July 21, 2025 • 31 mins
In today’s episode, Georgie shares an honest and emotional update on her second pregnancy — and how her original birth plan has had to drastically shift due to a high-risk diagnosis.
This isn’t just a pregnancy update — it’s a heartfelt conversation for anyone who’s ever had a plan or vision that didn’t unfold the way they hoped. Whether you're navigating motherhood, business, or simply life’s curveballs, this episode is a powerful reminder that we can hold grief and acceptance at the same time.
Georgie opens up about:
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The medical news that changed everything at 20 and 33 weeks
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What placenta previa means and how she’s preparing for a planned C-section
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The tools and mindset shifts helping her surrender control
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How she’s choosing to process change with grace and presence
If you've ever been faced with letting go of the “perfect plan,” this conversation will leave you feeling seen, grounded, and empowered to trust the new path ahead.
Find out more about the Rise app & the pregnancy + birth meditations Georgie uses here.
Find the manifestation Lab HERE
You can join The Abundance Academy here.
Join the Rise & Conquer Facebook group here.
Follow the Rise & Conquer Instagram here.
Discover Rise & Conquer courses here.
Shop Rise & Conquer products here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the
land on which this episode is being recorded, the Combomb
Merry people. They've been having conversations and telling stories on
this land for thousands of years, and we show our
gratitude and respect for their contribution to our environment and culture.
(00:21):
This is Rise and Conquer, the podcast where we strive
to become the highest version of ourselves through curious conversations,
healthy mindsets, laughter, connection, and a deep desire to evolve.
I'm your host, Georgie Stevenson. Join me as we explore parenthood, business, manifestation,
(00:46):
and so much more. It's positive, it's practical, and it's
about putting you in the driver's seat of your own life.
Are you ready? Hello, my loves, and welcome back to
the podcast. Today is going to be a bit of
a vulnerable one, something a little bit different, something I
(01:08):
just feel really called to share in real time before
it happens. And I have been keeping you somewhat updated
on my social media if you follow me over on Instagram.
And there has been a lot of things to process
with my birth plan with my second daughter, and basically
(01:31):
I wanted to do this episode because I know, especially
the Rise and conquer community. We often have very specific,
clear goals, We have very specific visions of who we
want to be and how things how we want things
to go. So really this is for anyone who has
(01:52):
had a plan or vision and for whatever reason, things
have had to deviate and things have had to change. So,
whether you're pregnant or not, this episode is really about
what to do when life throws you those curve balls,
when plans change, and even you know when you're grieving
(02:14):
something being a specific way, but you also want to
process it and you want to move through it. You
don't want to keep living in the past, and you
want to basically move through it in a very healthy way.
This episode is going to be very, very helpful for you.
So let's get into a bit of an update. I'll
start from the start. So with my first daughter, Ivy,
(02:39):
we had a vaginal birth. I labored I think it
was for a good seventeen hours. I was seven centimeters dilated,
and then I had this kind of euphoric experience where
very quickly the backstory would be tim. When me and
Tim first found out about Ivy, we were in Ularu
(03:02):
on a holiday and it was the most magical holiday
still to this day, it was my favorite holiday at
the It's so sacred there and it's so beautiful. And
I was getting a massage and it was the day
before I could take a test, and my massage lady said,
oh my god, you're pregnant. And I was like, ah, really,
(03:24):
how do you know? And she said, when I was
massaging you, I got this vision of this. Yeah, this
vision in so in Aboriginal culture there would be women's
ceremonies and men's ceremonies. They would do them separately. And
she said, there was this woman's ceremony where basically they
(03:45):
were calling in this spirit baby for you, and I
think you're pregnant. And so the next day I took
the test. I was pregnant. It was like obviously incredible
after a year of infertility, so that was it's like
super super special. And it's so interesting because we birthed
publicly at the Gold Coast ud Hospital if you'd know
(04:09):
the Gold Coast area, and in the rooms, the walls
were painted and you know, they have the bath they
have the beds. It's very set up very well. And
the room that we got put in, the birthing suite,
was actually aboriginal art on the wall, and I remember
getting in there and being like, oh wow, that's so beautiful.
(04:31):
And when I was laboring and I was seven centimeters,
I went into this kind of like euphoric hallucination. And
she was posteria, so I was in a lot of pain,
and I kind of take that as I was trying
to go. I was in a lot of pain because
she was posterior. And I started having this hallucination that
(04:52):
I was in this woman's circle and she was ready
to come in and I was cooling her in. And
and this is how much I believe, like our mind
and our subconscious mind controls our body and all our
workings within our body, and we know that. But basically
I started bearing down, which you're only supposed to do
(05:14):
once you're fully dilated. And so I remember I started
bearing down. Basically just feels like you want to pooh,
and it feels good too. Bearing down feels good. It
feels like your body knows it's towards the end. And
I started bearing down. I looked over to the nurses
and they were looking at me like oh no, and
they were like, no, you're not fully dilated, Like you
(05:36):
need to stop bearing down, and so it was half
an hour of bearing down and then I started bleeding
and that was actually Ivy's head banging on my cervix,
pushing her. Doctors rushed in and they did say, you
have to go for a CEA section. We don't want
baby to be in distress. But her heart rate was okay,
and so I said to them, so anything else we
(05:56):
can try before that, and they said, you could get
an epidrale see if that calms you down. If not,
you'll have to get a sea section. So I go
to epidural and straightaway stop bearing down. I could control
my body a bit more, and then she came out
literally an hour later. So that was again it's not
like the most textbook birth, but I don't know. It
(06:17):
was such a beautiful experience. Pushed her out straight, skin
on skin. It was amazing. Tim was with me the
whole time. It was just incredible, and so I always
just thought I would have another vaginal birth with this baby.
My mum also has had four kids, all vaginal births.
All my sister in laws have all had vaginal births.
