I couldn’t wait to have another Hypnobaby! I remember saying that within the same day that my second baby (but first Hypnobabies baby) was born. I loved educating moms about Hypnobabies and had several friends go on to have Hypnobabies births after I had my second. We were surprised and excited to find out that our third baby was due sometime in February of 2016.
I knew that I would use Hypnobabies again. Without a doubt, the birth of my son was such a beautiful experience and I wanted to create that again. I practiced hypnosis and listened to my tracks starting at around 30 weeks gestation. I seemed to fall asleep every time I listened. I enjoyed that peaceful time of each day.
I knew that I would use Hypnobabies again. Without a doubt, the birth of my son was such a beautiful experience and I wanted to create that again. I practiced hypnosis and listened to my tracks starting at around 30 weeks gestation. I seemed to fall asleep every time I listened. I enjoyed that peaceful time of each day.
My pregnancy was fairly uncomplicated. I had no morning sickness or food cravings/aversions and felt fairly well so I was surprised when my blood pressure started to rise towards the end of my pregnancy. My midwife started saying that I would need an induction at 39 weeks if I continued to have high blood pressure. I was going in twice weekly to clinic to have labs drawn and blood pressure checks. When my midwife saw that my BP’s were consistently 140/90’s she scheduled me for the induction.
I had to be induced with my second pregnancy too, but for different reasons, so I had a good idea on what to expect. (Click HERE to read the story of Amie's second birth.) We were admitted to the hospital on Friday, February 19, 2016. My husband, Jimmy, and I spent the morning sending our daughter off to Kindergarten and our son off to daycare. They were very excited that they were going to have a baby brother or sister sometime soon. We checked into our L&D room around 1 pm. My midwife checked me and found that I wasn’t dilated or effaced and that my cervix was high. That wasn’t a discouragement to me, I knew that my body knew what to do and once I was in my active birthing time that things would go well.
Cytotec was placed at 2:45 pm. This was supposed to soften my cervix and help my birthing time to begin. My midwife told me to expect some cramping while the medication dissolved and started working. Sure enough, a couple hours after it was placed I was having some amazing gentle pressure waves. They were coming every 2-3 minutes and so my midwife suggested holding off on any further interventions to see what my body would do. I was encouraged to walk around on the unit and so that is exactly what my husband and I did. We ended up going up and down 7 floors of stairs during our walk. I thought that would be a good idea to help baby drop. Looking back on that now, I think its funny! I wasn’t in good enough shape to do that without feeling sore afterwards.
I was encouraged to rest overnight in hopes that I would continue to progress in my birthing time or that I would dilate enough to start Pitocin. I lay in a bunch of different positions, used a peanut ball and a birthing ball. While I was resting, I listened to my Birthing Day Affirmations track over and over, as well as my Easy First Stage track. I felt calm and in control of everything that was happening. I continued to have beautiful pressure waves all night long and when my midwife checked me around 5:30 am, he said it was time to start Pitocin.
Pitocin was started around 7 am. It was shift change time and so a new midwife was on for the day and I got a new nurse. My nurse, Luzmery, told me that we would be meeting my baby before she went home at 7 pm – I loved her for that! My doula, Anne, and I had been texting and she decided to join us at the hospital. I ate a nice big breakfast so that I would have energy for the day. We ended up walking in the halls for about 30 minutes and did abdominal lift and tucks with each pressure wave to help baby get into the right position. After that walk, I ended up lying in bed and went into hypnosis. I was able to connect with my baby then and dreamed about snuggling this sweet little one in my arms. It was a great way to refocus my energy. Later on Jimmy, Anne, and I had a great time chatting about life and discussing baby names. We had decided on a girl name, but a boy name was undecided.
I had to be induced with my second pregnancy too, but for different reasons, so I had a good idea on what to expect. (Click HERE to read the story of Amie's second birth.) We were admitted to the hospital on Friday, February 19, 2016. My husband, Jimmy, and I spent the morning sending our daughter off to Kindergarten and our son off to daycare. They were very excited that they were going to have a baby brother or sister sometime soon. We checked into our L&D room around 1 pm. My midwife checked me and found that I wasn’t dilated or effaced and that my cervix was high. That wasn’t a discouragement to me, I knew that my body knew what to do and once I was in my active birthing time that things would go well.
Cytotec was placed at 2:45 pm. This was supposed to soften my cervix and help my birthing time to begin. My midwife told me to expect some cramping while the medication dissolved and started working. Sure enough, a couple hours after it was placed I was having some amazing gentle pressure waves. They were coming every 2-3 minutes and so my midwife suggested holding off on any further interventions to see what my body would do. I was encouraged to walk around on the unit and so that is exactly what my husband and I did. We ended up going up and down 7 floors of stairs during our walk. I thought that would be a good idea to help baby drop. Looking back on that now, I think its funny! I wasn’t in good enough shape to do that without feeling sore afterwards.
