Meg's Birth of a Daughter

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Meg's Birth of a Daughter

{By Meg}

There is so much to tell about this birth, it’s hard to know exactly where to begin. The preparation began as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I immediately started interviewing midwives and shortly after that, doulas. After a cesarean with my first baby, and a devestating repeat c/s after four days of labor for our second, there was a huge part of me that wasn’t sure I could handle putting everything into another pregnancy without a guarantee of a vaginal delivery.

I knew I wanted to have a homebirth. That alone would cost, but even more than that, it was the heart. I knew I would have to put my whole heart into the entire process again, only to wait, and wait, for the outcome. Jeremy and I talked through it a lot and despite all the financial cost, he wanted me to have a shot at my dream birth. What amazing support he was.

We found a midwife. We found a doula. We began our journey. They wanted me to follow the high protein, low carb/sugar diet, which I had planned on. They also really wanted me to try yoga. I had always wanted to do prenatal yoga, but we were not able to afford it. Jeremy got a new job and promotion to cover yoga and some massage that was highly recommended by my amazing midwives. Around the same time, I started reading Hypnobirthing, which I had chosen somewhat randomly from a pile of books lent to me by a friend. I had never thought Hynobirthing would interest me. As I started reading, I became more curious about the method and we decided to take the class.

At around 18 wks I began yoga. I knew yoga would be good for my body. Good for the baby and positioning. I’ve always preferred group exercise, but I never could have imagined to what extent yoga would help my heart. I am not sure I ever left class without shedding a few tears-some stress, others pure joy. My journey through yoga started out with determination for a vaginal birth, to a point up until the birth of letting go, of releasing. I would give everything I could for a vaginal birth, but I would let go of what I did not have control over, namely, the baby and how labor would go.

On November 29th, a Tuesday, at just over 39 weeks, I went to class. I had been having strong contractions on and off for a few days and got through class with 2 or 3. I wasn’t terribly graceful that day, but it didn’t matter. It was still productive and good for the soul. I was signed up for class again Thursday morning, but did not make it to class…

Wednesday evening the bothersome contractions were kicking in quite frequently. I was discouraged because of the four-day labor I had endured with our second baby.

Our midwife suggested I take full advantage of the birth tub and use it to keep comfortable until real labor kicked in full force. In the meantime, I was so bothered I took a hot bath (not helpful for filling the birth tub might I add), drank a glass of wine, drank a cup of chamomile tea. Anything to get the pesky “pre labor” to settle down so I could sleep.

The time ticked by. Before I realized it was 1 a.m.! A friend of mine, thankfully on Pacific time, asked if I was timing them. I hadn’t but we decided to do that right before she suggested it. Sure enough, it seemed that despite my efforts to stop the contractions, my body was working to get our sweet baby in our arms!

Another 15 min or so later, they were really getting strong and we called our doula and midwife who headed our way. 

I got in the tub as soon as the doula arrived. My husband was boiling water like crazy trying to warm up the tub.

Before the midwives arrived, my water broke during contractions in the tub. Clear fluids. I could tell by the way the doula was relaying information to our midwife (on her way across town) that they really thought this baby was coming! Really? Do they really think this baby might actually come out of me? I cannot express the encouragement I felt hearing the nervousness in the doula’s voice as she asked me to feel for a head. No head yet, but the baby was working its way down. Amazing.

My labor went on beautifully in our bedroom while my children slept soundly. I never labored the first birth, and with the 2nd, I got to 7cm. So I knew what contractions were like, but not pushing.

I was pushing by the time the midwives arrived. I could not believe how GOOD it felt to push!!! I think that surprised me the most!

I let my body take complete control over the labor, relaxing as much as I could during contractions, breathing as I had learned in hypnobirthing and yoga, as well as following my body’s urges to push as it directed.

There was a point though, when I realized while I was getting through the contractions with good deep breathing, my jaw had been “soft” and my shoulders loose, but I had not fully surrendered. I had to let go. Even more. I started telling the baby, “okay, you can come out, you can come out now.” Outloud, a few times, I said this. (More below video.)

I do not remember exactly when the midwives arrived, but I had been pushing for about 2 hours or so when they asked me to get out of the water and sit on the toilet. I didn’t want to but I completely trusted them, and got my butt out of the water and waddled down the hall to the bathroom. They could see the baby descending down my back, as my hips opened up, and knew the baby was “right there.”

They had me feel for the head, and I told them, “I don’t think that’s the baby, I think it’s just my cervix.” Hmmm. Who do you think knew more? After some convincing my baby was right there, birth came quickly.

After about 15 min of pushing on the toilet, the midwife asked if I wanted to get back into the tub. “I’m fine right here,” I told her. “Well, you can’t have this baby on the toilet. You need to get to the bed or the tub,” she said.

