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Hellena Post - Creatrix

I've tried on so many uniforms and badges that now I'm just me - mother of 8 children and all that entails, flowmad, and human animal parent. Writer of this living book of a blog, philosopher, and creatrix of hand dyed and spun crocheted wearable art. I gave up polite conversation years ago, and now I dive into the big one's.....birth, sex, great wellness, life, passion, death and rebirth.


Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Natural Birthing of Twins




I walked into this birth knowing that I occupied many high risk categories – being 39 years of age, having had a caesarean 21 months beforehand, being a ‘grand multiparous’ woman, (or a woman who has birthed more than 5 times), as this birth would be of my 6th and 7th children, and high risk just because I was having twins. I also knew that if I went anywhere near a doctor or hospital, a great and negative deal would be made of all these factors, and I would be experiencing a totally medicalised birth, not allowed anywhere near the water that I love and need to birth in, monitored the whole time, and induced if the second twin took longer than half an hour to be born after the first twin. I also knew that I’d have to struggle to be able to hold my twins after they were born, work hard to keep them out of the nursery, and fight strongly to be able to keep my 21 month old Balthazar with us in hospital, as he was not ready to be separated from us at night yet.


And I realized straight away that to avoid all this, and be able to stay at home and follow birth’s ancient journey, I’d need to employ the services of an experienced, groovy, birth trusting midwife. And that midwife was Lisa Barrett. I’d wager that if I’d gone with anyone else, the outcome to this story would have been very different indeed……



My last birth taught me a lot. Not least being a deep respect for fear, and a respect for the experiences of many many women in our culture who experience medical births. I found that almost every week, another layer of my most recent caesarean birth experience peeled away to be closer examined, worked through, and cleared, to make way for my upcoming birth of twins. And I had 4 other natural birthing experiences to call on! What courage must women have, who have had a caesarean as their first birthing experience, and go on to face their fear and strive for a natural birth afterwards!?!? I was more nervous coming up to this birth than I’d ever been before, and more aware of all the things that could go wrong. The normal birthing fears (will they be stillborn? Disabled? Need intervention?) seemed magnified, not to mention a big fear that my body wouldn’t be able to travel birth’s path gracefully, and that my fear would disable my ability to cope with what happened. I was also well aware that I was entering the twilight zone, with a whole heap of wierd seven things going on.....  Being the seventh child of two seventh children, about to have my sixth and seventh children, and almost a pure Friesian, Currawong part Friesian, a country with a flag that has 7 blue and red stripes with 7 red love hearts.....  And the biggest thing that messed with my head was how I’d ‘positive thought’ my way through my previous pregnancy – focusing on an ECO or Easy Comfortable Orgasmic birth, sure I was having a girl, and we’d already named her too – Faye Wildcat. Needless to say, I got it wrong on all points, and have come to realize for myself that our thoughts really do create our reality……except for the random factor, where things happen that maybe you need rather than want. Apart from my head wounds, my body was capably and beautifully carrying twins, and I astounded my alternative health practitioners with how healthy, robust, and well my body was operating. The twins spent the entire pregnancy in Yin and Yang position – one with it’s head down, and one in breech position. From the different heart rates, Lisa predicted that one would be a boy and one a girl, which was a prediction that many people, us included, favoured. She also predicted that the baby in breech position would nicely turn over to be head down once the first twin was out. Lisa came to visit regularly, and proved a wise midwife indeed, as nearly every time she came she offered me a different way to approach my fears, or a nugget of information that helped my journey.


Late pregnancy was heavy, ponderous, and intensely inward, and a heavy case of thrush came in the last weeks making life itchy and sore. Coming up to 38 weeks I was in that weird inbetween place, where I was hoping for it to happen soon, but really glad that it wasn’t yet, all at the same time. Had a bit of a false start where I thought it was happening, and surprised myself at how well I coped when it came to it, which helped me feel better about the fears that had been plaguing me. And then came the night of the 20th, where we were both feeling ready as we could be, and I even felt well enough to indulge in some love making. Currawong reckons he knew exactly what we were doing that night, and what would be the result, but I didn’t have the same premonition. At 3am in the morning, I woke to my waters breaking, (which had never happened to me before…), got up and panicked for a minute, and then started shaking for an hour or so. Rang Lisa first thing and asked her to come straight away – I’d been worried that this birth would happen so quick that she wouldn’t have time to get here – as it was, she probably could have stayed home a bit longer…..



Currawong got the birthing pool happening, and Mum and Jess got here, and we gently labored till morning.




