Welcome Little Baby 💙 My Birth Story & What's Next

I'm very happy to announce the birth of our baby Floris 💙🤍
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.
Sign up for a free trial and find the song here: share.epidemics...
(Affiliate link)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support me through Patreon: / loepsie
Shop my merch: teespring.com/...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More SEWING videos: • Sewing
More HAIR tutorials: • Hair Tutorials
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sewing • Historical Beauty • Vintage Fashion • Slow Living
I’m Lucy, nice to meet you.
I’m a creative living in a little house in the Netherlands with my husband.
On this channel I take you along in my creative endeavors; whether that's sewing a dress, renovating a room or trying out historical hairstyles.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Website: www.loepsie.com
Instagram: / loepsies
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loepsie staat wettelijk verplicht onder toezicht van het Commissariaat voor de Media.

[@chandnirai7039]

I was here when she was cutting her own bangs and now she has a beautiful baby. Congratulations girl ❤

[@subhiksharengan]

Sameeee me tooo❤

[@sleepyunikittythecreator99]

DIY Queen lol 🤭🥰

[@jaylee5905]

Here since the sock bun!

[@JodieTheReader]

Me too!

[@janeg44]

Sock bun! :)

[@beatrice1775]

Please don't ever feel bad for wishing the birth had gone differently. Of course the priority is that you and baby are healthy, but you are 100% allowed to be disappointed/have mixed feelings about the birth. Doesn't mean you're not grateful. And you can look back months later and realize that birth can be beautiful and traumatic at the same time. That was my experience, time and if needed therapy really help to come to terms with the upsetting parts of birth. Congratulations on your boy 🎉

[@InThisEssayIWill...]

Yes! This exactly! Just because things didn't go horribly wrong doesn't mean that it wasn't still traumatic, down playing our own bad experiences because "someone else had it worse" doesn't help you heal. I didn't have ANY of the "beautiful, powerful feminine energy" expectations that you did when I gave birth (maybe that attitude just wasn't as widely spread 15+ years ago?) and my labor and delivery was textbook and relatively short. AND STILL it was Traumatic! Honestly I can't wrap my head around someone who would describe it as anything but.. it is PAINFUL, it changes your body FOREVER. You are not betraying your Joy by acknowledging the pain. 💚

[@meadowbird]

I agree 100%

[@therewillbecatswithgwenhwyfar]

@@InThisEssayIWill...This!

[@charlibrown7745]

​@@InThisEssayIWill...yawn...

[@sheilafelix113]

All 4 of my babies wanted to stay in my womb. Lol So, all were unmedicated inductions. They last one being 30 years ago. I think it must be hard with social media showing all of these home births and making a hospital birth seem like a bit of a failure. Your body did what it was made to do, even if it needed help. We are blessed to live in a time when intervention makes it possible for baby and Mom to be safely delivered of a human! Congratulations Mama!

[@InThisEssayIWill...]

I hadn't thought of the social media aspect, it was 15+ years ago for me and a lot of the ideas she talks about having here are things I've never heard of before. It's been so long since I've been in that kind of information space I just had no idea that it had changed so dramatically. I never conceptualized giving birth as something to look forward to, holding the baby afterwards sure, but the actual labor was always going to be hard work in my mind.

[@PumpkinSpicedHorrorShow]

My birthing story for both of my children was wildly different than I had planned or hoped for, as well. Some people will shut you down with “but your baby is healthy so what does it matter,” but please know it’s okay to grieve that experience you had so hoped to have. It doesn’t make you ungrateful for a healthy baby. Congratulations on your baby. I wish you and your family every happiness!

[@FaySewandSow]

This resonated with me very strongly, my son was born at 42+3 after every intervention and ultimately we needed an emergency C-section to bring him here. Please know that whatever you feel about your birth experience is completely valid. It took me a long time to wrap my head around the trauma from my own birth and I'm now 10 weeks away from having my second child. Just know that you did everything right and you are completely allowed to feel disappointed by the experience. I hope motherhood is treating you well, congratulations Lucy!

[@melaniemurphyofficial]

Delighted to see you back mama and happy you are doing well! 💖 So important to share these stories ❤ My first didn’t go to plan either and I felt like I couldn’t admit to being basically traumatised by it (because ultimately I was very lucky that baby was born healthy!) but ALL EXPERIENCES AND BIRTHS ARE VALID xxxxx

[@IsabellaL82]

I never expected to see the photos you have shared on instagram of your son. Whether it's his hand or the back of his head. I never expected you'd show us that much. So thank you. I feel like you're sharing a little of him with us while keeping your privacy. Congratulations on the birth of your little boy by the way

[@gillianstapleton7741]

Congratulations! Floris is a beautiful name.

[@louisacoote2337]

It reminds me of Florian in French, which I really like!

[@BridgetRavens]

Congratulations Lucy! ❤ from LOTR braids to babies. Time flies!

[@arminaleth9354]

Incredible story. Even though nothing went "wrong" per se I think it's ok to feel conflicted about the experience which did not go according to your plans so don't feel bad about it ❤️

[@claremuczynski1590]

It’s absolutely not ungrateful to have to grieve not having a home birth and the experience you really wanted. You can recognize that you didn’t have a fully positive experience while also being glad it went ok. ❤️❤️

[@SolveigMineo]

Your feelings regarding your birth experience are 100% valid. Having an induction and a very medicalized birth is a tough experience even if "both baby and mom are ok". I had a traumatic birth and lost one of my babies, and I believe all women deserve a beautiful birth and are allowed to be sad when birth did not happen how they wanted it to happen.

[@twinnish]

My eldest son was born three weeks early at nearly 11 pounds. I had undiagnosed gest diabetes because I had been through so many doctors at a university hospital that nobody followed up on some thing they should have. I wanted to have a natural childbirth and all of that stuff kind of like you but in the 1988 version of it. None of that happened and a lot of bad things actually happened and honestly, I was mad at myself. I was mad at the doctors. I was mad at the whole system and you know what ultimately I got over it because I had my baby and he’s perfect in spite of everything. Eventually, he was the healthy baby. He was meant to be. we don’t have control over so many things and for me I just look at it as if I had been born 100 years before I was or even maybe 50, I probably wouldn’t have survived that pregnancy and it’s doubtful that my son would have either. All the interventions were probably not necessary, but the ultimate one was a cesarean section and as he was almost 11 pounds it was necessary. I had three days of induction. My waters were broken. I had a monitor and all kinds of things that added up to awfulness. Subsequent pregnancies, I learned that my body will not dilate no matter how long I am pregnant it just won’t. It doesn’t matter how long I’m induced it won’t. I, and at least two of my children are only here because of modern medicine so it may not have always been done perfectly, but it had to be done even though I didn’t like it even though it didn’t go along with anything I wanted. I wanted the kids and I got them so there’s that.😊 take it easy and enjoy your sweet little baby boy.

