Birth Stories and Poems

Expressing my birth dance in words

KAI Birth Experience 1

Kai Cotelo Goodall was born on the 26th January at 01:01am. At 4 in the afternoon I was sitting at our kitchen table in Playa Quemada, Lanzarote. We had just come home from harvesting in a friend's garden and I was eating an orange. My water broke in a slow trickle and I laughed. "Aitor, it's happening, I think my waters just broke!" I shouted with glee. 

I went and sat on the toilet as the trickle continued. I went on for a long time and we were so excited we got out our instruments and I played the clarinet to Aitor's guitar on the toilet. I collected the amniotic fluid and gave it to Aitor to make into a smoothie. He mixed it with mango. 

When the trickle stopped the contractions began and I moved around the house trying to get comfy. After a few hours they were really strong and I called a friend who had recently given birth to ask if it was supposed to hurt that much. The midwife at the hospital had told us to stay home for as long as we could, so that is what we did. I got into the bath and finished the 'mango smoothie'. The contractions were really strong. Aitor was with me and some blood came out in the bath. Time to go now he said. 

We got into our little Nissan Micra and began the 40 minute drive to the hospital. By now I was having really intense contractions and could not sit down on the seat. I was pushing against the roof of the car and screaming loudly as Aitor tried to keep his eyes on the road and get to hospital. When we got there I could not walk. Aitor ran and got me a wheelchair and we went in. Everyone was speaking Spanish and we went through to the birthing rooms. At first I was off the bed, but soon I was really tired and went on to the bed lying down on my back. The pain in my lower back was searing. I was trying to breath deeply and the midwife said, You know you need to push right? Do you feel like you need to do a poo? Then push. She pushed my knee to my chest and Aitor help the other knee to my chest. I pushed as hard as I can, saying "come baby come" and in a hot wave Kai surfed out. The hospital midwife put him on my chest and his eyes were open, he was so awake and alert. The placenta came out soon afterwards in another hot wave. My vagina tore and was tender, yet the joy of seeing my baby boy numbed the pain. I was yet to learn how to birth a baby with power rather than force... 

Kai was named after our love of the ocean as it means ocean in Hawaiian culture. He has his sun in Aquarius, moon in Capricorn and Scorpio ascending. 

IARA Birth Experience 2

Iara Cotelo Goodall was born on the 8th July 2019 at 10:01am. At 6am I began to feel some cramps in my stomach. I got out of bed and walked around the house. I made a cup of tea and sat on the veranda. "I think we should call mum and dad to pick up Kai, I am in labour," I said to Aitor. 

My parents came at 8:30am to pick up our first son Kai. He was happy to go with Nanny and Grandpa and said goodbye without much fuss. 

Aitor got some things ready for the trip to hospital and I moved around the wooden floor, changing position with each contraction as they grew stronger. Suddenly a surge hit me and I doubled over flat on the floor. It was like I was hit with a bolt in my back and I was flooded with a feeling of unconditional love. I burst into tears. I was holding a rose quartz crystal in my hand. 

We got into our van and drove to hospital. We hit every red light on the way and my contractions were really strong again. I was struggling to stay in my seat. We got to emergency and Aitor parked the car. I could barely walk through the door and the doctors whisked me into emergency. We cannot take you upstairs, you are too close to crowning. There were many people around and I was feeling stressed, lying on the bed trying to breathe. The midwife arrived, grabbed my arm and said "Everything is going to be ok". I breathed out and smelt her botanical essential oils. I breathed out and relaxed. I began to push. 'Come baby Come," I chanted. Aitor held my other arm and I asked them to hold my legs the same as I had done for Kai, for it worked last time. They did and very quickly I pushed Iara into the world. Her eyes were closed and she snuggled into my chest. Without checking if she was a girl or boy, the doctors wheeled the bed into the elevator. When were were inside the midwife asked if anyone had checked. Aitor lifted the baby and saw she was a girl, we cried. In the birthing room I got stitched to repair a tear in my vagina, once again I pushed my way through the birth... eventually I would learn there were many more positions available to ease the birth and I could surrender into it rather than push through it... 

After 4 hours of resting we checked out of hospital and headed home so Iara could meet Kai her big brother and we shared a tortilla with my parents. 

Iara was named in hospital a few hours after her birth. Her name is an Amazonian mermaid goddess from Brazilian Mythology. Her sun is in Cancer, moon in Virgo and Virgo ascending. 

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XIAN Birth Experience 3

Xian Cotelo Goodall was born on January 19th 2022 at 17:40. I began to feel contractions about midday and was really hungry. Aitor my husband and Ben our visiting friend had left to go to the national park with the children and mum and dad stayed and cooked lunch for me. We had rissoles in the farm shed and then I felt I needed to lie down. I went back to our bus and mum came with me. I sent Carla our midwife a text message and did a sacral chakra meditation. The contractions got stronger and so I called Carla to come. I did another meditation by Jane Hardwick Collins. A shamanic journey of a fierce mother grizzly bear. Aitor, my husband came back and I told him I was in labour. He started cleaning the bus and preparing the pool. I had a foot bath with herbal Epsom salts, a gift from my belly blessing. Carla arrived. Kai and Iara, my older children were at the shed with Nanny and Grandpa. They came up to see mummy get into the pool. They were very excited to know that the baby was coming. They stayed for a while, then the contractions got louder and stronger and they left with Nanny and Grandpa back to their camp. Carla massaged my back and buttocks. Aitor was near my head. I was stretched out across the pool. As the contractions got stronger my waters broke. I told Carla and she told me to move to my hands and knees. Aitor told me to bring my head to him. Then a really long contraction came, I visualised a bear and roared releasing noise from deep within my chest. I felt the pressure of baby's head moving down and stretching the lips of my vagina. His head was out. I just caught my breath before the next contraction. Carla asked me to pant. I did and then the urge to push was so strong, his body slipped out and he was in my arms. Grey in colour, his eyes were wide open. Aitor and I watched his colour change to pink and he took a while to suck on my nipple. Aitor said he was a boy. We laughed because we all thought he was a girl. Kai and Iara came after the placenta came out. The placenta took a while because I was in a bit of shock. We let baby sit with the placenta attached for a while. Kai was watching when I cut the cord with the string. We tied three knots. There were three vessels in the cord. The placenta was small and thick. Carla made prints of the placenta on paper. Aitor held baby and I came out of the pool. I had a shower and Ben made a meat stew. I ate all of it, then went to rest in bed in the bus with baby who we had not yet named. Aitor and our children Kai and Iara, our friend Ben and his daughters, Nanny and Grandpa shared a meal together. Kai and Iara slept with Nanny and Grandpa and Aitor came to join me and baby in bed later. Xian was named two days later, the alchemist in Taoism, the one who walks alone. Capricorn Sun, Cancer ascending, Leo moon. 

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Free to explore and roam

Natures clues for you to see

Movement upon the Earth

Your country dances in celebration

The day your mother gave you birth.

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