On Saturday morning, at 37 weeks, I awoke at 6am to a pop and minutes later I was laying in a large pool of water. We immediately put on my headphones and started by listening to the birthing day affirmations and early birthing tracks. We waited several hours but didn't notice any pressure waves starting. So we took a 2 mile walk while listening to our tracks with headphones, we also tried nipple stimulation and squats, lunges and hip circles. We also made sure to get some rest and eat a large breakfast and lunch. We decided to go to our hospital's birthing center around 2pm. They suggested starting pitocin, but we stood our ground and asked for more time to get everything going naturally.
I also tried spending time in the jet tub. Around the time of transformation, I spent about 8 minutes in the tub until I got very strong urges to push. I think the combination of the hypnosis and the relaxation from the heat of the pool helped my body move from transformation to the pushing baby out stage. After about 20 minutes of pushing, I was holding my beautiful baby in my arms. No tearing. She was 7 lbs exactly and 19 inches long.
All the nurses commented on how they had never seen a birth like mine. They couldn't believe how calm and relaxed I was during the process and they also couldn't believe how short the pushing stage was and how there was no tearing (especially for a first time mom).
The entire time, my partner stayed by my side and he also remained calm and clear headed. He was so supportive and helped guide me through each stage of the birthing process. He also helped keep my bubble of peace around me, even when the medical team kept pushing for use of interventions. I didn't have to worry, since he took control and allowed me to stay focused and relaxed. I am so thankful that the class not only prepared me for the birthing time but also my birth partner. It was an excellent experience for both of us.
We also appreciated the encouragement from our instructor Anne, who we called shortly after my water broke. And also from our fellow classmates who we ran into at the hospital while we were walking circles in the hallway. Just knowing that Hypnobabies helped keep that mom calm and comfortable a couple days earlier made me feel more at ease waiting for my pressure waves to begin!!
Even though we were not sure we had practiced enough, and even though we had our baby girl earlier than we were expecting, we realized that our minds were ready. We just started playing the tracks and let our minds take over.
I don't think having a completely natural birth would have been possible without my Hypnobabies hypnosis techniques. I encourage everyone to keep listening to the Hypnobabies tracks throughout your entire birthing time, as it worked perfectly for me.