(06:39):
The only people I know who have had sea sections
are emergency sea sections, and so their stories are a
little bit scary. That's the only experience that I had
been told about sea sections going back. That was always
the plan. We did decide to go private this time
because we do have private health color and it was
(07:00):
just like this intuitive thing where I was like, m
we did public. It was incredible, couldn't recommend it enough.
But then I was like, I think I want to
try private and just have one doctor throughout the whole thing,
et cetera, et cetera. And at our twenty week scan
previous to that, my doctor, my OB I am seeing
(07:21):
Drew Moffrey at Pindara, a private hospital, and he had
mentioned like I had less center was over the cervix,
but he continuously was like, oh, we don't have to stress.
It usually just stretches up, and I honestly didn't really
take notice. And then at the twenty weeks again had
the skin and then we had our full up appointment
(07:42):
with him and he basically explained that I have a
condition called placenta previa, which mine was Grade four because
of how much the placente is sitting over the cervix.
And he explained that this is considered a high risk
pregnancy and if it's still sitting, if the placenta still
sitting on the cervix, I would get continuous scans, but
(08:04):
closer to birth, I would have to get a C
section and possibly come in for bed rest because of
how serious this condition is. Because basically, if you go
into this is my understanding, obviously I'm not a medical professional,
but if you go into spontaneous labor with this condition,
the baby's head descends onto the placenta and then you
(08:26):
get something called a placenter abruption. What you can get
and you can have internal bleeding and obviously super highrius
for mum and baby. He said that, and I was like, okay,
all good. Told Tim told my parents, and I was
a little bit scary and a little bit like, oh, okay.
Never had any issues with my pregnancy with Ivy. But
(08:49):
also I was like, it's fine, it all lived up.
I'm not too worried. I'm go give it my attention
throughout this time too. I'm still doing my pregnancy meditations.
On the rise app A couple of weeks ago, I
had some bleeding, and so at that twenty week appointment
and my follow up ones, he said, any sort of
bleeding come to the hospital straight away, especially pink, like
(09:12):
bright pink. Come to the hospital straight away, because that's
it's just it's not good. Once you start bleeding with
this condition, it's you don't have a long amount of
time before it is life threatening to you and baby
mostly baby first and then new kind of thing. And
so I had a bit of bleeding. I went straight
into hospital and it was just a little bit too,
(09:34):
wasn't anything crazy, but I just am conscious that that's
what he said. So I went to hospital. They deal
with their checks, and he wasn't too worried. He was like,
I had sex, and I'm like, definitely not in the
last you know, twenty four hours or forty eight hours.
I'm like absolutely not. And he was like, well, He's like, honestly,
that would make me feel better because there would be
(09:55):
a reason. The fact that you just got spontaneous bleeding
isn't the greatest sign, but also that's okay. I had
a scan at the hospital and the scanner picked up
quite a few blood vessels around the cervix, and my
doctor was worried that I also had this other more
rare pregnancy condition called vasa previa. It's basically my again,
(10:19):
my understanding, I'm not a medical professional, is the blood
vessels of the umbilical cord of the baby are on
the outside, not on the inside. And so again, if
you go into spontaneous labor, the baby's head descends and
pushes on them, it can break these blood vessels. And
with that condition it's very serious, to the point where
(10:44):
baby has twenty minutes and then it's the worst possible outcome.
And so he said, if I have that condition, I
will have to come in the hospital and bed rest
that week kind of thing. So I got another scan
and it was very lucky I don't have that rare condition. Obviously,
it was like a week of waiting and not knowing
and kind of freaking out by it all and also
(11:04):
just being oh my god, it means I'd have to
sit in possible for five or six weeks, which is
if you have a toddler. It's just the thought of
it was too much. We have had the last scan
at the thirty three weeks, which is like the last
week when you get the big scan, and my placenta
is still a grade for sitting over my cervix. So
(11:25):
I don't have the rare condition. So that's almost like
thank God, But I still do have placenta previr grade four,
which means unless it does like a miracle and shifts
up four centimeters in only a couple of weeks, I
have to get a sea section. Also, it means I
(11:46):
have to go on bed rest for probably two weeks
before my sea section again because if I gone to
spontaneous labor, which obviously can happen from thirty and so
basically I do, you have to go on bedress for
a couple of weeks before the planned caesarean. And this
is just to be cautious because again, if you've go
(12:09):
into spontaneous labor with this condition, it's just you don't
have a lot of time. And I live twenty minutes
away from the hospital, and so he said, by the
time you get to the hospital could be traffic. He's
got to get there. They've got to get me prepped
for the cesarean. If it's longer than an hour, it's
detrimental to me and the baby because I'm internally bleeding.
(12:32):
So he's like, it's not worth it, Like, you come
and sit on bedress, So it's like any blood anything,
you're prepped, you're ready. We get you straight into the theater.
So that's obviously a bit scary and a bit concerning,
and the thought of spending two weeks away from Tim
and Ivy just before such a transitional time for her,
So it's like two weeks. Obviously they'll come and visit
(12:53):
me every single day, but two weeks without Mum putting
her to bed and then she comes home with a newborn.
It's yeah, it's been hard to process, and for me,
the whole the C section was at twenty weeks. I
was processing that a lot, because again, like I said,
I always just thought i'd birth vaginally. But I feel
(13:13):
like I've come such a long way with that, and
I'm so accepting and almost excited to have a different
birth experience and for it to still be really, really beautiful.
And I'm gonna share those mindset shifts that I've been making,
so I feel like I've come to peace with that,
and I will share that in the moment. But I
think when I'm still processing right now, is spending that
(13:35):
two weeks away from Ivy and Tim again, it just
feels like such a pivotal, transformative time and I feel
really guilty. I feel really bad that you know Ivy
doesn't get her mum for those two weeks before such
an important time. So that's the update. That's me just
being very raw and honest. That's where I'm at. It's
been a lot. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,
(13:56):
but again obviously so grateful that they've found this condition,
because if it does go undiagnosed, it has really really
diet it can be worst case scenario. Very grateful they've
found it. Very grateful. I've had time to process and
I'm with the same doctor and he's very onto it.
