Debbie’s Experience with Hypnobabies

I 1st read Hypnobirthing, then came across Hypnobabies.  I found Hypnobabies was much more in depth, so my husband and I took the Hypnobabies class AND we had a Hypnodoula (our class instructor).

Our birth (1st baby) could NOT have been any better!  I found the Affirmations cd to be wonderful in erasing ALL FEAR, I would listen to that cd ever day to/from work.  Having a doula was a great help to us especially being our 1st birth experience and not know exactly what to expect.

I went into labor at 35 wks, went to the hospital bcs I just felt really horrible and everything ached badly…..  Come to find out I was having contractions, so I got an iv, later a shot to stop labor.  I was 3 cm & 80-90% effaced for the next 3 wks.

At 38 wks, my Dr. asked if I wanted her to “strip my membranes” (allows the bag of water to put more pressure on the cervix). After some questions I decided to go for it….. 3 days later Owen was born 🙂

I started having stronger pressure waves around 9pm…..waited until 11pm to tell my husband (since I had PW’s for over 3 wks…)  Then he timed, they would go from 5 min apart to 1 to 7 etc.  Never established a “pattern”.  Around 1am I started bleeding so I called our doula, she said that was normal/ok.  So I stayed at home a few more hours.  We went to the hospital at 3:15 am – I was 6 cm.  After admission/1,000 questions we were checked into our room around 5:15 am.

I put on my ipod/headphones and was able to really “zone out” very well with the support of my husband/brother & doula.  They were a great SUPPORT.  The lights stayed off, the nurses never bothered me, they would quietly enter the room and quietly leave.  It was SO PEACEFUL !

The next thing I remember was my Dr. saying “OK you are at 10, you can push when YOU are ready”.  I pushed for only 10-15 minutes!  Owen was born 6-30-08 at 7:53 am, 7 lbs 10 oz.  It was the best experience of my life.  Total labor was 9 hours for our 1st child!  The hospital staff was great & so supportive of our wishes to have no interventions.

I had to have 3 stitches, as soon as that was done, the nurse cleaned me up and I was up going to the restroom.  I felt WONDERFUL.  I’m ready for Hypnobaby #2 but DH isn’t quite there yet.

Anyway – we absolutely LOVED Hypnobabies – the class, our instructor, the CD’s the other couples we met in class and online……fantastic experience.

Owen is so happy and peaceful.
Debbie, Jeff & Owen – now 6 months old 🙂

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Fast Hospital Birth

I decided when I was pregnant this time I would get a bit more educated. I really wanted to avoid the meds I felt had caused me so many problems the first time around.  I heard about hypnobabies on one of the forums I’m on and decided that was the way to go. I listened to the scripts almost every night, but wasn’t very good about doing the practice (5 finger drops each day, etc) they talk about.  Well, I have to say, it still worked.

My labor story is actually quite long. I began having some contractions on November 7. My mucous plug started coming out and I thought things were really getting going. I called my mom to drive up (2 hours) to take care of DS1 so we could go have a baby . I made cupcakes for the nurses and just got myself ready to go. Well, things petered out. I was 3 cm dilated on Monday when I went to my OB appointment.  Let me tell you what a joy I was to be around over the next week as I continued to have to go to work and have contractions but nothing really progressed into real labor. By the end of the week, I had resigned myself to never having the baby.

I fell asleep early on Friday the 15th with my first son. I woke up about 1:30 and the baby was doing some really weird movement that hurt. After I got done pushing on him and telling him to stop, I felt some liquid. I still had to pee so I decided my water must have broken. DH was still up playing his game and I’ve never seen him shut down his laptop so fast. I was like it’s no big deal. I’m not even having contractions. We watched an episode of 30 Rock on the DVR during which I had 1 or 2 contractions and then I decided to go downstairs and make some brownies for the nurses. I called my sister and she insisted on coming over to be with DS. I was still in denial I was really in labor but told her to do what she wanted. While the brownies were baking, I took a shower, washed my hair, and shaved my legs. I then got the load of diaper laundry out of the dryer and got my DS1’s trainers all set for use while I was in the hospital. Then, I went back and french braided my hair. At this point, my sister had gotten to my house and kept telling me to go to the hospital as my contractions were like 3 minutes apart.

We got to the hospital at around 4:30 and had to go to triage where the nurses had me in a wheelchair and were ignoring me. I kept telling them I needed to get in, that my contractions were 2 minutes apart and my water had already broken. They finally got me in a room and 2 nurses had to check me as the first nurse couldn’t believe I was complete. I did ask for drugs about this time.  I think the baby must have been posterior because the sensations in my back were pretty intense.  I wasn’t able to get up on all 4s or do any of the different positions to turn him.  I also wasn’t totally in hypnosis right then since I had gotten so agitated trying to get seen.  The journey up to L&D wasn’t my favorite time, but it was bearable.

