Our story begins 8 years ago with the birth of my first son. I had planned a natural birth. I had attended all my Lamaze classes and felt prepared…I wasn’t. I wasn't informed or prepared for the events about to take place. I had no idea of my rights as a mother or how unnecessary medical interventions would be performed on me because I didn't know I could say no.
(bubble of peace)
I was admitted to the hospital where I would be delivering at 10 am. My son was born at 2:00 pm the same day 4 hrs. after I arrived at the hospital. In those 4 hrs. I had 5 cervical checks, had my membranes ruptured, was told I was stressing baby because my labor was not progressing in a timely manner and was therefore given an epidural so I would be ready because at 2:30 I would be getting an emergency c-section if I hadn't delivered. I later learned that even though I had a midwife, the doctor on call was leaving for vacation and these procedures were completely unnecessary but ensured he would be able to leave on time. I also learned that despite being told repeatedly I wasn't progressing quickly enough I in fact had a very quick "4hr" delivery for a first baby.
(end bubble of peace)
Fast forward 7 years and we were expecting baby number 2! This time I was determined I was going to be well informed on every decision in my birthing process and I was going to have that magical, peaceful birth, Hypnobabies was the class for us.
We loved our Hypnobabies classes. I knew I was going to be so prepared this time around, not only because of my Hypnobabies tools which allowed me my comfortable, beautiful birth, but also because I was informed about all my choices and my rights.
Our birthing time began on our last day of class. My waves started about an hour before class began and were very mild. I was so excited because we would be practicing our birth in class and I knew it would be so fresh in my mind and that it would continue to calm me. As we went through our tracks and positions in class, it became more and more difficult for me to come out of hypnosis. I would hear Anne, our instructor, say light switch on, but my inner self said to ignore and keep that switch off through this wave. It was such a crazy feeling pretending you were having waves when they were in fact very real. We made it through class and the rest of the evening was spent listening to tracks relaxing and just enjoying this time. My waves built until they were 6 min apart lasting a full min but suddenly after 45 min they just quit. They completely went away. This was the first of many nights like this. After a week of this happening every day, I called our midwives and they had me come in to check baby's positioning through belly mapping. It was determined that baby was stuck on my pelvis which was causing my pelvis to tilt. The waves I was feeling were called prodromal labor. It was my body's way of trying to reposition baby. This would go on for a few weeks in which time I was frequently readjusted at my chiropractor and did lots of spinning babies exercises to try and help baby to stay in a more suitable position. I'm still amazed 5 months later as I write this that despite this "prodromal labor" lasting a month, not once did I feel any pain or real discomfort, just annoyance when it would go away instead of continuing to progress. This was a great time for me though, preparing for my birth night as I had so much practice.
The night our precious baby would be born finally arrived. This was the first night in a month that I didn't feel any waves. I was 41 weeks 4 days and I just felt this blanket of peace. I called our midwife around 7 pm when I went to the restroom and my urine was pink. She said she wasn't worried and that it wasn't really a sign of anything, just some blood vessels breaking as my cervix prepared. So, I went to bed around 8 pm listening to my affirmations. I woke up at 10 pm feeling slightly restless. when I realized my husband, Patrick wasn't in bed yet I hollered down to him that he better come to bed and get some sleep while he could because we were having a baby. At the time, I meant any day now, not in a few hrs. (although subconsciously I had a feeling that despite the lack of waves or pressure, baby was on the way) Patrick came upstairs and we went back to bed. I woke at a quarter till midnight and just felt restless. I was completely comfortable, no waves. But couldn't sleep so I decided I would go soak in a relaxing bath and listen to my Hypnobabies tracks. I had a feeling this was it, but still no waves. After about 20 min I got out of the bath and decided to bounce on my ball for a bit. Still not feeling tired, I decided to braid my hair and paint my nails all while still listening to my Hypnobabies tracks . As I was putting my nail polish away I felt a sharp pain in my back. Earlier that weekend we had gone to a park with falls that has lots of stairs so I could climb stairs so when I felt this pain I thought I had pulled something. I decided since I still wasn't tired I would just take a shower so the warm jets could help my back. As soon as I got in the shower my birthing waves began. I instantly sat down and turned my light switch off. After only a few minutes I was able to turn my switch to center and leave the shower to go get my husband. As I was going down the hall I realized not only had my real waves began but I was much, much, further in my birthing process than I had realized and we needed to go to the birth center right then.
