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

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

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

Aster’s Birth Story

Why I chose Hypnobabies

When I first became pregnant I was terrified of the actual birthing part. I had watched Hollywood’s version of birth for far too long and the images of sheer terror in these mothers had imprinted itself in my brain. I had the impression that you lose all control due to the excruciating amount of pain BUT it would be completely worth it because it would be the most amazing day of your life and the pain would be such a small price to pay… blah blah blah.

Well, I wasn’t thrilled at my options.

On the one hand I really wanted to experience a natural birth because of the uniqueness of an experience that only women can share in, but I really wasn’t interested in the amount of pain I perceived as inevitable. The other option was to receive an epidural to help numb the pain but be unable to be fully in tune with my body and experience the process. It was at that point that I began looking into my childbirth options.

I remembered when my best friend had her baby at a birthing center the year before that I had seen a brochure for hypnobirthing. It sounded very strange to me and, of course, I said, “I’d be willing to try anything if it meant I could avoid the pain!” It was an ignorant statement said with images of being completely unconscious and under someone else’s ‘control’ flickering through my brain. Well, by the time I was a couple months pregnant and researching different childbirth preparation courses I decided to look into different types of hypnobirthing. I came across Hypnobabies and decided to read some of the birth stories and watch the birth videos on YouTube. I tried desperately to search for negative reviews in Google’s search engine. I only came across positive birth experiences and the women seemed so happy with the program. Many of them even had pain free births! I decided to put all of my effort into it and my husband, Peter, was happy to be my birth partner and become very involved as well. I didn’t want to participate in something that sounded so far-fetched without giving it my all.

There weren’t any local classes offered at the time so I ordered the home study program. I have the type of personality that I knew would work well to invest a lot of time and energy into this program on my own; I’m definitely not a procrastinator and started the program early at 26 weeks. What I immediately realized was that Hypnobabies is all about listening to your body, relaxing, embracing change, releasing fears, and enjoying every moment of your pregnancy for what it is. There’s a Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations CD that I listened to every day and it made me feel so powerful and grateful to be experiencing what I was going through. It also helped me love all the changes that were occurring in my body. There are several other CDs that you cycle through and practice, like ‘Your Special Place Imagery and Relaxation,’ ‘Easy, Comfortable Childbirth,’ and ‘Fear Clearing Session’. The most important part of Hypnobabies was to practice the different “switches,” like a mental light switch. When you “switch off” you go completely limp and relax every muscle in your body and think about moving mental anesthesia to different parts of your body that need it. When you are in “center switch” you are still deeply relaxed but are able to move around, talk, and function as normal. In the “on position” you are fully conscious and in your normal state. They urge you to practice these switches so that when your birthing time comes you can fully participate in them without thinking about it.

Hypnobabies also uses different vocabulary than your typical childbirth course because they are trying to change the way your mind perceives childbirth. Instead of laboring, you’re birthing; contractions are pressure waves; there is no false labor, only practice birthing/pressure waves; due dates are guess dates because the baby picks his/her birthday... Initially, I thought it seemed a little corny and, at first, I especially hated asking people to use this terminology around me if they would be speaking of birthing for any length of time. Hypnobabies also has you create a bubble of peace and that really put me over the edge. The idea behind the peace bubble was that everything good and supportive of me and my birthing choices were in the bubble with me and anything negative bounced off the bubble. I was surprised at how helpful it was once I got past how bizarre it sounded. And one of the most important messages Hypnobabies reiterates is that whatever birth experience you have is the perfect one for you. So it’s great to plan and visualize what your birth will be like but if you end up needing a c-section or and emergency transfer, that may very well be what was perfect for you; it’s important to be flexible with something so out of your control.


