When I was about 20ish weeks pregnant I had a dream I was going to have my baby 8/27/18 at 3:00pm. If only it could have been a bit more specific!! I had been having strong BH waves since around 20 weeks, but I started having real practice waves a few weeks before my guess date.
With my first I had some practice waves for about 10 days before I had him so I just assumed it would be similar this time around. During all the practice waves I just knew my baby wasn’t coming until the 27th because of a dream 🤣 and these were just prepping my body for an easy and comfortable birthing time!
With my first I had some practice waves for about 10 days before I had him so I just assumed it would be similar this time around. During all the practice waves I just knew my baby wasn’t coming until the 27th because of a dream 🤣 and these were just prepping my body for an easy and comfortable birthing time!
I had scheduled a chiro appt for 8/27 in the morning with the hopes that it would kick start my birthing time and then I had accidentally scheduled my 39 week appt for that day too at 2:30 pm. My chiro went well but didn’t start anything so I went to my appt still not in my birthing time. At the end of my appt the midwife asked if I wanted a cervical check and my rational brain said NO! I wasn’t planning on getting any cervical checks but I looked at the clock and it was 2:56 and I thought hmmm what if she accidentally breaks my water with the cervical check and I have the baby right now?! Or what if it kick starts things?! So I went for it! I was at 3 cm- which was awesome news for me because with my first it was a solid 12 hours of really strong waves to get to 3 cm so I was feeling great! All those BH and practice waves were doing their job!
I left my appt with no accidental birthing time and figured my dream probably isn’t going to come true but oh well! Then at 10 pm that night I started having strong and timetable waves! I texted my doula and my mom just to let them know what was going on! I turned on my pregnancy affirmations and ended up being able to get some sleep from about 10-2. After that the waves were too strong and about 7-10 minutes apart so I wasn’t able to sleep anymore. Around 5 am I told my mom and Anne (my doula) it was time to come over. My mom so that she could be there to get Owen when he woke up and Anne so that she could come to the birth center with us.
We had about a 30 minute drive to the birth center and really wanted to miss rush hour so we left earlier than normal because there was a ton of construction and road closures so a 30 min trip could easily turn into an hour and a half! The car ride to the birth center was uneventful and I had my Hypnobabies on in my headphones listening to Easy First Stage. We got there and I got checked and was 4 cm, I was hoping for more but I was ready to get this birth going so I was willing to do whatever! I spent a couple hours doing lunges on the stairs, side lying release, robozo sifting, and different positions to get the waves to come more consistently. At this point they had slowed down to about every 10 minutes and the midwives were talking about sending me home to get some rest. This was absolutely devastating for me. It was one of the things I was most afraid of and it was happening!
I talked to Anne and Mike about how I felt like there were too many people in the room just kind of staring at me and I wanted some privacy. We decided I’d spend some time alone in the bathroom for awhile and if that didn’t work I’d go home, but after about 30 minutes of doing this, things weren’t progressing so we headed back home around 11 am.
I tried to rest at home but the waves were really strong while I was lying down. They were about 10 mins apart so I was able to slightly doze between but during the long waves I had to really concentrate and turn my switch off. I called my midwives and she suggested nipple stimulation along with a few other things to get things going so I pumped and walked around a bit and boom- things were moving along!
By the time I called at about 5:00 pm the waves were 3ish minutes apart and about a minute long and I felt that she had moved down. I didn’t want to drive through rush hour but the midwife was insistent that we come in! Anne met us on the way and the traffic gods were with us! We didn’t hit any traffic and made it to the birth center just after 6.
The midwives wanted to do another cervical check and I agreed. I was still only 4 cm and she had gone up in my pelvis but my cervix was soft and stretchy. I had a really tough and long first birthing time with my son so this news really hit hard. I instantly started worrying that it was going to end up like last time. Anne kept saying the numbers don’t matter but it was hard to stay positive. I knew I had to buck up and keep going. I started doing some lunges on the stairs and then Anne and Mike helped me do some abdominal lift and tucks.
