Leah’s Hypnobabies “Mermaid” Birth

New parent skin to skin with newborn

Leah’s Hypnobabies “Mermaid” Birth

“She was born partially in the sac, which was a very cool and special experience. My doula, the doctor, and nurses were all excited to see that. Since this is called an en caul birth or a mermaid birth, we’ve been saying she’s our little mermaid.”

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On Friday, February 11th, we welcomed our third child, Sophie James Matthews

This was my third unmedicated birth, but my first Hypnobabies birth. It was also our third time waiting to find the gender, and I was totally surprised she was a girl!

New parent skin to skin with newbornI woke up at 1:45 not feeling great and couldn’t get comfortable. I thought it could be (back pain, dog being overly clinging, etc the night before) so I tried to get back to sleep. I couldn’t and started to feel consistent birthing waves (Hypnobabies term for contractions) around 4 or 5 AM. At this point, I knew things were happening, so I started listening to the suggested tracks. Around 6, I woke my husband up to call my MIL so she could come get our other two kids in a couple of hours. I listened to my tracks, took a bath and relaxed.

I admittedly had a hard time staying in hypnosis the entire time. I would get distracted by telling the kids bye as they were leaving, etc. I’d forget whether I put my light switch (Hypnobabies tool for being in eyes-open hypnosis) in center and second guess it. I would just refocus and try to come back to it. I started the program late and did the fast track. She also came a week early, so I had 3.5 weeks to practice. I’m wondering if it would have been easier had I had the full 8-10 weeks, BUT I could tell a huge difference. My doula said she could tell a difference in me and was very impressed with my breathing and focus.

I can’t say that my birthing time (Hypnobabies term for labor) was completely discomfort free, but I do feel Hypnobabies training helped so much. I was able to manage and cope much more. Using the Peace cue (Hypnobabies cue for instant physical comfort) and breathing into where I needed comfort was so beneficial. Also, I felt like keeping in mind that every wave brought me closer, and that baby and I were working together was such a help. Finally, I felt more “with it” and aware this time around. My birth felt so much more vivid.

I arrived at the hospital at 8 CM’s. Things progressed fairly quickly. My husband, doula and I were mostly left to our own devices with periodic monitoring. I felt the urge to go to the bathroom and went…for some reason I thought, “Hmm, what if I don’t actually need to use the bathroom?” So, I checked, and I felt her head. The nurse said she would have the doctor check to see if it was time to push, and I informed her that wasn’t necessary because her head was literally right there.

The doctor came in quickly, I pushed twice, and she was out. I honestly didn’t even have time to turn on the Pushing Baby Out (Hypnobabies track just for pushing) track because it happened so fast. I could feel her head right there and got onto the bed to push.new parent holding new baby in front of large window overlooking a city

My water never broke, so when I was on my knees on the bed, the sac started to come out first. I decided to get into a side-lying position and with the first push her head came out with the sac, as I pushed the second time, the sac popped and propelled her the rest of the way out. She was born partially in the sac, which was a very cool and special experience. My doula, the doctor, and nurses were all excited to see that. Since this is called an en caul birth or a mermaid birth, we’ve been saying she’s our little mermaid.

I had no tears and a very easy recovery. Baby girl did great, and we’ve been enjoying bonding.

I wish I would have been able to start Hypnobabies sooner, but I’m so glad I did it and accelerated it. I truly think it made a big difference, and both my husband and doula made comments saying it did. This was my shortest birth at 10 hours (others were 18.5 and 21 hours). It especially helped in the car on the way to the hospital.

So thankful for this program and a beautiful birthing experience