He's been great. I also have quite a few people
(14:17):
who've been through the same doctor and said he's amazing,
and also been talking to a lot of women about
caesareans and whatnot. So that is the personal update. Not
what I thought this birth would be and how this
baby would come into the world. But I'm really surrendering
(14:41):
into this time more powerful version of me that it
gets to be different and it gets to be okay,
and trusting my body and trusting this is all better
than I could have imagined. That's something I preached to
you guys that if things are going a certain way
and you still feel regulated, you still feel like you've
been showing up and putting in the work and things
(15:02):
are just going a certain way. You have to trust
that it's for a bigger meaning, that it's for a
bigger reason, and even if you cannot see it right now,
it is what's best for you. It is what needs
to happen. And you know, I can't help but think
it's like this, this all needs to happen, so the
worst case doesn't happen. That's how I've been doing it emotionally.
(15:25):
I've just been really allowing myself, allowing myself room to
have both gratitude, like so much gratitude that I know
about this, that I have an amazing care team that
I have that I did go private, I have the
same doctor, that I have people around me who are
so supportive. How incredible that my husband's stay at home
(15:49):
dads so really like me staying in hospital for two weeks.
It's not the biggest deals. It's not like he works
away or he's got to work and I've got toddlers
at home. We really are in the best case scenario
to make this work. And even though it's not what
I would like, it is like I am still grateful
(16:10):
that it's not the biggest it's not the biggest stial,
like we can move through it. But also holding the
duality of I'm allowed to be really fucking disappointed and
I'm allowed to be like this isn't what it's supposed
to be, and really holding myself in that duality of
both rather than trying to suppress certain feelings, because that's
(16:34):
really when we go wrong is we think, oh, well,
I should just be grateful. So I'm just gonna be grateful.
I'm going to ignore these like sad emotions or this
disappointment or this shame or this guilt. It's really important
to feel those obmissions, to process them so they're not
getting stored in the body. And so I've just been
giving myself full permission to feel it all. I've definitely
(16:56):
had quite a few cries. I've spoken to Tim about
my is. I've really had this like open heart with
this experience, and I'm just allowing it to look and
feel exactly how it is. That's very transformational for me
because I am in the past someone who used to
suppress her feelings and think, oh well, I should just
(17:18):
be grateful this is a shit situation or like very
black and white. But it's just it's not the case.
We're humans. We've got such this range of emotions, and
I've just really been connecting with myself and my body.
So let's get into some mindset shifts that I have
kind of been choosing for this situation. And again, these
are obviously specific for birth, but if you're kind of
(17:40):
going through something where you're like, it's not how it's
supposed to be, these might be really really helpful. So
the first one is just because this isn't the how
I thought I was going to birth this baby doesn't
mean it's not sacred and doesn't mean it's not how
it should be. I find as humans, we have this
thing where we're like, okay, so A plus B equal C,
(18:04):
one plus two equals three. Like we're very we like
to well, this happened and that happen, and that means this,
And what we don't realize is that meaning is actually
it's not the truth. A meaning is you just giving
something a meeting. It's not like right or wrong. It's
what you decide. And that's why people can go through
(18:26):
very traumatic experiences. Like a group of people and all
have different experiences and different traumas and different ways they
see things because they are putting their own meaning on it.
So I'm really not putting, firstly a negative meaning on
having a cesarean, which I definitely picked up because it
(18:48):
wasn't normalized to me and no one I knew had one.
I definitely had some judgment, not to others but to myself.
I think there is a lot of expectations, and I
feel like with caesareans, well, in my world, there was
a lot of stigma around it, which I've had to
really kind of be like, where did I pick this up?
(19:08):
So that has been really good because again, the meaning
is only what you make it mean, so really kind
of changing the meaning on what this means for me
and my family and my baby and really being like, no,
this actually gets to be really beautiful and really really sacred,
and I get to make the experience my own, Like,
(19:29):
just because I didn't have a lot of control over it,
if it gets to be vaginal birth or a cesarean, like,
the are still elements I can pick and choose. Number two.
I didn't get to choose this, but I do get
to choose how I respond. Again, I'm not in control
of so much of my life, but I do get
(19:51):
to be in control of how I show up during
this time, and I think that's anyone I truly believe.
I really don't care about the person you are when
everything's like going well and you're conquering your goals and
everything's fine and dandy. It's like, who are you when
things aren't going well? Because that's who are your core
and that's who you should be the most proud of of. Like, Okay,
(20:13):
when things are going to shit, how do you show
up for yourself and others? And how do you respond
and how do you react? And again, I truly believe
everything happens for a reason, whether to teach us lessons,
to teach us about ourselves, to expand us and put
us into growth. And I do feel like this is
such growth for me. Like I said before, processing the
(20:34):
duality holding disappointment while holding gratitude, and again old Georgie,
that would have been really hard for her. So witnessing
myself through this and how I'm dealing with it and
how I'm still showing up and how I'm moving forward
has been very healing. And I think if you can
be someone who shows up for yourself and still regulates
(20:57):
your emotions and feels your emotions and doesn't let things
completely derail you. Like they're allowed to shake you, you're
allowed to wobble, but not letting things completely derail you.
That is such a beautiful life skill, and that's such
a beautiful character building skill. So that's something also I've
been leaning into. It's like, well, who do I want
(21:18):
to be through this? The next one is really understanding
that this is probably about the hospital bed rest, but
it's like, this is how it's meant to be for
whatever reason, whether that's I start bleeding early and I
do have to get emergency C section, like being in
the hospital and that saves baby's life, whether that's me
(21:39):
being on bed rest in the hospital is actually what
I really need my nervous system or my body to
be resting before a major surgery. And again really trusting
you guys. Know, when I teach surrender within manifestation, it's
at we are the child and the universe is the parents.