Deep breath, deeeep deeeeep breaths. I could tell everyone really thought the baby was coming as they scrambled to get the plastic and sheets on my bed. What wonderful encouragement. They really thought this was going to happen!! I couldn’t believe it.

After no more than another 15 minutes back in the water, the baby was crowning. As the head came out, I yelled, “This is AWESOME! This is AWESOME!”

With head and FISTS out, my sweet little baby grabbed ahold of the midwife’s finger. How sweet is that?

I had to wait about two full minutes before I had any urge to push again. As soon as I did though, out flew the rest of the baby. A little girl!

After two boys, and two C-sections, I had a healthy baby girl in my arms, birthed in a beautiful tub of water in my bedroom. It was amazing!

I would have been more than happy to have another boy, mind you. Just goes to show, no two births are the same. Everything about this birth was completely different. I had to encourage myself with that knowledge the entire pregnancy. How good to see that truth brought to light.

P.S. — 9 lbs, 5 oz

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 Tags: Birth, birth stories on demand, birth stories with video, birth stories with pictures, inspiring birth stories, positive birth stories, VBAC stories, VBA2C, vaginal birth after cesarean, home birth, doula, midwife, prenatal yoga, hypnobirth

A first time mom describes her inspiring birth story using Hypnobabies! Tags: Birth, birth stories, hypnobabies, birth stories on demand, hypno babies, positive birth stories, birth center birth, midwife birth stories, natural birth, birth stories with pictures, pressure waves, guess date

Used by permission from the Hypnobabies Blog:

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“I loved it! I can’t wait to have another baby and experience it all again.” ~ What first-time mom says THAT?!

It’s been 11 weeks today since my daughter was born and I really didn’t have time to sit down and write you all about my experience. It was amazing!

I was a 6 days pass my “guess date”, going bananas and running out of ideas how to get the baby out. I had a wonderful midwife and we were planning a water birth in a birthing center about 25 minutes away from where we live. My hubby was wonderful supporting my decision of having unmedicated birth and has been practicing Hypnobabies with me. We did a lot of Birth Partner sessions together and even that he wasn’t very much into it, being the skeptical man he is, he really worked hard to help me with the “relax” cue, which later on, turned out to be an amazing help.

Sunday, April 3rd I decided to take another walk with my father, but after about 20 minutes I felt strangely tired and wanted to go back home. I took a short nap and, later, cooked dinner. My husband was at work, but as usual I called him around 10pm (he works overnight) and told him that I’ve been feeling kind of strange, having pressure waves (but I’ve been having them for the past two weeks coming and going), but not really regular enough to time them. He wanted to come home right away, but I asked him not to, thinking it was another false alarm. Well, he called me 15 minutes later saying he is on the way home. Of course as soon as he got home, my PW were gone. I went to bed disappointed but had no problems falling asleep. I woke up around 2am on Monday morning not knowing exactly what was it that woke me up. I decided to use the bathroom and while I was sitting on the toilet The PW hit me. And I knew right away that this one was completely different from all the other ones I had before. I called Jayson and asked him to start timing them. I really didn’t start to listen to Hypnobabies, CD’s; I was able to use the Finger Drop Technique on my own. My PW were about 5-6 minutes apart.

Hubby called my midwife and gave her an update saying that we would call her again in another hour to let her know about our progress. I decided to take a shower while he was finishing packing our bags. The hot water felt pretty amazing on my back, but I felt like the PW were coming faster and lasted a little longer. Shower was, unfortunately, a distraction for my self-hypnosis, too. 15 min later I called Jayson back to the bathroom and asked him to time the PW again. They were 3-4 min apart.

He called my midwife, Christine, back and we were on the way to the birthing center. My best friend was following us in her car. She was supposed to film the birth for my mom who couldn’t be with us (my mom is fighting 2nd stage breast cancer and was going through chemotherapy at this time). In the car I had my IPod on and I listened to Hypnobabies Easy First Stage. Jayson told me later I was very quiet and I kept my eyes close. At one point I started humming. This was the first time during my birthing time that I went back to my special place to tell my daughter how much I loved her and how I cannot wait to meet her very soon. I also promised her I would do my best so she can have the most peaceful and loving experience entering this world.

It felt so natural to go into hypnosis and release anesthesia, maybe because I’ve been practicing for the past 4 months. When we got to the Birth Center it was after 3am and Christine was already there. She asked me if I wanted to be checked, and I said yes (that was the first time through the entire pregnancy she ever checked me). I was 6 centimeters dilated and I couldn’t believe it! She started filling up the tub for me while I was riding the PW on the birthing ball while listening to Deepening session. My husband was right behind me putting some pressure on my lower back. He also started to use the “relax” cue which was a phenomenal boost of anesthesia whenever he felt me getting distracted and anxious. My “non-believer” husband turned out to be my rock and the best tool Hypnobabies could ever give me.