The doctor came in very shortly after I got to L&D and suggested I try to move to my back for pushing since I have babies with big heads and that would give him some more room to pass through my pelvis.  That didn’t seem like a bad idea to me at the time so I gave it a try.  My nurses were wonderful. They just stood back and watched. The one nurse applied a little pressure to my one knee once in awhile to remind me to keep my legs spread to give the baby plenty of room, but she never made any comments. I pushed for probably 20 minutes. It was the coolest thing ever feeling the baby moving down slowly and just breathing him out. I can’t even describe how amazing that was to me.  It truly was a relief after making it through transition :).  The nurses were all in awe of how I didn’t make any noise. I was just doing really deep breaths.

Baby arrived at 5:45 am. He weighed 8 lb 6 oz and was 20.75″ long.

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Wonderful Hypnobabies Birth of a first time mom

My beautiful baby girl was born March 28.  This was my first pregnancy.  Everything went exactly how I envisioned.  It was a wonderful pregnancy and experience.  I had already decided that I wanted to go natural and when I researched, I came across your Yahoo site and Hypnobabies.  The program seemed to go right in line with my beliefs and what I wanted to achieve.  First I want to say I have a very low pain tolerance so when I read it was possible to have a pain free birth experience I figured it was worth a try.  I have a great relationship with my OB/GYN and I had planned to give birth at the Family Birth Center (FBC) where he has privileges, about 30 minutes away from my home.

Through all the horror stories that people told me about long labors, complications, pain and how I was crazy for not wanting an epidural, I remained focused by letting it all go in one ear and out the other. In fact, I really didn’t tell many people that I was practicing Hypnobabies until it was close to my due date.  I NEVER told my doctor.  When people would ask if I had signed up for Lamaze class, I would simply say “No, I’m not practicing Lamaze.”  The only information I let enter my bubble and “special place” were stories of natural, uncomplicated childbirths.  I kept telling myself that my pregnancy had gone smoothly and the birth of my daughter would be no different.  My doctor even commented that I was the best patient he ever had.  I never complained, everything was always going wonderful and my baby appeared to be very healthy and happy in the womb.

I did the 5 week at home study.  The daily affirmations were wonderful. I did not have a stressful time at all throughout my pregnancy.  I only had one “freak out” moment and that was towards the end.  On March 27^th I had not dilated at all.  I was due on March 30^th and my doctor was going on vacation March 30^th.  If I did not have my baby before March 30^th, he would not be there.  From the looks of it, my baby girl was nice and comfy and had no intentions of coming out.  I really wanted him to be there because he’s an excellent doctor and he really understood my needs.  He told me if I didn’t have the baby while he was on vacation, he would induce me on April 7^th.  He knew I didn’t want that either.  So I calmly explained to my baby girl that she needed to come by Friday (the 28^th) or hold off until April 6^th when the doctor would return!  I had no idea she was listening so closely.

To make a long and crazy story short, that Thursday, I had some mild cramping which felt like menstrual cramps.  It wasn’t painful, just annoying and constant. I assumed it was from my internal exam the day before.  I thought nothing of it.  I worked through the day and made plans for that Friday as I was only scheduled to work a half day.  I went home that evening after doing some shopping.  I went to bed at 11:30pm.  At about 1am, I woke up due to a weird small sensation.  I wasn’t sure but I thought my water had broke.  I was very stunned because it all seem so unexpected even though it was just a couple of days before my due date.  I was totally convinced that I would not be having a baby until April.   I decided I wanted to take a shower and that’s when I felt my first pressure wave, about 25 minutes after my water broke.  It was not painful-just different.  So I continued on, showered, got some last minute things together and tried to time the pressure waves.  That was difficult because they varied.

I knew I wanted to stay home as long as possible and not get to the FBC until the pressure waves were 5 minutes apart.  The less chance of interference the better.  As the waves got stronger, I used the finger drop technique.  I felt good bending over from the waist and leaning on my bed for support.  Making the “ohhh” sound really seemed to help me.  I kept thinking I needed to rest a little longer before leaving but I knew I didn’t want to lay down.  I decided to just focus on helping my body to open up and remain relaxed.  I wanted to make sure my baby could make her grand entrance without any problems.  Things moved pretty quickly and next thing I knew my pressure waves were suddenly 3 minutes apart!  For this reason, I ended up going to the FBC in an ambulance.  On the way I listened to different scripts I had downloaded on my i-Pod.

When we got there at 5:30am (yes I waited that long), the pressure waves were 2 minutes apart and I was 7cm!  I was so ecstatic.  Everything was going well.  Even though nurses kept offering the epidural, I knew there was no need for one.  Things happened so quickly I don’t think the staff had time to read the birth plan in my file. They were all in shock with the progression.  They practically forgot about the IV line which was fine because I didn’t want one even though it was hospital procedure.  I was not in any pain at all.  I just felt extreme pressure.  My doctor showed up just in the nick of time.  The baby’s head was practically crowning.  I listened to the Pushing Baby Out script and I couldn’t believe how good I felt.  My body pretty much did all the work and I just tried my best to allow it.  I did end up having an episiotomy even though we had tried the recommended perineal massage exercises.  I healed up wonderfully.  I was making calls while getting stitched up and waiting to expel the placenta.  The IV line only stayed in for about 90 minutes.  I was an extremely happy camper.