So as the child, sometimes we can't understand why parents
(22:00):
are picking certain things and doing things a certain way
because we only have the level and knowledge and understanding
of a child. But really trusting that even though I
can't see the outcome and I don't know what's going
to happen, it's what's best, and surrendering to it and
actually being like, it's actually going to be really really
(22:21):
good for whatever reason, even though I can't see it.
The next one is really making the mindset shift of
even though it's a surgical birth, I can still deeply
connect with my baby and have a really beautiful experience,
can still have music playing in the theater that I've
(22:42):
been playing to her the whole time. I can still
Something I've actually been more kind of been doing but
I want to do more too, is actually talking to
her and explaining to her that this is what's going
to happen in our birth, and then you're going to
meet mommy and talking to her because she does, she understands,
(23:03):
she feels she's this beautiful, living being inside me, and
she is going to respond to my nervous system. So
really kind of like role modeling already, even though she's
still in the room of regulating my nervous system, talking
to her, explaining to her what's going to happen, explaining
it's still going to be magical and sacred, and then
(23:25):
just some tools that I've been using that might be
helpful for you guys. Is I am going to when
it gets a bit close to the cesaian, I'm going
to basically write a letter of the grief and the
disappointment and the shane, the guilt, anything that comes up,
and really write it down of like, i feel really
(23:46):
fucking disappointed that this happened, and I'm feeling so much
gill that I'm not with Ivy, and I'm gonna get
all the feelings out. I love journaling and writing letters,
and really just like what I'm letting go of, the emotions,
the heaviness, the feelings. I'm gonna write that out and
then I'm gonna burn that. I'm gonna do like a
(24:06):
beautiful letting go burning ceremony. And I've done this at
different stages in my life and it really makes a difference.
Like if you haven't tried this ritual, honestly do it,
and then you can also do some journaling on reframing
how magical the cesarean birth is gonna be The next
tool I would say is I have been doing now
(24:27):
the meditation and the visualization of we actually have a
C section birth meditation. So we have just a normal
pregnancy meditation that I was doing before this, but now
I'm switching to the CEA section meditation, and again it's
just beautiful. It's just priving your body. It's just getting
your nervous system ready and okay, and I'll link that
(24:50):
in the show notes, so if you want to check
that out. But it really has made me feel so
much better. And I think when you have time, like
we're really we're so adaptable. Humans are so adaptable, and
when you have time to process your emotions and when
you let them come up and you feel them and
then you release them, you really can get through anything.
(25:13):
You really can deal with anything. But it's about taking
that time. And so that meditation is just Yeah, it's
been really really amazing, and I'm going to do that
every single day to make sure and really envision having
such an amazing experience. I have been doing some like
affirmations and they're just like, I trust that this path
(25:34):
is unfolding perfectly. I trust my body and baby is
going to be here and it's going to be beautiful.
I'm allowed to grieve and still be grateful. My birth
is still going to be so amazing in this direction
kind of thing. This gets to still be such an
empowering experience. Something else that has been really helping is
(25:56):
reading empowering C section stories, so or like asking people
I am seeing Sarah from Female physio co in the
Gold Coast. She has a really big online presence, you
can check out her Instagram, and she had a really
empowering C section and the dietitian did the Caitlin, the
(26:17):
dietitian in the same office, she also had a really
empowering sea section and they were telling me about it,
and it just made me feel so happy because, like
I said, I had only really known people who had
emergency ones and obviously not knowing and not processing it
would come with a lot of emotions, and so it
was just really beautiful to hear someone being like, no,
it was the most beautiful one. And also talking to
(26:39):
people who I've had people slide in my DMS and
be like, I had an actual vaginal birth and then
I had placenta privat and I had to have a
C section and honestly, ten out of ten great experience.
It's still going to be so magical. There's pros and
cons to both, so yeah, just really and also of
Australian birth stories. They have a podcast and Sarah she
(27:03):
also has a book that is really really great, so
highly recommend, just like kind of immersing yourself in positive
stories of what you're trying to move through. So for me,
it's having a cesarean. And yeah, so I'm currently thirty
three weeks as I'm recording this, and I do just
feel really grateful that I've had this time to process this.
(27:27):
I feel really grateful that I have such amazing support
by Tim, my family, my doctors, you guys. And again,
even though this wasn't how I thought it would be,
and even though that has been like roadblocks and certain things,
this is beautiful. This is what life is. It's a journey.
We're not we're not meant to have do just nothing
(27:49):
happen all the time, because these are the moments, like
I said, where you lock in and you practice what
you preach and you show up as who you want
to be. And it's really been such a growth moment
for me, and I truly believe the work I'm doing
now with processing this will just be so amazing postpartum.
So I'm not having to deal with not that I'm
(28:11):
saying I could still have certain things that happen, but
processing the emotions now, so I'm not dealing with postpartum
birth trauma. And there's so many emotions with postpartum I'm
going to get them. But I think it's really important
to talk about this. And like I said, I think
it's really important to talk about elective c sections because
there definitely is so much stigma around them and I
(28:33):
can feel isolating and it can feel really disappointing. There
can be so many feelings involved, so I just really
wanted to share with you guys and be raw and
honest and vulnerable and all the things. So thank you
so much for listening. That is a real life update
with George. Of course I will be doing a birth
podcast and updating with you how it all went. What
(28:56):
actually went down, who knows, But I really am locking
into that beautiful sea section meditation and visualizing how I
want it to go while also having space for maybe
girl to come in how she wants to come in.
So thank you so much for listening. Guys. If you
do want to try the pregnancy or the sea sectioned meditation,
(29:18):
we do have a week free on the Rise app
I'll put all the links in the show notes. Bye
for now. If you're loving this conversation and you're all
about growth, mindset shifts, and manifesting your dream reality, you
need to check out Rise, our meditation, manifestation and mindset app.
