On July 27, 2024, Nicole gave birth to her son Raf. Under the guidance of Lysanne and colleague Shauna. It was a great 'Team building' in that respect, and Nicole will share her experience below regarding her home birth, in the birthing pool, in Curacao.
40 weeks
On Wednesday afternoon, July 24, I had a check-up appointment with Lysanne, my midwife but also my colleague. My son was still sitting comfortably in my belly, and everything looked good. He was a tiny little man. Little fat and not big. Not bad, but that's why we decided to strip at 40 weeks. No sooner said than done. I walked out the door stripped and all. Waiting to see what would happen because man, I was so nervous about the birth. Our first child, no idea what to expect. And as a control freak I want to know all the ins and outs of what to expect. And here in the midwifery practice, the birth stories fly around your ears. Positive but also negative experiences. Fortunately, I was able to put it all into perspective quite well. Every experience is different, and I was ready for it. No matter how exciting. 100% confidence in Lysanne, the little, healthy man and my own body. So bring it on! And so I went into the afternoon with light contractions. Yes! I enthusiastically texted Lysanne: The stripping did well, let's go!
Waking up from contractions
That same evening I went to bed expecting to wake up from intense contractions. But the sun rose, I woke up feeling wonderfully rested and no more cramps on the horizon… bummer. Coincidentally, Lysanne was driving her visits and said 'I'll drop by'. Once at my house I turned out to be 2 to 3 cm dilated and so Lys stripped me again and gave me a homeopathic pill. She also massaged some pressure points on my ankles and hoped for new contractions.
My parents were with us, and I had been out and about with them for a while. To the Kooyman (Curaçao Gamma/Praxis) and having a cup of coffee in the garden… meanwhile sipping coffee, contractions again, but with little result.
This is it!
The next day I contacted Lysanne again. I decided to wait a bit. 'He'll come when he comes', I thought. And no sooner said than done. Until the next day... I just wanted to go, ram, hold my son! I consulted with Lysanne again about what to do, I also wanted to avoid the hospital, so Lys came by again at home. Here on the island you are a 'medical case' from 41 weeks. And I am a bit critical about this myself. I stripped again, triggered a few pressure points and waited. Lysanne already said 'there was still a small piece 'stuck' at your cervix, and after stripping this time it is all well and truly loose'. And yes, at 10 am Lysanne walked out the door, and at 1 pm I texted her 'this is it!' I looked at her for a bit and texted her around 3 pm that my contractions were already good every 2 to 3 minutes. Lysanne would take Shauna (our other colleague) and come my way. How 'official' and exciting that felt. I was sitting comfortably in the bedroom, on my yoga ball, with my Masseuse Playlist on. The bath had been there for a few days, Lysanne had left the TENS device behind, and I had already stuck it on in the meantime. This did not take away any pain for me personally, but I did find it very chill!
No hot water
Once Lys and Shauna were there, I was still perfectly approachable. We chatted for a bit, discussed it and at my request they touched me to see how many cm dilated I was: 4 cm. It was still going well, catching contractions was okay, but taking a bath sounded really nice. So we filled the bath, mom and dad were busy boiling pots of water (because yes, in Curaçao you often don't have hot water in the bathroom ;) and we happily got into the birthing pool, after which my contractions subsided again... and then there you are with your good behavior... 'splash, spritzer, pater, but my son will come later' he thought. No way: 'Come out Niek, walk around in circles you'. So hop, out of the bath again, walk around in circles, through the garden, through the living room, where Lys and Shauna were installed at the dining table, together with mom. Chatting, laughing 'oops, wee, just a puff' and chatting some more. Actually it was very chill and easy, but it didn't go fast. That's why Lys and Shauna packed their things and went out for a meal. I was given the task to seriously withdraw for a while. Squat, relax, get back on the yoga ball and pump. (Pumping helps with the production of oxytocin, which makes your uterus contract and can give you a boost) This was at 6:00 PM. So that's what I did, hoping that it would all increase a bit.
5 centimeter
At 20:00 Lys and Shauna came back. 'How are things going for Niek?'. Well, actually fine... a little too fine, which means that I'm afraid I'm not really making progress. So we discussed it together. Lysanne said she could do the following: wait, break my waters, or take castor oil. The latter two options were more pleasant for me, since I was really starting to get tired, and the 'real' work was yet to come. After my agreement, I was touched again, and it turned out that I was 5 cm dilated... When Lys said that, I immediately said 'break my waters then'. My waters turned out to be quite stiff, Lysanne said, and after breaking it started: the first really heavy, intense contraction, including vomiting, everything came out. Ouch, ouch, not relaxed. I can't throw up like that... terrible. I went straight into the bath, which had gotten really nice and warm by then, and I continued to cope with my contractions there. I started just on my bottom, alternating between hanging/lying on the edge of the bath. I had a comb in my hand (if you squeeze it correctly, points in your palm are triggered that help with distraction/pain relief) Maurice, my boyfriend, sat on the yoga ball next to the bath, and helped me through it so incredibly well! I felt such strength, love and confidence because of it. Our mini team!
