Hello everyone. I’ve been meaning to write for a while now (she was born 01/30) but have not had the time :-). She’s breastfeeding right now (my “Breastfriend pillow” is attached to me and I’m leaning on my desk so I can have both hands to type!).
Bubble of peace needed after the pushing stage but it has a great ending and the hypnosis Worked!
My water broke at 10 pm on Friday evening. I had just gone to the bathroom and didn’t notice anything then but when I got in the kitchen ,splash, lots of liquid came pouring down my legs. I called to my husband: “honey, I think my water broke!” and went back to sit on the toilet. DH handed me the phone so I could call my Doula. She suggested I wait a little bit to make sure I was still leaking and to go to the hospital if it was the case. I didn’t have any pressure waves whatsoever. Actually, it had been 2 full days since I had felt any Braxton Hicks. I had been feeling them A LOT before that and so when they disappeared I had resigned myself to start birthing at 41 or 42 weeks! I should have known that the change was a sign even if the change was that I didn’t feel anything any more! I did drink Raspberry leaf tea that day for the first time. I had also been listening to the “Birthing Day affirmation CD” for a few days.
I knew I’d be on the 24 hour countdown if my pressure waves didn’t kick in so I didn’t want to go the hospital right away. That and the fact that I knew billing starts at midnight at my hospital. :-)It didn’t make sense to get there at 11.30 pm and be billed for a full extra night! I had something to eat. We cleaned up the house a bit, finished our last minute packing and I called my OB at midnight. He suggested I go to the hospital. We got there at 1 am. They checked to make sure it was amniotic fluid (it’s just a little cotton swab like for the GB test) but didn’t do any vaginal exam. Got in our room at 1.45 am. I figured I should try to get some rest and I would start moving around and doing things by morning if my pressure waves hadn’t started on their own. I had an orange and then went to bed. Since I wasn’t planning on moving I didn’t object to being hooked to the monitor. I also asked for the first round of antibiotics since I was GB positive. By 4 am I started feeling sensations. I put my headphones with one of the scripts and relaxed. By 6 am, pressure waves were stronger. I woke DH up and went in the tub.
My Doula arrived shortly after. I still had my headphones on and would concentrate on the voice. DH was squatting in front of the tub, putting his hand on my forehead from time to time. After a couple of hours, things intensified, I actually said: “just so you know, I’m thinking of pain medication”. It wasn’t so much that I really wanted to get any, but I wanted them to know the thought was in my mind and they should be prepared to talk me out of it. Nobody answered and I closed my eyes again. By then, I was getting uncomfortable in the tub. It wasn’t big enough and I couldn’t straighten my legs and my neck was getting sore. I stood up but stayed in the tub hanging on my husband’s neck. I had a lot of bloody show and I was being vocal. Low moans. Then I felt like throwing up and did: my entire orange came back out. I thought: this could be transition. My doula suggested I get checked and so we called my OB’s back up since he was with another woman birthing. Well… I was only 4 cm at 9.30 am but I didn’t let it disappoint me because I knew that I could be fully dilated within the hour.
I stayed outside the tub and was hanging on my husband’s neck. Each time a pressure wave came, I asked him to lift my belly so he would put both his hands on my belly and support it as I said: Deeper… Deeper… to keep my hypnosis. I could totally feel it working. I was also blowing raspberries with my lips to stay relaxed as my doula suggested. By 11.30 am, I started feeling pressure and my Doula thought I should be checked again. I hesitated but then agreed and asked not to be told the number. After they checked me, I got the OK to start pushing! Yeaaaah! We put the “Pushing stage CD on” in the computer this time so everyone could hear it. Pushing felt good right away. I first started upright on my knees leaning on the top of the bed.
Then I switched to use the squatting bar, then I went on my side.
