Zoe’s EDD was September 19th, but her older siblings were both “early.” I just KNEW she’d be born around 37-38 weeks and had already been off work for 2 weeks. I was growing more frustrated by the day since I set my expectations so early and OB was pressuring an induction. But the baby knew EXACTLY what to do!
On Saturday, September 20th, I started having the first pressure waves about 1:00 pm after thinking all morning, “She’s never coming out!” (talk about impatient!) The waves were not steady, and I had negative thoughts about this not being the birthing time because I’d had pressure waves off and on for the past 2 weeks that never created a pattern and then fizzled out. My parents had taken our other kids out of town that morning to let me “have some rest,” so this allowed me to relax and clean the house. I kept moving in hopes the PWs would pick up in intensity and frequency.
At about 2:30p.m., I called my close friends and mom and told them I was having PWs, but they weren’t intense and were about 5 minutes apart. I told myself that if they picked up, I’d bake brownies for the nurses at 4:00, and we’d go to the hospital at 7:00. I called Andi, our hypno-doula to give her a heads-up but still didn’t think this was “it.”
They continued to progress, but I was not uncomfortable at all. I didn’t even use the finger-drop technique until around 4:45 when some PWs were still 4 minutes apart, but a couple were only 1 minute apart. I welcomed each wave and still wanted them to come on stronger to convince myself I might see our baby soon. I made the brownies, and by the time they were finished, I decided I wanted to go ahead and go to the hospital so I could listen to my CDs and chill out without having to drive in the middle of trying to listen to my scripts. Our doula met us at the hospital because I told her I felt like I just needed to get there and get settled in. I was still somewhat nervous that the hospital would send me back home, but our doula assured me that if they did, that would be the best thing for me. We got to the hospital at 6:00 pm.
I changed into a gown and turned in our pre-registration. The nurses were very nice and allowed me to stop talking when necessary; I used the finger-drop technique several times during the check-in; DH and Andi were able to answer some questions. Our doula was awesome! She reminded me to “breathe in peace; breathe out tension” which helped immensely (I dealt with a lot of fear from my 1st birth throughout this pregnancy). Still thinking I would be sent back home, the nurse checked me and reported I was at a 6 with a bulging bag of waters! I was so happy I got emotional and realized I knew I could do this naturally! The nurse also asked me to rate my p**n level on a scale of 1-10. Between PWs, it was a “1” and during, I rated it a “6,”–totally bearable.
DH went out to the car to bring in our things. While he was gone, I had about 3 very intense PWs and couldn’t get comfortable. I made a quiet vocalization through two of those and worried he would get scared if he heard me vocalizing. I told Andi I felt nauseated, and she got me a trash can. DH walked back in the room, and I told him, “Don’t be scared, but I’m about to make some noise now. I’m okay though.” At that point, a leaned off the side of the bed, felt a huge pressure, and moaned loudly while holding the side-rail of the bed. The bag of waters busted (it sounded like a water balloon!). Andi said, “That was a push!” She tried to find the call button, and DH just ran into the hall to get a nurse. I immediately had another strong urge to push; I did, and her head was out! Andi, the nurse, and DH asked if I could get back on the bed (I was still hanging over the trashcan–it was all so fast!) and asked if I could push again–oh yeah–pushing felt great! Her body came out on that push, and she immediately started crying. I was in shock that she was already out and that the “labor” was over! We were all laughing and in complete amazement (especially DH and myself; our other daughter’s birth took 50 hours!).
I did have some tearing along my previous scar from my two former medicated births (I didn’t even feel this as it happened). The doctor arrived about 20 minutes later to do the stitches (and I did get Lidocaine local anesthesia for this). The baby had already been nursing that 20 minutes, and she continued nursing for almost 2 hours! No one took her from me to weigh her or anything until about 9:00 p.m.
She weighs 7 pounds, 14 ounces
20.75 inches long
We were allowed to leave the hospital the next evening and are enjoying our Babymoon now.
I have to reiterate how awesome the Hypnobabies program is. There were times I doubted it would work for me during the birthing time, but I recognized how well I had been sleeping during this pregnancy and how well it helped me with generalized anxiety and other fears about life in general. I thought it was worth it if those were the only things I got out of it.
We took a live course with our hypno-doula, but I didn’t do the practices perfectly, and I fell asleep EVERY time I listened to a CD. I really doubted I could have a p**n-free delivery, but it actually was (I did feel pressure, but it actually felt somewhat good to push through it)! This birth was very healing for me and DH, and I feel so extra blessed not only with our healthy baby but with the privilege of getting to bring her into this world in a natural, peaceful, empowered way.
I’ve personally dealt with panic anxiety problems my whole life. It started when I was just a kid and I’ve had to cope with them since then. I finally found a solution that has helped me get them done once and for all. I will tell you that it wasn’t quick or easy, but after a while I was able to finally get rid of them. I’m no longer dealing with them and its like I’ve started a new life not dealing with panic attacks. I also saw a Dr. Oz special a few days ago, sometimes it isn’t a panic attack that is the root of the problem, I’d also recommend talking to your doctor. Good luck!