I kept throwing up.... BUCKET!
I really enjoyed the contractions in the water. Light, warm, soft. The big disadvantage was that I kept throwing up. And that always happened during a contraction. So sometimes I couldn't handle the contraction properly, because you don't want to spit in the water. So every time I felt the contraction coming on it was 'BUCKET!' ... spit, ouch, and lean back nicely. Eventually I decided to turn over on my knees. That way I ended up with my upper body on the edge of the bath, and my head on Maurice's shoulder/neck/chest. I could squeeze him so nicely, and he could hold me comfortably. And yes indeed... 'I feel like I have to push' I said. No, not really pushing yet, but pushing. But with the next contraction I could call it pushing. Man, what a force, what a power is released then, just out of nowhere! Actually you don't even have to do anything; it happens automatically. Personally I found it more pleasant than the contractions before that. You just have to catch those contractions and puff them away, without any result. (That's how it feels, because results will definitely come from that!) Now I could, even though it was more intense, 'push towards it'. Convert your pain into strength. I also woke up more between the contractions, and when I looked up I saw that Papa was already there, and Carmen the maternity nurse was already standing next to me. 'Damn, am I that far yet?' I thought...
My father was allowed to be there, but he himself wasn't sure yet. (He faints at a medical word or 1 drop of blood ;) That's why I really liked seeing him sitting there. Not close by, but in the back of the bedroom, on the corner of the bed. Where mom sat a bit closer. Really cool to have them there. I'm very good with my parents. <3
Am I there yet?
Meanwhile, Lysanne was already busy peeking through a mirror. Shauna assisted her with shining the light, and Carmen kept an eye on me. I actually didn't realize all this until Carmen said 'Well, you'll still make it on the 27th!'. Damn, isn't it midnight yet? And am I that far already?
Lysanne really left me in my bubble, and didn't really keep me informed about how/what etc. I didn't ask for this either, so I actually found it quite pleasant. If I had asked how things were going, and Lysanne would have indicated that things weren't really progressing, I think I would have found that quite disappointing. Still, I got such a boost now that I knew I was almost there!
In my opinion I listened to Lysanne as best as I could during the pushing. This was really my intention 'Niek, listen to Lysanne, nothing more. Then it should be fine!'.
It turned out that I didn't do exactly what Lysanne said, and that Lysanne occasionally thought 'Oh my, Nicole…'. Well… I really was on another planet.
There he is!
And there it came: the last primal force, where I automatically reached down to grab my own son from between my legs. WOW! With the birth comb still in my hands, there I was, our son in my arms, full of love, looking at Maurice, and repeating 'HE IS SO BEAUTIFUL, OH DARLING YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL! DARLING LOOK, HE IS PERFECT!' Exactly 23:30. On July 27, 2024.
This is Rafael Rene de Koning ! Looking at my father Rene with emotion. Named after him. My father filmed it. It took me a few weeks to watch it again, but it is still beautiful to see, because as a woman giving birth you are not fully aware of it.
Golden hour
'The Golden Hour' was very important to me. I wanted to wait to cut the umbilical cord, not wash the baby right away, and quickly latch on as soon as possible because of the sucking reflex. This all went incredibly well. The only thing that had to wait was my placenta.
I got out of the bath pretty quickly and went to bed. Man, I thought that was weird too. I was shaking so much. Not from the cold, but purely from the hormones and adrenaline that were coursing through my body. After 45 minutes, my placenta still hadn't come loose, so we helped it along with an oxytocin injection.
Raf drank well right away, and pretty soon I wanted to take a shower. Rinse off and go back to bed. This went very well. I had lost very little blood, and didn't need any stitches or other means, so I actually felt quite okay physically. After a quick shower, I went back to bed. Rusk with aniseed was brought right away and at 2:00 everyone was out the door.
Everything went so smoothly, so nice. The first phase was very doable, and from the breaking of the waters at 5cm dilation (at 20:00), in a rapid pace to 10cm dilation and the pushing contractions (at 23:00) and half an hour later Raf was there.
I actually stayed very fit during pregnancy. I kept working out wonderfully. I am a masseuse and did this on Klein Curacao. Often by boat back and forth. I did this until week 28/30. In addition, I started eating dates and drinking raspberry leaf tea on time. After working out, I stretched and did a lot of exercises for the delivery. All in all, I think that this also contributed to the smooth course of the delivery, but certainly also my recovery afterwards.
The best team building ever
To be able to do this under the guidance of my colleagues felt so nice and familiar. Lysanne is very calm. Leaves a lot to yourself. Does everything in pleasant consultation and knows how to be professional in a loving way. Chapeau! A very nice and good experience!
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