This ended up working best for me. After about 2 hours, my Doula suggested I keep pushing longer with each pressure wave and put a little bit more “umph” in each push. After about 3 hours of pushing, they could see a little bit of hair. However, an hour later, after 4 hours of pushing, she still hadn’t budged any farther down. Her heartrate was fine but she was just not descending. I had asked for an IV at about the 3 hour mark because I needed the energy and I couldn’t ingest anything except water and ice chips. The apple juice and birthing-ade I had made felt way too sweet and yucky.
I knew that I was pushing well so I knew that something had to be done because she wasn’t coming out so I asked the doctor what we should do next. He suggested we use the vacuum suction to get her out. He was confident that she would fit through my hips and he said it was better than going for a C-section. He said that I had done a great job getting her low enough so that we could use the vacuum. I checked with DH and my Doula and we all agreed that something had to be done so we went ahead with the vacuum. He put the suction cup on her head and I started pushing and for the first time during birthing, I felt tremendous pain. Her head was half way out and the suction cup came off (it has a built in safety valve if there is too much pressure) so she went back in. That was disappointing. Now I had already felt the pain, and I knew I had to start all over again. I had this amazing dialogue with myself: you can’t do it. yes you can. no you can’t. you are being torn in half. she has to come out. she has to come out. All the while, I’m letting out what DH described as a ROAR. All my will went into it. I could see the doctor’s hand pulling and shaking. I heard a “pop” in my rearend. When her head came out again, first her hand was by her face and had to be freed, then the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times. Once all the way out, she wasn’t breathing and she was all blue. I did get a chance to look between her leg and see that baby was a girl. They took her to the other side of the room for the oxygen and she did cry within a short time. She was brought back to me immediately and we all enjoyed seeing our little girl for the first time.
Amazingly enough, I didn’t have any perineal tear at all. I only had a minor labial abrasion that required 2 stitches. I was bleeding heavily so they gave me medicine to help with that. My placenta came out very easily but I didn’t get a chance to see it. The pop I had heard was my tailbone popping. I couldn’t sit for days and am still in pain. However, I had no pain at all in the front not even going to the bathroom! I also was not constipated at all and didn’t have any pain with my first bowel movement. I think maybe the fact that the first thing I ate after birthing was prune helped!
Talina Queen did not latch right away. It actually took 4 attempts over a 12 hour period for her to eat. However, I had a supportive nurse who told me not to worry and that her blood sugar level was fine and so she didn’t have to eat right away. I trusted the hospital staff so much I did something I thought I would never do: I let them take her to the nursery. I was so tired. I hadn’t slept in close to 36 hours. I knew she’d be safer with the nurse and I trusted that she would not be given formula.
Summary: Hypnobabies WORKED! I had a completely unmedicated birth. I believe my baby might not have made it if I had had medicine in me and thus in her. It would have been harder to revive her if she had had anesthesia in her body.
The staff at the hospital and my OB were GREAT! They started using Hypnobabies words after hearing them on the CD. Nobody ever asked if I wanted medication. My nurse was Awesome! She said, she had never seen a vacuum birth without anesthesia (I now know why!). My OB was amazingly patient. He was with me for a long time. He put his fingers inside of me to help me feel where I should push. I trusted him completely. I am glad I birthed at the hospital instead of at home.
All and all I am very pleased with my birth. I am extremely proud of myself. My husband brags about me to everyone but I tell him we gave birth to her together. I couldn’t have done it without him. His body was in it as much as mine. Thank you Hypnobabies and thank you to everyone on this forum. Your support during pregnancy was great. Aloha and enjoy your birthing. Sarah
PS: I started the hypnobabies practice at 20 weeks of pregnancy. I did not do the finger drop technique every day. I actually only did it a few times during pregnancy and I did not use my light switch during birthing. My husband did not do the partner practice. However, I did listen to the CDs (scripts and affirmation) every day and I did BELIEVE it would work for me. It sure did. Funny point: whenever my daughter gets fussy while eating, I’ll say: “peace” and I can tell she relaxes!