(29:41):
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(30:03):
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Alongside our thriving, like minded community, you'll stay plugged into
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(30:25):
and just more like your true self, come and join
us inside the Rise app. You can download the app
now via the link in the show notes. Thank you
so much for listening to this episode of the Rise
and Conquer Podcast. If you enjoyed it and want more,
connect with us via Instagram or continue the conversation on
our beautiful Facebook community page. All the details are in
(30:48):
the show notes, and I'd love to hear more about
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If you have a spare moment, please click the follow
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I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the
land on which this episode is being recorded, the Combomb
Merry people. They've been having conversations and telling stories on
this land for thousands of years, and we show our
gratitude and respect for their contribution to our environment and culture.
(00:21):
This is Rise and Conquer, the podcast where we strive
to become the highest version of ourselves through curious conversations,
healthy mindsets, laughter, connection, and a deep desire to evolve.
I'm your host, Georgie Stevenson. Join me as we explore parenthood, business, manifestation,
(00:46):
and so much more. It's positive, it's practical, and it's
about putting you in the driver's seat of your own life.
Are you ready? Hello, my loves, and welcome back to
the podcast. Today is going to be a bit of
a vulnerable one, something a little bit different, something I
(01:08):
just feel really called to share in real time before
it happens. And I have been keeping you somewhat updated
on my social media if you follow me over on Instagram.
And there has been a lot of things to process
with my birth plan with my second daughter, and basically
(01:31):
I wanted to do this episode because I know, especially
the Rise and conquer community. We often have very specific,
clear goals, We have very specific visions of who we
want to be and how things how we want things
to go. So really this is for anyone who has
(01:52):
had a plan or vision and for whatever reason, things
have had to deviate and things have had to change. So,
whether you're pregnant or not, this episode is really about
what to do when life throws you those curve balls,
when plans change, and even you know when you're grieving
(02:14):
something being a specific way, but you also want to
process it and you want to move through it. You
don't want to keep living in the past, and you
want to basically move through it in a very healthy way.
This episode is going to be very, very helpful for you.
So let's get into a bit of an update. I'll
start from the start. So with my first daughter, Ivy,
(02:39):
we had a vaginal birth. I labored I think it
was for a good seventeen hours. I was seven centimeters dilated,
and then I had this kind of euphoric experience where
very quickly the backstory would be tim. When me and
Tim first found out about Ivy, we were in Ularu
(03:02):
on a holiday and it was the most magical holiday
still to this day, it was my favorite holiday at
the It's so sacred there and it's so beautiful. And
I was getting a massage and it was the day
before I could take a test, and my massage lady said,
oh my god, you're pregnant. And I was like, ah, really,
(03:24):
how do you know? And she said, when I was
massaging you, I got this vision of this. Yeah, this
vision in so in Aboriginal culture there would be women's
ceremonies and men's ceremonies. They would do them separately. And
she said, there was this woman's ceremony where basically they
(03:45):
were calling in this spirit baby for you, and I
think you're pregnant. And so the next day I took
the test. I was pregnant. It was like obviously incredible
after a year of infertility, so that was it's like
super super special. And it's so interesting because we birthed
publicly at the Gold Coast ud Hospital if you'd know
(04:09):
the Gold Coast area, and in the rooms, the walls
were painted and you know, they have the bath they
have the beds. It's very set up very well. And
the room that we got put in, the birthing suite,
was actually aboriginal art on the wall, and I remember
getting in there and being like, oh wow, that's so beautiful.
(04:31):
And when I was laboring and I was seven centimeters,
I went into this kind of like euphoric hallucination. And
she was posteria, so I was in a lot of pain,
and I kind of take that as I was trying
to go. I was in a lot of pain because
she was posterior. And I started having this hallucination that
(04:52):
I was in this woman's circle and she was ready
to come in and I was cooling her in. And
and this is how much I believe, like our mind
and our subconscious mind controls our body and all our
workings within our body, and we know that. But basically
I started bearing down, which you're only supposed to do
(05:14):
once you're fully dilated. And so I remember I started
bearing down. Basically just feels like you want to pooh,
and it feels good too. Bearing down feels good. It
feels like your body knows it's towards the end. And
I started bearing down. I looked over to the nurses
and they were looking at me like oh no, and
they were like, no, you're not fully dilated, Like you
(05:36):
need to stop bearing down, and so it was half
an hour of bearing down and then I started bleeding
and that was actually Ivy's head banging on my cervix,
pushing her. Doctors rushed in and they did say, you
have to go for a CEA section. We don't want
baby to be in distress. But her heart rate was okay,
and so I said to them, so anything else we
(05:56):
can try before that, and they said, you could get
an epidrale see if that calms you down. If not,
you'll have to get a sea section. So I go
to epidural and straightaway stop bearing down. I could control
my body a bit more, and then she came out
literally an hour later. So that was again it's not
like the most textbook birth, but I don't know. It
(06:17):
was such a beautiful experience. Pushed her out straight, skin
on skin. It was amazing. Tim was with me the
whole time. It was just incredible, and so I always
just thought I would have another vaginal birth with this baby.
My mum also has had four kids, all vaginal births.
All my sister in laws have all had vaginal births.
(06:39):
The only people I know who have had sea sections
are emergency sea sections, and so their stories are a
little bit scary. That's the only experience that I had
been told about sea sections going back. That was always
the plan. We did decide to go private this time
because we do have private health color and it was
(07:00):
just like this intuitive thing where I was like, m
we did public. It was incredible, couldn't recommend it enough.
But then I was like, I think I want to
try private and just have one doctor throughout the whole thing,
et cetera, et cetera. And at our twenty week scan
previous to that, my doctor, my OB I am seeing
(07:21):
Drew Moffrey at Pindara, a private hospital, and he had
mentioned like I had less center was over the cervix,
but he continuously was like, oh, we don't have to stress.
It usually just stretches up, and I honestly didn't really
take notice. And then at the twenty weeks again had
the skin and then we had our full up appointment
(07:42):
with him and he basically explained that I have a
condition called placenta previa, which mine was Grade four because
of how much the placente is sitting over the cervix.
