Rachel’s Intimate, Peaceful Hypnobabies Home Birth
“I got in the bath and suddenly felt my waves change from squeezes in, to powerful downward squeezes! I couldn’t keep from pushing and started pushing a few times with each wave and it felt so good. My husband texted the midwife that I was pushing, and she said, “oh sounds like I should get over there??”
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On my guess date (Hypnobabies term for due date), May 5th, I started having practice waves (Hypnobabies term for contractions that were closer together than they had ever been before. I even thought about timing a few, but they died down and I got a good night’s sleep. At my appointment the next morning my midwife said everything looked great and she could tell I was having some sensations, which made both of us excited!
I went for a walk with my husband that day and light waves were still coming every once in a while. That evening, we decided to just relax and watch a movie. Halfway through, we decided to get some sleep, since my husband could tell that I wasn’t really concentrating on the movie and there were even waves that I would have to stop and breathe through.
We went to bed at 8 and that’s when things really started! This is the only part I would have done differently, because things got intense very quickly, but I was in denial that it was really happening, and I waited a while before starting my Hypnobabies tracks. Even if my birthing time (Hypnobabies term for labor) hadn’t been starting (which it obviously was) I should have started listening to my tracks earlier. I probably could have even skipped the “Your Birthing Time Begins” track (Reminder off all the tools and techniques) because of how late I started listening! I didn’t feel like I had a chance to really get into hypnosis, and I couldn’t stay still with my light-switch off (Technique for entering hypnosis) so I ended up staying in center (Hypnobabies technique for eyes open hypnosis) for my entire birthing time.
Waves started coming in strong, 2-3 minutes apart and 15-50 seconds long, with lots of pressure in my back, and we texted the midwife at around 11 pm. She said to call her when waves were consistently one minute long, which made me feel like I wasn’t really making progress- but my body was working great! Waves started getting longer and I listened to “Easy First Stage” (Hypnobabies main birthing day track) on repeat through my Zenbands (headband like headphones).
I didn’t feel like I was in hypnosis at all because of how intense and powerful the feelings were, but, looking back, I must have been… things never got too intense to handle, and my husband said that he told me “Peace” (Cue for instant physical comfort) two or three times each wave, and that I immediately relaxed each time he said it- but I don’t remember that at all! I remember him saying cues maybe twice total, but I was just deeply inside myself and concentrating on relaxing and surrendering to each wave.
There were a few times that I started tensing up, which made things uncomfortable, but the waves never got too big and it always felt better as I relaxed and just trusted my body. Mostly, I felt excited to finally meet our baby!
The next few hours passed quickly. My husband was an amazing supporter but eventually he decided to try to get some sleep… that didn’t happen- I woke him up right away by throwing up!
I threw up a few times, but my waves were still just as manageable as earlier, so I didn’t think I was in transformation (Hypnobabies term for transition)- we didn’t even text my midwife about it! My husband got a bath ready for me and I went to the bathroom, and suddenly lost some of my mucus plug. Waves were about a minute long at this point.
I got in the bath and suddenly felt my waves change from squeezes in, to powerful downward squeezes! I couldn’t keep from pushing and started pushing a few times with each wave and it felt so good.
My husband texted the midwife that I was pushing, and she said, “oh sounds like I should get over there??” She arrived about half an hour later at about 3:30 am. She checked me and I expected some discomfort but felt nothing- all she said was “Oh, there’s the baby’s head!”
I moved to the living room and leaned on my birthing ball and had them play “Pushing Baby Out” (Hypnobabies track just for pushing) in the room. The assistant (also a trained doula) arrived about half an hour after the midwife, and both ladies did an amazing job at supporting me, getting us drinks, and telling me “good push!” every wave as I leaned on my husband who cheered me on and gave me my cues.
I felt like I was so loud pushing, but they said I was very calm, graceful, and controlled the whole time. Afterward, my midwife even told me that she was amazed by how much I was like the Amish women she usually attends, which was a huge compliment because they treat childbirth like it’s the easiest and most natural thing ever!
Anyway, soon they said they could see the head, and I asked if baby had my husband’s dark hair- they said yes and that made me so happy and even more excited to see my baby! Smiling really does make everything feel better during birth. Crowning was intense but also just so exciting. After the head and shoulders, the rest of her came out in one huge powerful push.
They cleaned her off and passed her to me through my legs, and I got a peek at her gender before my husband was able to announce it, oops! We both had a feeling it was a girl anyway. The placenta came on its own about 15 minutes later, and after cutting the cord my midwives let us bond with our baby girl for a few hours as the sun came up. Eventually we moved to bed and got Avalene weighed and measured- 8lbs 10oz, 20 inches! I only had two minuscule tears that I would never have noticed if I hadn’t been told about them. After our support team left, we took a well-deserved nap as a brand-new family of three.
I’m so grateful for Hypnobabies for helping me have the intimate, peaceful, uncomplicated home birth I had hoped for. I wasn’t expecting it to feel so very empowering. And it happened in the exact spot I pictured the first time I listened to the “Visualize Your Birth” (Hypnobabies track for visualizing your perfect birth) track!
I’m already excited for the next baby and getting to experience this adventure all over again!
Here is another great home birth story!