When I look back at the birthing video I’m so amazed to see that the only noises coming out of my mouth was humming whenever I was climbing on the top of the PW. I was so calm with my eyes closed. Sometimes, for few minutes, my hubby joined me to listen to my IPod, to the Deepening session. I think this is the reason while he stayed so strong and so grounded during the birth of our first child.

During the breaks between PW I was able to drink some water, have something to eat, have a short conversation with my friend. It felt good to hear encouraging words from everybody. I got into the tub at 4am and decided not to use the IPod anymore and just relay on myself and the knowledge I’ve gained from Hypnobabies. Being in a warm water helped me even more to get deeper into hypnosis, since my special place, the one where I was always meeting Emma, my daughter, during sessions was surrounded by water.

Each PW felt like I was climbing a mountain. The hardest part was getting to the top of the wave, but as soon as I got there, I just rode the wave until I felt the relief. I was so focused on relaxing my uterine muscles and imagining opening my cervix and sending anesthesia down there that I did not even realize that it was time to push. The whole transition was pretty quick and not at all uncomfortable. I just felt a little nauseous and I wanted to push.

Christine said I was ready. I’ve pushed in the water for an hour and even that I was making a progress, it didn’t feel like it at all. I was getting tired. But on the other hand I was very much glad that I didn’t have anybody standing over me and counting down or telling me to push. I let my body to be in charge, and my midwife, my husband and my friend were there to give me their love and support I needed. After pushing for an hour, around 8am, Christine suggested I would change a position. I tried to get on my fours but I felt my back hurting really badly. So I’ve decided to stand up. My husband supported me holding me by my waist while I spread my legs and pushed. I felt my baby moved down and Christine called for another midwife to come in.

Again, looking back at the video, I see myself making a lot of grunting noises, but also being completely in control of my body and being able to follow Christine’s directions. She told me to slow down and she told me the head was out, I could feel her between my legs. Christine had enough time to say the she can see my baby’s face and that she is really cute when with a final push her shoulders came out and Emma Berniece was caught in mid air, born at 8:23 am.

My beautiful baby girl was 8 lbs 6 ounces and 19 inches long (which we found out 3 hours later). I sat down in the water holding her and crying. She was so beautiful. My perfect baby girl. Christine waited for the cord to stop pulsating and Jayson cut it. They helped me move into the bed and my daughter took to my breast right away. After the midwife checked me, she said I had no tear! After couple of hours I was able to shower and change. Then, they measured Emma and checked everything out. We were home, in our own bed 4 hours later.

This was the most unbelievable experience of my life. My first baby and the most amazing birth. When people asked if I felt any pain, I say no. With the knowledge and training from Hypnobabies, I was able to be in full control over my mind, while my body did all the work. I describe the PW as climbing a mountain. As soon as you get to the top, you know the hike down is much easier and then you will get to rest. And I kept reminding myself that every PW is bringing me closer to meeting my daughter.

I loved it! I can’t wait to have another baby and experience it all again. And I still cry every time I watch the video, when I see her coming out!

Thank you, Hypnobabies!

Enjoy more amazing birth stories and information here on the Hypnobabies blog:

http://www.Hypnobabiesblog.org

Tags: Birth, birth stories, hypnobabies, birth stories on demand, hypno babies, positive birth stories, birth center birth, midwife birth stories, natural birth, birth stories with pictures, pressure waves, guess date

Amanda's Birth of Nolan

During my 39th week of pregnancy, I began having rhythmic Braxton hicks. I
started eating pineapple, spicy foods, walking, pregnancy tea (with red
raspberry leaves), and taking evening primrose oil to induce labor. Since July,
I've practiced Hypnobabies hypnosis to prepare for Nolan's birthing day. At
12:20am on Saturday, October 22 (my edd) I began having mild, real pressure
waves. I had about 2-3 per hour, but nothing rhythmic. At 11am I had my bloody
show. I went about my daily chores, enjoyed time with my husband and went on a
late night walk. I didn't realize how soon my life would change as I kissed my
husband goodnight shortly after midnight on the morning of the 23rd.

I woke up at 2am to pressure waves that I had to breathe my anesthesia to
manage, but tried to go back to sleep. At 3:30am I started timing the pressure
waves and they varied in length from 4 to 7 minutes apart. At this point I could
no longer sleep, I could only focus on getting through each pressure wave. My
husband awoke at 4am to my loud breathing. We laid in bed timing pressure waves
wondering if this was it. At 5 am I moved from the bed to the couch. My husband
made coffee; I ate a banana as I contemplated calling the midwife. At 5:30am I
called the midwife, I told her my pressure waves were 4-7 minutes apart. My
midwife was at the hospital assisting another woman push, she seemed distracted
while on the phone with me. After listening to a pressure wave of mine, she
thought I should get in the tub and relax until my pressure waves became more
regular. My midwife thought I was in early, not active labor. My husband decided
it was time to gather last minute odds and ends for the hospital bag.