So my water broke at 1am and at 6:46am I gave birth to my beautiful 8lb 6oz baby who was 21 inches long.  It was a very exciting and empowering experience.  I am so glad that I found Hypnobabies.  It definitely helped me achieve my desired birth experience.  When I tell people my story, they are amazed at how quickly everything took place, especially for my first birth and how I did not experience any pain or have the need for an epidural.

Unfortunately, 2 of my friends who gave birth 2 weeks and 4 weeks after me did not have such a great experience.  They both ended up having C-sections.  They scolded me for lying to them about the experience.  I promised them I did not lie at all.  It was definitely my mind set and Hypnobabies that made the difference.  I will recommend this program to any expecting mother.  I look forward to doing it again someday!  Thank you so much.

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Geneva’s Birth Story

To make this long story short: Hypnobabies – I love it; and Natural Childbirth – Awesome.

I woke up around 5 am on October 1st, 2007. I got up to relieve myself and noticed some pink on the toilet paper. I checked the bowl and realized I had lost my mucous plug.  I was excited because at 36 weeks and 6 days, this was the first sign I’d had that my baby was getting ready for her birthday.

When I got back in bed (because I do NOT get up at 5:00 am!) I felt a mild cramping feeling in my abdomen. It went away swiftly, but returned a few minutes later. After this happened a few times I realized that I might be having pressure waves. I started checking
the clock and found that the cramps were coming three minutes apart. However, the cramping feeling only seemed to last a few seconds and was confined to my lower abdomen rather than radiating from high to low or front to back. I decided that I was probably experiencing pre-labor waves because If I was really in labor with pw’s only three minutes apart then they would surely feel stronger and last longer,  and anyway we weren’t expecting the baby to come for a few more weeks.

Although I didn’t think it was the real thing, I pulled out all my pregnancy books to see if they discussed losing one’s mucous plug in conjunction with mild contractions. The books didn’t help but I did confirm that my birthing day could still be days or even weeks away
despite the loss of the plug, and that my cramping didn’t match the description of labor contractions.

While I was reading, it got to be around six or maybe six thirty.  I was still having cramps and my husband, Jason, seemed to be half awake so I went ahead and explained what was happening. I stressed that it could be a false alarm but that I could possibly be early in my birthing time. I decided to take a hot bath in order to stay comfortable and because I wanted my hair to be clean in case I really was having a baby. (I had also been determined to have my make-up on whenever the baby arrived, but this didn’t happen.) I told Jason that it should be ok for him to go to work since these things normally take a while, but he wisely decided to wait.

While in the bathtub I noticed that the pw’s seemed a little stronger but they still seemed to last only a few seconds. I spent a minute or two practicing my hypnobabies (in fact, I think I turned my lightswitch off and forgot to turn it back on before I started moving again) and then I washed my hair. At one point I suddenly felt very nauseated, but the feeling passed quickly. Jason came to check on me and I agreed to get out of the tub so we could time some waves and decide on a course of action. Jason had the laptop out, and we pulled up contractionmaster.com. It was hard to tell how long each one lasted
because they had a definite start, but then they faded away very quickly without a definitive end. After deciding to call the 1st pressure wave over with I asked Jason, “how long was that, like five or ten seconds?”  He responded by looking at me kind of funny and
said it had been about a minute. The waves continued coming about three minutes apart and after we had timed four or five we realized that this probably was the real thing. I felt sick and vomited during one pw but once again the feeling passed very quickly. Jason had
been researching the stages of labor online and mentioned that nausea is a sign of active labor but I still didn’t believe I was very far along because my pressure waves didn’t feel strong.

At this time we were really not prepared for the baby to come because we expected to
have a few more weeks. We started by ripping the Hypnobabies Birthing CD to the laptop
and copied it to my ipod, and then we started packing a bag for the hospital. My pressure
waves started increasing in intensity pretty rapidly and I didn’t end up being much help
with the packing. We didn’t time anymore waves, but judging by how little I was able to
get done in between them, they must have been coming closer together. We decided we
should call the midwife’s office to let her know I was in my birthing time. The office had
not yet opened, so I tried to choose the option to speak with the answering service but I
did something wrong and the phone went dead. As another pw began I told Jason that I
wasn’t up to it and he’d have to make the call. He did so and gave the answering service
our home phone number to page Lee, our midwife.

At this point I was still running around trying to get a bag packed, but stopping to lean
over the stairwell railing during each pw. I was a little concerned that they now felt pretty
intense so early in my birthing time, but I knew I could be more comfortable if I would
just stop running around, relax, and listen to my hypnobabies cds. However, I wanted to
have everything ready to go before I tried to settle down and relax. I had no real sense of
how much time was passing but I was very frustrated at how I couldn’t seem to
accomplish anything between waves. Soon, I started feeling the urge to sit on the toilet
between waves and then during waves. I started seeing bright red blood and the amount
was increasing. I knew some bloody show was normal during labor but this seemed way
beyond that and I was a little scared that I might be having some kind of problem with the
placenta. (To clarify, my mind was worried, but my body wasn’t really telling me
something was wrong or I would have called 911.)