Early Birthing Time

Let’s fast forward to my birthing time. On July 6th I was completely unaware that my early pressure waves had begun; the ones I experienced were stronger and a little different than Braxton Hicks had been but I still felt like I was having Braxton Hicks in addition to these new ones. I didn’t think anything of it and would simply adjust the way I sat or breathe a little more deeply when they occurred. I experienced them periodically throughout the day and while we were out at dinner with my husband, my in-laws, and their friends. That evening around 12 p.m. I told my husband that I thought the pressure waves might actually be the real thing but I wasn’t sure because I was actually enjoying how powerful and strong they were. We went to bed excited but with little expectation.

Almost immediately I noticed them getting stronger and occurring with more regularity but I was so sleepy and felt like I was in a dreamlike state that I still didn’t think anything of it. When each one occurred I would close my eyes and breathe deeply and relax my body. I visualized a deep, undulating sound as I gently body surfed up and down over continuous waves (I assume that I visualized this because I had called contractions ‘pressure waves’ for so long). Each wave grew stronger and then gradually weaker and they only lasted about a minute each it seemed. After each one I would smile, just like the program had taught me to, because they were bringing my baby that much closer to meeting me. That’s when I finally remembered that Braxton Hicks go away when you lay down and true pressure waves do not. I didn’t see the point in waking Peter up so I continued to experience them consistently until 2:30ish in the morning. The only pregnancy symptom I have had has been severe heartburn throughout the entire pregnancy and it struck at that time. I didn’t want to get up and find my Tums so I woke Peter up and calmly explained that I was having real pressure waves but, unfortunately, my heartburn was acting up and asked him to please get my Tums. He asked me a few questions and as I was explaining how I was feeling and what the pressure waves were like, I felt a ‘pop’ at 2:47 a.m. and said, “Well, I think my water just broke. I’ll go use the restroom and check it out while you get the Tums.” Sure enough, I was leaking a little bit. I threw a pad on and laid back down to continue my pressure waves.

I threw up the first time about 3:30 a.m. but wasn’t too concerned. I had an upset stomach and was using the restroom quite often after the waves but I vaguely remembered that being common when your birthing time is imminent. Then I noticed that while deep breathing through pressure waves I felt like I was going to throw up. Sure enough, I did and it seemed like I threw up with every pressure wave that was exceptionally strong. I was slightly discouraged because all of my practicing had been built upon deep breathing and it seemed as though I wouldn’t be able to do that. But I quickly figured out a way to breathe a bit more shallowly and didn’t seem to throw up quite as often as I felt my body wanted to. Peter timed the waves until 4:18 a.m.; some were 3 minutes apart, others 9 minutes so we decided to get some sleep. We fell asleep for about 4 hours and I woke up long enough to breathe through the waves before I fell back to sleep. I listened to the ‘Birth-Day Affirmations’ while I was sleeping. Throughout the rest of the morning I listened to different CDs, depending on which one I felt would be the most useful at that moment in time.

I continued to have pressure waves all morning and Peter kept me well hydrated and occasionally timed them. When the pressure waves were getting more frequent Peter drew me a warm bath and I hung out in there for a long time while I listened to my CDs and focused on relaxing and breathing deeply. In between checking on me and timing the pressure waves, Peter gathered our last minute supplies for the birth bag so that it would be ready to go by the time I was. While I was in the tub there were times when the pressure waves became much stronger and I had him stay to support my body so that I could be completely limp during them.

Eventually I decided I’d be more comfortable lying back down in bed so I headed over there and continued to have much stronger pressure waves. At this point I began low moaning for the duration of each pressure wave. I’m not sure when it was that I informed Peter the moaning was not from pain but that I was doing what my body was telling me to do and that it felt good to make these noises; I think that helped him relax. I began feeling ‘pushy’ around 11:30 a.m. and had two or three involuntary pushes. I asked Peter to call the midwife because I thought it might be time to go in. The pressure waves were coming 3-5 minutes apart and because they had been so strong for awhile, the midwife told Peter to have us head down. He got the car packed and brought several pillows so that I could prop myself up comfortably during the ride. This allowed me to go limp during the pressure waves while in the car. We left around 12:15 p.m. and Peter did a wonderful job driving calmly (even if he wasn’t feeling very calm!) while I kept my eyes shut and continued to listen to my CDs with my headphones on and moaned deeply with the pressure waves. On the drive I threw up into the wastebasket that Peter had so wisely packed. Peter has since told me that some of the waves came two minutes apart, which made him nervous that we would be birthing roadside. I guess I had a break for about 7 minutes and he hoped we’d have enough time to get to the birth center.

