Here is the very detailed birth story of Kira Zoey.
It’s a long story, so if these things interest you, it might be a good
read: First baby, Big baby: 10 pounds 1 ounce (5’6″ 110lb pre-
pregnancy mom), 10 days “late”, birthing center to hospital transfer,
10 hour birthing time from start to finish (11am to 9:02pm including 1
1/2 hours pushing)
Just some background info…I’m 28 years old and this is my first
baby. I knew from the start I wanted the most natural birth possible
due to my friends having failed inductions, c-sections and constant
worries from their doctors. I personally don’t like doctors or
hospitals so I happily discovered a free standing birthing center
nearby. We saw the midwives at this birthing center the whole
pregnancy and ordered the Hypnobabies course early on, but didn’t
start the program until my 28th week or so. I listened to the
assigned scripts daily, but didn’t listen to the affirmations daily as
recommended, but instead sort of memorized them and would repeat them
to myself at random times during the day. My husband and I never
practiced the cues together, but I would “quiz” him every few days on
the ways he could help me focus during my birthing time.
I was 10 days overdue, but no one at the birthing center seemed to
care as they won’t induce until 43 weeks, although the cut off to
birth at the center is 42 weeks. They did offer a sweep but I
declined as I really wanted to start my birthing time completely
naturally. I did however ask when 7 days overdue to be checked and
learned I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced, but my cervix was really
far back.
On Friday morning I woke up well rested, really hungry and extremely
thirsty. I drank tons of water and milk and ate my breakfast while
scheduling an appointment for a sonogram to check my fluid levels (one
request of the birthing center in moms past 41 weeks). After tidying
up the house, I laid back down for a nap at 11am as I felt very tired
again. Moments later I felt a trickle of water and thought I peed
myself. When I sat up, more came out and thats when I realized it was
my amniotic fluid. I got some towels and sat on them on the couch and
waited patiently for DH to come home since he stops at home for lunch
each day around 11am. While waiting I emailed my mom to let her know
since we had been emailing back and forth all morning. DH came home
and I happily shared the news with him, and he went ahead and
microwaved our lunch as I listened to the birthing day affirmations.
I had many false starts during the past week, so already listened to
the affirmations and found them so relaxing. My pressure waves
started quickly and from the beginning were 3 minutes apart lasting 45
seconds. They were stronger than the Braxton Hicks I’d been having
since 32 weeks, so I knew this was the real deal. I only ate a little
lunch since I was too excited. I told DH he better leave soon to
return his work vehicle and pick up some last minute snacks because we
might need to leave for the center sooner than later. I was GBS
positive and wanted to make sure I had enough time for the
antibiotics. When DH left I called the center around noon to let them
know my water broke. I guess I was too calm on the phone because they
said to come in, in 4-6 hours from now. At 1pm DH had returned and
the pressure waves were still 3 minutes apart lasting 1 minute, so I
called again and said I wanted to come in now, and they happily said
okay. We drove down there and arrived by 1:30. On the drive down I
became vocal during each pressure wave and found that making a deep
AHH sound really helped me focus my relaxation. I’m not a loud
person, so I thought this was sort of funny. I listened to the
affirmations on the drive down and also once we got to the center when
they started the IV antibiotics. They listened to the baby during the
IV treatment and her heartbeat was high, around 180bpm, and that
concerned them. I was also checked and was already 6cm! They gave me
2 bags of IV liquids incase the accelerated heart rate was due to
dehydration but it did not help. I did ask when I could go into the
birthing pool and they said not until her heart rate is better.
At 2pm they explained that I will have to be transferred to the
hospital. Amazingly I was okay with this, probably because I was also
worried about her heart beat, and ever since my water broke she hadn’t
moved at all. There is a reason her nickname was “Flicker” and when
Flicker wasn’t flicking around, it wasn’t normal. I hesitantly asked
if this meant a c-section, and they said no, so I was happy about
that. At this point DH was given directions to the hospital and I
could hear sirens outside. I was still very vocal during each
pressure wave and was now sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for
the paramedics. DH was giving me “relax” cues and touching my
forehead and shoulder and this really helped me stay relaxed. I asked
if he could go with me in the ambulance and they said no, and I wasn’t
sure how I would do without him by my side. Thankfully the
entertainment of the ambulance ride distracted me from my missing
birth partner. The paramedics came in and there was a very young guy
who looked terrified to see me! The other paramedic was older and not
so bright. Of course as soon as a pressure wave began, they both
started asking me questions! I heard the midwfie explain “she is
having a contraction and cannot answer questions now, wait for it to
be over”. Neither understood and continued this mistake the entire
time, only to have it explained to them again and again. They wanted
to give me oxygen and the midwife said “she doesn’t need it”, but they
insisted so he said “fine, whatever”. I climbed on the stretcher and
they gave me the bumpiest ride imaginable to the hospital! The older
less intelligent paramedic asked “is she being induced” and the
midwife said “no, she is already in labor”. Then the paramedic asked
“was she going to be induced”… “when were you going to induce
her”… “is she going to be induced” He had induction stuck in his
head and the midwife was getting a little frustrated. The paramedic
also asked why I was making so much noise- and the midwife explained
how making the noise helps me to relax. I was also asked about 10
times if I had ever been pregnant before- like that mattered! I think
I used my BOP without even realizing it since nothing the paramedic
said phased me and I actually found it entertaining.