[@Rosy-jq6sq]

Congratulations! Please don’t feel like you are complaining. Giving birth is a massive deal and even though others have different experiences that doesn’t make yours any less valid!

[@DbR777]

Congratulations Lucy, I've been watching you since we were both in highschool and you were doing your super early hair care videos. You were the first KZbinr I discovered on my first summer using KZbin, and you feel like such an old friend and I'm so so proud of you

[@adrianamancuso4917]

It's perfectly normal to feel how you feel. Don't deny your feelings just to assuage someone else's. You'll end up hurting yourself much more.

[@vernieplummer5148]

I am very happy to see that you are not showing your sons face. This stuff stays out in the ether forever, and it seems like people don’t care about their children’s choices. Of course, a child the age of yours cannot make a choice, but he might not like it later if his entire early childhood was documented every second. I think the most ethical approach is to keep them off of the screen until they are old enough to make a choice, and I mean like 15.

[@diane_5789]

This romanticism surroundings the birthing process is largely counterproductive and damaging to first-time mothers. Hopefully, you can overcome your disappointment and, now that you have a first-hand experience, you can manage your expectations without any harmful anti-scientific narrative. My heart goes out to you and I am very happy that you felt heard every step of the way, and had doctors who explained what is "evil" to you is not necessarily a bad thing for your child (it was what made him and you safe in the end). Sometimes, we build up the moment in our minds and around professionist around us do not explain all of the options, so when your birth-plan goes wrong, you have to make quick vital decisions that feel like they are being forced on you. I wish you and your child serenity and growth together! Goodbye!

[@nica93]

My first son's birth was at hospital, induced at 37weeks and full of meds. Hated it, even now I feel like I'm grieving my experience, he's 4yo and great! My second son's birth happen on covid lockdown I was utterly alone no support and my midwife didn't want to help during birth...it was natural however but still in hospital and not what I wanted. My third son was at home, uneducated, relaxed and with my husband. It was beautiful, perfect and my new midwife was an absolute angel. ❤ Every birth is different and honestly home birthing was my dream, keep your dream to give birth at home for the next one Loepsie!! Glad to hear baby Floris is healthy and happy. ❤

[@loveloreal]

Welcome baby! Congratulations parents!

[@hercegnooee]

thank you for sharing your birth story! this all feels very special to me, as i first discovered your channel when sewing my wedding dress, and when i got pregnant, i saw that you were expecting too! and now our baby girl is 3 weeks younger than Floris. we also had a different birth than what i envisioned in my birth plan, though my daughter decided to come out by herself on the day i would've gone to the hospital to start the induction 😅 i still had a positive experience, because the hospital staff was amazingly supportive and informative. i think it's important to share the real experience, not just the euphoric and positive ones. birth is so much more than "both mama and baby are healthy" and most people forget that. congratulations and enjoy your time with your new family ❤️

[@PinkKissedLips]

I had a very similar birth with my first. I never went into labor naturally on my own and felt that disappointment and anxiety with myself. I felt all the same feelings, and just because you didn’t have medical emergencies doesn’t mean you didn’t have trauma. It is okay to grieve the experience you wanted to have. Allow yourself that because it will help you heal. I still look back at my birth and the early weeks with him with a lot of bittersweet feelings and it’s been a few years. I just gave birth to my second and it was 180 degree different experience and it reminded me of a lot of the trauma of my first that I had forgotten about, or thought I had processed and they resurfaced. I felt that grief again for my first experience. I realized in hindsight just how much trauma I really did have. My first was born during covid, we came home had had no help, exhausted and so so lonely. I actually felt very anxious and unsure with my second birth in the beginning. But it was overall so different and healing. Allow yourself the time to process, grieve and heal! It might take a while, and that’s okay, and it doesn’t diminish any of what you experienced at all. ❤

[@PREETISHARMA-lk3us]

From seeing you cutting your bangs to now a mother...May God bless you and yours with great health, immense love and all the healing....❤❤❤ Love from India

[@nanushka]

First of all, congratulations to you, your husband and Floris

[@carnifaxx]

I'm surprised that the pushing is even a thing in Netherlands, by our midwives they are often presented as a country with very modern procedures and this is very dangerous and not an EBM (I know about a case when this type of "help" ended up with the mother being seriously injured and the child left in a vegetative state for more than 10 years... the court hearings still haven't ended, but the child is already gone...).

[@Loepsie]

I was told it's not really done anymore, I got the feeling it was a fairly unique thing. The nurse who preformed the procedure (who just came in for the night shift) was the only one in the hospital who knew how to do it, and they definitely considered all the circumstances. Baby was already crowning and there was enough room for him to come out, I just wasn't pushing with enough strength. But yeah, I only found out just how risky the push was afterward 😅 Very glad it went well!

[@nanushka]

@@Loepsie I'm glad it went well too!!! 💜💜💜

[@dianabakes1]

You're definitely not alone in feeling conflicted and about your birth experience. I also wanted an unmedicated, natural birth. I had to be induced as well, and in the US they go straight for the most extremely measures. I caved and got an epidural, which terrified me. My baby went into distress and I ended up having an emergency C section. He's almost 12 and I'm still salty about it! I already didn't love being pregnant and that was just the icing on the cake. If anything, I'm sad that I let the birth experience taint the entire pregnancy. Thank you for sharing your story and being so candid!

[@asuniqueasthespellingofmyn1124]

I'm a mom of 7 and I've had a few challenging births and delivery, so I truly understand ❤ You did wonderful 🎉

[@susandevinenapoli7649]

Childbirth is a birthing of a mother and father too. Your strength shows at feeding times now.

[@NihonKitty]

Congratulations! I've been watching you for years and years and now I'm having my own little one within months of yours!