The birth center is about 45 minutes away from our house and we arrived just after 1 p.m. I waited until one pressure wave had passed before I got out of the car. I made it to the bench outside of the birthing center and asked Peter if we could sit down for another pressure wave before we headed upstairs. When we got upstairs I laid down in the room I knew I would be birthing in while Peter went to find someone since everyone was having their lunch break out on the balcony.

Breathing Baby Out

Laura, a midwife in training, came in to do a vaginal exam. I asked her how long those take and she said about a minute. I told her to wait since another pressure wave was coming on. When I ‘came up’ from it I told her she should probably get in there quick before the baby came. She laughed and apparently thought I was at about 4 cm since I was in such a good mood and joking around with her. While she was doing the exam she said, “I can’t find the cervix.” I naively asked, “Where did it go?” She said, “That means you’re at 10 cm…” I responded, “Well, that’s good, right?” She asked the midwife, Tracy, if she could check to make sure she wasn’t wrong and I told them that didn’t seem necessary because I didn’t have trouble believing I was that close.

On a side note, Hypnobabies encourages you to have a birthing day project for your early birthing time and they suggest making a sweet treat for whoever will be attending the birth. I apologized to everyone for not making cookies or brownies for them since I hadn’t realized I was in my birthing time and that just made them laugh. Poor Peter wanted 5 minutes to eat some of his protein bar, go to the bathroom, and get his swim trunks on since we were going to be in the water tub and I told him, “Baby’s waiting on you!” I had another pressure wave and the midwives rubbed my back while he was gone.

When he got back we both got in the water tub and he massaged my lower back during all of my pressure waves. In between we were joking around with the midwives and one another. I was still feeling great and totally relaxed between them. These pressure waves felt so much more powerful that my moaning almost felt like a low roar bellowing up from somewhere so deep inside me that I don’t think I could ever imitate it again without being in my actual birthing time. I’ve learned that those noises are fairly common with hypnobirths and have been compared to a weight lifter or martial artist. You don’t see a weight lifter or martial artist quietly lifting heavy weights or breaking through bricks without noise- there is an enormous amount of energy behind the groans you hear them make. It felt the same for me, very powerful.

Hypnobabies had prepared me for the ‘breathing baby out’ phase as a two steps forward, one step back process. That’s exactly what it felt like- it was a great practice in patience. The midwives put a mirror below where my labia was parting so that I could see her hair floating in the water and see where to touch the top of her head- her hair was so soft! The amount of hair confirmed a reason for the severe heartburn. I breathed baby out for an hour and a half or two hours and the only complaint I had during it was that my heartburn was making me throw up a little in my mouth during my low moaning. Tracy got a bowl and told me I could spit into it but the first time I did it bounced back and hit me in the face. I commented, “Well, that didn’t work out so well.”

Throughout the whole time we were in the tub I’d ask Peter if he was having fun or how he was doing and his response was always some version of, “Time of my life, baby.” When he asked me how I was doing my responses varied from how much fun I was having, that the baby and I made a great team, or what a good birth partner Peter was being.