Shortly after the call, my pressure waves came 1-2 minutes apart. I felt
pressure waves come on top of one another not offering any relief. At
the time I wondered if it was possible to get through labor without an epidural.
I began loudly vocalizing/screaming through my contractions. At
6am I had my husband call the midwife back and let her know how soon my pressure
waves were apart. She decided it was time to head to the hospital. My husband
finished packing and I decided to go the bathroom before the 45 minute ride to
New Orleans. I had my second bloody show. I wondered if I was in transition and
started feeling pushing sensations.

My husband attempted to put my shoes on my feet, but my pressure waves were so
intense I couldn't focus long enough to put them on, so I left the house with
just my socks. I hopped into the car and I had a horrible time getting
comfortable. I could only lean on my left side, any pressure on my bottom was
too intense to handle.

The trip to the hospital felt like it was out of a movie; my husband drove 95mph
on the interstate. Once in the city, he ran several red lights to expedite the
trip. My pressure waves eased up on during the ride, I thought my labor was
stalling. We arrived at the hospital at 6:45am. My husband parked in the parking
garage with his hazard lights on and assisted me to the labor ward. On the way
to the unit, I had to stop several times in the hallway, lean up against a wall,
and breathe through pressure waves. Hospital staff offered to get me a
wheelchair, I tried to sit in the chair, but the pressure on my bottom was too
great.

I got checked in and walked myself to the labor room. I changed into a gown and
received my first cervical check. I was told I was fully dilated and ready to
push! I couldn't believe what the nurse said; I had her repeat herself thinking
I was only 4cm or so. I wanted a water birth, I even had a birth tub rented, but
I was so far along I didn't have time to use the tub.

My midwife told me I could start pushing at any time. However, My husband had to
park the car and my mom was not at the hospital yet, so I continued ignoring the
push sensation. At 7:30am my husband finished parking the car and my mom arrived
shortly after, I then felt ready to start pushing. The midwife told me she would
break my water and realized it recently broke on its own. She noticed some
meconium in the water and informed me that I'd have to have the cord cut right
away. I began pushing and attempted first on my left side; the midwife offered
to hold my leg up. I felt so much pressure all over my body I could not stand to
be touched, anytime someone offered, I'd snap back at them, "No!"

I ended up pushing in a position with my back reclined and my knees bent. It
took me a while to feel comfortable pushing. I ignored the feeling for so long,
it took some time for my body to release into the sensation. My midwife offered
me perineum support as the head was crowning. As the head came out I
felt tearing up my labia, which was one of my most uncomfortable memories.
At 9:48am, Nolan Blaze entered the world crying and flailing.

 
Nolan was placed on my chest and his cord was cut by my husband immediately
afterward. Whenever I visualized the birth I imagined I would cry when I first
saw Nolan, however, I had a different response. I felt very proud and
accomplished when he came into this world.

I cuddled with Nolan as my placenta was birthed and aftercare started. The
midwife cleaned me up and began stitching me. I was told I had a small perineum
tear and a first degree tear up my right labia. Nolan was born with his hand up
by his head, which was responsible for my labia tearing. The stitching
felt like an eternity to me. The worst part of the entire experience was when I
got novocaine shots in my labia, it was the only time I swore. While getting
stitched up I let the nurses give Nolan a bath because I didn't want to scream
in his ear. My midwife had trouble stitching me up because the labia tear went
deep and she said it was like a puzzle to sew back together. After a grueling
two hours, I was stitched and ready to hold Nolan again. Looking back on the
birthing process, getting stitched up was the worst part.

I was brought a roasted chicken lunch and slowly ate as my family held Nolan. In
the middle of eating, I was moved to a recovery room where I finished my lunch
and began breastfeeding. Nolan latched well and ate for 25 minutes during my
first attempt. The rest of the day was spent holding and feeding Nolan.

The next morning my midwife who delivered Nolan called and asked how I was
doing. She let me know she was really impressed with how I handled the situation
and that I had the type of birth most of her clients desired and wanted to know
my secret. I let her know that the hypnosis relaxation techniques helped me cope
with the discomfort. She informed me that the other midwife would stop by and if
I looked good, I could go home! The baby and I were checked out and we only had
to spend one night in the hospital.

What worked most for me were the relaxation techniques, positive thoughts, and
breathing my anesthesia to where I needed it most. I highly recommend the
hypnobabies program.

Nolan Blaze
October 23, 2011 at 9:48am
8lbs 3.5oz
20-1/4" long

whodatbaby.tumblr.com

Hypnobabies, birth stories, birth, birth stories on demand, natural birth stories, positive birth stories, childbirth stories, birth stories with pictures, birth pictures, midwife, midwife stories,  positive birth

Jenny's Birth of Liam

Jenny's birth of Liam

Liam’s birth was planned to be a waterbirth, but as it turned out there wasn’t even enough time to fill the tub! Throughout my birthing time, we made the choice to “proceed with caution,” knowing that as long as the answers to “is mom doing well?” and “is baby doing well?” were “yes,” we could proceed with our birth plan.