I was encouraged to rest overnight in hopes that I would continue to progress in my birthing time or that I would dilate enough to start Pitocin. I lay in a bunch of different positions, used a peanut ball and a birthing ball. While I was resting, I listened to my Birthing Day Affirmations track over and over, as well as my Easy First Stage track. I felt calm and in control of everything that was happening. I continued to have beautiful pressure waves all night long and when my midwife checked me around 5:30 am, he said it was time to start Pitocin.
Pitocin was started around 7 am. It was shift change time and so a new midwife was on for the day and I got a new nurse. My nurse, Luzmery, told me that we would be meeting my baby before she went home at 7 pm – I loved her for that! My doula, Anne, and I had been texting and she decided to join us at the hospital. I ate a nice big breakfast so that I would have energy for the day. We ended up walking in the halls for about 30 minutes and did abdominal lift and tucks with each pressure wave to help baby get into the right position. After that walk, I ended up lying in bed and went into hypnosis. I was able to connect with my baby then and dreamed about snuggling this sweet little one in my arms. It was a great way to refocus my energy. Later on Jimmy, Anne, and I had a great time chatting about life and discussing baby names. We had decided on a girl name, but a boy name was undecided.
Abdominal Lift and Tuck from www.spinningbabies.com
At 12:10 pm, my midwife, Michelle, came in to break my water. My amniotic fluid was clear so that was exciting! (Our first born had meconium and a NICU visit because of it). We ordered lunch and while waiting for my food to be delivered I noticed that my pressure waves became longer and stronger. By the time my lunch arrived, I had lost all my appetite. I felt nauseous, which was very exciting because I knew I was progressing! Jimmy and I face-timed with our son, daughter and Jimmy’s sister. I didn’t want to say much because my pressure waves were coming pretty frequently and I felt the need to stay in hypnosis.
My nurse and doula suggested that I take a bath at that time. I had always wanted to spend some of my birthing time in the tub so I got in. Anne had lit LED candles all around the bathroom and turned the lights down low. I had Hypnobabies relaxation music playing and Jimmy was pouring warm water down my abdomen. It felt soothing and relaxing but my waves were coming longer and stronger than before. I was only in the tub for half an hour because I felt the need to stand and sway.
Jimmy and I stood close to the bed and swayed together during each pressure wave. I focused on making my muscles relax and “ahh”ing my baby down. Michelle peeked her head in to check on me and made the comment that we were doing a wonderful job and she had nothing else to tell us to do. Around 2 pm, I felt quite a bit more pressure in my pelvis/rectum so I knew the baby was slowly dropping. Michelle checked on me and I was dilated to a 9 and was 90% effaced. Baby needed to drop a little more as well. I got into bed on my hands and knees and focused on going into hypnosis during those frequent waves. I kept saying “limp, loose and lazy” in my brain, knowing that by staying relaxed my body would continue to dilate the rest of the way. My legs were so shaky (flights of stairs before having a baby is a bad idea!) and so I ended up lying on my back.
I was complete and ready to push at 2:20 pm. Pushing felt good and it was something my body had to do all on its own. Luzmery kept saying that we would find out if baby was a boy or girl soon. I was feeling very excited but was exhausted and ready to meet this baby. I ended up feeling the “ring of fire” and knew that my baby was almost out! It was an encouraging feeling because I knew I was so close to meeting my little tiebreaker baby. Baby’s head was out at 2:47pm and Michelle commented on what a big head baby had. (Jimmy felt quite sure we were having a boy once he heard that.) One minute later, at 2:48 pm, our third little one was born! As our baby was being put on my chest, Jimmy announced, “It’s a boy!” I couldn’t believe my baby was already in my arms, my heart overflowed with love! We named him Silas Graham, and at 8 pounds, 3 oz. and 20.5 inches long, he couldn’t be more perfect! Reflecting on my birthing time fills me with joy and makes me excited to possibly do this experience one more time!
I was complete and ready to push at 2:20 pm. Pushing felt good and it was something my body had to do all on its own. Luzmery kept saying that we would find out if baby was a boy or girl soon. I was feeling very excited but was exhausted and ready to meet this baby. I ended up feeling the “ring of fire” and knew that my baby was almost out! It was an encouraging feeling because I knew I was so close to meeting my little tiebreaker baby. Baby’s head was out at 2:47pm and Michelle commented on what a big head baby had. (Jimmy felt quite sure we were having a boy once he heard that.) One minute later, at 2:48 pm, our third little one was born! As our baby was being put on my chest, Jimmy announced, “It’s a boy!” I couldn’t believe my baby was already in my arms, my heart overflowed with love! We named him Silas Graham, and at 8 pounds, 3 oz. and 20.5 inches long, he couldn’t be more perfect! Reflecting on my birthing time fills me with joy and makes me excited to possibly do this experience one more time!
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