Audrey
June 14th 2:27 am
8 lbs 8 oz
19.5 inches
This is my first post to this group, but I have been following threads
daily and have really benefited from all of your advice….
After the birth of my daughter two and a half years ago, I knew that I
wanted something different for the birth of our second child. I had
not really prepared myself for the natural birth that I wanted the
first time around, and I ended up with a long and difficult labor
which was full of medical interventions that I had sworn I would never
accept. After a friend had a very positive experience with
Hypnobabies I decided to give it a try….
My husband Corey, daughter Erika, and I all went to my 41 week
appointment with my midwife for a non-stress test. Everything sounded
great with the baby’s heart and when my midwife checked my cervix we
were all surprised and glad to hear that I was almost 6 cm dilated. I
was also having regular pressure waves every 8 minutes or so and my
midwife asked me, “do you think you’re in labor?!” I told her no. I
could feel tightening, but nothing intense enough to qualify as
“labor.” She told me that I should scratch my plans of laboring at
home and come in to the hospital as soon as I thought something was
happening. We all came home and Corey and I got some last minute
things together, just in case, though I still didn’t think anything
was happening any time soon. I went on my mile walk that I had been
going on every night for the last few weeks and had to make the walk
short for the first time because I had a lot of pressure on my cervix.
We put Erika to bed, watched a movie, I took a shower, and then went
to bed.
A pressure wave woke me up at 12:30 am and I woke up Corey right away.
“We might want to call your parents,” I told him. When the next wave
came 10 minutes later I knew that we had to get going fast. Corey
made the calls to his family and mine, got the car packed, and I
changed and got the ipod ready. The pressure waves seemed to be
coming faster, though we weren’t timing them. Corey’s dad got to our
house around 1:15am to stay with Erika and I was already in the car,
listening to my “early birthing” cd, and ready to go. I closed my
eyes and focused on my breath through each pressure wave. I
concentrated on keeping my face relaxed- not grimacing or grinding my
teeth. I made a point to smile after each wave to keep my jaw
relaxed. I was silent. I stayed in center all the way to the hospital.
We got to the hospital around 1:45 am. We checked in through
emergency and waited for Corey’s mom, who was just a few minutes
behind us. When we arrived in the Alternative Birthing Unit the
attending midwife and nurse were waiting. The nurse asked which room
I wanted and I told her I wanted the one with the biggest tub:) Once
in the room, I asked for the lights to be turned down low and the tub
to be filled. I was feeling a little shaky and the midwife said she
thought I was in transition. “Already, huh?” I asked, not totally
believing her. She checked me and I was almost 8 cm dilated, but I
thought I still had a ways to go, so I got in the tub. The tub felt
wonderful and I worked through the pressure waves on my hands and
knees. After just a few minutes the pressure waves changed intensity
and I said, “I have to push!” When I was being helped out of the tub
I could feel Audrey’s head coming down. After just three or four
pushes Audrey was born at 2:27am. I can honestly say that I did not
feel any pain. I felt pressure, but not pain. It felt incredible to
feel her moving down and coming out.
Once she was born, she was placed right on my chest and her umbilical
cord was cut by Corey after it stopped pulsating. She was beautiful
and calm.
I had a lot of bleeding right after her birth and the midwife was very
concerned. I asked her to wait as long as possible before giving me
any contraction inducing medication, and she respected my wishes as
long as she could. After one of the medications failed to stop the
bleeding, a second one was given which, luckily, worked quickly.
Corey was sitting right next to me, holding Audrey the entire time and
she was sucking on his finger. I tore very little and recovered
quickly.
Audrey nursed for a while, Corey’s mom left, I took a shower and the
three of us went to bed. In spite of the ordeal right after delivery,
I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect birthing. I know that it was
all those months of positive messages from my Hypnobabies cds that
helped me have this ideal birthing experience. I will definitely use
Hypnobabies again if we have another child and recommend it to anyone
who will listen!
Cheers!
Niku.