For those of you wondering, waterbirth really isn’t as mysterious as it sounds. It’s simply natural childbirth’s version of an epidural, and I saw it as one more tool available to me to help aid the process. Especially because I’d had a prolonged pushing phase with our daughter (also a Hypnobaby), I was looking forward to the soothing nature of the water which would help Liam to be born more gently. I did a lot of research about what happens in a waterbirth, making sure that it would be safe for him. Essentially he is unable to take his first breath until he is gently lifted above the water. It’s quite fascinating to read about the way it works.

Liam’s “guess date” was Friday, October 8th. I had started having a few pressure waves Monday, October 3rd indicating he might be thinking about making his arrival, but then they stopped. The next time I remember noticing some mild pressure waves was Friday, October 13th. They stopped again.

Liam scored an 8 out of a possible 8 on the biophysical profile at my visit on Monday, October 10th. It was also revealed that he was facing out (posterior) but at the time I didn’t think much of it. Looking back I realized that using a wait and see approach was not the way to go.

It was clear by the time the following week had nearly come and gone that Liam wasn’t planning on exiting any time soon. I was doing kick counts and knew he was happy as a clam in there, which generally means he needs a bit more time to cook. We even walked around the entire zoo Sunday the 9th, and it felt awesome to be out in the sunshine.
 
Friday, October 14th, things finally started happening! We were so excited to meet Liam, but he was going to make us wait a little longer still.

I awoke at 7 AM to a small gush of fluid, which quickly turned into more gushes and lots of trickling. At my 10:30 AM appointment the midwife used a speculum to see that my water had indeed broken.

Since I wasn’t yet having any consistent pressure waves (the ones I’d had throughout the night had barely been enough to keep me awake), we decided we’d request to go home, relax, and try getting things going naturally with brief walks, bouncing on the yoga ball, and just resting up. The midwife was cool with that, and said to call her that afternoon to check in, but indicated without saying it outright that we might be admitted that night if nothing had changed.

The good thing about her role in my birth is that she used her experience regarding infection to guide her advice to us. Knowing me as a patient told her that it wasn’t very likely that I would get an infection, especially if I was declining cervical checks, which I did have to do once with the nurse upon arriving at the hospital, not having sex, etc. Sure, infections are still possible, however the good thing is the baby’s head had created a seal which eventually stopped the fluid from leaking and created a protective barrier. I was still leaking some fluid though, which was causing me anxiety.

Our decision to go the hospital was the right one. But it could have very easily taken another direction if the waterbirth midwife had not been on call at the time. As I review the details of everything that happened, I truly believe she was a God-send.

We called the on-call staff at the hospital on Saturday night, approaching 24 hours since my water had broken. I spoke to the doctor who was on duty, who explained that typical hospital policy calls for induction 18 hours after the water breaks. She knew having spoken with my regular midwife, that as someone who wanted a natural childbirth, this wouldn’t be my preference, but she informed me of the policy which gave me more anxiety. She also said, “you should talk to the midwife on call.”

Although I would have appreciated a little more reassurance from her over the phone, I am grateful to the doctor for respecting our plan and not pressuring us to come in for an induction right away. This is an example of doctors and midwives working well together. Job well done.

We knew that the decision to be admitted probably meant the dreaded Pitocin.

However, entering the scene is now our wonderful care provider who I had never met before because she sees patients in the other office. She has a wonderful, supportive philosophy which is completely no-pressure. The patient’s body is their own, and she is just there to advise. She is highly skilled and competent in her job, and immediately we know we’re in good hands. When the doctor handed over the phone, the midwife said, “Darn! I wish they had sent you to me earlier!” She started me on a breast pumping regimen, once every hour for 15 minutes. This was 10 PM. Our doula reminded us to REST in between. The pump allows your body to produce more oxytocin naturally, as opposed to Pitocin which is the synthetic form.

Pressure waves are still sporadic and not intense. We rested some until 6 AM, but not well. Trying to stay aware of Liam’s movements kept me pretty anxious and awake.

October 15, 2011 at 8 AM we arrived at hospital with Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits. I was in tears, feeling like we were walking into prison. But when we got admitted, I knew that things were going to be alright. Much to our delight and surprise, the midwife recommended continuing on the pumping regimen for awhile, and if it didn’t work, then we could talk about starting a low dose of Pitocin with the goal of getting my body in a pattern and then turning the Pitocin back off. She also recommended an antibiotic as a precaution. I felt good about the decision to have that administered, and it was given every 6 hours and didn’t take very long so that I could be up and about as I wished in between. (I have a suspicion it might be causing us a case of thrush right now though, since an antibiotic can upset your natural balance.)

