Birth Stories
laurenluor
member
A Hypnobabies Homebirth
laurenluor
member
The evening of October 24, I had been getting some stronger contractions
than usual. I told DH, ?tonight could be the night!?, as I had told
him every night for the past 8 nights.
So he just kind of nodded ?uh huh?. Then right before I went to bed,
about 10pm, I had some bloody show. I felt intense nervous excitement.
Mostly excitement that the time was finally here and that I?d get to see
my baby, and a little nervous that I was actually doing this. I tried
not to get too excited so I could still get some sleep. I went to bed
listening to my ?Come Out Baby? Hypnobabies track. I woke up at 2:30AM
to even stronger contractions. I timed a couple of them, but they were
not regular and still pretty far apart. I went back to bed and listened
to another Hypnobabies track. I woke up at 5AM to even stronger
contractions and timed them for an hour. They were closer together, but
still not consistent. I still knew this was happening that day, just
wasn?t sure how quickly it would progress.
At 6AM I woke up DH
to tell him I was certain the baby would come today. We just did some
normal morning stuff. Breakfast, Facebook, then DH called my midwife to let her know what was going on. About 7:30 we talked to my
doula to let her know today would be baby?s birthday! We decided she
would come over at about 10AM. When she got here we
decided we?d run some errands together to get some walking in. I was
still having strong contractions, but they were getting farther apart! I
was pretty disappointed, but my midwife told us that labor tends to stall
during the day. We told our doula she could go home until things picked up
again. I put on a Hypnobabies track and took a nap. When I woke up about
12:30PM, the contractions were definitely more regular and my midwife said
she would come over and we called our doula and told her to come back.
It was about 1:00PM when our doula and two midwives arrived. The midwives started setting up with their supplies and getting the tub ready while my doula and DH helped me through each contraction with pressure on my back. I kept listening to Hypnobabies tracks to keep my mind focused and in control of my body. I remember my favorite part was lying on the couch with DH rubbing my back and applying pressure during each contraction while my doula was rubbing my feet with essential oils. I felt so pampered!
5:00PM my midwife told me I was close enough that I could get in the tub if I wanted. The warm water was instant relief to my laboring body. I thought to myself ?if this is labor, I?m in heaven?! Sure I had some pain, but it was so manageable, it surprised me! Then I started transition about 5:30PM. From then on I knew this was what people were referring to pain-wise. DH and doula were extremely helpful applying pressure to my lower back, holding my hands, and saying words of encouragement. They were also using some of the Hypnobabies cues to help me stay relaxed and focused.
I believe it was 7:00PM that I started pushing. Really mild pushes at first, but it picked up intensity quickly. Through the pushing I got delirious from the exhaustion, just completely relaxing my whole body between each contraction. About 2 hours into pushing, my water broke. I feel that after the water broke some great progress was happening. I was finally talked into feeling the baby?s head. It was really squishy and DH said he had a lot of hair. The crowning of the head brought some intense stinging, but I was very determined to get the baby out so I could rest. I felt such relief as soon as the head finally came out, but my midwives informed me that the shoulders were stuck. They quickly started to help maneuver me into different positions. This is the only time I sensed any sort of urgency and it almost freaked me out, except that at my prenatal appointment that week my midwife had described what would need to happen if the shoulders were stuck, so I knew exactly what was happening and why. I had been so focused on my body and almost started getting lazy because I was so tired. This urgency reminded me that my baby was almost here and that he needed me to get him out NOW! I pushed as hard as I could in each position they put me in, but it wasn?t until they helped lift me into a standing position with one leg on the edge of the tub where we were finally able to get his shoulders out.
I was gently laid back in the tub as my beautiful baby Drake was laid on my chest. It was 10:42PM. I was in complete shock that only seconds ago I did not have a baby and now I did. He looked absolutely perfect to me. Not a speck of blood on him, but he had more vernix than I had ever seen! The midwives suctioned his throat and rubbed him while DH and I soaked in the awesomeness of having our baby here. We finally got a good cry out of him and I was helped out of the tub to start breastfeeding.
Drake had a perfect latch and was so happy to get some food after that long labor! I felt extremely lightheaded and I was very excited to have the cord cut and pass Drake to DH so I could lie down. Everyone gathered in my bedroom where I was able to rest on the bed while my midwife stitched me up and my doula made me the best sandwich I?ve ever had in my life!
Before they left, the midwives measured and weighed Drake. He was 21? inches long and I was a little shocked to find out he weighed 9lbs 12 oz!
