Fully dilated within an hour! How is that possible?

After weeks of restlessness and a few occasional contractions here and there, I woke up at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1, with my water breaking. Nothing happened after that, but I couldn’t get back to sleep either. I felt restless. I still had a few appointments scheduled, and of course I had to cancel them right away. Don got the kids ready for school, and saying goodbye to them was so emotional for me. I could feel that it was about to happen.

At 12:00 p.m., I started to feel some menstrual cramps and plugged in the TENS machine for natural pain relief. The midwife was supposed to come by later that day. But at 2:15 p.m., the contractions suddenly started coming in quick succession; my body felt chilled, and I found it harder to cope with them. I called the midwife to ask her to come sooner.

The midwife did the checkups, and I was at 3 cm dilated. That was a disappointment because it already felt incredibly intense. The midwife suggested we head to the hospital right away because Vayèn was born so quickly (3.5 hours). I had a hard time in the car; everything suddenly seemed to be happening so fast. My body went into a kind of shock as a reaction—it felt like hypothermia, and my legs were shaking violently.
Don called our postpartum care provider, Charéll @kraamzorg.lief.leven,to ask her to come to the hospital. “Wait a little while before calling the birth photographer,” I said, “because I’m only at 3 cm.”

At 2:45 p.m., we arrived at the hospital, and the midwife suggested that I take a shower right away to warm up and cope with the contractions. Our maternity assistant had also arrived by then to provide extra emotional support and a soothing back massage to help with the back pain.

I quickly started to feel a lot of pressure. It felt like the urge to push. But wasn’t I only at 3 cm just a moment ago?
I heard the midwife say to Don, “Things are moving quickly now. If you want the photographer there to capture the birth, you’d better call him right away.”

“Would you like us to check my dilation again?” “Sure!” I replied, “because then I’ll know what I’m working toward.” The girls from @lume_birthstories had just walked in, and the midwife told me I was already at 10 cm. Full dilation within an hour! How is that possible?

I was incredibly relieved and happy because, to be honest… for a moment, I didn’t know what to do with those contractions. I asked if I could push on all fours again. “Of course, you can get into any position you like,” the midwife replied. Because everything was happening so fast, I didn’t know what to do for a moment, but luckily the room was full of kind women who helped me through it. Don took our little girl and immediately shouted, “ANOTHER GIRL!” Such a beautiful moment 🥺—he handed her to me from between my legs. What a magical moment. And everything that had happened before instantly faded into the background. She’s here! Our sweet little girl, Luna! 😍🩷🥰

I am so grateful that I was able to experience my third birth this way—with our own midwife and postpartum care provider. Everything felt so personal and familiar, yet it was still at the hospital, which also made me feel safe. ✨

Instagram @hilkezuithof 🌸 Girlsmom

🌙 Birth Photographer @lume_birthstories