Even though I hadn’t slept well the night before, I had gotten fantastic sleep the week before being off work, so I was really ready for this with plenty of sleep in my “bank.” Really grateful for that.

We also ate (peanut butter sandwiches) much to the surprise of our nurse (who would later play a crucial role in this story). She was supportive, but I sensed not very used to patients breaking the rules so brazenly. :-)

Our doula and I walked the L&D floor for about 30-40 minutes and it was way boring. We actually thought about checking ourselves back out. (Basically signing a form saying “against medical advice,” we’re outta here.) Looking back, I’m glad that we didn’t do that. Really glad. The midwife checked in again at 1:30 PM and suggested more breast pump stimulation. With intermittent monitoring we were still confident Liam was doing great.

Our nurse had been watching us from afar, and must have seen me gazing longingly at the sunshine outside. Bless her soul, she suggested to the midwife that we be released for a walk outside. (YAY!!!!) Best news EVER. I honestly didn’t believe they were serious when they came in to tell us. And I gave her the biggest hug and was nearly in tears. We had a great time on our walk, went across the street for a milkshake and walked until it got REALLY warm out. I felt like a freak in my PJ pants and IV lock, but whatever. We were outside enjoying the day!

We came back to the hospital for an afternoon nap. Liam still looks great on the monitor. His heartrate dipped momentarily as I was on the breast pump, because I’d started having pressure waves one on top of the other, which we attributed to the calzones we ate for dinner. The body’s natural response to fuel and yet another reason to eat.

As our doula and I discussed the events of the week, it dawned on me that the biophysical profile had shown that Liam was posterior. Thankfully she had some tricks up her sleeve to try to turn him. We did “figure 8s” on the yoga ball, pelvic rocks, and Rebozo sifting which is a gentle scarf shimmy under the belly while the mother is on all fours (which felt great)! I felt a little ridiculous during all of this but I’ll try anything at this point to get this party started! I just want to meet him! It’s things like this that make a doula worth her weight in gold!

Also worth noting that a nurse shift change occurred at 7 PM. Time to bid farewell to our heroine nurse and little sad that we could not yet introduce her to our new baby. Enter nurse 2, who immediately said she had read our birth plan and had a very positive, “let’s do this” attitude. Honestly I think these nurses were excited to be seeing something a little different. The midwife would later thank me for doing a birth plan and giving them the chance to support it. That made me feel so good!
 
When my pressure waves stopped yet AGAIN, I knew it was my body telling me to rest. So we talked with the midwife and I was about to fall asleep as she was saying that she would check in again at 5 AM and that we’d get serious about the low-dose Pit at that point, approaching 48 hours since my water had broken! In another hospital, this scenario would NEVER have happened. Major props to the care providers for their confidence and knowledge in what the body can do. She was completely trusting that since I had no fever, Liam was getting antibiotics and was looking great on the monitor, that there wasn’t a need to rush it. Again, cannot stress enough what a blessing this was!  

I went to sleep with the thought in my mind that Pitocin was probably not going to be necessary, but that if it did, I would be fine with the decision. Boy was I right! Enough already.

At 1 AM I got up to pee, and was feeling intense pressure in my back and saw some bloody show. I relied on our doula for counter pressure and double hip squeeze which felt awesome, and rocked on the ball which was bringing the baby down very quickly. I could now feel him making direct contact with my pubic bone. This baby was finally coming and coming fast! I was in a great deal of discomfort at this point and expressed to the doula that I was having a hard time using my hypnosis tools (which would normally have allowed me to “get in the zone” had this birthing time ramped up just a touch slower). But when your baby says it’s “go time,” there is very little that can be done to slow it down. And heck, we’d been waiting ALL weekend for this moment, so most of what I felt was joy and excitement!

Our doula suggested side lying as a way that I could start to use my tools. That worked for about 2.5 seconds when I began vocalizing loudly. “Ahhhhh” and blowing air out my lips like a horse. I was completely surprised by my involuntary ability to make these sounds and how awesome they felt.

However I was so excited that with Liam’s birth, I was really able to tune into my body in a way that I hadn’t with my first birth. I used hypnosis very successfully with our first birth. Almost so much, that at times I wasn’t listening to my body because I was so relaxed and felt as though I was in a dream-like state.

With Liam’s birth, I experienced it to the fullest, knowing the whole time that my body was doing what it needed to do, and that gave me so much confidence and was so empowering! And I was able to choose my own positions which helped not only to relieve discomfort, but to give me even more confidence that I was doing this correctly.

