thank you so much Chloe and Billy for choosing me to become part of your birth story. I am almost lost for words (Chloe, I know you probably find that hard to believe). I just feel so honoured and blessed every time I am invited into such a private and intimate space. To witness not only the birth of a baby, but also the birth of a mother and a father takes my breath away every time. Your story will become one of my treasured memories. Fleur is a lucky little girl… Life chose you both to be her Mummy and Daddy. I am sure Fleur will bring you more love and happiness than you could have ever imagined possible.
With love, Krista xxxx