The kids all woke up and hung out in the birthing space, and some fellow community members were dropping in and out and keeping an eye on what was happening, and some older members even dropped in, as it was the community meeting day.



At 9.25, to chanting and humming and sounding, a baby boy was born, and he shot out like a cannon towards the side of the pool.



He was quickly passed to me and was quite blue and not making any noise, and Lisa told me to breathe in his face, which I did, and he spluttered and gave a cry.


First thing the name ‘Maxamillion’ came into my head, with the thought that having a million in your name must be a good omen. I said the name, and then Currawong said ‘Hercules’…..Lisa said “Maxamillion Hercules, what a great name!” and thus he was named.


Everything was wonderful, a successful birth had been achieved, and Max was totally perfect and calm.



Ever seen that birthing scene in Absolutely Fabulous? Where Adina’s friend was birthing in a room with people speaking beat poetry, playing music, and generally being very hippy?? Well I felt like Max’s birth was a lot like that.


He had an extremely short cord, and couldn’t reach my chest even, so Lisa cut it as soon as safe, and we hung out and blissed in the bath for a while.



As there was another baby still inside me, and the placenta’s weren’t likely to come out till the other babe came, it was clamped off and left hanging from me.


As the day wore on we started getting worried about when the next baby was going to come.


Max was gently held by my mother, and my 17 year old daughter also did me the huge favour of taking off her top and sitting with him skin to skin……making sure that Max was being held all the time as I tried every trick in the book to bring on labour.



Standing up, hanging from a rope from the ceiling, taking Currawong off into the back room for a quick fix of sex and semen, walking round the property, leaning all sorts of different ways……it wasn’t working. Max would wake occasionally and have a feed, and all the other kids were generally milling around with distractions being given to them, so we could focus on trying to bring the second baby earthbound.



As the day moved into evening, we were all getting progressively more worried. Contractions had eased off largely, and it seemed like nothing else was going to happen. I’d never in my wildest dreams anticipated such a prolonged gap between babies. Nothing had prepared me for this eventuality! I’d just assumed that the second baby would be born soon after the first, and was hoping that we’d all have time to deal with the first baby before the second one came. I’d thought I would have one birthing experience, with two babies coming for the price of one. 


I rang Andrea Hart the acupuncturist to come and see if she could do anything to bring the second baby on. We’d arranged that she would come along to the birth beforehand, but Max’s birth had progressed so quickly and neatly that I’d never got around to ringing her for it, but we thought maybe in this extended pause some acupuncture could speed the process up. She came around about 8 that night, gave me a few needles, and then had a prior engagement that she had to go to. She told me later that the moment she’d walked in the house she’d had the feeling that my seventh child had a very strong presence, and also a strong desire to have a different birth date and karma, and that nothing she could do would change that.


So on we went…..trying to bring on labour over ten hours after my first twin was born. The longest gap between twins that Lisa had ever experienced was 12 hours, and we were all starting to get worried. Around 12 that night everyone had a bit of a snooze – except me. I paced round the house, willing my second baby to be born safely, worrying, and trying to bring on labour. A quiet and lonely time on my own. Around 3am on Sunday morning the worry was turning to desperation. Lisa had said that we were leaving her comfort zone, and she was prepared to go till 9.30 on Sunday morning – 24 hours after the birth of Max, and after that we’d have to think about our options again. The cord that we’d detached from Max was filling with blood, which was puzzling Lisa, so she clamped it tight, which was a real distraction while I was trying to bring on labour – having a scissor clamp jutting through my legs was intensely uncomfortable, so she instead tied it very securely with about 5 cords. Funnily enough, before the birth, Lisa had dreamt regularly that she was at our birth, and that one would come out and the second would turn to be head down, and in her dream she’d forgotten to bring clamps for the first umbilical cord, so she was prepared for this eventuality!! But I was still hale and hearty, the second twin had very considerately gone from breech position to head down, engaged nicely in my cervix, and both our heart rates were normal and healthy.