[@okinawaBallerina]

My first birth was over 40 weeks , maybe 40 w 5 days? We only had option for a hospital 1 hour away so as a first time mom you really aren't sure on the timing of that drive. We got there too early and they wouldn't let me leave to my nearby Airbnb because of a typhoon approaching. I think this contributed to my long labor in the hospital. It was 22 hours I think😅 I ended up with the induction drip because of the slow progress and eventually did get an epidural. I ended up hating the feeling of the epidural, like my legs felt like pins and needles sensation. It was awful and made everything worse. So they turned it off but it took two hours to stop the feelings of it. So im definitely very against another epidural because of that. Eventually I got to pushing and I had been assured I could lay on my side and I kept asking for help to do that but some nurse put a little pillow under my hip and kept telling me I was on my side 😡😮‍💨 Then when I was getting stitches no one told the doctor the epidural was turned off and no one gave me numbing for the stitches 😓 It was during COVID policies and there were no doulas etc. Fast forward to six months ago with my second baby. Such a grace filled birth. My husband was deployed so I hired a doula. I know you are not religious but I wanted my doula to be Catholic so I could have that kind of support tailored to me. My water broke at 11pm and looked like it had meconium in it so my doula starts making her drive over to drive me ro the hospital. I am packing my bag and having someone come pick up my 3 year old. Totally chilled, no anxiety (I was medicated for anxiety during this pregnancy) 😢 My doula arrives right after my friend picks up my toddler and we load up the car but I'm still just taking my time and calmly going about everything, which isn't my normal haha I credit that to having a doula, it was such peace of mind knowing that she was there to advocate and take care of me. Love her! It was another 45 min drive to my hospital and we are chatting the whole time but I started having stronger contractions in the car. I got to the hospital and they had me pee in a cup to test and the contractions got so intense there. I see the blessed Mary holding my shoulders and swaying with me during contractions while I'm alone in the bathroom -it was amazing. I leave the bathroom and start throwing up and eventually make it into a bed 😂 (glamorous ) where they checked and it was ready to deliver! I got wheeled from triage to a delivery room and gave birth on my knees while facing the back of the bed. Upon reflection, I 100% recommend this way because I didnt notice all the people in the room for the delivery, just stayed in my zone. So water broke at 2300 and baby was born at 0500, much better than 22 hours with my first! It was such a calmer and better experience as well. This is probably the longest comment I've ever left on any platform 🙈 Hopefully it's coherent haha Congratulations to you and Floris ❤️❤️❤️ I'm so happy to hear you're healing well.

[@katewest]

It's strange to hear what births are like in other countries. Personally, I would never agree to giving birth at home. For me, the hospital gives me such inner peace because I know they have equipment there if something goes wrong. The first birth was normal, although the pregnancy was high-risk and I had to stay in bed for 5 months. Normally, I had contractions waiting for delivery, and we were waiting for the v.. a to open🙈. I even jumped on the ball for this. The only thing I didn't like was the approach of the midwife, because she believed that I should be prepared for childbirth (my first!) through teachings (I couldn't attend them because I had to lie in bed until the end of the pregnancy). The midwife didn't bother to read my description in the patient's chart. The second child, it was such normal day. I came to the hospital and said I had contractions, they: no, you don't. But I do. No, it's not visible on the machine. But I know they are there. The examination and... Oh my gosh, she's in labor. Unfortunately, my son's umbilical cord began to tighten on his belly and his heart rate was irregular. The midwife was literally up to her elbows in work and helped me with a decent dose of oxytocin and I gave birth in 10 minutes.

[@DesertBloomBettas]

Congrats on your baby! You'll find yourself wondering how you ever had a life before him - babies bring so much stress, but also so much joy to your life. Especially once they start developing a personality.

[@DesertBloomBettas]

Birth story: mine was horrific. I was 20 and very underprepared. I ended up having pre-eclampsia, so I was taken into hospital several weeks ahead of my due date to try and induce labor. I ended up there for a week, on stroke medication, with a central line in my neck after 17 IVS and another central line infiltrated. I was so swollen by the end of it, I had blisters all over my legs and I was unrecognizable in a mirror. The labor wasn't too bad, but I hemorrhaged and nearly died. I ended up having to get a few blood transfusions. I survived, my daughter was born healthy and did fine, but the whole thing was traumatic for everyone involved. I don't remember most of it now, it's just a blur, but two years later my OB/GYN said basically I should never have been able to get pregnant in the first place, my uterous was full of cysts and scar tissue, and endometriosis, and I ended up getting a full hysterectomy when my daughter was 2 years old. 10/10 would not recommend, but was totally worth it.

[@Xamaris]

It’s so common to have a traumatic birth experience. I think social media actually encourages negative feelings because you see all these happy posts from women who needed minimal intervention and had the “perfect” birth story… but that’s not typical. I had high blood pressure/low amniotic fluid and was supposed to be induced at 38w, but then my son’s heart rate started decelerating while we were just resting before they even gave me any induction meds. So 1 hour later, I ended up having a c section and he was born at 3 in the morning! My husband and I both felt so traumatized over how fast it all was. I felt like I didn’t give birth to my son, that he was just extracted from me - I never had a labor, never felt any contractions. But honestly, those feelings will eventually just fade and soften and be overrun with memories of your new baby. I am 8mos post partum and I still feel twinges of sadness about my son’s birth, but he’s just such a wonderful and joy that I don’t even really have space for those feelings anymore! I like to joke that the sleep deprivation just erases all the bad feelings/memories from the earliest days, lol. And breast feeding is its own challenge that eclipses any of the issues I had with my pregnancy…! Congratulations to you and your new family. I wish you all the joy in the world! Please take as much time to enjoy your son as you can and don’t prioritize work... You don’t get these early moments back.

[@sofiabravo1994]

Congratulations 🎊 God bless your family!✨

[@alilyscha425]

Most important you & your baby are healthy & safe, the notion of a “powerful” or “feminine” (or feeling powerful) birth is a myth when lives are at stakes. That’s just pure ignorance. Just be happy that you’ve made it & your lil one is doing great. #MomtoMom

[@mollyt6835]

You never know what you’re going to get during a birth. 12 years after my one and only, I still feel lucky to be alive! I wouldn’t be here had it not been for modern medical practices. Sometimes nature is very, very cruel.

[@PREETISHARMA-lk3us]

Suggestion is another haitcut video from your side New Mommy, that's therapeutic to see you getting a new look with some hair chopping ❤❤Love you so much, wishing speedy recovery to you and the baby❤❤

[@FlamedWater]

What a story! You went through a lot and are now rewarded with this beautiful baby boy 😊 I feel like the media content of today puts women under a lot of pressure to have an unmedicated birth. But it's good to keep in mind that the birth of a human baby is the most dangerous and traumatizing births of any mammals. A huge proportion of women used to die or suffer horrible injuries during childbirth. Yes, some women feel empowered by going through it with no medical intervention. But for many of us it's not possible and that's also OK. But it's also perfectly normal to be conflicted about not having experienced something other people did.