I am so glad we have the freedom to choose between so many options for birth. I am grateful to everyone in my wonderful birth team. I can?t imagine doing it without even one of them because they each brought something I needed to the table. I am glad that I looked into every option so that I could make informed decisions for myself and Drake. I am grateful for my husband and his amazing support during the whole process. He started out very skeptical, but quickly became understanding of me and my choices. I am so happy I found Hypnobabies, which made the whole birth easier and put my mind at ease and also helped DH understand the choices I wanted to make. I am very appreciative for my wonderful doula who said all the right things during labor and who would text me every day after the birth to make sure we were ok and that everything was going well.
It was so gratifying that I was able to have the birth I have imagined for so long and for the amazing empowering feeling of ?I did this! I brought my baby into the world. All my hard work of researching and practicing Hypnobabies has paid off?. Above all else I am so grateful for my healthy baby boy and his safe arrival into the world. The days have been mostly a blur since his arrival, but I?m finally getting the hang of all the changes he brings to our lives.
It was about 1:00PM when our doula and two midwives arrived. The midwives started setting up with their supplies and getting the tub ready while my doula and DH helped me through each contraction with pressure on my back. I kept listening to Hypnobabies tracks to keep my mind focused and in control of my body. I remember my favorite part was lying on the couch with DH rubbing my back and applying pressure during each contraction while my doula was rubbing my feet with essential oils. I felt so pampered!
5:00PM my midwife told me I was close enough that I could get in the tub if I wanted. The warm water was instant relief to my laboring body. I thought to myself ?if this is labor, I?m in heaven?! Sure I had some pain, but it was so manageable, it surprised me! Then I started transition about 5:30PM. From then on I knew this was what people were referring to pain-wise. DH and doula were extremely helpful applying pressure to my lower back, holding my hands, and saying words of encouragement. They were also using some of the Hypnobabies cues to help me stay relaxed and focused.
I believe it was 7:00PM that I started pushing. Really mild pushes at first, but it picked up intensity quickly. Through the pushing I got delirious from the exhaustion, just completely relaxing my whole body between each contraction. About 2 hours into pushing, my water broke. I feel that after the water broke some great progress was happening. I was finally talked into feeling the baby?s head. It was really squishy and DH said he had a lot of hair. The crowning of the head brought some intense stinging, but I was very determined to get the baby out so I could rest. I felt such relief as soon as the head finally came out, but my midwives informed me that the shoulders were stuck. They quickly started to help maneuver me into different positions. This is the only time I sensed any sort of urgency and it almost freaked me out, except that at my prenatal appointment that week my midwife had described what would need to happen if the shoulders were stuck, so I knew exactly what was happening and why. I had been so focused on my body and almost started getting lazy because I was so tired. This urgency reminded me that my baby was almost here and that he needed me to get him out NOW! I pushed as hard as I could in each position they put me in, but it wasn?t until they helped lift me into a standing position with one leg on the edge of the tub where we were finally able to get his shoulders out.
I was gently laid back in the tub as my beautiful baby Drake was laid on my chest. It was 10:42PM. I was in complete shock that only seconds ago I did not have a baby and now I did. He looked absolutely perfect to me. Not a speck of blood on him, but he had more vernix than I had ever seen! The midwives suctioned his throat and rubbed him while DH and I soaked in the awesomeness of having our baby here. We finally got a good cry out of him and I was helped out of the tub to start breastfeeding.
Drake had a perfect latch and was so happy to get some food after that long labor! I felt extremely lightheaded and I was very excited to have the cord cut and pass Drake to DH so I could lie down. Everyone gathered in my bedroom where I was able to rest on the bed while my midwife stitched me up and my doula made me the best sandwich I?ve ever had in my life!
Before they left, the midwives measured and weighed Drake. He was 21? inches long and I was a little shocked to find out he weighed 9lbs 12 oz!
I am so glad we have the freedom to choose between so many options for birth. I am grateful to everyone in my wonderful birth team. I can?t imagine doing it without even one of them because they each brought something I needed to the table. I am glad that I looked into every option so that I could make informed decisions for myself and Drake. I am grateful for my husband and his amazing support during the whole process. He started out very skeptical, but quickly became understanding of me and my choices. I am so happy I found Hypnobabies, which made the whole birth easier and put my mind at ease and also helped DH understand the choices I wanted to make. I am very appreciative for my wonderful doula who said all the right things during labor and who would text me every day after the birth to make sure we were ok and that everything was going well.
It was so gratifying that I was able to have the birth I have imagined for so long and for the amazing empowering feeling of ?I did this! I brought my baby into the world. All my hard work of researching and practicing Hypnobabies has paid off?. Above all else I am so grateful for my healthy baby boy and his safe arrival into the world. The days have been mostly a blur since his arrival, but I?m finally getting the hang of all the changes he brings to our lives.
If you are in Utah, I would be happy to recommend my doula and midwives to you!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: A Hypnobabies Homebirth