After a few minutes of this bleeding I told Jason we needed to go the hospital right away.
He wasn’t finished packing the bag but I said it didn’t matter, he’d have to come back for
whatever we needed later. This was the worst time because I was still concerned that the
bleeding might indicate a problem but I was also concerned that I was going to the
hospital way too soon since I’d only been having pressure waves for a few hours and I’d
always been told to stay home as long as possible to avoid unnecessary interventions. In
retrospect, I’ve realized that my water broke while I was sitting on the toilet and that’s
what made it look like there was so much blood. I actually felt a little pop, but at the time
I interpreted it as a clot of blood burbling out rather than as the sac breaking.

Anyhow, we got in the car with our half-packed bag and headed for the hospital which
was about ten minutes away. It was now just past nine o’clock so the midwife’s office was
open when I called to report (somewhat incoherently) that we had not waited for Lee to
answer the page and were on our way to the hospital. I then called my boss to say I was
going to the hospital and wouldn’t be at work. He asked if I was ok and I replied “I hope
so.” Phone calls out of the way I gave in to the urge to moan through each pressure wave
– I think it was a rhythmic “oh, oh, oh” kind of sound. The attendant outside the hospital
parking garage didn’t direct us to the emergency entrance for some reason (despite being
told I was having a baby), so we ended up parking on the second floor and we had to go
down an elevator, through half the hospital and then back up an elevator to get to L&D. I
was feeling a great sense of urgency at this time so I didn’t stop for pressure waves, I just
kept one hand on the wall and walked kind of doubled over.

A nurse met me in the hallway  – I tried to get across that I was concerned about the
bleeding but she wanted me to try and get a urine sample. Remembering how comfortable
I had been on the toilet at home, I agreed to try. In the bathroom, I felt a strange feeling
which was my body’s first attempt to start pushing out the baby. I got worried again
because this did not match the description of early labor in the pregnancy books. I came
out a minute later, found a different nurse and explained crypticly that I couldn’t get a
sample it was just blood coming out. (It’s hard to get things across with birthing brain!)
They got me into an observation room and I immediately shrugged out of my jeans and
hopped on the table saying I was bleeding and I wanted somebody to check me now. The
nurse was chuckling saying she’d never seen anyone get out of her clothes so fast. She
took my temperature and my blood pressure and then finally inserted her fingers to see
how far along I was. I expected it to hurt when she checked me, but I barely felt a thing
and then the nurse said something like “how about you’re ready to have a baby.” She
calmly picked up a telephone and said “I’m going to need some help in here, she’s
complete” while I experienced a rush of relief at finding out that I didn’t have any medical
problems and that I hadn’t gotten to the hospital too early.

I was wheeled to an LDR room and I think my body was pushing again by the time we got
there. I want to emphasize that this was not an urge to push that I gave into – rather, my
body was pushing the baby out without any input from me. The nurses started telling me
how well I was doing and I kept trying to tell them that I didn’t have any choice, my body
was just doing what it needed to do and I really wasn’t in control of it.

After we got to the room, Jason took a minute to notify a few family members that
Geneva was on her way. It become apparent at this time that I’m one of those people who
can’t stand to be touched during my birthing time. A nurse tried to get a hospital gown on
me, but I found it intolerable at the first touch, and pushed it away (I was wearing a sport
style nursing bra, so I didn’t feel unduly exposed). Jason tried to be reassuring in some
fashion but was rudely pushed away for his trouble, although I must have grabbed for him
at some point because I remember accidentally biting his watch.

I had tested GBS positive, and so was supposed to be given antibiotics, but the nurses
decided not to bother since they were supposed to be given at least four hours before the
birth which they knew wasn’t going to happen. They figured there wasn’t any point since
the baby would still be subjected to all the extra tests just as if the antibiotics hadn’t
been given, and since I didn’t want an IV stuck in me, I agreed. We were overruled shortly
thereafter when my midwife Lee arrived, because she knew the antibiotics might still help
avoid an infection despite the late timeframe. I wasn’t real pleased at having the IV stuck
into my hand, or with the blood pressure cuff on my arm, but these were minor
annoyances. I think they used an exterior fetal monitor on a belt a few times, but I don’t
believe it was left strapped on to me. (Possibly because I complained? Birthing brain
again!)

The main nurse told Lee that it wouldn’t be long, but that the baby had a bit farther to
descend (she held up her hands to show how much farther) and that Lee had plenty of
time to change from her office clothes into her scrubs, which she did.

I spent most of my time in the semi-reclined, semi-seated position that’s so common,
except that when I was actually pushing I would grab the bed rails for traction and hold
myself in a raised position somewhere between seated and a squat. It doesn’t sound like
it would be comfortable, but it worked great for me. The rail grabbing wasn’t even a
conscious decision, just part of my body’s pushing which I still didn’t feel I had any
control of. The nurses were urging me to push longer with each wave, but I ignored them
because I wasn’t trying to push in the first place, it was just happening, and anyway I
thought things were moving plenty fast as it was. Lee asked if I wanted to reach down and
feel my baby’s head, but I was in the zone and wasn’t about to change anything, even for
this!

At 10:02 am, after maybe a half hour of pushing and five hours after I first woke up,
Geneva Reese was born!