During the birthing stage and anytime the pressure waves were more intense I used the “peace” cue. This meant I exhaled deeply as I said, “Peeeeeaaaace” and imagined breathing mental anesthesia to wherever I felt my body needed it. It was probably the most useful cue that I employed and really allowed me to focus on something. I had a little trouble maintaining relaxation once she was crowning and Peter repeated some of the relaxation cues, which helped me immensely. I was leaned forward over the tub’s edge and Peter was behind me the whole time. As she was coming out Pete was updating me on how far she was and I heard him say, “She has your nose! Thank God!” He caught her and the midwives helped pull her up between my legs and laid her in my arms. Pete was crying and I was just staring at her in awe when Pete asked, “Is it a boy or girl?” Laura told us she hadn’t seen yet and then checked- it was a girl! We said, “Hello, Aster!” After 9 months of not knowing who this little person was that grew inside me, it was amazing to finally meet her. 

Final Thoughts

The news of Aster’s birth spread like wildfire throughout the birth center. At our checkups since the birth we’ve been told by midwives, even those not in attendance, how impressed they were. One midwife told me I birthed like a second time mom, only better. Another said that she knew I would do well since I had practiced religiously. The ones who attended the birth laughed about how silly Peter and I were during my birthing time, and especially how I apologized for not baking them cookies (although we remedied this later by bringing the attendees aster flowers to remember our little Aster). Laura informed us that on their student blog everyone was talking about different births they’d witnessed and she told them, “I got to see a pain-free birth; it was incredible!”

You won’t ever hear me say that Hypnobabies is the only or best childbirth course. I feel like this is one of those decisions that is very personal and each woman needs to pick what will make her the most comfortable. This was perfect for me. But the only reason it worked as well as it did was because I practiced. I’m sure the same would be true for other childbirth courses if they were practiced as much. A runner doesn’t show up at a marathon never having run a day in his/her life and expect to be successful. Birthing is a tremendous event and requires a lot of time and energy. I was pleased that my training paid off. Mostly, what I learned from this experience is that birth doesn’t have to be an out-of-control event and I was surprised to find it could actually be comfortable, enjoyable, and even fun. 

tags: natural birth, hypnobabies, hypnobirth, pain free childbirth, freebirth, free birth, birth stories, positive birth stories, won't scare pregnant wome birth stories, water birth stories, water birth, birth stories with pictures

Our beautiful second daughter was born Sept. 13, 2010.  I have been trying to find the time to sit down and type this for over a month now.  We used the Hypnobabies home study course for our first birth as well with wonderful success, though she was posterior and it was a long birthing, I told everyone how much I looked forward to the birthing experience again.

This time was even more incredible than the first. In part, I think because I was better prepared and more informed about posterior positioning and with the assistance of a chiropractor and "head down facing back" imagery and affirmations, we were successful in avoiding the posterior birth.

I began to experience Braxton Hicks with this pregnancy at 5 months and over the last month, they became very frequent. Several times they were regular for 5 - 6 hours at a time, but then did not progress, so up until only a few hours before Anna's birth I was not convinced that it was actually time.  My pressure waves began around 1 PM while I was in a meeting at work. (I work at a hospital system in the oncology clinic directly across the street from labor and delivery.)  After a few pressure waves, I began to pay attention and time them. They were lasting a minute and coming about every 10  minutes.  By the end of the meeting at 2 PM they were more like 7 minutes apart and slightly more recognizable as possibly "the real thing."

At this point I went to my quiet office and did some birthing affirmation scripts in my head.  I mentally put my light switch in the center position and decided to go on with my day.  I still believed that the pressure waves may stop, as they did with my first birth, and so I was hesitant to get too excited too quickly. At 3 PM I went into another meeting with one other colleague of mine – we were to discuss the plan for my maternity leave :)  At this point I began writing down the time of each pressure wave all while having conversation with my co-worker.  After about 20 minutes she said to me "Wait, are you having contractions right now?!" When I replied yes, and that they were now 3-5 minutes apart, I believe her response was, " Are you freaking kidding me right now?" I felt so calm and in control and was not experiencing any pain that  I am not sure she actually believed me.

