Let me start by saying THANK YOU, Hypnobabies really works!! The knowledge we acquired throughout the 6 week course was so complete and really gave us confidence in what we wanted or didn’t want for the birth of our baby and really prepared us for the big day.
Our expected due date was June 9. I started dilating early on at 35 weeks (May 11) – 2cm and 50% effaced and having more and more BH contractions. At that point our hospital bags were packed and we were ready to go anytime! At 36 weeks I was 3cm & 50% effaced , 37 weeks 4cm & 50% effaced, 38 weeks 4,5cm and still 50% effaced… it was just a waiting game! We were so impatient and Andrew was so anxious about not having reliable stats available to tell us exactly when this baby would come out LOL. SInce I was so advanced we did a membrane sweep during both my 38 & 39 appointments and I started listening to the baby come out playlist ,but baby wasn’t ready to come out yet. We waited until the morning of June 12 so 40+3 when finally things started happening!!
I woke up at 6AM having what I thought was a stronger BH contraction due to maybe a full bladder, and had another one at 6:30AM. By that time Andrew had left the house for his morning run. I got up just after 6:30AM, went to the bathroom and started making breakfast when I had another “BH”. This one felt stronger and I actually had to stop what I was doing, that’s when I realized it wasn’t BH but real pressure waves. I didn’t panic, kept making breakfast thinking that if today was the day I’d better get some calories in. I also texted Erin our doula to let her know. Andrew came home from his run just after 7:30am and i told him to finish packing his bag.
We both had a shower and tried to relax. I started listening to the Hypnobabies “Birthing Day Affirmations” track while sitting on my birthing ball and started timing the birthing waves. By 9am they were 5 min apart and lasting more than 1 min so we loaded the truck. I went to the bathroom before leaving and as I seated my water broke! We left for the hospital right away and arrived there just after 10am. I listened to the “Easy First Stage” track the whole time and had pressure waves every 2-3min. (I am glad we had puppy pads and 2 towels on my seat because i was sitting in a pool :s). Also the 45 min drive felt like 10 min which was great, but i really thought we were not going to make it and that I would have that baby on the side of the highway!
So we arrived at the hospital just after 10am and they took us right away to triage. At that point we didn’t know if Erin would be able to come but Andrew asked our nurse and she said yes! I never stopped listening to the Hypnobabies playlists and kept my eyes closed almost the whole time to really focus. The assessment was a bit tricky to do as I wasn’t comfortable laying down and I was already vocalizing at that point. The nurse finally was able to check me and I was 7cm but baby’s HR was decelerating with each birthing wave. They mentioned doing blood work in case i needed an emergency C section but I was progressing too fast. We headed right away to the delivery room and the nurses kept a close eye on baby’s HR. Erin arrived at the hospital at 11:15am, baby’s HR was still decelerating. At that point the doctor on shift came to check on me, baby was LOA (in the perfect position) and I was fully dilated and ready to push so we played the “Pushing Baby Out” track out loud in the room. The Doctor placed an internal monitor so i was able to move freely while pushing. I pushed for the following 2 hours on my hands and knees, tried two different positions but they were really uncomfortable and baby’s HR was decelerating again so I went back to hands and knees. Andrew and Erin were by my side the whole time, massaging my back and putting some cold cloths on my head, neck and shoulders. I was pushing really well with baby’s head being a fingertip away.
At 1:45pm Dr came back to check , baby was having tachycardia and decels were not quick to come back to baseline. At that point a NICCU team was on standby. I pushed another 20 min on my back this time with the Doctor guiding me and baby Felix was born at 2:05pm!! 8 lbs 1 oz. We were both doing well so the NICU team left the room. The placenta was birthed at 2:15pm.
Overall what an amazing experience!! The staff respected our birth plan and never asked me for any pain medication. I was so focused listening to the different Hypnobabies audio tracks, I was in my “Bubble of Peace”, not really aware of time passing by or what was happening around me. I felt no pain, the birthing waves were uncomfortable and I did feel a lot of pressure but it was manageable. The most challenging part was the last 20 min pushing his head out, let just say that i could barely talk the next day!
So again, thank you so much for teaching us about Hypnobabies and giving us the tools and knowledge to apprehend this day with confidence and excitement!
