A gorgeous letter from first time parents Lucy & Nathan reflecting on the birth of their first daughter.
Although it's now over a year since Esme was born, I wanted to write and say a huge thank you and tell you how grateful I am to you. Its always been a big regret that I didn't say it at the time, after she was born, and I think about it often, so I thought it was better late than never :)
The hypnobirthing training you provided was so invaluable to me and my husband. Without it, I whole heartedly believe I would not have had such a calm and positive experience during the labour and birth of our daughter Esme. I should also add that it would not of been possible without the amazing midwifery staff at RBH too. They were phenomenal and I couldn't of asked for better care, from start to finish.
It was a fairly lengthy labour, but I was able to stay bright throughout and using your brilliant breathing and humming techniques I could manage the pain, and did not end up requiring any pain relief. It also meant that whilst Esme did take her time to come out, she also remained relaxed, according to the heart rate monitor, and so nothing escalated and she was born naturally. Nathan was brilliant and, despite unfortunately suffering from anxiety generally, during labour and the birth he stayed calm and was a great support in many ways.
So all in all when Esme entered the world, it was into a calm and positive environment and for that I will always be eternally grateful to you. Hannah, you really do deliver on the 'Calm Births'!!
It really was such a great start, and I felt such an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everyone that had helped me to have that positive experience. Which is why I still feel terrible that I didn't write to thank you at the time, when you had played such an important and pivotal part in that. I didn't experience any lows when my milk came in and generally my hormones just stayed stable over the course of the following weeks. I really do believe that this is down to having a calm birthing experience. That's not to say that we didn't have our ups and downs, but being able to cope with those was so much easier, without spiking hormones.
And thankfully, we are all still doing well and Esme is a happy little bunny, which is wonderful.
So, just to say again, a huge thank you to you and heartfelt gratitude for all your help.
All our best wishes,
Lucy xx