[@zingara76]

Had my baby two months ago, and things where not as I planned. I wanted a “natural” birth. My baby was also late, and I was going to be induce , but i investigated ways to make it happen naturally. So I was walking around my neighborhood and doing some yoga and it work and I was in labor. However because I had no sleep and I was in labor for over 20 hours I got a epidural because the pain. As you all my plans where out of the window. No bathtub and pushing for 3 hours on my back. However it was not traumatized, and my baby is heathy

[@d.m.6501]

Congratulations on baby Floris, Lucy! I'm glad both you and the baby are doing well. Your feelings are natural and I appreciate your honesty. You were in my prayers during your pregnancy and labor. I had all four of my children without pain meds (1985-1990). The three girls were super fast labor and deliveries, and I had to be induced with our son. That labor and delivery was traumatic partially due to the pitocin and he was a dry birth.

[@gabyhagemann3319]

Congratulations! Floris is such a beautiful name!

[@NatalieCrafts]

I just want to reassure you that the "trance" you were hoping for often doesn't happen. I've had six babies and never felt what you're describing. That's not to say some women do - just that it may not be as common as you thought. ❤

[@idap1879]

Well, I have 2 birthing stories, my first was almost like yours, it was the first baby, and he didn't want to leave my body, the only difference is that he was planned to be birthed in the hospital, because I wanted all the help I could get, because we have a history of children taking their time in my family, it did take some time to get the medication to start working but after that it went very fast and my doctor almost didn't have time to arrive at the hospital before I had to push, but it went well she arrived just in time and I only needed one stitch. The second kid was also supposed to be a hospital birth because I had pregnancy diabetes with him, but he didn't want to wait, I woke up at 4 in the morning feeling unwell with strong Braxton hicks, but no it was him getting ready to come out, the pain went away at 5, and I did fall asleep and woke up at 6 and said to my husband that I think we have to go to the hospital the contraction has started, so I went for a shower and my water broke in the shower, so my husband called the hospital to tell them the water broke and asked if it was safe to travel by bus to the hospital, at 6:20 I had to pee, and suddenly I felt the need to push, and I panic and try to waddle back to bed, but I could feel his head slowly getting pushed out. I made it to bed in the end, and my husband had to deliver the baby while trying to call for an ambulance, the baby and my husband made it and the ambulance arrived at the same time as my husband handed me the baby, and at the same time the older one woke up.

[@ashleyeniemiec]

It’s ok to feel both gratitude and disappointment at the same time! I did everything in my power to avoid a c-section but as the weeks went on it seemed more and more likely. Finally I scheduled an ECV as a last effort to get her head down, but ended up having an emergency c-section days before the ECV was scheduled. Turns out baby girl had her chord wrapped three times. I’m incredibly grateful that things worked out as they did, because it was the safest way to bring her into the world and she’s here safe and healthy! But I’m still disappointed I wasn’t able to have the broth I wanted, and that’s ok too!

[@Laura-lq6kk]

I think too, a first baby is such uncharted territory. your body has never done this before. I think holding a birth plan loosely for a first baby is wise, just because you just never know what will happen. My first birth was long too. 15 hours, I think. After that though, they all came more fast and furious and hardly more than 6 hours, i think? I DID have an induction with #4 and we did a Folley Catheter Ball induction, and it worked so well I didn't need any medication to make me contract. I think after that first, your body just knows what to do better.

[@agentcallisto]

My first birth was quite similar to yours in that it was an induction, which I didn’t want, and resulted in me getting an epidural, which I eventually requested because I knew I didn’t have the stamina to go on given how slowly I was progressing. I have mixed feelings about it, because like you everything went well, but it just wasn’t what I’d envisioned or prepared for during pregnancy. My second birth, however, was everything I wanted. It was a beautiful birth center water delivery and was absolute magic. So you might get what you hope for the second time around! Maybe not, but I’ve learned every birth is going to be its own thing. Know you’re not alone in your mixed feelings and that it’s okay to feel that way! Congratulations on Floris; he sounds like a dream.

[@MydNyteRayne]

No births go as planned .. my mother knows that all too well! I was her 6th. (5th pregnancy) she had a set of twins before me in her first marriage. I was a born on a cold Xray table.. my mom had no painkillers, nothing. I was stuck and hadn't positioned correctly as the cord was wrapped several time around my neck. They let her labor with me for over 24 hours... she was on the xray table as they were taking pictures of where I was in the process of moving down... All of a sudden she needed to push and I finally came out.. she heard a bang on the table as no one was there to gently guide me out. She said it took a while to hear me cry after getting the cord off etc. Im 52... doing well. I feel bad what my mom went through with me. We we were both luck to be alive and healthy. She passed in 2012.

[@thestorykeeper6818]

Sorry to hear the birth didn't go as you hoped. Childbirth is supposed to be beautiful and empowering. You are allowed to grieve the experience you couldn't have. Just because other people have it worse doesn't make it better.

[@catherinelevison3310]

Now you know why we didn’t want to give you our birth stories before your birth. For my first one, my water broke 3 weeks early and I got contractions one minute apart from the start. It was all very fast but I still wound up with an episiotomy, tons of tearing and no one at the hospital followed my birth plan. They just did things medically as they wanted to. I’ve had a lot of natural births because the epidural didn’t work, etc. Never a relaxing water birth in an ideal setting. Every pregnant woman should learn how to do the whole thing without medication in case they have to do it that way through no choice of their own.

[@vernieplummer5148]

My birth. This is kind of silly. I had been pregnant for 44 weeks. Nobody mentioned that this was any kind of danger, but this was back in the 80s so maybe they didn’t know. My doctor did the sweep during an appointment around 5 PM on October 6. I felt agitated the whole night, and just sat in a chair and read a book and didn’t want to sleep. Around 6 AM I started having contractions. During the period of my pregnancy, my doctor lost his privileges for surgery in the hospital where I lived. We decided that, if I had to have a C-section, I would have to go to a different hospital. I walked and had contractions in the hospital near my home for 10 or 12 hours. Like you, I wasn’t dilating. By the way, my doctor had told me during my first examination that he did not feel that my birth canal was going to be large enough for a baby. After 12 hours or so of contractions, I got into the pick up truck and we drove 30 miles to the other Hospital over hill and dale and many bumps. I was in terrible pain on every bump. I was like you in that I didn’t want an epidural. My labor pains were mostly in my back, and I never did feel like pushing. It was determined after another 10 hours or so that I would need a C-section, because my doctor is right and my birth canal is not large enough. I was so delirious with pain and exhausted at that point that I agreed. I will never forget lying on the operating table, and when the doctor hooked up the IV for the pain medicine and it ran up my arm, I felt it, and it was like I was punched in my face, turned away from that arm, and I was out. My daughter was born around 11:30 PM on October 7. I woke up to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I’m in the United States, and there is very little help provided by the government for the early stages after birth. I was living several hundred miles away from my parents or any type of help. I was a nurse, so I understood the physical needs of a baby, but certainly the day-to-day activities were a total mystery to me. However, we made it through.