It was about 3:45 when I decided that we probably needed to wrap up the meeting so that I could walk across the street and check in at the hospital.  I called my husband, who was at work, and found my mom who works in the same building.  She walked with me to the labor and delivery floor.  When I arrived in the triage area I very calmly said – "I think I am ready to have a baby tonight." The registrar looked at me like I was nuts.  I am sure she was thinking that I was nowhere near birth.  After getting registered they took me back and did an internal check, for which I was very easily able to put my light switch in the off position and felt no discomfort– despite the apologies of the nurse who was concerned about hurting me.  I was 4cm and 80% effaced.  She asked me to walk for an hour and then we would check again to be sure things were progressing.  During that time I was able to comfortably walk the halls with my mom while my light switch was in the center position stopping only occasionally to concentrate.  My husband arrived and we returned to triage for another check.  At this time I was 5 cm and 90% effaced, so I was admitted around 6:30.

The doctor arrived around 7 and my bag of waters was bulging, so we made the decision to rupture it. Knowing that this worked very well for me with my first birth, I was comfortable doing it again.  At this point I had a hep-locked IV and was still able to move comfortably around the room.  At about 7:30 the pressure waves picked up in intensity, but were still very manageable with the use of a birthing ball and my peace cues.  I had the "Easy First Stage" CD playing in the room.  I encouraged my husband to go get some dinner because after all – I could be awhile.  Again, the nursing staff looked questioningly at us, but he went quickly across the street to get a sandwich and I got into the bath.  After being in the bath about 15 minutes my husband returned and I knew it was time to get out.  The pressure waves began to get very intense and I was really concentrating and using my peace ques.  I thought that I was probably in transition as I was feeling nauseated and light headed.  I had him help me out of the tub and back into bed.  This process progressed through three or so pressure waves.  When I was finally in bed, I asked him to get the nurse because I felt like things were changing.

The nurse came in to check me again and I was 8 cm and dilating quickly.  She immediately called my doctor, who was supposedly only 12 minutes away.  It was 8:30 At this point. I think I began to lose focus briefly through the next two pressure waves. I was worried the doctor was not there and I needed my husband to remind me to relax and go deeper. As he counted me down, I had to put my light switch off for the pressure waves as I was feeling intense pressure and told the nurse that I felt the baby was coming now! Still no doctor.  At this point there were two other nurses in the room with my husband and I and they helped me to roll onto my back.  Almost instantly my legs fell apart, and if I could only explain the look on their faces – total shock.  They told me I was doing great and to keep breathing and maybe the doctor would make it.  "Do you want to feel the head?" one nurse asked.  As I reached down, I was shocked to realize that my sweet baby's head was already half way out! I had no idea – I knew that the pressure was intense and her birth was near but I was so calm and in control that I didn't even know she was already making her way into this world.  I rubbed her little head for about a minute when she just slipped seamlessly out of my body with no discomfort at all at 8:50 PM

The nurses did a beautiful job placing her right up on my chest and patiently waiting for the cord to stop pulsing when they let my husband cut the cord and they took pictures for us, the first pictures we were actually able to take because everything happened so quickly.  Still no doctor.  We were able to snuggle and enjoy each other for another 5 minutes when my doctor finally arrived, so disappointed that she missed the birth.  She did, however, stay to deliver the placenta.  The doctor and nursing staff continued to comment on how in control I seemed and they could hardly believe it.

I think my husband and I were a bit in shock.  My first birth was 18 hours.  I totally believe that because I was able to have a baby in the anterior position and use my Hypnobabies this was a fast, easy, and comfortable birthing.  I did not have any tears or even any swelling.  The nursing staff was totally amazed at how quickly I was up out of bed.  My nurse even commented that in her 6 years as a labor and delivery nurse she had never gotten anyone out of bed so quickly or easily before.  Two days after she was born we were out for a walk and feeling better than I had felt in months! Thank you, Hypnobabies, for 2 incredible birthing experiences.  I thought for sure we would be done after 2 children, but who knows – we may decide to go for three!