Currawong and I went for a walk in the moonlight and I was really bummed out. Thinking that after coming so far it was all going to end in a hospital drama afterall. Tension was high, and we were both despondent on walking down the road towards the creek. On the way, Currawong started talking about how I was healthy, Max had been born successfully, and the second twin was healthy also, so we had to start looking at this experience as TWO separate births, instead of the one birth of two babies we’d assumed it would be. Two separate births. This seemingly subtle shift in perception actually made us both feel better. If it was two separate births, all of a sudden it seemed more doable. We got back to the house where mum and Lisa had been chatting about it all, and we both told Lisa that we wanted to let it go longer than the morning, and told her our altered perception, and both started crying when we said how much we didn’t want to go to hospital. We told her that we were aware that we were risking her reputation and practice, and that if the worst came to the worst and we had to go to hospital a day or so after our first twin was born, we’d tell them that we were freebirthing, and leave her out of it completely. And bless her heart, and to my total awe and respect forevermore, she said straight away that she’d rather go to jail than leave us during this birth, and that she was there for the ride. We all decided to get a bit of rest, as it had been a very long and testing day, and we’d talk more about it after a nap.

I layed down in bed for a while, but found it impossible to sleep, Lisa went into another room for a catnap, mum went off and slept for a bit with Max, and my strong birth warrior Currawong set about cleaning out the birthing pool water, disinfecting the pool, and clearing away all the other paraphernalia of the first birth, making way for the second birth to take place..............

To be continued.....
(Don't you love a cliffhanger?)


P.S.  It's been nearly two years now since my baby twins were born, and I thought it might be a thoughtful thing to do, to provide new readers with a link so they can go straight from here to the next part of the story.....  So here it is.  To read the next installment go to the link below….

The Story Continues

P.P.S.  If you're one of the hater minions, come to get titillated about the sentence "taking Currawong off into the back room for a quick fix of sex and semen", after having visited the anti-life, anti-diversity, anti-everything pages that are so fixated on their smutty assumptions that Currawong and I were having sex whilst I had 'an umbilical cord hanging out of me'………I was trying to be polite by putting it like I did above, but if you really want the graphic details………me and Currawong went into the back room and I gave him a blow job, because as midwives have known for a very long time, there's an agent in sperm that brings on labour.  Hence the advice since time immemorial to have sex to bring on birth.  In fact, this sperm trick is so potent, that Picotin, which they give you in hospitals to induce labour, contains pig sperm for the very same reason.  Now if you're gonna call me a freak because I preferred my lovers sperm (and it doesn't matter how it's ingested, hence the blow job) to that of a pig that I hadn't even made the acquaintance of……..then I'm happy for you to think me a freak, cause I think anyone that prefers pig sperm to their partners is a bit freaky myself.

How about you go out and get yourself a life that you love instead of spending your energy trying to let people know all about your secrets and shadows and how in denial of it you are? 

P.P.P.S.  And if you're not a hater minion…..hope you're enjoying the story :) 

57 comments:

  1. Hellena, your story is a beautiful birthday present to me today. I read it with my breath held in almost. It is reconnecting me with the space I was in myself at the time in August and how I left Holland and my body often to hover over your birthing house, sort of like holding the space from a distance. It was a heart warming experience to know you can be far away yet distance falls away when needed. But to now read in your words what actually happened is yes, confronting but also filling in the gaps for me. I hope you share the rest of your awesomely brave story here when it's the right time to do that.
    I feel deeply touched by your experience and I think it's important for the world to hear it.

    Big Love & Respect, Margo

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  2. Nooo a cliffhanger!!!
    Oh I am hanging on every single word, trying to read as fast as I can. Such emotion, raw and real.
    LOVE your wee man's name, just brilliant!

    ok, I can be patient for the next part..... LOL

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  3. Ooohhh I am lost for words!

    Thank you for sharing your miracle birth experience and letting us into that sacred space... I am left awash with love, honor and respect for you Hellena, your beautiful man Currawong, your family, community and the incredible Lisa :)

    I cant wait to be blessed with the second chapter of this remarkable journey.

    Love and light, Teresa

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  4. Thank you Hellena for sharing your birthing story. I could feel the raw emotion and love as I read and feel blessed to have been a "part" of Maxamillion Hercule's birth.

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  5. ah honey,
    you doin it again. tears in me eyes!
    I feel so blessed to have walked our pregnancies together. cant wait for our babes to meet. soon. soon.

    ahh, I know what the cliffhanger is! Insider information... and yet I wait in anticipation for the next installment.

    And Margo, I, like you, had that same lil energy journey of love and support and whatever intangible connexion that was called on and needed by these guys in their birthing journey.

    I love you guys so much.

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  6. Wow....goosebumps....full on....a few tears....your strength...overcoming so many fears...love and trust- the most important thing xxx

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  7. oh gorgeous! I'm crying my eyes out here. What a blessed journey, and thank you so very much for sharing those inspiring and amazing photos. Can't wait to hear the ending. love love love and blessings!

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  8. Absolutely beautiful! Can't wait to read the next installment.

