My sweet baby, Samuel, is a month old today! On May 23, I was getting ready for church in the morning when my water broke. I started having some pressure waves a while after, but they weren’t very regular yet. We called my in-laws to come stay with my 2 older kids, and my husband and I headed to the hospital. When we got there, the pressure waves were coming more frequently, but didn’t feel very strong. I was admitted to L&D, and when the nurse checked, I was 6 cm dilated, which was a lot more than I was expecting to be!
Our nurse was really awesome. She carefully read my birthing preferences, and followed them as much as possible, and was very supportive of my choice to do a natural birth. My husband and I walked the hospital, and did nipple stimulation for several hours to try and get the waves stronger, but they would not pick up any more, and I was not dilating any more, so the OB suggested we start a very low dose of pitocin. I was wary of this and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to deal with the increased intensity that people talk about with pitocin pressure waves, but I was pleasantly surprised that things went really well. I was put on a low dose, and that got things going right away, and the dose was never turned up. In about an hour and a half, I was almost fully dilated ready to push.
BOP – The last two pressure waves before pushing were hard for me because I felt so much pressure, and such a strong urge to push, but there was just a little cervix left, so the nurse told me to try and hold on. It reminded me of the feeling of really, really having to go to the bathroom, but having to hold it.
It was such a relief when I was given the ok to start pushing. I started out pushing on my side, but after a couple waves, switched to a supported squat/semi-upright position. Things got pretty darn intense during crowning, and I lost focus and just pushed like crazy until he was out. I didn’t realize it until he was out and the OB commented on it, but I had pushed him out posterior. Doh – if I had known that I might have tried hands and knees, and done more beforehand to try and get him to turn. I was actually surprised because the pressure waves didn’t feel like they did with my first baby, who was also posterior. This was really the only thing I wish had gone differently, but at least pushing only took about 10 minutes.
I had a small tear, but otherwise felt really great afterward! It is such an amazing feeling to have that precious, new baby placed on your chest and being able cuddle them in your arms for the first time!
All in all, I was really happy with my birthing experience, and really glad that I did the Hypnobabies program. My husband thought it was pretty weird when I first told him this is what I wanted to do, but said he was willing to give it a try. He listened to the CDs with me and read the birth partner guide, and during my birthing time he really got into it and was a great support person!