At 1:50 AM after a brief time lying on my side, I exclaimed “I have to poop!” And truly I did. To the potty I go. TMI, sorry. Our doula reminded me while I was on the potty that I should use my uterine muscles to push Liam out rather than go with the pressure I was feeling in my bottom. Babies don’t come out of bottoms, in case you hadn’t noticed. :-)

Miraculously I was able to achieve both efforts nearly simultaneously. LOL. But the important thing is that I immediately felt a difference when she reminded me to push Liam out by pretending to “push the seat belt” away from me. When I said “do you think I could get in the tub?” I needed some relief. I thought surely I’m at least at 6 cm. They want you at a 6 before you can get in the tub. I believe that is to avoid having to get in and out, if it relaxes you so much that your birthing time stops, which has been known to happen. Kinda silly if you ask me.

The nurse came in to check me on the potty (how rockin’ is that?!) and said I was NINE centimeters! I cannot tell you what a moment this was and how grateful we were to her for not requiring me to get on the bed for the exam. I knew that Liam would be here soon!
After getting cleaned up I moved to the foot of the bed, desiring to get up on all fours. The nurses were hurriedly changing the sheets and getting the bed set up for me to get into, while the other folks in the room were scrambling to fill up the tub. The hot water was BROKEN!
I swayed and rocked through the next several pressure waves which was a nice little break from the inevitable, while the nurse came and checked Liam’s heartbeat. Still perfect. The midwife was still not here; she had been resting at home and had just gotten the call. She was rushing into the parking deck by about 2:20 AM.

As soon as they finished changing the sheets I moved up on the bed on all fours which felt so great, and Baby Liam was beginning to crown! My doula whispered to me to remember the pushing technique (push as though you are pushing away your seat belt. Do NOT bear down like you are having to poop) and that it was not important to ‘resist’ or wait for the midwife or the nurses to deliver Liam, but to relax into it and gently guide Liam out. His head was gently born at 2:35, so quietly that we hardly knew what had happened. But we heard his first cry and that was an AWESOME moment, especially for me because I couldn’t see him yet. But I could hear him! At 2:36, just as the midwife ran in the door, Liam was born into Daddy’s arms!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

He weighed 6.74 oz, 19 inches long and his head was 13 inches. He was born anterior, facing my back, with his hand up by his face. I had two tiny tears that didn’t require stitches. A very nice change from our daughter’s birth.

The cord pulsed for a full 10 minutes before it was cut, and the three of us bonded for a full hour before Liam was whisked away for his sponge bath and newborn assessments. We delayed Hepatitis B vaccine (Liam is not planning on being sexually active just yet and I have one monogamous partner), declined Vitamin K (since he is not undergoing circumcision or any other surgery AND I had such a short pushing phase), and declined eye ointment (since it isn’t likely he has an STD and so that he could see us in those first few precious moments). He got the heel stick for PKU testing (required by law). Otherwise he was ours, all ours to keep! Perfect and healthy!

What an amazing experience. We would not trade it for the world. Liam is the most content baby and is easily soothed and breastfeeding well. I attribute that to the gentle way in which he was born. THANK YOU to the staff at South Fulton Medical Center in Atlanta for allowing us to have the birth of our dreams.

Tags: Natural birth, hypnobirthing,  hypnobirth stories, natural hospital birth, birth stories, birth stories with pictures, positive birth stories, midwife stories, doula stories, positive birth stories, birth stories on demand, birth pictures

Eva’s birth of Emma

This is a Hypnobabies birth story:

http://www.Hypnobabiesblog.org

Eva’s birth of Emma

It's been 11 weeks today since my daughter was born and I really didn't have time to sit down and write you all about my experience. It was amazing!

I was a 6 days pass my "guess date", going bananas and running out of ideas how to get the baby out. I had a wonderful midwife and we were planning a water birth in a birthing center about 25 minutes away from where we live. My hubby was wonderful supporting my decision of having unmedicated birth and has been practicing Hypnobabies with me. We did a lot of Birth Partner sessions together and even that he wasn’t very much into it, being the skeptical man he is, he really worked hard to help me with the “relax” cue, which later on, turned out to be an amazing help.

Sunday, April 3rd I decided to take another walk with my father, but after about 20 minutes I felt strangely tired and wanted to go back home. I took a short nap and, later, cooked dinner. My husband was at work, but as usual I called him around 10pm (he works overnight) and told him that I've been feeling kind of strange, having pressure waves (but I've been having them for the past two weeks coming and going), but not really regular enough to time them. He wanted to come home right away, but I asked him not to, thinking it was another false alarm. Well, he called me 15 minutes later saying he is on the way home. Of course as soon as he got home, my PW were gone. I went to bed disappointed but had no problems falling asleep. I woke up around 2am on Monday morning not knowing exactly what was it that woke me up. I decided to use the bathroom and while I was sitting on the toilet The PW hit me. And I knew right away that this one was completely different from all the other ones I had before. I called Jayson and asked him to start timing them.