She was blotted with a towel, possibly suctioned, and then placed on my chest, where she
remained for the next hour or so. My sister arrived soon after the birth and helped me
get Geneva situated for her first nursing. Eventually, Geneva was weighed (7 lb 1 oz) and
measured (18 3/4 in long and head circumference of 13 in). She was purple at birth but
soon “pinked up” until she was bright red and she stayed that color for several days if not
weeks. She slept much that first day, but was very alert when she was awake and she
already had the strength to raise her head off my shoulder. The adventure had begun!

Hypnobabies conclusions: (BOP warning, I discuss the P-word below in a generally
positive way)

After all my weeks of preparation I was surprised that I didn’t end up using my cd’s during
my birthing time. At first I didn’t even think it would be helpful for me to post my story
since I didn’t use my tools during the birth.

Now that I’ve had more time to reflect I wonder what I was thinking – I must have still had
that birthing brain going on! It is obvious to me now that I derived a lot of benefit from
my hypnobabies home-study.

First of all, the scripts and affirmations were supposed to program me for a fast, easy and
comfortable birthing. Well, it was! I don’t think I’d go so far as to label it pain-free, but
then I wasn’t even relaxing and listening to the scripts (I went through transformation
while riding in the car & making phone calls!) And, despite the less than perfect
conditions, the pressure waves were totally manageable and I never felt like I needed or
wanted medication. I would say that although it did hurt, I’ve had headaches that hurt
worse, and lasted longer. Even during transformation, the sensations were like 1 part
kinda painful menstrual cramp feeling plus 9 parts intense, but not really painful feelings
of my uterus moving in ways it had never done before. On the whole, definitely not a
sensation you could ignore, but not bad. Also, I know I said many times that I wasn’t in
control, but that wasn’t a bad feeling either (at least once I knew for sure that the
bleeding was normal). I just felt like my body was doing what it was supposed to and it
didn’t need any input from my brain (or even for me to have conscious control of my
muscles!)

Second, I may have been using my hypnosis more than I realized. After all, I did turn off
for those few minutes in the tub, and assuming I automatically switched to center when I
accidentally overrode my switch (I had occasionally made suggestions akin to this during
my practice) I suppose I may have been in hypnosis the whole time. The thing that really
stands out to me is the time distortion I experienced during my birthing time. I did my HB
practice mostly at night, and mostly not on a conscious level, but I know that at least one
of the scripts talks about time passing quickly during your birthing time. (It says twenty
minutes will only feel like 1 minute or something like that?) After all, I was experiencing
my pressure waves as just 10 seconds or less when they were really lasting much longer,
and I still can’t figure out how I spent at least two hours between getting out of the tub
and finally leaving for the hospital. It felt much quicker than that!

Lastly, whether my hypnobabies practice had a big impact on my daughter’s birth or not, I
loved it just for the relaxation and help sleeping it provided during my pregnancy. I’m
only 9 weeks along with baby number 2, but I’m already loving having my lightswitch and
CD’s to help me deal with nausea, headaches, and falling asleep.

To make this long story short: Hypnobabies – I love it; and Natural Childbirth – Awesome.

Carolyn
mama to Geneva Reese
and ittle bitty due late in September

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Another great birth story

I like that this mom is patient with her body and baby.  I like that she talked to her OB and really made her expectations and desires clear.  I love that when she gets to the hospital her DH helps get a supportive nurse (after 2 grumpy ones) 

I love that she prepared so much for a great birth and she had one!

You can read Michelle’s Birth Story of Lilah on her blog.

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Nate’s Birth Story

Nate’s Birth Story

Nate has been in our hearts forever but made his appearance in flesh early on a Monday morning after about 8.5 hours of birthing time.  He is our third son.

During the preceding weeks, I had many practice pressure waves, some of which felt like they could be the real thing, but they always ended up fading away after a few hours.  I started to lose my mucous plug so I knew that these waves were beginning to dilate and efface my cervix to prepare for the big day.  Our guess date was January 18th.

Our second son Sean was born almost 2 weeks before his guess date and had a very fast birthing time.  This set up the expectation, or at least the possibility, for my husband and I (and our families) that this third little guy would come early and fast.  It is January in the northeast and we’ve already had our fair share of snowstorms.  Additionally, my husband works a distance away with a commute time of up to 1.5 hours each way during rush hour.  I had a real concern that my husband wouldn’t make it home in time to see his third son be born – and this really stressed me out!  I had to work on releasing this fear and trusting that our little guy would be born at the perfect time and under the circumstances that were right for us.

Sunday January 11th was unremarkable, except that we spent some extra time doing nesting activities (laundry, taking down Christmas decorations finally(!), organizing baby’s things, etc).  We were still a week away from our guess date and I resigned myself to the fact that this baby might come after his guess date like his oldest brother, and that was okay.  In the meantime, we might as well have a clean and organized house, which was a rarity with two toddlers running around!  After the boys went to bed that evening, I put the Golden Globes on TV to watch while my husband started dozing off next to me.  I noticed at around 9:30pm that I started having some pressure waves.  They were definitely stronger than BH, but not unlike the others I had been having before this.  They seemed to be coming every 10-13 min or so.  By 11pm I noticed one that felt like “whoa, I think this could be it”.  With that I had to run to the bathroom and saw the bloody show (a lot of it!).  This was confirmation for me that it was definitely my birthing time as I had not seen bloody show until well into my first two birthing times.  Almost immediately, the pressure waves started coming closer together, maybe every 4 or 5 min, but they were very short (30-45 sec) and not so intense.  I didn’t have to concentrate through them.  Because my second son was born only 3 hours after my first pressure wave, we decided it was best to head to the hospital now and get settled in, even if it was very early in the birthing time.  We called my mom over to watch our boys while we were gone.