[@hollylanevintagetreasures]

First off, love your dress!! You look amazing and it's wonderful to have you back. Thank you so much for sharing your birth story. I just love hearing womens birth stories. So sorry it didn't go to plan though, I know that's frustrating. My heart goes out to you. Congratulations to you and your husband on your baby boy. Love his name!! I have two kids, 17 (daughter) and 13(son), and both birth stories didn't go to plan either. Though to be fair I never had much of a plan except I did want an epidural. I'm not terribly brave when it comes to pain. 😂 With my daughter they thought my fluid was low at a 38 week ultrasound. They ended up inducing that day. Later when they broke my water they were surprised at how much fluid was there.....I don't think the ultrasound was accurate. Baby girl was healthy but I started feeling weird the next day. A week and a half later I started bleeding profusely and was rushed to the hospital where they had to do a D& C because parts of the placenta was left behind. Had terrible post partum which I didn't realize until months later when I was coming out of it. My son was much easier...thank God! He was 9 days late. My water broke at home we we rushed to the hospital. As I was walking into the triage room my water fully broke all over the floor. I went into full labor shortly thereafter. I had an epidural but not after being in hard labor for a while. His birth went very well and I was mentally and physically healthy after his birth.

[@gentryab4646]

Congratulations!!! Here is the USA, we give birth and typically go home with baby less than 12 hours after. No nurse or help. Just another of information right before we leave. It's nerve racking! But I loved my burth! We listen to music, singing between contractions. I wish everyone could have an amazing tranquil experience

[@MistressBella1533]

Wait what! I live in CT, I had a normal, vaginal delivery, and they made me stay at the hospital for 72hrs 😭 I would have loved to have gone home right away

[@kristiekat2179]

​@@MistressBella1533my first was uncomplicated vaginal delivery and discharged at 72 hrs and my second, I had an emergency C-section where baby was born at 32 weeks and spent a month in the NICU. Even then I was discharged after 72 hrs. Never heard of anyone getting released after just 12 hrs!

[@elizabethrobles9934]

Ditto with your birth story. I want to give you hope- I went on to have 2 more home births and it was female empowerment for sure. My son didn’t want to come out either but he’s now 22 and healthy and happy despite a medical birth. You can still have your dream births now that know what is going to happen

[@lz738]

Oh I had such a similar experience! I really wanted that natural, beautiful and peaceful birth at home but alas it was not to be. I had some health issues (elevated blood pressure and bell's palsy - temporary) that meant no home birth for me. I was also induced at 41 weeks. The hospital team used drugs to induce me and then the contractions stared fast and hard, but it still took me 24 until I was fully dilated and my baby boy came out. At hour 22, I finally got an epidural because I thought if I didn't reduce the pain I would lose my mind. It was so hard. But the relief I felt after the epidural was amazing and it was like I was human again. My baby was also healthy but I still grieved the loss of the beautiful, meaningful and spiritual natural childbirth experience that I had dreamed of. Lots of people told me to just be happy that the baby and I were healthy. But please don't let anyone tell you that your feelings of loss or grief (from the experience not being how you had hoped) are not valid! Your feelings are completely natural, understandable, and valid. Let yourself feel that disappointment and process it. (For me, it took a few years before I could speak about the birthing process without crying). Also, my medical team was not particularly kind or empathetic (my obstetrician actually "threatened" me by saying "if you're not fully dilated in the next hour, we will have to do a C-section! So I didn't feel supported. But that's how the American medical system is: all about money and very impersonal). So I'm glad for you at least that you had kind and supportive care. But anyway, please feel all your complicated and authentic feelings and don't let anyone diminish them or tell you "you should just be grateful." Of course, you are grateful for a healthy baby, but the experience of giving birth and becoming a mother for the first time is emotionally complex (just like all your future parenting experiences will be), and that is completely normal and okay.

[@femketjeNL]

My 2 births (which one was of my stillborn daughter 2 years ago) both went totally different from what I wanted to. I'm still really sad how it all went looking back at it. It's totally normal to feel like this when all the things that happened were things you really didn't want to go through

[@strawberry1025]

I hear you dear Lucy. I hope 'debriefing' here really helps with your healing from the experience..

[@MissKatieJaneRigglar]

Congratulations to you both on the birth of your beautiful, healthy little boy 🥰🩵

[@theMermaidRhonda]

I'm childfree by choice, but my sister in law had an interesting experience with her first pregnancy. I can't speak to all of it, as it wasn't me going through it, but I do know she was in labor for what seemed like hours before the doctors decided to do a C-section because my nephew was stuck. I believe he was around 12 pounds! I remember my mom freaking out, thinking he would be brain damaged, but he came out just fine, albeit with a bit of a conehead from being stuck. It went away fairly quickly and now he's 24, married and a news anchor in Texas. Congrats on your little one! Love the dress you're wearing in this video. :)

[@SGRmoss]

42 weeks! Floris was comfy! 😅 Congratulations to you and your lovely family. ❤❤❤

[@amandafletcher4379]

I was induced 2x due to preeclampsia. Hospital births both times because of my bp (it's just always been high). I'm glad baby is here and I'm sorry it took so long to get it started! Sometimes they just don't want to leave! It's okay to grieve the birth you wanted. It's also important that people talk about it. I feel like so often all we hear about are the beautiful "perfect" births or the super traumatic ones. It's important to talk about the in betweens!

[@Aplusinskal]

Sis, so proud of you

[@pheart2381]

There is so much emphasis on having a good birth,and a beautiful experience these days. It hardly ever happens like that in reality,except my English teacher delivered her first in 1h45mins. I think she must have been a sheep! You are both healthy,which is the main thing.

[@dottiewi661]

A sheep 😂. A friend of my MIL also delivered her child in 3 hours. So it seems to be a thing (for a minority of people).

