(Editor's Note: Every mother's experience of her hypno-tools is different. Some mothers feel their hypno-anesthesia, others see it, others sense it, etc. There's no one right way!)
After about 5 hours or so of what seemed to me to be "non progressing waves" I wanted more distraction and attempted to go watch TV. That movement really changed something. Next thing I knew I was crawling around on the floor and calling for my husband to get the car started. I also threw up a couple of times. I called our doula and she came right over. When she arrived I was back in my laying position and doing a bit better and she reassured me that everything was going well. She suggested doing some spinning babies moves if I didn't feel I HAD to be at the hospital. I decided to go with it, not the least because it hurt so much to move that I didn't want to move to the hospital!
A couple hours later I began to feel an intense rectal pressure with the waves and I decided I'd better get to the hospital. Now I called the midwife and informed her I needed to come in. Let's just say she was surprised to hear I hadn't been sleeping all night! Oops. Probably should have called her earlier.
We got to the hospital (Abbott NW Mother Baby Center) at around 7:30am. I walked myself straight into the Maternal Assessment Center, albeit very hunched over since it was still so uncomfortable to stand upright. They went to do my assessment and then cut it short and moved me straight to an L&D room. I thought that was odd, but nothing more. Per my instructions, they did not tell me my dilation.
Only a short bit later the midwife informed me if I wanted to push, I could. UM, WHAT? I was concerned I wasn't far enough along and somehow she was telling me too early. I can't recall if it was then or later that she told me I came in at a 9. A 9!! Turns out those "non progressing waves" all night were much more and I didn't even realize it!
She was placed on my chest and my husband cut her cord after it stopped pulsing. We spent the next 2 hours cuddling and nursing without interruption. The staff was awesome! When WE were ready she was weighed and measured and I walked (yep- walked) up to the postpartum room. We went home the next morning.
I am so pleased and proud of our birth experience. What Hypnobabies gave me was the tools and education to know what I wanted and achieve it. It helped me stay as relaxed as possible and focused, even when the pressure was intense. I'm certain if I'd been fighting it, tensing up, or perpetually fearful I would have been at the hospital much earlier with some sort of pain augmentation. I am so so glad I did the Hypnobabies course. I also think it brought my husband and I closer during the pregnancy and gave him the tools to help me during labor (and not feel "useless").
Equally important in helping me achieve an amazing natural birth was my excellent support and medical team. The midwives (Annie and Kathrine) at North Metro Midwives, the nurses at Abbott, and my doula, Holly Fix, were the other three pillars to my success.