I have loved reading the birth stories of other Hypnomoms as I prepared for the birth of my daughter, Miranda, who arrived January 9th. Thanks to everyone on this list who posted questions, encouragement and birth stories. At last, it is my turn to share my Hypnobabies birth story.
She was born at 39 weeks, 5 days on a Sunday night during a snowstorm. For the previous two nights I felt what I thought were PW’s in the evening but they always stopped when I laid down for bed at night. So, on Sunday when I felt the sensations again, I did not think it was my birthing time yet and just continued cleaning up the dinner dishes. However, the waves continued to come so around 7 PM I started timing them with an app on my iPad. I laid down to turn my lightswitch off and immediately moved to center position so that I could track the waves.
I handled them beautifully for the first hour and a half—while listening to Birthing Day Affirmations I played with my son, folded laundry, sat on my birth ball and rocked side to side, and logged each PW into my iPad. I also used the “open, open, open” cue a lot.
There was no consistency to the length or interval between waves so I assumed I had a long way to go even though they were getting stronger. I contacted my doula at 7:40 PM and she said to keep watching them until they were consistently one minute in length. I didn’t call the doctor yet. I switched to Easy First Stage when they got stronger.
Around 8:30 I couldn’t play with my son any longer—all I wanted to do was lay on the bed in the dark. I also longed for the support of my doula—my DH did not learn any of the Hypnobabies cues and I wanted some help from someone who knew how to help me stay relaxed.
Since things were happening so fast, we couldn’t wait for my mom to come get my 3 year-old son. All three of us got in the car and stopped to pick up our doula on the way to the hospital because of the snowstorm. (My husband had to put my son’s boots and coat on since I was focusing only on myself by that time. I was so calm during my early PW’s that I had gathered and laid out all of my son’s winter gear–which my husband never would have found since it was scattered all over the place!)
We must have left our apartment around 9:30 or so. I couldn’t walk to the car without stopping for each PW—I would get down on my hands and knees and sway with the wave, I also used “open, open, open” and “peace” cues. I was so proud of myself for handling it on my own and knowing to just do whatever my body needed to get through the wave. My doula called my doctor in the car and she said she was on her way.
It was a tough ride to the hospital because the waves were so strong and I was kind of scrunched up in the front seat in an uncomfortable position. My water broke in the car and then again in the wheelchair they used to bring me inside. My doula escorted me to a delivery room and protected me from questions and monitoring devices while I finished getting through a PW.
Then, she helped me into a gown and as I sat on the bed I told them the baby was about to come out. They didn’t believe me and my doula had to literally show them that the baby’s head was crowning. (Afterwards, one of the nurses said “you were so calm!”). Obviously, my doctor was not going to make it in time due to the weather and the speed of my birthing.
A second year resident ended up catching the baby. The pressure was incredibly strong, but I was OK. I felt each part of her come out of me and it truly was like she was sliding out. The entire time I knew I was safe and had no fears. Positive thoughts were in my mind, even at the most intense moments I could hear positive messages comforting me and giving me everything I needed to deliver my baby. My doula was amazing—there was no time for scripts but she helped me with the peace cue and also encouraged me to blow out during the strongest pressure waves so that I wouldn’t have the baby in the car. She was born at 10:01 PM, just five minutes after we arrived at the hospital.
Another awesome thing was that I was able to say everything I wanted when I got to the hospital. I told them I only wanted a hep-lock and not IV fluids; I told them I wanted to wear my hospital gown open in the front so that I could hold the baby right away when she was born on my bare abdomen. The number one thing I wanted, if nothing else, was to hold her immediately, and I was able to express that and it happened!
It was the most incredible feeling and I have Kerry and Hypnobabies to thank for this most precious moment.
Miranda breastfed within 20 minutes or so and did it twice on both breasts before we left the delivery room. It was magical. Thank you Hypnobabies for a beautiful birth!
Thanks to Kate, a mom from the Hypnobabies Yahoo Group for sharing her story with us!
Beautiful! LOVE this story! 🙂