And he explained that this is considered a high risk
pregnancy and if it's still sitting, if the placenta still
sitting on the cervix, I would get continuous scans, but
(08:04):
closer to birth, I would have to get a C
section and possibly come in for bed rest because of
how serious this condition is. Because basically, if you go
into this is my understanding, obviously I'm not a medical professional,
but if you go into spontaneous labor with this condition,
the baby's head descends onto the placenta and then you
(08:26):
get something called a placenter abruption. What you can get
and you can have internal bleeding and obviously super highrius
for mum and baby. He said that, and I was like, okay,
all good. Told Tim told my parents, and I was
a little bit scary and a little bit like, oh, okay.
Never had any issues with my pregnancy with Ivy. But
(08:49):
also I was like, it's fine, it all lived up.
I'm not too worried. I'm go give it my attention
throughout this time too. I'm still doing my pregnancy meditations.
On the rise app A couple of weeks ago, I
had some bleeding, and so at that twenty week appointment
and my follow up ones, he said, any sort of
bleeding come to the hospital straight away, especially pink, like
(09:12):
bright pink. Come to the hospital straight away, because that's
it's just it's not good. Once you start bleeding with
this condition, it's you don't have a long amount of
time before it is life threatening to you and baby
mostly baby first and then new kind of thing. And
so I had a bit of bleeding. I went straight
into hospital and it was just a little bit too,
(09:34):
wasn't anything crazy, but I just am conscious that that's
what he said. So I went to hospital. They deal
with their checks, and he wasn't too worried. He was like,
I had sex, and I'm like, definitely not in the
last you know, twenty four hours or forty eight hours.
I'm like absolutely not. And he was like, well, He's like, honestly,
that would make me feel better because there would be
(09:55):
a reason. The fact that you just got spontaneous bleeding
isn't the greatest sign, but also that's okay. I had
a scan at the hospital and the scanner picked up
quite a few blood vessels around the cervix, and my
doctor was worried that I also had this other more
rare pregnancy condition called vasa previa. It's basically my again,
(10:19):
my understanding, I'm not a medical professional, is the blood
vessels of the umbilical cord of the baby are on
the outside, not on the inside. And so again, if
you go into spontaneous labor, the baby's head descends and
pushes on them, it can break these blood vessels. And
with that condition it's very serious, to the point where
(10:44):
baby has twenty minutes and then it's the worst possible outcome.
And so he said, if I have that condition, I
will have to come in the hospital and bed rest
that week kind of thing. So I got another scan
and it was very lucky I don't have that rare condition. Obviously,
it was like a week of waiting and not knowing
and kind of freaking out by it all and also
(11:04):
just being oh my god, it means I'd have to
sit in possible for five or six weeks, which is
if you have a toddler. It's just the thought of
it was too much. We have had the last scan
at the thirty three weeks, which is like the last
week when you get the big scan, and my placenta
is still a grade for sitting over my cervix. So
(11:25):
I don't have the rare condition. So that's almost like
thank God, But I still do have placenta previr grade four,
which means unless it does like a miracle and shifts
up four centimeters in only a couple of weeks, I
have to get a sea section. Also, it means I
(11:46):
have to go on bed rest for probably two weeks
before my sea section again because if I gone to
spontaneous labor, which obviously can happen from thirty and so
basically I do, you have to go on bedress for
a couple of weeks before the planned caesarean. And this
is just to be cautious because again, if you've go
(12:09):
into spontaneous labor with this condition, it's just you don't
have a lot of time. And I live twenty minutes
away from the hospital, and so he said, by the
time you get to the hospital could be traffic. He's
got to get there. They've got to get me prepped
for the cesarean. If it's longer than an hour, it's
detrimental to me and the baby because I'm internally bleeding.
(12:32):
So he's like, it's not worth it, Like, you come
and sit on bedress, So it's like any blood anything,
you're prepped, you're ready. We get you straight into the theater.
So that's obviously a bit scary and a bit concerning,
and the thought of spending two weeks away from Tim
and Ivy just before such a transitional time for her,
So it's like two weeks. Obviously they'll come and visit
(12:53):
me every single day, but two weeks without Mum putting
her to bed and then she comes home with a newborn.
It's yeah, it's been hard to process, and for me,
the whole the C section was at twenty weeks. I
was processing that a lot, because again, like I said,
I always just thought i'd birth vaginally. But I feel
(13:13):
like I've come such a long way with that, and
I'm so accepting and almost excited to have a different
birth experience and for it to still be really, really beautiful.
And I'm gonna share those mindset shifts that I've been making,
so I feel like I've come to peace with that,
and I will share that in the moment. But I
think when I'm still processing right now, is spending that
(13:35):
two weeks away from Ivy and Tim again, it just
feels like such a pivotal, transformative time and I feel
really guilty. I feel really bad that you know Ivy
doesn't get her mum for those two weeks before such
an important time. So that's the update. That's me just
being very raw and honest. That's where I'm at. It's
been a lot. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,
(13:56):
but again obviously so grateful that they've found this condition,
because if it does go undiagnosed, it has really really
diet it can be worst case scenario. Very grateful they've
found it. Very grateful. I've had time to process and
I'm with the same doctor and he's very onto it.
He's been great. I also have quite a few people
(14:17):
who've been through the same doctor and said he's amazing,
and also been talking to a lot of women about
caesareans and whatnot. So that is the personal update. Not
what I thought this birth would be and how this
baby would come into the world. But I'm really surrendering
(14:41):
into this time more powerful version of me that it
gets to be different and it gets to be okay,
and trusting my body and trusting this is all better
than I could have imagined. That's something I preached to
you guys that if things are going a certain way
and you still feel regulated, you still feel like you've
been showing up and putting in the work and things
(15:02):
are just going a certain way. You have to trust
that it's for a bigger meaning, that it's for a
bigger reason, and even if you cannot see it right now,
it is what's best for you. It is what needs
to happen. And you know, I can't help but think
it's like this, this all needs to happen, so the
worst case doesn't happen. That's how I've been doing it emotionally.