Tags: hypnobabies, hypnobabies birth stories, pressure waves, natural childbirth, natural child birth, positive birth stories, happy birth stories, good birth stories, hospital birth, natural birth in a hospital, birth stories, child birth stories

Jacob was due, in medical terms, on the 6th April, 2010. Having gone through the process of hypnobirthing, I wish I'd taken the attitude of "sometime in in April" as the 6th came and went with no sign of Jacob. Not that it bothered me. I went around doing what needed to be done. Relaxed with my hynobirthing CDs and practiced my breathing, talking to Jacob, telling him it was ok for him to take extra time in there. Every day I embraced as an extra rest day, extra time for me and my daughters to do special stuff, while others around me, got more and more agitated. I did try a few non-evasive ways of kick starting things off, but he didn't want to come yet. Everything was ready at home for a homebirth, and my midwife, Jan, supporting this, came and did a sweep for me when I was 40+7 and 40+9. He was low, his head resting against my cervix, ready, but was obviously too comfortable.

At 40+10, I was told that the community midwives would not support a home confinement after this time and if I go into spontaneous labour, I was to attend the Hull Royal because I was overdue and my induction was booked at 40+12. Overdue my...!!!! I politely insisted that I would like to leave the induction until 40+14, which wasn't received very well at all. I had to go down to Hull Royal for a trace to check Jacob's heart rate, which I agreed to. After the trace, I spoke to a consultant, who insisted that I should be induced the following day and again, I politely refused. As Jacob was happy, heart rate was lovely, moving lots, I would come in on 40+14. My extensive birth plan, even for my induction, was if they release my waters, I could be left for the max of 6 hours (they usually leave you for 4) and if nothing happened, then I would be willing for the hormone drip (really didn't want that!). If my waters were released, I wanted no more intervention, and I was to be as active as possible with the use of the birthing ball, walking about, adopting any position I felt comfortable and even use the birthing pool. Again I had to politely push for all this, but it was written down and highly noted.

I'd been having lower tummy pains and pressure in my bottom for most of Monday, 19th April, but put it down to feeling a bit anxious regarding the induction on Tuesday 20th. By about 9pm, I noticed that I was cramping regularly, so took myself off to bed to see if I could sleep. Plugged myself into my iTouch and listened to both the hypnobirthing rainbow relaxation and comfort zone, whilst practicing deep breathing. Every time I felt myself cramping (around 7-10 minutes at this point), I did my surge breathing, which I found so relaxing and comforting. I stayed in bed until around 2am, not because I couldn't sleep, but i was too wired! Although I was in a relaxed state and cramping was mild, I was getting excited. I puttered about the house, sat and watched a couple of things on Sky+, but at 4am Tuesday morning, I woke John up as I wanted some company! We both sat and watched a few bits and bobs on TV, he could tell by my surge breathing, the surges were coming 3 to 5 minutes apart. He asked if he needed to do any scripts with me and I said no at this point, as I was relaxed and calm, so he kept giving me a few key words to encourage me on.

After packing my daughters to my friends at 6am, (we were considering staying at home and pumping to pull up but think the medical staff scared John with what can happen if the placenta breaks down) we arrived at Hull Royal about 6.30. After settling in and having a trace for 30 minutes, all was well and they just let me get on with things. I had a male midwife, Paul, and a student midwife, Julie, who were popping in and out from time to time. I kept active, bouncing on a ball, swaying and with the help of my hypnobirthing CD and breathing, felt really calm. While I was on the birthing ball, I leant forward on the bed, with my head resting on my arms, doing my surge breathing and even managed to doze off between surges. John was also relaxed and calm, sitting on the sofa.

It was around 10.30 when I started to feel pushy. I knew my body was getting ready, so I got John to get the midwife. The birthing pool was run, and Paul asked if it was ok to check me. I said that was ok and I was about 4cms dilated. I felt relaxed and asked if they could release my waters at 11. Funnily enough, this was the time of my induction, so they would have released them if I hadn't started naturally. I knew that it would quicken things up, but I also knew with the breathing, the music and John, I would be fine. Paul released my waters around 11 am and told me that I was doing really well and the gas and air was on the wall if needed. He then sat with the student midwife at the far end of the room and let us have our space.