I really didn’t start to listen to Hypnobabies, CD’s; I was able to use the Finger Drop Technique on my own. My PW were about 5-6 minutes apart. Hubby called my midwife and gave her an update saying that we would call her again in another hour to let her know about our progress. I decided to take a shower while he was finishing packing our bags. The hot water felt pretty amazing on my back, but I felt like the PW were coming faster and lasted a little longer. Shower was, unfortunately, a distraction for my self-hypnosis, too. 15 min later I called Jayson back to the bathroom and asked him to time the PW again. They were 3-4 min apart. He called my midwife, Christine, back and we were on the way to the birthing center. My best friend was following us in her car. She was supposed to film the birth for my mom who couldn’t be with us (my mom is fighting 2nd stage breast cancer and was going through chemotherapy at this time).

In the car I had my IPod on and I listened to Hypnobabies Easy First Stage. Jayson told me later I was very quiet and I kept my eyes close. At one point I started humming. This was the first time during my birthing time that I went back to my special place to tell my daughter how much I loved her and how I cannot wait to meet her very soon. I also promised her I would do my best so she can have the most peaceful and loving experience entering this world.  It felt so natural to go into hypnosis and release anesthesia, maybe because I've been practicing for the past 4 months.

When we got to the Birth Center it was after 3am and Christine was already there. She asked me if I wanted to be checked, and I said yes (that was the first time through the entire pregnancy she ever checked me). I was 6 centimeters dilated and I couldn’t believe it! She started filling up the tub for me while I was riding the PW on the birthing ball while listening to Deepening session. My husband was right behind me putting some pressure on my lower back. He also started to use the “relax” cue which was a phenomenal boost of anesthesia whenever he felt me getting distracted and anxious. My “non-believer” husband turned out to be my rock and the best tool Hypnobabies could ever give me.

When I look back at the birthing video I’m so amazed to see that the only noises coming out of my mouth was humming whenever I was climbing on the top of the PW. I was so calm with my eyes closed. Sometimes, for few minutes, my hubby joined me to listen to my IPod, to the Deepening session. I think this is the reason while he stayed so strong and so grounded during the birth of our first child.

During the breaks between PW I was able to drink some water, have something to eat, have a short conversation with my friend. It felt good to hear encouraging words from everybody.  I got into the tub at 4am and decided not to use the IPod anymore and just relay on myself and the knowledge I’ve gained from Hypnobabies. Being in a warm water helped me even more to get deeper into hypnosis, since my special place, the one where I was always meeting Emma, my daughter, during sessions was surrounded by water. Each PW felt like I was climbing a mountain. The hardest part was getting to the top of the wave, but as soon as I got there, I just rode the wave until I felt the relief. I was so focused on relaxing my uterine muscles and imagining opening my cervix and sending anesthesia down there that I did not even realize that it was time to push.

The whole transition was pretty quick and not at all uncomfortable. I just felt a little nauseous and I wanted to push. Christine said I was ready. I've pushed in the water for an hour and even that I was making a progress, it didn’t feel like it at all. I was getting tired. But on the other hand I was very much glad that I didn’t have anybody standing over me and counting down or telling me to push. I let my body to be in charge, and my midwife, my husband and my friend were there to give me their love and support I needed. After pushing for an hour, around 8am, Christine suggested I would change a position. I tried to get on my fours but I felt my back hurting really badly. So I've decided to stand up. My husband supported me holding me by my waist while I spread my legs and pushed. I felt my baby moved down and Christine called for another midwife to come in. Again, looking back at the video, I see myself making a lot of grunting noises, but also being completely in control of my body and being able to follow Christine’s directions.

She told me to slow down and she told me the head was out, I could feel her between my legs. Christine had enough time to say that she can see my baby’s face and that she is really cute when with a final push her shoulders came out and Emma Berniece was caught in mid air, born at 8:23 am. My beautiful baby girl was 8 lbs 6 ounces and 19 inches long (which we found out 3 hours later).

I sat down in the water holding her and crying. She was so beautiful. My perfect baby girl. Christine waited for the cord to stop pulsating and Jayson cut it. They helped me move into the bed and my daughter took to my breast right away. After the midwife checked me, she said I had no tear! After couple of hours I was able to shower and change. Then, they measured Emma and checked everything out. We were home, in our own bed 4 hours later.

This was the most unbelievable experience of my life. My first baby and the most amazing birth. When people asked if I felt any pain, I say no. With the knowledge and training from Hypnobabies, I was able to be in full control over my mind, while my body did all the work. I describe the PW as climbing a mountain. As soon as you get to the top, you know the hike down is much easier and then you will get to rest. And I kept reminding myself that every PW is bringing me closer to meeting my daughter.

I loved it! I can't wait to have another baby and experience it all again. And I still cry every time I watch the video, when I see her coming out!

Thank you, Hypnobabies!

For further information about Hypnobabies:

http://www.hypnobabies.com/

tags: natural birth, birth center, pressure waves, hypnobabies, positive birth stories, won't scare pregnant women, birth, birth stories, birth stories on demand, childbirth, natural birth stories, inspiring birth stories