Graham's Birth Story
This was my 3rd home birth, but my first Hypnobabies birth. With my
first birth I didn't really do any preparation. I was never able to
relax and so was a little traumatized by the pain I experienced. With my
second birth, I knew I wanted a more comfortable birth experience, so I
read through the Hypnobirthing book. It helped me relax some until I
got to transformation and then I started tensing up so it didn't help
much from that point on. Going into my third birth, I did Hypnobabies and I was confident that
I could have a comfortable, easy birthing time. I had visualized a quick
birth, lasting 2-3 hours. My other births were 5 and 6 hours long, so I
was familiar with short intense birthing times. I thought it would be
great just to shorten the time down, and it turned out almost exactly as I had hoped.
I woke up with a pretty intense pressure wave on the morning of my due date a little before 1:30 AM. At first I thought it was in my dream, but then I had another one a couple minutes after that. I went to the bathroom thinking that would make them stop, because I had had that happen before. When I got back in bed I had another pressure wave that didn't feel comfortable lying down, so I got up again and tried to go to the bathroom. The pressure waves didn't stop, so I went into the living room to try to use my Hypnobabies techniques to make myself more comfortable.
I was a little nervous because they came on so strong, right away, and I didn't feel as comfortable as I had in early labor during my previous labors. I pulled up a pressure wave timer on the computer to see how frequently they were coming, and I focused on relaxing completely during a couple more pressure waves. I then went to wake up Cisco. I told him I thought I might be in labor, but not to get too excited. I put in my headphones and started listening to the "Easy First Stage" track, while sitting on the birthing ball resting my upper body on pillows stacked up on the couch. I would have to get in a squatting position and rock back and forth to feel comfortable during pressure waves by this point. After the waves were over, I would go back to the birthing ball and relax.
Cisco was up now doing some dishes that were in the sink, and other last minute preparations. He finished quickly, and then I had him time waves so I wouldn't have to click the start and stop button on the computer to time them. They were coming less than 4 minutes apart, and lasting around a minute. I called my Doctor (a Naturopath that does home births) and told her how I was feeling. I said I thought I was probably in the early to mid stage of my birthing time. I was vocalizing through waves at this time, and she said she would come and crash on the couch as it was around 2:15-2:30 AM. Around 2:45 Cisco called his mom to come pick up the kids.
I stopped timing my last wave at 2:49 AM bc it wasn't necessary any more as I knew I was definitely in labor. The birthing waves were still totally doable, but I was having to concentrate and relax to feel comfortable through them. His mom showed up within 10 minutes to pick up the kids. I retreated back to our bedroom when she came, so I could focus completely on relaxing during waves, still listening to the hypnobabies tracks. The lady's voice on the tracks was a great distraction for me from the intensity of the waves, and kept me focused the whole time. I repeated the relax cue in my mind a lot, and told myself to open. I was kind of annoyed that the only position that felt comfortable in was a squatting position, but that is probably because I didn't realize how close I was to giving birth.
Cisco had set up the birthing tub and was setting up other things, but I needed him with me right then though so I told him to stop, and to come put counter pressure on my back. This was after 3AM, and I remember during one wave telling myself to relax and open, and I literally felt my cervix do just that. I hadn't even realized I had started to tense up, but could immediately feel the difference when I gave myself those cues. Around 3:10 I got into the birthing tub even though it wasn't full yet, and let the water from the hose run over my belly. That felt great, and kept me relaxed. by 3:15 the student that was going to be observing my birth (her first birth) showed up. I acknowledged her and then went back to focusing on my birth.
Cisco turned off the lights in our room and only left a light on from our closet, so it was dark and quiet. I would let Cisco know when a wave started and he would put pressure on my back while I vocalized through it. I kept listening to the Hypnobabies track with one ear bud in my ear. Cisco would also repeat the peace cues to me and that was helpful to hear support from him. It was about this time that I wondered how long I could keep up with the intensity of these waves, because I was not even 2 hours in. By the next wave or two though I started to feel my body pushing slightly, and my vocalizing turning a little more to pushing sounds. I was excited that I was already starting to push. I told Cisco during a wave that I was pushing, or rather "I'm puuushing". After the wave I told the student to call the doctor to let her know I was pushing and that I thought the baby would be born fairly soon. Neither the doctor nor her assistant, (also a doctor) were there yet.