We got to the hospital around 12:30am and checked in.  I was still extremely comfortable and guessed that I was at about 3cm.  The nurse checked me and I was about 2-3cm but still pretty thick.  She could feel something “fleshy” so wanted the doc to check to make sure the baby was in the right position.  About 10 min later when the doc checked me, she confirmed that baby was head down and it was a bulging bag of waters that felt fleshy and that I was now 5-6cm.  They expected things to move quickly, but I had a feeling otherwise.  These pressure waves were still very comfortable and still pretty short (less than a minute).  It was okay with me to continue on at this pace!  I could do this all night and day!  I hung out on my birthing ball in between the 20 min fetal monitoring we had to do every hour and the waves were still not increasing in intensity.  When they checked me around 2am, I was 6-7cm but very thin.  I was pretty happy to hear that progress because this was easy!!!  I kept thinking that slow and steady wins the race. 

By 4am I started to feel some rectal pressure, not like I had to push, but just more pressure.  I also started to feel shaky and nauseous so I thought I might be entering transformation.  My water hadn’t broken yet.  The doc came in around 4:45am to check me and I was still only 7cm.  She did a very aggressive cervical exam (it was painful, the only pain I had experienced so far!) and my water “spontaneously” broke.  Can you sense my sarcasm?  She called it a spontaneous rupture of membranes because she didn’t use a needle to break the water.  My husband, the nurse, and I all agreed that it wasn’t spontaneous! 

I knew I was in for it now, and I was.  Things got much more intense and they now wanted me on continuous monitoring because my water was broken.  I hated being stuck in the bed!  Gratefully I was able to change position as much as I wanted to, so I was either on my hands and knees or squatting and holding on to the top of the bed with my husband rubbing or applying pressure to my lower back and hips – at this point I had a ton of back and pelvic pressure.  

I started getting very vocal but was able to make it through each wave fairly comfortably.  I never felt like I needed drugs.  I eventually started a deep moaning which prompted the nurse to ask me if I was involuntarily pushing.  I told her yes!  It certainly wasn’t intentional.  It wasn’t an overwhelming urge (like I had with my second very speedy delivery) but it was happening.  She told me I could start pushing but I wanted her to check my cervix first since I felt like I wasn’t quite complete.  My intuition was right – I still had a lip left but she told me I could push past it and I did.  I later learned from my husband that the two nurses thought the doc wouldn’t make it in the room in time for the birth since she was stuck at a delivery next door.  But she did come running in and made it just as the baby started crowning.  This pushing phase was tough for me!  It didn’t happen as quick and effortlessly as it had with my second son and that made me nervous and made me question my ability.  But my husband was holding my hand telling me what a great job I was doing and that the baby is almost here. 

I reached down to feel his head and there he was!  That gave me the motivation to kick it into high gear and get him out.  I gave it a strong push and out came his head but they told me to stop pushing while they unwrapped his cord which was around his neck.  They told me to continue and I pushed the rest of him out, and he had the cord wrapped around his arm and his torso too!  He was blue but as soon as they untangled him he pinked up and had apgars of 8 and 9.  They had to cut the cord quickly to untangle him so my husband wasn’t able to do that.  We were ok with it since we just wanted a healthy baby!  Anyway, what was the little bugger doing in my belly to get himself all tangled up like that?! I had a sense that we may have issues with the cord but I didn’t let that consume my thinking or make me fear the delivery.  I’m happy that I was able to let it go because everything worked out fine.  He was 7lb 12oz, 20 in long.  He nursed immediately!

I couldn’t be happier with the way this birth went, and I have to thank Hypnobabies.  The program was so valuable to me in my second and third pregnancies and birthing times.  I had three unique experiences each teaching me lessons, and producing three very different but very beautiful babies!  Thank you Hypnobabies!!!

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Michaela’s Hypnobabies Homebirth

Home birth story entitled “There is Nothing like Falling in Love” 

This is one of the final quotes in the story. 

Hypnobabies is THE best birth preparation course ever. It is powerful and it works. My doula was incredible, her energy is astounding, she kept me so grounded and focused. I am always surprised how my midwife magnifies the ability that I have within me and calls it forth from me. It was such a pleasure to laugh with my husband and feel his tenderness, love and support while bringing our daughter into this world.

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Zane’s Birth

This is one of the best descriptive birth stories.  I love how mom describes it like a roller coaster.  Enjoy reading!

Zane’s birth story

2 weeks comfortable Braxton-Hicks

2 wks of comfortable Pressure Waves

Saw midwives after 2nd wk of PW for prenatal and asked for internal to see if anything was really happening (first internal of the pregnancy)

They said station=0, dilated 3cm…yeah!  Ripest cervix she ever felt.