I had been hanging over the end of the elevated end of the bed on all fours using gravity and Jacob's head to press on the cervix and to help me dilate. With the breathing, I imagined opening flowers, Jacob's head being born, musical notes floating up in the air. John was still standing by me, rubbing my back and messing with his phone and again asked if I needed the scripts and I said I was still coping fine. I drifted off, in and out of deep relaxation and started to use the gas and air with my surge breathing as the surges were now almost continuous.

With my first daughter, I suffered from an anterior cervical lip, which when I became pushy, didn't move out the way and became swollen, I had discussed this with Sandra in our sessions and we did a fear release script. Although I was imagining a beautiful flowering rose, the bearing down and surges almost became unbearable. At the height of the surges I could feel myself bearing down because my body was telling me to. I followed my body and took over with a guttural, primal grunting.

I asked to be checked again, and was told that Jacob was almost here. The birthing pool was run but in another room and because I was so close, Paul was concerned that I might have him in the corridor! I must have really wanted a waterbirth, as I was off the bed and leading the midwife to the room! I managed to get to the side of the pool before the next surge, then got straight in, turned on all fours and started to breathe my baby down. Within five breaths, Jacob was crowning and I was so overwhelmed I was calling his name and saying hello all the while he was being born. I felt him rotate and Paul unlooped the cord from around his neck, which was loose. I brought him up to my chest, sat back and had a cuddle and a chat with Jacob Christopher.

Jacob was born at 12.06. He cried a bit but then was really alert and looking about happily. John cut the cord after it stopped pulsating and he was wrapped up and given to John for a cuddle. I had a physiological 3rd stage in the pool and everything was great! I felt calm, relaxed and bonded immediately with Jacob.

I went to get out of the pool, got one foot on the stool on the outside, felt really sick, and told Paul, who grabbed me just in time as I fainted. I woke up on the floor after what felt like a very odd dream with a roomful of people making sure I was ok. Took me about 15 minutes to be able to move without feeling dizzy and my blood pressure was really low. Again, my hypnobirthing came into its own as I was doing the calm breathing to bring my blood pressure back to normal and make sure my body was getting enough oxygen. I had a saline drip (while I had tea and toast) and they wanted to keep me in overnight just to make sure I was ok. Paul thinks the combination of losing just a bit more blood than I should have and birthing so quick just sent me into shock, but the hypnobirthing breathing and being calmer stopped both John and I panicking. We were left in the birthing room until about 6.30 and I was moved to the postnatal ward. Jacob weighed a lovely 9lb 7-1/2 ounces and I had a very slight graze. I had a room on my own and while Jacob was sleeping, John and I chatted and tried to get some sleep! He didn't want to leave at 9 pm but he got kicked out and I had a reasonable night with Jacob. On Wednesday morning, my bloods came back and my iron was low, but they were happy with me coming home with iron tablets. So although I didn't get my home birth, maybe someone was looking out for me. I still got my waterbirth and I couldn't have wished for a better birthing experience!

Jacob is now 9 months, and doing brilliantly. He has fit into our lives like a perfect glove fits a hand, sheer, and like you never knew life before that glove and you wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you lost it. I practiced calm breathing in the early days when I had my afterpains which helped a great deal! I also calm breath when I'm breastfeeding, last thing at night before I go to sleep and I still find the odd surge breathing slipping in there too!