After only a couple more waves where my body was pushing instinctively, I felt the baby move down so I knew he was close to being born. During the next wave I pushed with my body's urge, and his head came out. I said "the head is out!", and Cisco went to reach down to feel, but I said "no, I need your hands on my back", so he put his hands back on my back. The counter pressure felt so good, that I didn't want him to take his hands off at all. I started to feel the head pull back in a little, like the baby was trying to tuck his chin to his chest, so I knew I wanted to push to get him out. I pushed once more right away, and the rest of his body slipped out into the water. I reached down and pulled him up. He was quiet, only making one little noise, before staying calm. It was such a sweet moment to meet him and to feel relief from the pressure waves.
Cisco and I moved the umbilical cord out of the way, and saw that our baby was a boy! I had felt that he was a boy when I was pregnant, so it was good to see he was my little boy. I didn't feel any discomfort when I was pushing or when he was crowning at all. It was a completely enjoyable experience, and such an awesome feeling having him come out, and being able to lift him up into my arms.
The student who had been watching in the background the whole time, took our camera and got some pictures for us. Cisco thought to ask her what the time was and she told us 3:27 AM! Less than two hours from the time I woke up I had my precious little boy in my arms. I remember repeating "I can't believe it's over already!" "I can't believe he's here!" and "I did it!". We turned on the light to our bathroom, just so we would have enough light to make sure his color was good, and he was nice and pink. He was so still and calm as I held him in the water, it was like he didn't even realize he had been born. It was such a peaceful, joyful moment to be able to meet our little boy with the lights dim, in the warm water, with Cisco right there, and everything quiet and calm.
It was the most wonderful birth I could have had. It was an intense
experience, but it was as comfortable and peaceful as it could possibly be. I still did have
some discomfort, and the feelings were very poweful, but childbirth is
wonderfully powerful and life changing. I felt in control during the
entire process, and so empowered that I DID IT!
The doctor didn't show up until 15 minutes after the birth, but I honestly preferred it that way. I was able to listen to my body and do what I needed to do to birth my baby. I was with Cisco who loves me and supports me completely, and I was able to meet my son and have that intimate moment with just us there.
I woke up with a pretty intense pressure wave on the morning of my due date a little before 1:30 AM. At first I thought it was in my dream, but then I had another one a couple minutes after that. I went to the bathroom thinking that would make them stop, because I had had that happen before. When I got back in bed I had another pressure wave that didn't feel comfortable lying down, so I got up again and tried to go to the bathroom. The pressure waves didn't stop, so I went into the living room to try to use my Hypnobabies techniques to make myself more comfortable.
I was a little nervous because they came on so strong, right away, and I didn't feel as comfortable as I had in early labor during my previous labors. I pulled up a pressure wave timer on the computer to see how frequently they were coming, and I focused on relaxing completely during a couple more pressure waves. I then went to wake up Cisco. I told him I thought I might be in labor, but not to get too excited. I put in my headphones and started listening to the "Easy First Stage" track, while sitting on the birthing ball resting my upper body on pillows stacked up on the couch. I would have to get in a squatting position and rock back and forth to feel comfortable during pressure waves by this point. After the waves were over, I would go back to the birthing ball and relax.
Cisco was up now doing some dishes that were in the sink, and other last minute preparations. He finished quickly, and then I had him time waves so I wouldn't have to click the start and stop button on the computer to time them. They were coming less than 4 minutes apart, and lasting around a minute. I called my Doctor (a Naturopath that does home births) and told her how I was feeling. I said I thought I was probably in the early to mid stage of my birthing time. I was vocalizing through waves at this time, and she said she would come and crash on the couch as it was around 2:15-2:30 AM. Around 2:45 Cisco called his mom to come pick up the kids.