[@louisacoote2337]

@@dottiewi661 My sisters and sister-in-law all went into labour in the early morning and had their babies later that day ( between 3 and 7/8 hours).

[@Nmbr1fan]

My mum have super fast births. She lives a 10 minute drive from the hospital and she has never actually given birth in a hospital bed. I was born in the hospital parking lot in the car, my sister was born in the hospital elevator and my brother was born in the hallway at home. She said it took longer making us than birthing us, we basically just fell out of her 😂

[@dottiewi661]

@@Nmbr1fan now that I think of it, one participant in our pre-birth-info course already had several children, and always had ultra fast births (also minutes, like in your family) and a premature baby. She was looking into homebirths or birthing in a midwife-led birthing centre (that the course was at, and from which one midwife also was delivering home births) but because of her history (likely a cervix issue?) wasn’t advised to, was annoyed with that, because most of her births happened before she was at the hospital, and the ambulance personnel at least had to try to bring her to the hospital in time, but she said it just wasn’t realistic…

[@angelanice]

Compared to American healthcare that sounds like a beautiful experience but I understand the disappointment you're feeling. My first birth didn't go at all as planned, I had to stay a little longer for observation but everything turned out fine. It's perfectly ok to grieve what you wanted but didn't get to experience, even if it "could have been worse" ❤ When my second was born I knew what to expect a little more and even though we had different challenges it still made it easier. My children are now teenagers and I look back on their births with fondness. I think over time that being the day you got to meet your little one makes it special regardless of what you were expecting.

[@SusanLeeNightingale]

I love that you are choosing not to share too much about your baby boy, not because I wouldn't love to see him, but because you see so many mums sharing everything about their child's life on social media these days without a care in the world about their child's privacy. It is refreshing to see someone value their family's privacy over content. Not to mention most of the comments on "mom content" are usually filled with judgmental moms telling every other mom how they are doing everything wrong. I used to consume a lot of it unfortunately. Glad to see you are avoiding it! ❤

[@stone.durfey5862]

I lost my first, so my son 27, was a rainbow baby. One that I should have never been able to have, so a doctor told me several years later. My birth was hard, blood pressure up, nothing working and an emergency c-section. And I was almost 39, which is late to be having a first baby. And having baby wasn't planned. I was just glad he was born healthy, because of the hard birth also glad I had my tubes tied right after birth. Because being pregnant was far from pleasant. Try being morning sick, 24 - 7. And we were both older parents. Later the nurses told me that they were so scared for us both. I was on the edge of having a stroke from the high blood pressure, we could have both passed away. So, mine was scary. I am so glad your little boy was born healthy, and even though you had a hard birth. You now are proud parents of a beautiful baby boy.

[@pickledjesus517]

Been here since the sock bun secret, this is absolutely wild. Congratulations 💗

[@misscaffy]

Thank you for sharing your birth story Loepsie!! I'm definitely considering becoming a mom and every bit of information is greatly appreciated!! I would love to see content regarding maternity, especially as a first time mom but I know your channel isn't focused on that. I will regardless keep waiting for every new upload as usual :)

[@carolsay480]

Loepsie!!! I am soo happy to finally see baby Floris!! Yay!!! Congratulations to you and your husband!!! =^_^= I am happy that you and him came out healthy and strong!!😊🥰✌️💕🩷💗 Congratulations once again!!!💖💐💖~

[@AnnabellaRedwood]

Congratulations Lucy. I'm so happy for you. You could reframe your experience as a life saving intervention rather than evil. Evil never has a good outcome. You got your beautiful baby boy. I'm so glad you are doing so well. ❤💗💕💜💙 May God bless your little family.

[@bunhelsingslegacy3549]

Sorry you didn't get the birth you wanted. Totally ok to feel like something you survived rather than something you did. And it's absolutely no shame in medicating. I'm glad your hospital experience wasn't as awful as it could have been. I've got one friend who even as her kids are nearing adulthood, feels that she didn't give birth to her C-section kids...

[@LexiLadonna]

I had EXACTLY the same experience as you and also felt extremely dissapointed after the birth of my baby last August. In time (now 10 months out) my feelings about it are not as strong and I hardly think about it and feel more nuetral about it. Time has healed the hurt. I am still hoping for something closer to what I wanted if we have a second child, though

[@WhitneyCollins-pc5sn]

Make 1950s baby clothes Make a 1950s prom dress Make vintage baby close for your son.Those are my suggestions , are you

[@kalilex656]

Congrats! What a huge leap from sock buns!!! Can't believe ur a Momma now, such an exciting new chapter of ur life!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@CraftyMunchQuinn]

My son came exactly on his due date (was in labor 21hrs, awake about 36hrs straight)...I ended up letting my SO talk me into getting an epidural and am glad I did, since my son kind of has a big head and he got stuck under my bone, Dr had to use the forceps to pull him out...I was going "it hurts...it hurts...OH MY GOD IT HURTS!" and then he was born (and that was after getting the epidural).

[@brightcopperkettles]

Birth stories. Short form. I'm also a needlephobe who always dreamed of a home birth in a birthing pool. First: At the hospital for monitoring. Was hours away from being induced. The IV nurse wasn't very kind. 12-14 hours. Midwife attended and unmedicated. Was a bit sad it didn't go as I dreamed. Went fine enough, though. Second: low-key emergency c-section. Terrified of needles, so the spinal block was easily the worst part. I screamed very (very) loudly directly into a nurse's face. (Sorry to her.) But no regrets about using the "emergency exit". There was a very good chance baby would not have survived labour. Although, do the scar massages they give you! I didn't enough and have issues from that. Third: conservatively induced vbac. Midwife supervised in hospital. Used tens machine and nitrous. Nitrous was my bestest best friend. Went well enough. Never did get to labour in a pool... 😅

[@felinetherapy4782]

Adore your dress. Take your time and enjoy your baby. Congratulations!

[@nixie1986]

Congratulations mama! ❤ Advice: give yourself grace. Ask for help.

[@DeAnnaYork-jf9yu]

Congratulations to you and your husband on the birth of your beautiful baby boy!!!!! Welcome to the world, Baby Floris!!!!