Tags: hypno babies, hypnobirth, hypno babies stories, hypnobirth stories, birth, birth stories, positive birth stories, natural birth stories, waterbirth, waterbirth stories, water birth stories, natural birth, 

At around 1:30 am, they were around 8-12 minutes apart and so we decided to call my doula...she had told me from the get go that she takes Xmas off so that was another concern — that I wouldn't have her there at the birthing either! She had a back up but I didn't know her. She told me to call her when I thought it was time and she'd contact the back up, so that's what we did. She just said keep going and to call and give her updates throughout the night. Long story short, at 4 am they were definitely strong and about 7 minutes apart. Then we heard James start singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in his bed and we were so happy that he was awake, so we got him up and we went down and had our family Christmas — while I lay on the couch and used my cues and breathing to ride out each pressure wave. They got to 6 minutes apart and we called our doula, who said we could either go now or wait until they were 4 minutes apart. I wanted to have an all natural, intervention free birth so I didn't want to go to the hospital too soon, so we decided to wait a few minutes. My mother in law arrived to take over and watch my son and then I started feeling very cold and had the shakes and I realized I was in transition, so David called the doula and she said to go now. She said she was going to meet us there, that the back up doula wasn't on until noon! I was very happy. So we get in the car and there's a terrible fog and barely any visibility...luckily we live only 10 minutes from the hospital, just 2 exits up the freeway. During this time I also started feeling lots of pressure in my bottom like I had to go to the bathroom. We got wheeled up to L & D, checked in at 6:04, went into triage, and were standing there maybe 2 minutes when I feel a pop and wetness.  I realized my water broke, then I had HUGE pressure in my bottom and we yelled to the nurses that I needed to go NOW! So they took me to a room and I peeled off my clothes and got in the bed. We were very lucky to get a nurse who knew something of Hypnobirthing and was very respectful and helpful with our wishes. We didn't even have time to go over our birth plan at all, we just told them we'll make our wishes known as we go along. The nurse, Cammy, made sure the other nurses weren't all coming in and turning on lights and she got me the squatting bar for the bed.  Cammy checked me and said I was complete — 10cm! The on-call doc came in and she told him I wanted to do 'mother-directed pushing' and not be coached and it may be a few minutes, so to come back...at this time I am panicking a little and really wanting my doula there to help guide and direct me. As it turns out she was trying her hardest to get there, but she lived further and the fog was terrible!

I started allowing some fear in and I told David to get my phone with my Hypnobabies 'pushing baby out' track to try to help me to refocus. I couldn't listen to it and listen to the nurses at the same time and was getting a little frustrated because I just didn't really know what to do. I did know that I wanted to try to squat to birth to avoid a tear and to make it as easy as possible; then my body completely took over and I sat up and yelled, "SHE'S COMING!"  Sure enough, my body involuntarily pushed her head out in one push...The doctor ran in and they told me to lie back and to push out her body and I pushed so hard and out she came at 6:11am. She was gorgeous and amazing and they put her right on me (their hospital policy is to allow skin to skin contact for at least an hour after birth) and we just savored the moment and enjoyed our precious Christmas miracle.

My doula got there in time to help me relax through the worst part of the whole thing — getting stitched up after a 2nd degree tear. Not fun but it was better than the 4th degree I had with my son. Soon after, I tried breastfeeding and she did pretty well. Then they took her and weighed her and did all the normal newborn stuff. She weighed in at 8lbs 8oz and was 19-1/2 inches long. The only things that didn't go as I'd hoped was that because it all went so fast we forgot to tell the doc that we didn't want the cord clamped and by the time we realized it, it was too late, he'd already clamped it. Then they insisted that I have a shot of pitocin because of my history with postpartum bleeding. I was ok with the pitocin but they also gave me cytotec, which I really didn't want but agreed to anyway, and I wish I hadn't, but it all worked out ok in the end. All in all, this birthing didn't go anything like I'd visualized, but it was an awesome, amazing and empowering experience just the same and was better than I could've imagined!!

Tags: hypnobirthing stories, hypnobaby birth stories, hypnobaby, hypnobirth, doula, doula stories, birth stories, natual birth, positive birth stories, positive child birth stories, 39 week birth stories, baby story