I woke my husband Patrick and told him he needed to call the midwife because we needed to come in now. He, not realizing it was definitely time, tried to reassure me that we had plenty of time and I just needed to relax and start listening to my tracks – he was going to go shower. Little did he know in 1 hr. we would be holding our babe. I informed him that there wasn't time, I had been listening to our tracks and I was so relaxed I didn't realize I had let myself progress so far. He called the midwife and she agreed we should come in right then as she could hear the deep tone I was using as I said peace through my waves – this was at 12:57am. We grabbed the bag and hopped in the truck. I put my headphones in and we were on our way. When we arrived at the birth center my midwife checked me and I was at a 9. I quickly changed into my swim suit top and got in the tub. My doula arrived as I was changing. And I instantly felt at ease as soon as I saw her. That was the moment I knew everything was going according to plan and I was going to get my perfect birth. My doula and husband kept cold washcloths on my forehead and neck. I had my tracks playing over the surround sound. I was very much in tune with my body and baby and only felt the pressure of baby moving down and out. I was so comfortable that when transformation hit, I actually thought it was just the prodromal labor again. I stood up and started to get out of the tub and apologized to everyone for dragging them out in the middle of the night because it was just a false alarm, I was going to have my baby another day. I was reassured that it definitely was not a false alarm and I was going to be holding our baby so soon. My midwife and I shared a laugh about this later. As transformation passed I asked for the tracks to be shut off and for the room to be silent. I used my hypnobabies peace cue and light switch as I pictured my body opening as I brought our baby into the world. I was amazed it actually felt really good to push. I caught our little bundle in the water as he emerged and brought him to my chest at 1:57 am. Exactly 1 hr. after calling the midwife, Owen Patrick was born. After a few minutes of just awe and gratitude I lifted him to my husband to announce the gender. I counted all of his tiny fingers and toes with kisses and held my perfect, happy, healthy 9 pound 6 ounce baby to my chest. Thanks to Hypnobabies I was able to have the wonderful, beautiful birth I had always dreamed about.
I was admitted to the hospital where I would be delivering at 10 am. My son was born at 2:00 pm the same day 4 hrs. after I arrived at the hospital. In those 4 hrs. I had 5 cervical checks, had my membranes ruptured, was told I was stressing baby because my labor was not progressing in a timely manner and was therefore given an epidural so I would be ready because at 2:30 I would be getting an emergency c-section if I hadn't delivered. I later learned that even though I had a midwife, the doctor on call was leaving for vacation and these procedures were completely unnecessary but ensured he would be able to leave on time. I also learned that despite being told repeatedly I wasn't progressing quickly enough I in fact had a very quick "4hr" delivery for a first baby.
(end bubble of peace)
Fast forward 7 years and we were expecting baby number 2! This time I was determined I was going to be well informed on every decision in my birthing process and I was going to have that magical, peaceful birth, Hypnobabies was the class for us.
We loved our Hypnobabies classes. I knew I was going to be so prepared this time around, not only because of my Hypnobabies tools which allowed me my comfortable, beautiful birth, but also because I was informed about all my choices and my rights.
Our birthing time began on our last day of class. My waves started about an hour before class began and were very mild. I was so excited because we would be practicing our birth in class and I knew it would be so fresh in my mind and that it would continue to calm me. As we went through our tracks and positions in class, it became more and more difficult for me to come out of hypnosis. I would hear Anne, our instructor, say light switch on, but my inner self said to ignore and keep that switch off through this wave. It was such a crazy feeling pretending you were having waves when they were in fact very real. We made it through class and the rest of the evening was spent listening to tracks relaxing and just enjoying this time. My waves built until they were 6 min apart lasting a full min but suddenly after 45 min they just quit. They completely went away. This was the first of many nights like this. After a week of this happening every day, I called our midwives and they had me come in to check baby's positioning through belly mapping. It was determined that baby was stuck on my pelvis which was causing my pelvis to tilt. The waves I was feeling were called prodromal labor. It was my body's way of trying to reposition baby. This would go on for a few weeks in which time I was frequently readjusted at my chiropractor and did lots of spinning babies exercises to try and help baby to stay in a more suitable position. I'm still amazed 5 months later as I write this that despite this "prodromal labor" lasting a month, not once did I feel any pain or real discomfort, just annoyance when it would go away instead of continuing to progress. This was a great time for me though, preparing for my birth night as I had so much practice.