(15:25):
I've just been really allowing myself, allowing myself room to
have both gratitude, like so much gratitude that I know
about this, that I have an amazing care team that
I have that I did go private, I have the
same doctor, that I have people around me who are
so supportive. How incredible that my husband's stay at home
(15:49):
dads so really like me staying in hospital for two weeks.
It's not the biggest deals. It's not like he works
away or he's got to work and I've got toddlers
at home. We really are in the best case scenario
to make this work. And even though it's not what
I would like, it is like I am still grateful
(16:10):
that it's not the biggest it's not the biggest stial,
like we can move through it. But also holding the
duality of I'm allowed to be really fucking disappointed and
I'm allowed to be like this isn't what it's supposed
to be, and really holding myself in that duality of
both rather than trying to suppress certain feelings, because that's
(16:34):
really when we go wrong is we think, oh, well,
I should just be grateful. So I'm just gonna be grateful.
I'm going to ignore these like sad emotions or this
disappointment or this shame or this guilt. It's really important
to feel those obmissions, to process them so they're not
getting stored in the body. And so I've just been
giving myself full permission to feel it all. I've definitely
(16:56):
had quite a few cries. I've spoken to Tim about
my is. I've really had this like open heart with
this experience, and I'm just allowing it to look and
feel exactly how it is. That's very transformational for me
because I am in the past someone who used to
suppress her feelings and think, oh well, I should just
(17:18):
be grateful this is a shit situation or like very
black and white. But it's just it's not the case.
We're humans. We've got such this range of emotions, and
I've just really been connecting with myself and my body.
So let's get into some mindset shifts that I have
kind of been choosing for this situation. And again, these
are obviously specific for birth, but if you're kind of
(17:40):
going through something where you're like, it's not how it's
supposed to be, these might be really really helpful. So
the first one is just because this isn't the how
I thought I was going to birth this baby doesn't
mean it's not sacred and doesn't mean it's not how
it should be. I find as humans, we have this
thing where we're like, okay, so A plus B equal C,
(18:04):
one plus two equals three. Like we're very we like
to well, this happened and that happen, and that means this,
And what we don't realize is that meaning is actually
it's not the truth. A meaning is you just giving
something a meeting. It's not like right or wrong. It's
what you decide. And that's why people can go through
(18:26):
very traumatic experiences. Like a group of people and all
have different experiences and different traumas and different ways they
see things because they are putting their own meaning on it.
So I'm really not putting, firstly a negative meaning on
having a cesarean, which I definitely picked up because it
(18:48):
wasn't normalized to me and no one I knew had one.
I definitely had some judgment, not to others but to myself.
I think there is a lot of expectations, and I
feel like with caesareans, well, in my world, there was
a lot of stigma around it, which I've had to
really kind of be like, where did I pick this up?
(19:08):
So that has been really good because again, the meaning
is only what you make it mean, so really kind
of changing the meaning on what this means for me
and my family and my baby and really being like, no,
this actually gets to be really beautiful and really really sacred,
and I get to make the experience my own, Like,
(19:29):
just because I didn't have a lot of control over it,
if it gets to be vaginal birth or a cesarean, like,
the are still elements I can pick and choose. Number two.
I didn't get to choose this, but I do get
to choose how I respond. Again, I'm not in control
of so much of my life, but I do get
(19:51):
to be in control of how I show up during
this time, and I think that's anyone I truly believe.
I really don't care about the person you are when
everything's like going well and you're conquering your goals and
everything's fine and dandy. It's like, who are you when
things aren't going well? Because that's who are your core
and that's who you should be the most proud of of. Like, Okay,
(20:13):
when things are going to shit, how do you show
up for yourself and others? And how do you respond
and how do you react? And again, I truly believe
everything happens for a reason, whether to teach us lessons,
to teach us about ourselves, to expand us and put
us into growth. And I do feel like this is
such growth for me. Like I said before, processing the
(20:34):
duality holding disappointment while holding gratitude, and again old Georgie,
that would have been really hard for her. So witnessing
myself through this and how I'm dealing with it and
how I'm still showing up and how I'm moving forward
has been very healing. And I think if you can
be someone who shows up for yourself and still regulates
(20:57):
your emotions and feels your emotions and doesn't let things
completely derail you. Like they're allowed to shake you, you're
allowed to wobble, but not letting things completely derail you.
That is such a beautiful life skill, and that's such
a beautiful character building skill. So that's something also I've
been leaning into. It's like, well, who do I want
(21:18):
to be through this? The next one is really understanding
that this is probably about the hospital bed rest, but
it's like, this is how it's meant to be for
whatever reason, whether that's I start bleeding early and I
do have to get emergency C section, like being in
the hospital and that saves baby's life, whether that's me
(21:39):
being on bed rest in the hospital is actually what
I really need my nervous system or my body to
be resting before a major surgery. And again really trusting
you guys. Know, when I teach surrender within manifestation, it's
at we are the child and the universe is the parents.
So as the child, sometimes we can't understand why parents
(22:00):
are picking certain things and doing things a certain way
because we only have the level and knowledge and understanding
of a child. But really trusting that even though I
can't see the outcome and I don't know what's going
to happen, it's what's best, and surrendering to it and
actually being like, it's actually going to be really really
(22:21):
good for whatever reason, even though I can't see it.