Had very strong PWs on way home…figured better not drive from then on.

Had stronger PWs that night with bloody show which I had been having since internal (as told I might by the midwives).  I called the midwives to see if the quantity was significant (like light period) they said no.  I knew it wasn’t time for them to come to my house but I was asking them for any idea on a time frame since my husband needed time to get home.  he works and stays 2.5 hrs away during the week.  I called DH to let him know my status but told him if the PWs picked up I would call him but otherwise for him to sleep.  I awoke that night with him home.  He said he would rather commute each day than be worried.  He stayed home two days with the PWs going back to their former intensity and still having light period type discharge.  Third day was Thursday, he went back to work but I told him to come home early on Friday so he didn’t hit traffic which would turn his 2.5 hr commute into 4-5 hours…especially since Friday was our Guess Date.

Daily life on Thursday…everybody asking when baby was coming…I said well, our Guess Date is Friday so I guess tomorrow.

Thursday night went to bed and felt like I wet my pants.  I went to the bathroom and found my pad soaked but not my clothes…I always thought it would be obvious when my water broke but I thought that perhaps it was a high break and only some of the fluid leaked.  The midwives told me I had a lot of amniotic fluid so I was expecting a soaking.  I called them to let them know that I was pretty sure my water broke and that it was clear.  I asked if I needed to check for the cord and they said no since my baby was so low the cord would not have prolapsed.  I went back to bed to see what would happen that night.

PWs started and I timed them.  I was to call the midwives when they were consistently 10 min apart for 1 hour but they would come over when they were 5 min apart.  My waves bounced around and I finally felt they were close enough and I must be progressing because I wanted to focus rather than look at the clock, also I was too focused to use the phone and wanted my husband to call so I knew it was the real deal…finally.  DH called the midwives to let them know and they said they would come over and set up.

I had been planning a completely unassisted birth and a few months before my guess date felt led to ask this midwife team to attend my birth.  They specialize in unassisted, midwife attended births.  Essentially they were my guardian angels making sure that I had the unassisted birth I wanted.  I realized that my birth team (DH and my Mom) was not getting comfortable with my unassisted plans as time progressed and I worried that they might call 911 in the heat of the moment.  I was glad the midwives attended for many reasons before, during, and after the birth.

Although I had envisioned staying in off for much of my birth, I actually was in center for almost the entire time so definitely practice center switch.  I listened to my scripts on the mp3 player and would occasionally take out one ear bud if I needed to hear or talk.  Here is what I listened too early on:  Birthing Day, Deepening, and Special Place.  Eventually my battery ran down and for some reason my husband was not able to charge it so we switched to his mp3 player which we don’t know how to work and I listened to Birthing Day over and over until time to push when I asked for Pushing Baby Out.

I did not have a pain free birth but would call it manageable discomfort.  I used to get nervous when Hypnomoms would say manageable discomfort since it is so subjective.  So, here is what it felt like for those that want some perspective.  It felt like a moderate period cramp right above my pubic symphysis (the bone right in the front of your pelvis).  I don’t usually get period cramps unless I have emotional baggage that I haven’t dealt with (fight/grudge with DH, etc.) and unfortunately, I did go into this birth with unfinished business so I wonder, if I had dealt with my business early as I really should have, if my birth would have been completely pain free.  I will see next time.

Throughout the birth the discomfort level stayed at a moderate period cramp.  This is my second child.  The first I had all natural but without Hypnobabies and people told me it would be like a period and it wasn’t so I am not downplaying the discomfort, it really was no more than a moderate cramp feeling for me and was decreased by about 1/3 if my husband pushed on my left sacroiliac joint.  The only time my discomfort increased was if I lay down during a wave or sat on the toilet (my baby was very, very low).  Therefore, I stayed in center during the waves and would lean on the changing table and rock, sway, or spiral my hips during the waves and it felt great.  Between waves I was completely pain free, able to talk, joke, visit, etc.  Even during transformation, between waves, I was talking and making jokes which was amazing for such an intense time.

So, the discomfort stayed the same but the intensity changed with the progression of the birth.  I was able to stay aware of the birth progressing and be positive about it because of Hypnobabies and that was priceless.  I felt the intensity increasing and by this I mean a strong power starting to flow through me (like an adrenalin rush) and the waves were coming closer together and between waves I was thinking “alright transformation here we come…let’s do this!”  Suddenly though my birth slowed and the waves eventually stopped.  I asked the midwives for an internal (my second for the entire pregnancy).  They checked and confirmed that my water had broken, I was dilated 4-5 which gave me hope because I knew that was the “hump” in most births (was in my first) and I really was close to transformation, but baby was still ROA-in my right corner facing my left hip.  He hadn’t turned into birthing position yet which meant he essentially wasn’t hitting the doorway head-on so I wasn’t dilating efficiently.

We did some work to get my hips loosened up (I knew I should have seen my Chiropractor that week….and I am a Chiropractor so I should know better than get too busy right before my birth to get adjusted). The midwives gave me some homeopathic remedies and their assistant come over and did some body work on me with essential oils.  It was awesome! 