Once at the hospital they took me into a hallway where we needed to
wait for the person that would admit me. I could sense the concern in
the midwife’s voice as he asked again and again why we were waiting so
long. The paramedics continued to ask silly questions and talk to me
during pressure waves. I was still vocal and the other people waiting
in the hall were looking at me, but I didn’t care- I was too happy
that I would be seeing my baby soon. DH actually made it to my room
before I did, and I was so happy to see him.
They put me in a private birthing room which was quite nice, but I
knew there was no birthing pool so this would have to happen without
being in a warm jetted tub as I had imagined. I was checked again and
was now at 7 cm. The midwife asked to break my front bag of water and
I said I would normally say no, but I knew we needed to get the baby
out sooner than later, and he completely agreed. He broke the
membrane and I didn’t feel any increase in pressure. I had to be
continuously monitored and hooked to an IV for fluids per hospital
standards. They also had to convert the birth center heplock to their
own AND have me sign papers and answer loads of questions. When they
were doing anything during a pressure wave I could feel myself lose
concentration and noticed how my vocalizations sounded more “screamy”
than AHHH sounds. DH picked up on this quick and he started the
“relax” cues and then would whisper a description of my special safe
place. He also counted down from 5 to 1 and told me to relax and go
limp and lose. DH really paid attention to the hypnobabies course!!!
They asked me if a student could attend the birth. I said okay, and
she walked in looking very nervous and I soon learned this would be
the first birth she ever watched. They also gave me a nurse that use
to work at the birthing center- so there was the midwife, student,
nurse and DH in the room. I have no idea what time it was at this
point, but I’m guessing 3 or 4pm.
Around this time, probably at 8cm, I could feel myself tensing up, so
I whispered “hold me” to DH and he supported all my weight and
whispered cues into my ear during each wave. I was still sitting on
the bed and then they allowed me to kneel on the bed and lean on the
raised back of the bed. I continued like this for awhile and rocked my
hips back and forth and vocalized even louder. The nurse kept
adjusting my monitor belts during pressure waves and DH told me later
he would swat in the air to get them to stop. DH also told me later
that the student midwife stared at DH with amazement in her eyes that
he was there doing all these cues with me. The intensity of the
pressure waves were increasing and the length between them was
diminishing, but I really got into a zone and didn’t realize this. DH
told me later that there was less than 1 minute between each one and
that is when DH thought to himself “I’m not sure how much longer I can
do this”. I can honestly say I never had this thought, because when I
learned I was 8 or 9cm I knew this was transformation and a time when
I might feel like giving up, but knowing that made me even more
excited as it was almost time to push.
From about 6cm, every pressure wave first felt like extreme pressure
in my butt, and then it would lessen and spread more to the front of
my abdomen. That first bit of pressure never lasted too long, but it
was very intense and I knew once I got past that I was on my way to
having another break. This is really what kept me positive and I felt
very successful when I managed to completely relax my pelvic floor
during that first butt pressure part of each wave. I also got into a
rhythm where after every pressure wave DH would stick ice water
infront of me and I would take a sip. Then he would rub icy rags on
my face and upper back, and as soon as I started AHHH-ing, he would
put them down and hold me and give me cues. It was like my body
turned into an automatic machine and I didn’t want to move around
because it would throw off my rhythm.
