I'd been getting lots of strong "practise" contractions for about 3 weeks and was really getting fed up with wondering whether it would start properly. I'd spend all afternoon feeling like labour was about to start, only for it to go quiet again about 1am. We'd planned a waterbirth at home and I'd called Gentlewater to get the pool delivered a week early because I was sure it would be too late otherwise! So by the time my due date arrived, I actually felt overdue.

On Saturday 25th May we decided it was time to empty the pool and refill it - it had to be done at least once a week as the tablets couldn't keep the water clean for longer, and it was about a week since we'd last emptied it (we'd hired a pool with a water cleaning system and heater/filter, so we could use it for relaxing beforehand and it would be more or less ready to use at all times). Eric was busy working on his computers during the evening so he didn't start emptying it until quite late - he hadn't started cleaning it when I went to bed at midnight so I nagged a bit (it was his job to clean it!). I remember saying "Don't worry about getting it spotless, I just want it wiped over and filled up again as soon as possible - I know I've said it loads of times before, but we might be needing it tonight".

Three hours later I woke with unmistakeable first stage contractions. My immediate thought was to go and check the pool was full and hot so I went downstairs. It was on and the temperature showed 37C - brilliant! I pottered about between the next few contractions, collecting my emergency bag containing homeopathic remedies, maternity pads etc, and noting how far apart the contractions came - about 5-10 minutes but not really regular. They were getting stronger each time though, and I remembered that my contractions never really became regular with Tom, so I decided at 03.45 I'd better call Lynn, my midwife. She asked me whether I wanted her to come over now. I hesitated but asked her to attend straight away as she lives about 45 minutes away and I could feel it was building up quite fast.

After putting down the phone, I went to tell Eric that Lynn was on her way - he'd only just gone to bed at around 02.00 so I told him to stay there, but he got up a little while later. My mum, who had been staying with us, also woke and came downstairs. The two of them busied themselves fetching things and making tea while I grew increasingly aware that I needed the pool. I had planned on waiting until Lynn arrived before getting in, but I was feeling the need for soothing hot water. I had a strong contraction which made me vomit the piece of toast I'd just half eaten. It was violent and I felt wet - waters broken or just a "little problem"? I wasn't sure but it wasn't coloured so I wasn't worried about it. Probably just poor pelvic floor muscles! I decided that I couldn't wait any more. Eric helped me in at around 04.00. A little while later I took a homeopathic remedy to stop vomiting during labour. It worked - I wasn't sick again (I was sick several times during labour with Tom, and I'm sure anyone who knows me is aware that vomiting in pregnancy is one of my specialities!)

Within a short time I started to feel 'pushy' - I didn't want to push, but my body was just doing it of its own accord. Just before Lynn arrived I felt to see whether the head was anywhere near - it was only a finger away so I was relieved when Lynn appeared a few minutes later! I let myself go with the pushing after that and soon felt the head crown. Lynn helped me to concentrate on slowing my breathing. I felt it was coming a bit too fast - I didn't want to tear - and used my hand against my perineum to help me stop pushing. The counter-pressure seemed to help dull the pain, along with concentrating on my breathing. I felt the head nearly emerge then go back again when the contraction finished. I asked Lynn whether I could let it go with the next one - "I'm not sure I can stop myself again". Lynn reassured me that I could, and I panted the head out gently with the next contraction. I was surprised to feel the head was still a bit jelly like. "Are the membranes still intact?" I asked. Lynn confirmed that they were - the baby had a "lucky" cowl, just as my mum had when she was born. I will never forget feeling the baby's ear through the membranes! A very spooky feeling. So I was right, my waters hadn't broken when I was sick.

I stroked the baby's squishy head instinctively - it seemed like the right thing to do. I wanted it to feel safe. Lynn asked me if I wanted to catch the baby myself. I agreed and asked Eric to support me from outside the pool so I wouldn't fall over and drop it. I asked Lynn to catch it if I didn't manage. Two contractions later, at 05.18, I delivered the rest of the body (no problem with the shoulders this time - unlike Tom who was distinctly "sticky" at that point!) and then pulled the baby from the water myself. I smiled up at everyone and said "Well that was easy!" as I scooped a very slippery baby into my arms.

We nearly forgot to check the baby's sex, but were prompted to look when we saw how much she looked like our son Tom as a newborn - it could have been him, right down to the way she was laying in the water with her arms up by her ears. She was a little blue but Lynn reassured us it was just because there'd been a reasonably long gap between her head and body being born. She "pinked up" nicely as we sat there cooing, taking photos and chatting.

At that point that my mum reappeared - I hadn't noticed, but she'd gone to fetch our friend Iuan to look after Tom, since I was making quite a lot of noise and they thought he was waking up. Iuan and mum were packing a bag when Eric shouted up the stairs that I'd done it. Iuan appeared shortly afterwards to congratulate us, and then Tom came downstairs - he hadn't woken until Iuan arrived but was now curious as to why everyone was up and about so early. We introduced him to his little sister - he was too tired to be impressed really but was happy to sit on Eric's lap and watch me feeding her.

She hadn't wanted to feed while in the pool so I decided to get out to deliver the placenta and sit on a birthing stool. She fed while I was sitting there. Unfortunately I was having severe afterpains (worse than what I'd woken up to at 03.00!) that were making me want to vomit so I decided after more than an hour that I wanted to have the cord cut so that I could scrunch up without worrying about crushing her! Eric cut the cord and took her for a cuddle. I took a homeopathic remedy for pain in labour (I hadn't thought to use it before!) but after a few more awful contractions lost patience and asked Eric for some ibuprofen tablets. My mum took Tom upstairs out of the way so he wouldn't be upset by seeing me in pain while I concentrated on getting the placenta out, which eventually arrived at 07.10. I flopped exhausted onto the futon, which Eric had brought downstairs, and used a hot water bottle on my back and front to help ease the pain, keeping my sick bowl close by.

I dozed while Lynn checked the baby over and recorded Apgars of 10/10 (ie she was in peak health). She weighed her and found she was a little smaller than Tom at 8lb 2.5oz (3.74kg) and her head was also a little smaller - 34cm as opposed to Tom's 36 (or was it 36.5? how quickly I forget details!). Other than that, she was just like Tom only had a little bit of a female "tinge" to her and had quite a bit more hair (mid brown, as Tom's had been at birth).

Later in the day we chose a name for her: Anna May Simpson. Anna spent most of her first day sleeping and watching us make phone calls announcing her arrival. At the time of writing she is two days old and doing well...

Footnote 1: Kerry and Eric designed and host this web site, following discussions at several postnatal appointments! If you would like to see more photographs of the labour and birth, plus more about the family and their exploits, take a look at their family web site.

Footnote 2: Kerry is also a freelance writer and has provided her light-hearted article, Birth Myths, published on this site in Adobe PDF format.

Our opinion of independent care is that you can't beat it - we have opted out of the NHS for the birth of both our children and, interestingly, we are amongst the very few people we know who have a really positive view of labour and birth. People say that they can't see the point of paying for something you can get free from the NHS, but that's not actually the case: what you get from Lynn and others like her is completely different (and vastly superior of course!). You only get to birth each child once - if it's a choice between a foreign holiday or having a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience, we'd postpone the holiday every time.

Thank you Lynn, and we hope this web site brings you ever more clients to sing your praises!