I left my appt with no accidental birthing time and figured my dream probably isn’t going to come true but oh well! Then at 10 pm that night I started having strong and timetable waves! I texted my doula and my mom just to let them know what was going on! I turned on my pregnancy affirmations and ended up being able to get some sleep from about 10-2. After that the waves were too strong and about 7-10 minutes apart so I wasn’t able to sleep anymore. Around 5 am I told my mom and Anne (my doula) it was time to come over. My mom so that she could be there to get Owen when he woke up and Anne so that she could come to the birth center with us.
We had about a 30 minute drive to the birth center and really wanted to miss rush hour so we left earlier than normal because there was a ton of construction and road closures so a 30 min trip could easily turn into an hour and a half! The car ride to the birth center was uneventful and I had my Hypnobabies on in my headphones listening to Easy First Stage. We got there and I got checked and was 4 cm, I was hoping for more but I was ready to get this birth going so I was willing to do whatever! I spent a couple hours doing lunges on the stairs, side lying release, robozo sifting, and different positions to get the waves to come more consistently. At this point they had slowed down to about every 10 minutes and the midwives were talking about sending me home to get some rest. This was absolutely devastating for me. It was one of the things I was most afraid of and it was happening!
I talked to Anne and Mike about how I felt like there were too many people in the room just kind of staring at me and I wanted some privacy. We decided I’d spend some time alone in the bathroom for awhile and if that didn’t work I’d go home, but after about 30 minutes of doing this, things weren’t progressing so we headed back home around 11 am.
I tried to rest at home but the waves were really strong while I was lying down. They were about 10 mins apart so I was able to slightly doze between but during the long waves I had to really concentrate and turn my switch off. I called my midwives and she suggested nipple stimulation along with a few other things to get things going so I pumped and walked around a bit and boom- things were moving along!
By the time I called at about 5:00 pm the waves were 3ish minutes apart and about a minute long and I felt that she had moved down. I didn’t want to drive through rush hour but the midwife was insistent that we come in! Anne met us on the way and the traffic gods were with us! We didn’t hit any traffic and made it to the birth center just after 6.
The midwives wanted to do another cervical check and I agreed. I was still only 4 cm and she had gone up in my pelvis but my cervix was soft and stretchy. I had a really tough and long first birthing time with my son so this news really hit hard. I instantly started worrying that it was going to end up like last time. Anne kept saying the numbers don’t matter but it was hard to stay positive. I knew I had to buck up and keep going. I started doing some lunges on the stairs and then Anne and Mike helped me do some abdominal lift and tucks.
The Abdominal Lift and Tuck from www.spinningbabies.com. So effective!
Both of these really upped the intensity of my waves and they started coming every two minutes lasting about a minute! Up until this point I didn’t really need to use Hypnobabies so actively. Everything was manageable but once I started into transformation (transition) I needed to keep turning my switch off. Having Anne read birth prompts and remind me to relax was really helpful! It really helped me not be tense and ride the waves!
I wanted a water birth so we headed back to the birthing room and I had another cervical check and was at a 7! Wooh! I had progressed 3 cm in like an hour! Once I got into the tub on my and knees I got the urge to push and with the first push my water broke! 8 minutes later baby Claire was born! Turns out the numbers really don’t matter. (10 minutes from 7 cm to baby!) Little Claire was born at 7:40 pm on 8/28.
I wanted a water birth so we headed back to the birthing room and I had another cervical check and was at a 7! Wooh! I had progressed 3 cm in like an hour! Once I got into the tub on my and knees I got the urge to push and with the first push my water broke! 8 minutes later baby Claire was born! Turns out the numbers really don’t matter. (10 minutes from 7 cm to baby!) Little Claire was born at 7:40 pm on 8/28.
Mom pushes baby out on her hands and knees in the tub while Dad supports her!
Dad cutting the umbilical cord
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