At 9cm the butt pressure was becoming more and more intense and the
midwife told me to sit on the toilet and just push as much as I
wanted. I thought it was weird he wanted me to push even though I
wasn’t dilated but I think he wanted that baby out because she was
under stress. I sat on the toilet for awhile and they had the student
midwife on the floor applying pressure to my back and the nurse was
rubbing my leg reminding me to relax my pelvis, and DH standing
infront of me supporting my weight and doing the drink/ice routine. I
was hesitant to push, but soon started pushing hard and the midwife
was happy about that. Sometime later he asked me to come back to the
bed so he could check me, and I was 9 3/4 cm dilated. He did
something and then said “okay, now you are 10cm”. They had me on my
back, which isn’t what I wanted, but he said I needed to push with all
my power. He didn’t have to say it, but I knew it was because the
baby needed to come out soon. I did purple pushing for 1 1/2 hours
total- I had no idea it was that long because it felt like 20 minutes
to me. At one point I opened my eyes and noticed it was pitch black
outside and I said “wow, it’s dark outside already”. There was 2 huge
picture windows in the room with no blinds drawn, so I thought it was
funny that anyone in the parking garage across the street could be
watching the show. The pushing actually felt so good. With each
pressure wave I pulled my legs back and pushed, and they would give me
cues on which pushes were the most successful. I have no idea how
someone on an epidural could push because there are so many muscles
down there and it took me awhile to get the right ones pushing. They
set up a large mirror and told me to look but I kept saying “I believe
you guys.. I don’t want to see!!!” The mood was good and everyone was
very excited with each successful push. The student wasn’t looking at
first, but the midwife urged her to look and soon she got very excited
and I could hear in her voice that she was amazed at seeing the babies
head slowly peeking out. This gave me encouragement too because she
was so sincere. DH also started watching the mirror and hearing him
say “wow, the heads almost out.. keep going” was wonderful. During
the pushing the baby passed meconium so they called in a team to clear
the meconium from the baby after the birth. The midwife explained
that the cord will have to be cut right away and they will take the
baby and clean her up and then I can hold her. I opened my eyes at
one point and saw the room filled with new people all watching and
waiting! I didn’t care at all.
As the head was crowning, the pressure after each pushing session, and
between waves was intense. I could feel myself stretching and I
relaxed as best I could during these breaks to allow my perineum to
stretch. Pushes later the head finally came out and I felt the
pressure be relieved, and asked “is the head out?” Next was the
shoulders which were quite difficult to push out too, but I pushed
even past the next pressure wave and got them out. I felt her body
slide the rest of the way out. The midwife held up the baby and DH
said “it’s a girl” and then he quickly passed her to the team for
meconium clean up.
BOP warning!!!!
They gave the baby to me for skin to skin contact and then the midwife
tugged on the cord and pushed my tummy and out slid the placenta. Now
this is the only part of the entire birth that was painful.
They measured Kira’s head and everyone in the room was in shock at the
size, and at the lack of tearing I had. It really was amazing and I
think everyone couldn’t believe I delivered such a large baby
naturally. The student midwife was tearing up and told me I was her
hero and she wants to have a baby now because I am an inspiration.
Her and her husband haven’t been trying (but not preventing either)
but she says they will try now.
Thinking back, I never used my light switch after turning it to center
before I left the house. I believe I remained in center the whole
time and then DH brought me to OFF with the relax cue. Also I stopped
listening to the tracks on the ipod once I learned of the hospital
transfer. DH really took over and gave me all the cues that I needed
without having to listen to the ipod.
Despite things not “going as planned”, this was such a successful
experience. I feel like I can do anything now, because I was able to
birth a 10 pound baby naturally.
Love it. Just love it.
Way to go! So your midwife was a “he”?
There is an amazing male midwife and quite a few of his patients use Hypnobabies! 🙂
I’m a little new to some of the birthing language and was wondering if someone could tell me what “BOP” means. Also, is “DH” a term referring to the husband? Or were those his initials?
Thank you!
DH refers to dear husband.
BOP is bubble of peace, which you get early in the Hypnobabies class.
Thank you for your story! I just Googled ’10 lb baby natural birth’ and this was the first thing to come up. It gives me hope! I’m only 18 weeks along, but my fiance, his brother and his dad were all 10 pounders! And while their heads were big, they all had these HUGE rib cages. I really want to birth naturally, but am afraid that a big baby would means automatic c-section. So, your story helps me realize that’s not always so. (And I guess it’s always possible it won’t be 10 lbs, too) 🙂 Hope you and your family are doing well.
I just delivered my 10lb 1oz baby naturally using traditional Monagan method Hypnobirthing. Just wanted to chime in with more encouragement for future mamas!!!