The night our precious baby would be born finally arrived. This was the first night in a month that I didn't feel any waves. I was 41 weeks 4 days and I just felt this blanket of peace. I called our midwife around 7 pm when I went to the restroom and my urine was pink. She said she wasn't worried and that it wasn't really a sign of anything, just some blood vessels breaking as my cervix prepared. So, I went to bed around 8 pm listening to my affirmations. I woke up at 10 pm feeling slightly restless. when I realized my husband, Patrick wasn't in bed yet I hollered down to him that he better come to bed and get some sleep while he could because we were having a baby. At the time, I meant any day now, not in a few hrs. (although subconsciously I had a feeling that despite the lack of waves or pressure, baby was on the way) Patrick came upstairs and we went back to bed. I woke at a quarter till midnight and just felt restless. I was completely comfortable, no waves. But couldn't sleep so I decided I would go soak in a relaxing bath and listen to my Hypnobabies tracks. I had a feeling this was it, but still no waves. After about 20 min I got out of the bath and decided to bounce on my ball for a bit. Still not feeling tired, I decided to braid my hair and paint my nails all while still listening to my Hypnobabies tracks . As I was putting my nail polish away I felt a sharp pain in my back. Earlier that weekend we had gone to a park with falls that has lots of stairs so I could climb stairs so when I felt this pain I thought I had pulled something. I decided since I still wasn't tired I would just take a shower so the warm jets could help my back. As soon as I got in the shower my birthing waves began. I instantly sat down and turned my light switch off. After only a few minutes I was able to turn my switch to center and leave the shower to go get my husband. As I was going down the hall I realized not only had my real waves began but I was much, much, further in my birthing process than I had realized and we needed to go to the birth center right then.
I woke my husband Patrick and told him he needed to call the midwife because we needed to come in now. He, not realizing it was definitely time, tried to reassure me that we had plenty of time and I just needed to relax and start listening to my tracks – he was going to go shower. Little did he know in 1 hr. we would be holding our babe. I informed him that there wasn't time, I had been listening to our tracks and I was so relaxed I didn't realize I had let myself progress so far. He called the midwife and she agreed we should come in right then as she could hear the deep tone I was using as I said peace through my waves – this was at 12:57am. We grabbed the bag and hopped in the truck. I put my headphones in and we were on our way. When we arrived at the birth center my midwife checked me and I was at a 9. I quickly changed into my swim suit top and got in the tub. My doula arrived as I was changing. And I instantly felt at ease as soon as I saw her. That was the moment I knew everything was going according to plan and I was going to get my perfect birth. My doula and husband kept cold washcloths on my forehead and neck. I had my tracks playing over the surround sound. I was very much in tune with my body and baby and only felt the pressure of baby moving down and out. I was so comfortable that when transformation hit, I actually thought it was just the prodromal labor again. I stood up and started to get out of the tub and apologized to everyone for dragging them out in the middle of the night because it was just a false alarm, I was going to have my baby another day. I was reassured that it definitely was not a false alarm and I was going to be holding our baby so soon. My midwife and I shared a laugh about this later. As transformation passed I asked for the tracks to be shut off and for the room to be silent. I used my hypnobabies peace cue and light switch as I pictured my body opening as I brought our baby into the world. I was amazed it actually felt really good to push. I caught our little bundle in the water as he emerged and brought him to my chest at 1:57 am. Exactly 1 hr. after calling the midwife, Owen Patrick was born. After a few minutes of just awe and gratitude I lifted him to my husband to announce the gender. I counted all of his tiny fingers and toes with kisses and held my perfect, happy, healthy 9 pound 6 ounce baby to my chest. Thanks to Hypnobabies I was able to have the wonderful, beautiful birth I had always dreamed about.
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