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  9. Best. Birth. Story. Eva! What an awesome ride, I'm in tears and grinning from ear to ear at being let in on this incredible journey. What a powerful mother you are! What clever, clever babies to chose such a special family, such a worthy mother and father. Just in total awe.

    And fuck me, Lisa Barrett, you truly are the only midwife in the village. So much respect!

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  10. Thankyou so much for sharing this. I had heard of your birth story through the grapevine, but did not understand til now. Trust birth, eh? You're an example for us all. Wonderful and amazing.

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  11. I found your story through a random link. As a fellow twin birther I love reading other people's twin birth stories that are out of the hospital. Way to go mama! I can't wait to read the next part. My twin birth was certainly different being an hour and ten minutes from first contraction to second baby. I can't imagine having to wait...and wait...and wait! :)

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  12. Wow! Thank you for sharing your wonderful birth story!! I'm looking forward to the next part of your story!

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  13. OH, I'm dying here!!!!! Such a powerful story and you're making us wait?! LOL I trust that you have your hands full and you don't have time to finish the story straight away, but do know we are trying to 'PATIENTLY' wait.....LOL

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  14. I am crying tears of joy right now! Can't wait to read baby #2's story!

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  15. oh, darlin... how wonderful.
    Thanks for sharing.

    Looking forward to diving into your sublime blog after I give these little people some more attention this morning!

    Much love to you and your beautiful family.
    xx

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  16. I feel so moved and blessed to be connected to such an amaaazing, powerful and beautifully expressive woman as yourself Helena, if only through the ethers and sisterhood... Wow. Thank you soo much for sharing your such personal experiences ongoingly. I am whole-heartedly looking forward to my own... Bless you Sister x

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  17. I check everyday and have read your entire blog...so eager to read the 2nd part of this birth story.

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  18. Us too! We're so eager to read "the rest of the story" - such a moving, compelling story! I keep your blog open on my computer and check several times a day! LOL You should be an author of books (if you're not already!) You sure do have the skills to do so!

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  19. Amaaaaaazing!!! You are incredible! So inspired, and cannot WAIT to read the next instalment, so utterly enthralled, I'm checking all the time to see when there's an update! :-)

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  20. I have come to the conclusion that despite first impressions leading us to believe you are a wonderful inspiring woman, you are in fact a sadist revelling in the torment we are all suffering in wait of the next instalment ;)

    In all seriousness, I absolutely loved reading your story and am seriously struggling to find the patience for the next fix. I can't wait to hear how the story unfolds. Congratulations on the birth of your little Max, and of course to his little twin. Much love to you and yours, a true inspiration x

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  21. I'm sorry for the wait, I really didn't mean it to frustrate folk!! It was just that I got as far as I got after 3 months of trying to write it out, and thought I'd post what I'd written rather than try for who knows how long to finish it first! But all your admonitions have been duly noted, and I promise I'll get onto it in every spare moment to put you all out of your suspense! And thank you all so very much for being interested:)

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  22. WOW your birth(s) sound amazing. I had a hospital birth with no control , i didnt feel anything, i lost all faint in myself , in my body , in birth. Your story of your birth has restored some of the faith i lost. Thank you x

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  23. Your story is so inspiring, thank you Hellena!I also assisted at a twin birth 4 years ago with the first being a boy and second girl, in breech, 22 hrs a part. No labor in between, we all slept!

    Similar to yours, yet I have not read your second birth story.Can't wait! The girl did turn head down with her hand on top of her head. She also had a valmentous insertion of her cord, which was why we should not have rushed the bag breaking or induce her...I am glad we were patient. they were born a few weeks early yet did well at home weighing 4.11 each. Born in a home with a woodstove for heat and no running water this was a three day affair! I wanted to share this with you so you know you are not alone!

    Many women used to give birth sometimes days later to their second babies. I studid up for this brth and found some OB journals from 1800's home births, most unassisted, Dr. arrived later and left, came back and another was born! That relieved me!

    You and all women wh trust in your bodies to birth are holding this planet together!
    Thank you!Blessings & Love

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  24. All I want for Christmas is...to know how this ends! I am enthralled with your story and your courage for sharing. I do so hope all is well for baby #2. I also check often to see if you have added the next chapter. Thanks for allowing us into this sacred journey. Fingers crossed for baby in waiting x

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  25. checking back in (again) too see if you posted the update... but I understand you have new babies and not much time for internetz... *hug* hurry up and post, dammit!!!
    no pressure ;P

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  26. I'm still waiting for the second half too! i hope everything went perfectly and you are still just enjoying you babymoon!

