Summary of my fast easy birth:
I have to start out by saying I feel elated! Giving birth was one of the most amazing experiences of my life :o) I can honestly write a birth story without mentioning a lot of pain, because I didn’t feel much discomfort. My labor was fast, easy and enjoyable. I used Hypnobabies to prepare for labor. It’s medical grade hypnosis for childbirth.
Sunday night I made spicy eggplant Parmesan to try and jump-start labor. It worked and my water broke at 11:45PM that night! 15 mins later contractions were 3 mins apart. I labored at home for the next 5 hrs. Around 5am Todd and I left for the hospital. We arrived at labor and delivery and I pushed for 55 mins. At 6:55AM Grayson was born!
Early Labor at Home:
Contractions came on so fast after my water broke. I thought I’d be able to sleep for a few hours; instead Todd did the sleeping for the both of us. I labored downstairs for 2 1/2 hrs on my own.
I had a funny conversation with my sister over the phone in early labor. She asked if I’d wanted my Doula to be at home with me during these strong, early contractions and I said no. I was spending most of my time in the bathroom. I didn’t care that I spent hundreds of dollars for the Doula service; I did not want an audience in the bathroom!
As labor progressed I felt most comfortable on all fours in the family room and was handling labor really well using my hypnosis queues. The one thing that was really bothering me was my feet, they were freezing! It was cold downstairs! Contractions were coming closer together and I couldn’t stand up to get a sweater or socks. I was amazed how immobile I became in such a short time.
Todd woke up to my hollering for socks and half asleep ran downstairs to help. He got one long black sock on my foot when another contraction hit. I had a feeling things were progressing fast. I told him to start packing the van, call the Doula and get my Binsi skirt. The Binsi skirt is an article of clothing that’s hospital friendly and easy to labor in. It’s comfy and a lot prettier than the hospital gowns. I wanted to look good while in labor lol.
As he raced around the house collecting our bags, the most intense pressure wave hit and I felt this incredible urge to push. I lost my hypnosis focus and screamed. My body took over and I began involuntarily pushing with all my strength. I yelled, “We waited too long, I’m pushing, I can’t move!” I continued to push and feel panicked. Interestingly the more scared I got the more discomfort I felt. Todd rushed to my side and calmly said “relax” placing his hand on my shoulder. This put me back into a calm state of mind and I could handle the pressure waves again. Todd then instructed that I had to get up. We attempted shoes until I started to push again and Todd said, “Screw the shoes!” we forced myself onto my feet and hurried to the minivan.
Drive to the Hospital:
On our way to the hospital, I continued to handle the contractions really well with Todd’s help. He’d repeat my hypnosis queues and labor was surprisingly tolerable. Pressure waves felt like a stomach ache.
I remember a car slowing us down. It wouldn’t let us pass. I could sense Todd’s panic and I remember saying, “Todd it’s ok, this is only labor, we’ll be ok”. I was thinking my recent Google search would come in handy on how to deliver a baby in the car. Looking back I’m amazed how calm I was! I definitely feel Hypnobabies had something to do with it.
While we drove to the hospital, each pressure wave made water gush out of me, soaking my Binsi skirt! I was a mess, dripping wet, shoeless, with one black sock on and freezing by the time I got to the hospital. The skirt was quickly dumped into the corner of the hospital room. I could care less on how I looked. The hospital gown was a welcomed comfort because it was dry! My entire body continued shaking. I thought I was still cold but the shaking was from all the hormones. I was in transition.
Hospital:
Once I was situated on the bed in my dry hospital gown, the Midwife checked me and I was already 9 cm! I felt so much relief and excitement. Nurses came in and set up the baby warmer. I couldn’t believe how wonderfully fast everything was happening. They didn’t even give me an IV or heplock.
After hearing how far along I was, Todd was smiling ear to ear. I was beaming and he said, “Great job honey, we’re going to have our baby soon!”
I was relieved to see my Doula (Annette) show up in the nick of time. The Midwife gave me the ok to continue pushing. I kept raising my shoulders up to my ears with each contraction and Annette would remind me to relax them. This made the contraction even more powerful and effective. We played the Hypnobabies scripts out loud on my iPod and everyone in the room listened. Annette said, “You’re so calm and controlled”. It was great hearing how well I was doing. The Midwife said, “You look like you had an epidural”.
The Doula was incredible. She not only is a Doula but a Hypnobabies instructor. Annette was very familiar with all the hypnotic queues and easily made any pressure I felt, melt away by pushing on my hips and reminding me to use my Hypnosis techniques. She gave great tips on effective breathing and pushing; I can’t stress how awesome it was to have her there.
Sweet moments, it was so helpful hearing Todd say that we’re going to be great parents and I am going to be an incredible Mom. Todd was so helpful and read me positive affirmations between pushes. I was scared I was going to have a huge baby. Todd would repeat that this baby is the perfect size for my body and the contractions are giving him a warm hug.
I remember how funny it was that pressure waves spaced out to 7 or 8 mins apart. While waiting for a pressure wave everyone would just sit there and relax. I even told my body “Ok I’m ready for another pressure wave?!” I thought how bizarre this all is, so relaxed and quiet.
My hair done up in a mess, teeth not brushed, I had envisioned that I’d be laboring for hours at home. I thought I’d get a shower in and brush my teeth before heading to the hospital. How wrong I was! While laboring at the hospital I asked for mints. The nurse thought that was funny and assured me I didn’t have morning breath. I wasn’t convinced and ate mints between contractions.
I rested my eyes between pushes and sometimes talked. My way of dealing with the pressure wave was to just breath through it. Before the final few pushes, it was mostly peaceful and calm.
The baby started crowning and I reached down with my hand and felt the top of my baby’s head. I remember saying, “wow it feels squishy” and everyone laughed.
To help prevent tears, the midwife placed warm washcloths on me and I was surprised to feel nothing. She also did some perineal massage, using baby shampoo. Todd helped by applying the shampoo to her gloves. That entire area was numb! With another strong pressure wave I pushed baby out. I felt a warm, slippery, wet, 7lb 8oz body pulled out of me and placed on my tummy. Grayson was wiggling around and screaming! Todd cut the cord after it stopped pulsing and Grayson scooted up my stomach, past my chest and started to latch onto my chin lol! I couldn’t stop laughing, I felt amazing!
Nurses were all impressed and continued to tell me how great of a job I did. Shortly everyone left and Todd, Grayson and I were alone. For the next hour and half, I held Grayson skin-to-skin and nursed. We ordered a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast while streaming music from my iPad. It was a really sweet moment in time. We spent one night at the hospital and went home the next day.
Todd and I are ecstatic on how well everything went. Grayson is an adorable sweet baby and is bringing us so much joy! We can’t stop staring at him and loving every second of being his Momma and Daddy. :o)
Excellent birth story! And trust me, I’ve read a few ; )
This is just so beautiful! Thank you for sharing. I’m about to start trying with my husband after a very long wait and I’m so nervous about labor and delivery. I don’t think of myself as a very strong person but reading stories like yours I know it’s possible. Just hope I can find a doula as helpful as yours was in your big moment!
Comments are closed.