Finally, I had to address the emotional baggage that I hadn’t taken care of before birthing time.  Once all of this was done the midwives told me to lie down and rest and they went home (they had been at my house since 4am and it was about 9:30am).  I rested and the rest of my birthing team (my Mom) finally arrived.  My Mom lives about 5 hours from me.  The waves finally picked up and I stood up again to rock and sway my hips.  The midwives called to check on me around 1:30 and my Mom told them I was talking about filling the water tub and they said they would be right over.  They had offered the tub earlier in the birth and when I asked them when I was supposed to
use it they said it was for when nothing else was working. 

Hypnobabies was working so well, I told them that I was feeling fine so I would save the water for transformation.  When they heard I was ready for the water, they knew it was finally time.  The nice part of this is that I was calm and focused during this time.  I made a conscious decision to start filling the tub because I felt that transformation was coming not because I was in too much pain to bear without the water.  At this point, my discomfort was still at the level of a moderate cramp but the energy had returned and I was not as able to relax all of my muscles during the waves (toes would curl but it wasn’t from pain just intensity).  Once I was in the warm water I was able to relax and then the transformation really took off.

I used to wonder at the “intensity” that Hypnomoms would mention that wasn’t pain so I will do my best to describe how it was for me for those that find it useful.  Please keep in mind that during the pressure wave the discomfort still felt like a moderate menstrual cramp above my pubic symphysis and my DH sat behind the water tub and pushed on my left sacroiliac joint which helped with that too.  The intensity was like a rush of feeling and emotion.  One of the midwives filmed the birth and the other sat nearby and during transformation fanned me with my file during the pws because I said that I couldn’t get a full breath.  I yelled during the pws at this time from the intensity.  It is like if you are so excited about something that you just have to let it out in a shout or a song for those that sing or that extreme rush of adrenalin when you go down a ski slope or a rollercoaster ride .  A feeling of such intensity that it has to have an outlet.  It doesn’t hurt but your body feels the feeling with such intensity that you have to let it out. 

In between waves I was able to talk and joke and I mentioned a couple times that I wouldn’t mind if this part ended really soon.  I kind of like it, looking back, but it is so intense that I wanted it to end.  I don’t particularly like rollercoasters. 

It was disconcerting when I began to get the urge to push.  With my DD-age 9, I barely felt an urge to push, was told I was complete and to start pushing but I never felt an urge and in fact I felt like I wasn’t even giving birth just pushing because I was supposed to.  With this birth I felt the intensity, the discomfort from the pw, and the beginning urge to push all at the same time and that was kind of overwhelming.  The pushing urge eventually became the strongest urge and my body began to bear down on its own.  It took me by surprise and I had to regain my calm since I had not known that the pushing stage could feel like this since it hadn’t with my daughter. 

In hindsight I wish I had listened to the Pushing Baby Out CD
all the way through once before giving birth so that I would have known to start it earlier, it was slightly one step behind what I was feeling so I felt a sensation and then I heard ideas for how to handle them calmly which I would use.  I was able to use the script but I like to be prepared beforehand. 

As Zane emerged I felt his head coming into my hand (these wonderful Midwives encourage Mom to catch her baby which was just what I had wanted all along).  We each gently rubbed his head and welcomed him:  my DD, my Mom, and my DH.  One of the Midwives was still videotaping and the other held a mirror and light into the birthing tub so I could see Zane emerging.  The pushing urge stopped and I watched him in the mirror as he rotated (babies do this naturally DON”T let the doctor do this for them unless it is an emergency.  The doctors don’t know if the baby’s shoulders are rotating clockwise or counterclockwise internally while the doctor is rotating their heads to “help”). 

After two more pushed Zane was born.  I held him and snuggled him as his big sister got into the tub (she had been waiting patiently to get in the tub and help).  DH was leaning over the edge of the tub looking at Zane over my shoulder (see pic in the file under Zane’s birth).  My Mom asked “what do we have a girl or boy” so we peeked downward and made our long awaited announcement (we love being surprised!).  Shortly after Zane’s birth the placenta came and the Midwives placed it in a dish that floated so we could keep the cord attached.  The Midwives don’t cut the cord until the parents say they are ready.  They helped me out of the tub and I said “Wow, I could do that again…give me a week or two for my body to recuperate and I would definitely do that again”. 

It may sound crazy but it was like screaming to get off a rollercoaster and then once you are off it saying “what a rush, I am going to ride that again.”

In summary here were my goals going into this birth:

1.  Be in control

2.  Be willing to do it again after the birth so that my decision about having more children is based on logic not on fear.

I thought a completely pain free birth would be nice but my focus was these two goals.  Hypnobabies definitely helped me attain these two goals and I am very grateful!

Moms, “catch” your babies!  If I had known how amazing, empowering, and beautiful it is I would have never given that honor to the doctor the first time.  Let the first hands to touch your little one be hands that have loved him/her from the beginning.

Molly

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The Winner of the Give Away

is Monica! 

Horray for you.  Please e-mail me at sheridan AT enjoybirth dot com with your mailing address.  Then I will make sure the kit gets put in the mail for you.

Congratulations. 

There will be another give away in April!

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Hypnobabies Homebirth

Sophia’s Birth Story – Beautiful Hypnobabies Waterbirth with some pictures too.

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