[@lenagreen2979]

So happy for you and Robert❤ What a beautiful and precious gift. I had 3 all natural births, all went well but none were the same. Lol I wouldn't change a thing. It was my journey ❤ So glad you are feeling good 😊you look lovely and the baby of course is beautiful like his Mom and Dad. Enjoy every minute , it goes by so fast❤😊🙏

[@allylewy5737]

so sorry it didn't go as planned! I had to have a planned c section since the baby was breeched (upside down) and I was VERY relieved. I did not want to go through labor at all. I'm very happy to live in this modern time and I was so grateful my baby could come out in a safe way! the process was so easy and chill. he was out in like, 15 minutes after I laid down. healing was really hard for the first 3 days but by day 4 I was walking up stairs fine. by day 14 I was back to normal- walking miles with no pain at all. everyone was really upset that I was happy I had to have a c-section (WHY?? ppl are so weird) and it turned out to be NOTHING like what people warned me. my heart was right all along. I think my bady heard my prayers and turned upside down so we BOTH wouldn't have to go through the stress of labor lol. he is the happiest most chill baby at 14 months now. CONGRATS MAMA!! thank you for sharing your story and I wish you and your partner the best. becoming a family is the most precious thing.

[@JessieBenson93]

[@mrsbronk]

Aww I never clicked on a video so fast! So beautiful to see you as a mommy. ❤

[@missdoke1669]

My daughter is almost 7 years old, my son is 3 years old. I don’t look back on the birth differently 😉 My daughter was 2 Months early and I had to have an emergency c-section (I had HELLP syndrome), it went totally different from my birth plan as you can imagine. With my son my water broke on sunday morning and I delivered him on tuesday afternoon without any pain relief. So yeah.. I did feel awesome for being able to give birth to him naturally. I love my daughter and son, BUT I’m done!😂 No more pregnancies for me please!

[@spicystephie]

Congratulations!! So happy for you guys. You shouldn’t feel guilty about how your birth experience went, it’s your truth and reality. I had a csection which was literally the last thing I wanted. That birth experience was positive but the first month was hard because of recovery from surgery and unknown feeding issues with the baby. It’s been a long road with a lot of work and he’s happy and super healthy. Ready for second😊

[@theardentarcher]

Congratulations! ❤ Welcome to the mom club! My son’s birth also didn’t go how I wished. I wanted an natural birth and ended up in labor at 37 weeks with HELLP syndrome and a breech baby. I had to have an emergency c-section for my and my baby’s safety. So I know exactly how you feel about things just happening to you rather than you experiencing the strength of feminine power. It was overall a fairly traumatic experience for me and I haven’t yet gotten through it mentally and my son will be 2 in October. I’m getting there though, it’s just taking time. 😊

[@sparo_art]

I haven't had kids but I'm a very anxious person. I think things that others wouldn't always qualify as "traumatic" can be for you. Sure, it might not have been a horror birth story but if you're scared of medical settings, the whole process of having to be there and not knowing how far this will have to go can be very scary and disturbing! On a more positive note, congratulation to you, your baby and your husband! I hope you can now have some nice and fun moments all together! I'm looking forward to more videos :D

[@cutiebee2]

Congratulations! I’ve been watching your videos when you focussed more on hairstyling (in fact I’m just rewatching your crown braid tutorials just minutes ago!), how time flies!

[@sarahofthemulberrytree]

I have 2 children now and my first birth was similar to your experience I went too close to 42 weeks and we did a membrane sweep. This did put me into labor, but I didn't dialate enough for 2 days and then went to the hospital. It took a total of 72 hours of labor and I did get the epidural, was able to push her out. For my second I was able to have my little one at home, the labor was 4 hours. I also had this one at 42 weeks. My midwife told me something after that birth that has rang very true to me and maybe it will help you find some peace. She said that in every birth whether it's fast or slow, whether it's your first or 6th, it's always the hardest thing you've ever done and at some point you have to surrender to it. I can't only speak from my own experience, of course, but I'm not sure birth or labor is ever exactly something you "do" but something you surrender to, so that you can love your baby once it's over. I'm glad you and your little one are healthy, this is where the joy really begins ❤. (Or really after about 6 months, that's when the baby isn't more work than anything else.)

[@lenagreen2979]

I was looking for a vlog for cutting bangs lolThats how I found you So funny and you did a great job. So thanks for that❤ now I'm a follower😊 Have a great week. Enjoy that little boy❤🙏

[@TheToeBrand]

I recently gave birth to my baby girl 4 weeks ago and I also have mixed feelings about it. Unlike your birth it went waay too fast and I delivered her 5 hours after my contractions started, 45 minutes after arriving to the hospital. I tried so hard to not have any expectations and was pretty prepared for anything happening but I didn't foresee giving birth THAT quickly. No time to get to know the staff, no time for a bath, no time for my labour-playlist or to even hand over my birth letter that I had painstakingly prepared. The medical staff was great, both me and baby are fine and have recovered quickly but I still find myself shaken by the experience. So it's not just you.. birth is both beautiful, unforeseeable and sometimes borderline traumatic and scary lol. Hope you feel better and congrats on your baby boy!

[@Celebrinthal]

I had a spontaneous birth but a very similar experience with very slow dilation, awful pain and sleeping through contractions in the tub 😂 (my husband told me that I was snoring too and that it would have been funny in different circumstances) it took 27 hours. Didn't get an epidural and I still wouldn't because even more than needles, I'm afraid of losing control over my body. I got oxytocin at the end, which I barely registered but agreed because I was so done and just wanted the baby out asap. Now I'm thinking that maybe I wouldn't have torn as much if it wasn't for the oxytocin. Anyway, please please please don't feel guilty about your disappointment! You had expectations which weren't unrealistic and your disappointment is totally valid. You acknowledge that many others had it worse and recognize how lucky you were with the medical staff, and you don't take them for granted. I'd say these are all the right attitudes. I think we (I have these complicated feelings too about my own experience) need to accept that our feelings and our reasoning may not always agree, and that is ALL RIGHT. Lots of love ❤

[@redhed515]

Your description of the "zone" made me laugh. Four babies and the only zone I reached was the zone of pain and exhaustion.

[@janusquiamco7128]

Congratulations with the birth! I’m glad you and Floris are doing well. I‘m interested in how the doula system works in your country. Taylor R. worked with a chinese doula after she gave birth in Hong Kong and it was very insightful.