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  27. Oh please please please tell us the rest of the story!!! I am one of those women who's first birth was a c/section and I faught tooth and nail for the right to birth my 5th baby vaginally- my VBA3C baby!!!

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  28. Awww!! You're all so awesome!! You've got no idea how amazing it is to get such inspiring, positive and loving feedback. Thank you to the anonymous one for the story about twins born at home - it is great to know there's others out there. Hope you've all enjoyed the second part that's been posted now, and that y'all come back now ya hear!! Got a lot more to say about it all. And I bet none of you are suprised:) Thanks for waiting, and thanks for letting me know that you were still waiting, and giving me the impetus to get it done quicker!! And especially thanks to those who liked this story, and then went on to read the rest of my blog and enjoy that too. So nice to feel like I have an audience and I'm being heard:)

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  29. Hellena, It's an amazing and inspiring birth story. Thank you for sharing it with us!

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  30. Hmm I masturbated to this.

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  31. Ya know anonymous, I wasn't gonna publish this comment, and had the kneejerk reaction of "Gawd, that's a bit gross, and why tell me?", and then thought about it a bit and wondered why I'd had the kneejerk reaction, as I believe birth to be totally sexual experience, and totally interconnected with it, and I can't help thinking that if yer wanking to a normal woman giving birth, that that's quite a healthy thing to be into, so hey! Thanks! Hehehe:) Are you a woman or man? And what was it that really worked for you?

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  32. This is an AMAZING story and I am itching to read how the second birth went. Did you publish it yet? Can you share the link?

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    1. Well thanks for prompting me Birth of a New Earth, I've gone and done now what I probably should have done ages ago, and put a link at the bottom of the first story, that will take readers straight to the second part of the story......enjoy !

      Delete
  33. Replies
    1. I was gonna delete this comment, cause it's just....well......rude, but the kids insisted I write "What you say is what you are!"

      "Ner Ner"

      Delete
  34. disgusting no offence *-------*

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    1. No offence.....really? Oh, and there was also...

      "That's what you are, but what am I?"

      Delete
  35. Someone people making you fun of you over here :P http://www.refugees.bratfree.com/read.php?2,267779

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    Replies
    1. yeah I know......too many people with too much time on their hands!

      Delete
  36. I've read both of your posts on your twin births. You are one amazing woman!

    I don't think the feelings of any actual *human* would be hurt if you deleted the troll's comments. Sick, nasty things.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Toni. Much appreciate you taking out the time to let me know. And yeah, trolls. No wonder legends never like them very much!

      Delete
  37. I found this blog by reading a comment someone wrote about the sex part of your blog. I wanted to read it for myself. I was surprised to find you hardly mentioned it at all. The comment had come off as if you went into graphic detail. Then I read your edit (after finishing your beautiful birth story (part 1) and smiled. Good for you and shame on people for turning your story into something it wasn't. Despite the negative way I found your story, I am glad I did.

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    1. And so am I Amanda Nicole :) So glad that you found me, and what was that they say about haters making you famous? I know they really love me, but they're just too shy to show it :) And thank you so much for digging my blog!

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  38. Hellena,you are awesome. You feel so fresh & joyful & I love reading about you,your family & life. I am so glad there are people like you & happy that you choose to share a bit of yourself with the world. Love to you & your fam xx

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    1. Thank you so much Shannon! It's the folk like you that make it all worthwhile :)

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  39. So so wonderful Helena!! Bringing life into this world is amazing, and such a beautiful natural way too. I am a mother of 2. Reading your story made me masturbate to it. It is such a sexual experience giving birth. It was sexual for me to. Well done!

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  40. I agree with the above comment.. Well done indeed. Nothing wrong with a sexual birth at all. Did you enjoy the feeding to Helena? I certainly did.

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  41. Amazing story Helena, thank you. I am a home birth midwife who has assisted many births in my time, not just mentally but also sexually as well. It creates a beautiful and trusting bond between mother and midwife that can never be broken. Birthing is a special moment for the mother and it should be memorable and enjoyed, not just in the head but also in the body, sexually. Thank you so much Helena, and well done again.

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    1. Oh my goodness.. Please tell us more I say!! How about you helena?

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    2. Well, its all natural. I hope Helena won't mind me saying some things.
      Would that be OK Helena?

      Delete
  42. Thanks to my father who shared with me about this blog, this
    website is really awesome.

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    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

I love your comments, and your feedback......it makes this whole blogging thing worthwhile. Peace and blessings to you!