I stopped timing my last wave at 2:49 AM bc it wasn't necessary any more as I knew I was definitely in labor. The birthing waves were still totally doable, but I was having to concentrate and relax to feel comfortable through them. His mom showed up within 10 minutes to pick up the kids. I retreated back to our bedroom when she came, so I could focus completely on relaxing during waves, still listening to the hypnobabies tracks. The lady's voice on the tracks was a great distraction for me from the intensity of the waves, and kept me focused the whole time. I repeated the relax cue in my mind a lot, and told myself to open. I was kind of annoyed that the only position that felt comfortable in was a squatting position, but that is probably because I didn't realize how close I was to giving birth.
Cisco had set up the birthing tub and was setting up other things, but I needed him with me right then though so I told him to stop, and to come put counter pressure on my back. This was after 3AM, and I remember during one wave telling myself to relax and open, and I literally felt my cervix do just that. I hadn't even realized I had started to tense up, but could immediately feel the difference when I gave myself those cues. Around 3:10 I got into the birthing tub even though it wasn't full yet, and let the water from the hose run over my belly. That felt great, and kept me relaxed. by 3:15 the student that was going to be observing my birth (her first birth) showed up. I acknowledged her and then went back to focusing on my birth.
Cisco turned off the lights in our room and only left a light on from our closet, so it was dark and quiet. I would let Cisco know when a wave started and he would put pressure on my back while I vocalized through it. I kept listening to the Hypnobabies track with one ear bud in my ear. Cisco would also repeat the peace cues to me and that was helpful to hear support from him. It was about this time that I wondered how long I could keep up with the intensity of these waves, because I was not even 2 hours in. By the next wave or two though I started to feel my body pushing slightly, and my vocalizing turning a little more to pushing sounds. I was excited that I was already starting to push. I told Cisco during a wave that I was pushing, or rather "I'm puuushing". After the wave I told the student to call the doctor to let her know I was pushing and that I thought the baby would be born fairly soon. Neither the doctor nor her assistant, (also a doctor) were there yet.
After only a couple more waves where my body was pushing instinctively, I felt the baby move down so I knew he was close to being born. During the next wave I pushed with my body's urge, and his head came out. I said "the head is out!", and Cisco went to reach down to feel, but I said "no, I need your hands on my back", so he put his hands back on my back. The counter pressure felt so good, that I didn't want him to take his hands off at all. I started to feel the head pull back in a little, like the baby was trying to tuck his chin to his chest, so I knew I wanted to push to get him out. I pushed once more right away, and the rest of his body slipped out into the water. I reached down and pulled him up. He was quiet, only making one little noise, before staying calm. It was such a sweet moment to meet him and to feel relief from the pressure waves.
Cisco and I moved the umbilical cord out of the way, and saw that our baby was a boy! I had felt that he was a boy when I was pregnant, so it was good to see he was my little boy. I didn't feel any discomfort when I was pushing or when he was crowning at all. It was a completely enjoyable experience, and such an awesome feeling having him come out, and being able to lift him up into my arms.
The student who had been watching in the background the whole time, took our camera and got some pictures for us. Cisco thought to ask her what the time was and she told us 3:27 AM! Less than two hours from the time I woke up I had my precious little boy in my arms. I remember repeating "I can't believe it's over already!" "I can't believe he's here!" and "I did it!". We turned on the light to our bathroom, just so we would have enough light to make sure his color was good, and he was nice and pink. He was so still and calm as I held him in the water, it was like he didn't even realize he had been born. It was such a peaceful, joyful moment to be able to meet our little boy with the lights dim, in the warm water, with Cisco right there, and everything quiet and calm.
The doctor didn't show up until 15 minutes after the birth, but I honestly preferred it that way. I was able to listen to my body and do what I needed to do to birth my baby. I was with Cisco who loves me and supports me completely, and I was able to meet my son and have that intimate moment with just us there.
First picture with Graham-- I love this one
First time looking at me
Weighing Graham-- 8 lbs 1 oz
Comments
Kristin, I think you will really like it. I was surprised what a difference it made for me. It is so nice to have as few people there as possible. I'm glad your midwife realized that. :)