The next one is really making the mindset shift of
even though it's a surgical birth, I can still deeply
connect with my baby and have a really beautiful experience,
can still have music playing in the theater that I've
(22:42):
been playing to her the whole time. I can still
Something I've actually been more kind of been doing but
I want to do more too, is actually talking to
her and explaining to her that this is what's going
to happen in our birth, and then you're going to
meet mommy and talking to her because she does, she understands,
(23:03):
she feels she's this beautiful, living being inside me, and
she is going to respond to my nervous system. So
really kind of like role modeling already, even though she's
still in the room of regulating my nervous system, talking
to her, explaining to her what's going to happen, explaining
it's still going to be magical and sacred, and then
(23:25):
just some tools that I've been using that might be
helpful for you guys. Is I am going to when
it gets a bit close to the cesaian, I'm going
to basically write a letter of the grief and the
disappointment and the shane, the guilt, anything that comes up,
and really write it down of like, i feel really
(23:46):
fucking disappointed that this happened, and I'm feeling so much
gill that I'm not with Ivy, and I'm gonna get
all the feelings out. I love journaling and writing letters,
and really just like what I'm letting go of, the emotions,
the heaviness, the feelings. I'm gonna write that out and
then I'm gonna burn that. I'm gonna do like a
(24:06):
beautiful letting go burning ceremony. And I've done this at
different stages in my life and it really makes a difference.
Like if you haven't tried this ritual, honestly do it,
and then you can also do some journaling on reframing
how magical the cesarean birth is gonna be The next
tool I would say is I have been doing now
(24:27):
the meditation and the visualization of we actually have a
C section birth meditation. So we have just a normal
pregnancy meditation that I was doing before this, but now
I'm switching to the CEA section meditation, and again it's
just beautiful. It's just priving your body. It's just getting
your nervous system ready and okay, and I'll link that
(24:50):
in the show notes, so if you want to check
that out. But it really has made me feel so
much better. And I think when you have time, like
we're really we're so adaptable. Humans are so adaptable, and
when you have time to process your emotions and when
you let them come up and you feel them and
then you release them, you really can get through anything.
(25:13):
You really can deal with anything. But it's about taking
that time. And so that meditation is just Yeah, it's
been really really amazing, and I'm going to do that
every single day to make sure and really envision having
such an amazing experience. I have been doing some like
affirmations and they're just like, I trust that this path
(25:34):
is unfolding perfectly. I trust my body and baby is
going to be here and it's going to be beautiful.
I'm allowed to grieve and still be grateful. My birth
is still going to be so amazing in this direction
kind of thing. This gets to still be such an
empowering experience. Something else that has been really helping is
(25:56):
reading empowering C section stories, so or like asking people
I am seeing Sarah from Female physio co in the
Gold Coast. She has a really big online presence, you
can check out her Instagram, and she had a really
empowering C section and the dietitian did the Caitlin, the
(26:17):
dietitian in the same office, she also had a really
empowering sea section and they were telling me about it,
and it just made me feel so happy because, like
I said, I had only really known people who had
emergency ones and obviously not knowing and not processing it
would come with a lot of emotions, and so it
was just really beautiful to hear someone being like, no,
it was the most beautiful one. And also talking to
(26:39):
people who I've had people slide in my DMS and
be like, I had an actual vaginal birth and then
I had placenta privat and I had to have a
C section and honestly, ten out of ten great experience.
It's still going to be so magical. There's pros and
cons to both, so yeah, just really and also of
Australian birth stories. They have a podcast and Sarah she
(27:03):
also has a book that is really really great, so
highly recommend, just like kind of immersing yourself in positive
stories of what you're trying to move through. So for me,
it's having a cesarean. And yeah, so I'm currently thirty
three weeks as I'm recording this, and I do just
feel really grateful that I've had this time to process this.
(27:27):
I feel really grateful that I have such amazing support
by Tim, my family, my doctors, you guys. And again,
even though this wasn't how I thought it would be,
and even though that has been like roadblocks and certain things,
this is beautiful. This is what life is. It's a journey.
We're not we're not meant to have do just nothing
(27:49):
happen all the time, because these are the moments, like
I said, where you lock in and you practice what
you preach and you show up as who you want
to be. And it's really been such a growth moment
for me, and I truly believe the work I'm doing
now with processing this will just be so amazing postpartum.
So I'm not having to deal with not that I'm
(28:11):
saying I could still have certain things that happen, but
processing the emotions now, so I'm not dealing with postpartum
birth trauma. And there's so many emotions with postpartum I'm
going to get them. But I think it's really important
to talk about this. And like I said, I think
it's really important to talk about elective c sections because
there definitely is so much stigma around them and I
(28:33):
can feel isolating and it can feel really disappointing. There
can be so many feelings involved, so I just really
wanted to share with you guys and be raw and
honest and vulnerable and all the things. So thank you
so much for listening. That is a real life update
with George. Of course I will be doing a birth
podcast and updating with you how it all went. What
(28:56):
actually went down, who knows, But I really am locking
into that beautiful sea section meditation and visualizing how I
want it to go while also having space for maybe
girl to come in how she wants to come in.
So thank you so much for listening. Guys. If you
do want to try the pregnancy or the sea sectioned meditation,
(29:18):
we do have a week free on the Rise app
I'll put all the links in the show notes. Bye
for now. If you're loving this conversation and you're all
about growth, mindset shifts, and manifesting your dream reality, you
need to check out Rise, our meditation, manifestation and mindset app.
(29:41):
Rise is the place you go to actually integrate your
self development work. Inside the app, you'll find everything you
need from guided meditations, pep talks to change your frequency,
high vibe riffs, and powerful guided practices, all designed to
help you share your energy and become that one percent
(30:03):
better every single day, and you're not doing it alone.
Alongside our thriving, like minded community, you'll stay plugged into
a high vibe space where growth feels easy, fun and
totally expansive. If you're ready to feel more empowered, more magnetic,
(30:25):
and just more like your true self, come and join
us inside the Rise app. You can download the app
now via the link in the show notes. Thank you
so much for listening to this episode of the Rise
and Conquer Podcast. If you enjoyed it and want more,
connect with us via Instagram or continue the conversation on
our beautiful Facebook community page. All the details are in
(30:48):
the show notes, and I'd love to hear more about
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we would be so grateful.
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