[@easjer]

So my first child was a premature birth that was just too early for viability at that point in time (it would be a thin chance now), which really did carry over into how I felt about my two living kids' births. I had incompetent cervix, so there was a lot of effort focused on keeping babies in (cerclage, p17 injections weekly, modified bedrest). With my first, I had planned a homebirth and saw a CNM until the abrupt end. The pregnancies with my other kids were highly medical events, but because we had such a bad experience with the first, it was very welcome to me. With my oldest, I had to be induced because of pre-eclampsia, and I was not at all favorable. It was very much a straight to the hospital and let's get you hooked up now situation. The OB promised I could eat dinner but forgot to enter the order, so I wasn't allowed food. They thought the induction would take days - literally, all I heard, over and over was that they were going to take it really slow to give me the best chance for a vag delivery. So I sent my husband home to sleep there, and got more and more uncomfortable and took every drug they offered me because they kept telling me I needed rest but I was so uncomfortable I could not sleep. I was in labor and honestly did not realize it. I did the falling asleep between contractions thing too, not realizing I was in active labor. So I got an epidural and went OUT. They called my husband around 2:30 am and told him to come out, and I slept through labor. They woke me up to push, basically. I was still so loopy and tired that I could not even tell them how tired I was. My mom missed the birth because I told her to wait to come out because it was going to take so long to induce me, lol. My youngest was a super fast labor - first contraction to delivery was about 4.5 hours. I went from 5-9.5 in about 45 minutes, and I was cursing up a storm. I told the nurse I would take the epidural after the birth as long as I could have it, lol. They did give me the epidural but mainly to try and slow things down - I was supposed to be getting 2 rounds of antibiotics during labor because I was GBS+, and getting at least via IV was vita and they couldn't get a doctor (mine wasn't responding to the page bc it was her night off and by the time she called in I'd delivered)). So the epidural slowed things down a bit and allowed for a bit and made everything calmer and less frantic. I will say 8 and 12 years later, all the emotion is pretty well gone (the first birth was almost 15 years ago and that is still raw in places), and it's just good stories. So feel how you feel - it's valid and it will pass more quickly for acknowledging the truth of it.

[@MadalinaS55]

My birth went nothing like I had hoped. I wanted a natural birth, but my labour stopped when I was 8-9cm dilated... I had an emergency c-section and was hospitalised for way longer than I had expected. I hated every part of it. But my baby is now one year old and things are ok. Needless to say, I'm not considering a second baby 😅 You look so full of energy at 6 weeks postpartum, I was a hot mess for months 🙈

[@Катнип]

Awe I'm sorry. I understand being disappointed with your birth. Mine was horrible. "I was surviving it" definitely described me. I have no nice memories about it. My hospital team was good. But I had to take the drug to increase the strength of my contractions and I tore. There was no beautiful moment once he was born. I was exhausted and overwhelmed. I too feel guilty about that. But he's 10 months old now and I love him so much. I can't go back and have a good birth story but my son is beautiful and we are happy and close now.

[@rikketakera]

I had my boy the 28th of April 🩵 congrats mama! It’s the most intense thing ever.

[@cindland]

Wow, congrats. Your videos pop in and out of my feed, so I completely forgot you would be having him soon! So glad to hear from you now. Love happy baby news. Being induced and having a lot of medical intervention is not easy. Great news that nothing went wring. No C section is fabulous after all that. I had 4 labors that went on endlessly. I am a very slow dilator. Don’t worry, there’s not a “zone” that you missed out on. You just do your best to keep ahead of the contraction waves. ❤️

[@WolfGan0178]

My daughter was healthy, I survived, but it was far from where I wanted it to be. My daughter is 4 and I still wish it had been different. I wanted an unmedicated birth, but I ended up needing an epidural after 48 hours of labor. She got stuck and I almost needed an emergency C-section. Luckily she came out with suction assistance, but again, none of that was what I had envisioned. My breastfeeding journey also did not go how I wanted. I didn't produce anything at all until a week after I delivered, so we had to use formula, and then ofc she wouldn't latch when I finally got milk. I pumped and bottle fed for 6 months before I lost supply completely, which also sucked. Yes, everything could have been worse for me, but the feelings of wishing it'd been what you dreamed are completely valid.

[@KathrineBMS]

Thank you for sharing ❤️ My labor was much like yours. However my water broke very early (by it self) which meant my son got down into my pelvis at a wrong angle. I labored for about 16 hours before getting an epidural. I never experienced the urge to push so it felt like I was doing everything blindfolded. In the end they had to use a cup to help me. It took 31 hours from the water broke. I grieved for my birth experience for longer than I should have. I felt like I failed somehow. It wasn’t until I talked my birth story through with a midwife that I truly healed - so if that’s possible in the Netherlands I’d recommend that

[@dottiewi661]

Congratulations! Floris is such a sweet name. Take your time, don’t stress yourself out about the content here. It’s ok to feel sad, that the birth didn’t go as planned. Especially with fear of hospitals and needles etc. Maybe if ever you want second child everything will turn out different? In terms of a kind of magical ancient feminine energy, maybe that’s a bit of a myth, or does not happen to everyone, or a lot? But in glad, given the circumstances, you had a positive medical experience, especially that push, that you describe, that the midwife administered on your belly, is often experienced as bad or harmful? Im glad that you experienced this as helpful. Our own experience: (nearly nine months ago) it also didn’t go as planned, though due to increased bleeding risk, I always knew, I would have a hospital birth, but with my medical history, I have a different (positive) experience with doctors. As a pharmacist, though, I can view medical decisions from a different perspective, and don’t have to trust the explanation of a procedure blindly etc. (In Germany home births are rather rare, I don’t know, how many people would like a home birth, but can’t have one? But I guess its because, there are so few independent midwives that have it in their portfolio, I guess it’s because the insurance would be so high, and the pressure, if something went wrong? I went into the birthing preparations with pretty vague expectations, I think, but I definitely thought, make the best of it, we also were allowed to bring music etc. The contractions started the evening before the due date, so pretty standard. Arrived at the hospital late evening, though excited, pretty tired already, didn’t think of playing the music at all. Baby didn’t progress at all, for 8 hours, by the time the morning shift midwife came, I was entirely in my head, the pain felt so bad, I couldn’t talk, answer questions, and those weren’t even the massive contractions that happen at later stages… So eventually I can agree to an epidural, and the difference! I felt human again! While under contractive medication they noticed dips in the heart rate during contractions and found out through ultrasound that the cord was around baby’s neck, so a c-section was necessary. Afterwards we were shown, that the cord was rather short, so she couldn’t have come down any further, so we see wildly glad for modern medicine! Also like your final moments of your delivery our c-section was rather overstaffed: 4(!) doctors (one in training) on the operative team, an operative assistant, the anaesthesiologist and her assistant and the midwife and my husband. But the experience with the medical staff was great, all were kind and considerate, they took time to explain everything well and no decision was forced on us etc. The hospital in general doesn’t have a great reputation but the maternity ward does!