The Story of Our Hypnobabies – Sierra Claire's Birth

After having our first 3 little girls at 37 weeks, I was sure this
one would follow her sisters and come early too…So when 37 weeks came
and went I spent everyday looking for a sign that she was ready to be
born.  But even though I was having frequent but irregular pressure
waves, I was stuck at 2cms (since 36 weeks).  The next 3 weeks seemed
to drag on and I started to worry about why I hadn't gone into
labor.  I was afraid she was getting too "big" or that it was due to
her being posterior.  I started seeing a chiropractor at 39 weeks and
actually saw her 5 times over the next 2 weeks for adjustments.
After that the baby was in a much better position.  I was also doing
my fear releases almost daily!  I needed to convince myself
everything was okay and this baby just needed more time.  Once my due
date came and went, I tried to be patient, but I was just going crazy
trying to figure out when she would come.  My mom had come in town,
and was planning on leaving in a week, and I didn't want her to have
to go home and come back later!  I was walking, cleaning, doing
stairs, trying everything, but all I would get were pressure waves
that were consistent, but very mild, every 5 minutes sometimes, and
then once I changed activities they stopped.

I went to bed on Thursday the 14th of March and had been having
pressure waves all evening.  I noticed that I woke up about every
half hour when my Hypnobabies scripts would end, and I was having a
pressure wave.  The next morning they seemed to be every five
minutes, still mild (if I wasn't paying attention I wouldn't realize
that I was having them), and so I called my husband who had just
gotten to work and told him it "might" be it!  I was timing the
contractions and bouncing on my birthing ball, and told him I would
call again in 30 minutes to give him and update.  Well after that the
contractions went to 12 minutes, then 15 minutes apart and then
stopped!  I was so frustrated.  I decided to just take the day to
relax and went to my sisters house with my mom to visit and let all
the kids play together.  I had pressure waves all day, but tried to
ignore them.  

Around 2pm my husband and I went home to get some
things done around the house, and our girls and my mom stayed at my
sisters.  At about 4:40 I had a stronger pressure wave.  We had just
ordered pizza and were going to take it to my sisters so we decided
to head out.  We were having a snow storm, and the 10 minute drive to
get pizza and go to my sisters was so scary!  We were sliding all
over the road and I had several pressure waves in the car.  When we
got to my sisters they were every 2-3 minutes and more intense than
they had been.  I still felt relaxed using my hypnosis and center
switch, but I noticed they were stronger than before.  I ate pizza
and then my sisters and I timed my waves.  After an hour with them
coming 2-3 minutes apart, my husband and I decided to head to the
hospital.  My mom and girls decided to spend the night at my sisters
because of the snow.  By then the roads were just awful and covered
in snow, but we managed to make the trip to the hospital in about 30
minutes.  I listened to my Birthing day affirmations and felt very
relaxed when we got there.  We weren't able to get in touch with the
midwife though, so I was happy to hear she was already there
finishing a birth when I checked in!

They put us in our room, and then the midwife came in and said I was
5cm with a bulging bag of water.  They were all predicting how
quickly I would go having my 4th baby, and pressure waves every 2-3
minutes.  Our nurse was wonderful and had used hypnosis with her last
2 births, so that was a big comfort!  They monitored me for 10
minutes and then left us alone.  They did have to take a vial of
blood for something, and I wish I had denied it because the large
bruise it left on my arm is still there 2 weeks later!  Then we
walked around the halls, bounced on my ball, and I listened to
scripts in the bed while my husband watched basketball…I got in the
Jacuzzi tub for a while, but got too hot after 30 minutes or so.  The
pressure waves seemed to be intense when sitting back in the bed, but
I started to not even notice them when I was on the ball or walking.
They were weakening, not getting stronger, but every time I got on
the bed they were there 2-3 minutes apart.  

I was getting frustrated and afraid something might be wrong with her positioning or
something, so I did another fear release, rocked on my hands and
knees for a while, tried nipple stimulation, and then at midnight I
took our nurses advice and went to sleep.  I was able to sleep for
about an hour, and then I got up and ate some snacks and took a hot
shower.  The waves were still the same, so I continued to rest,
bounce on the ball and try to relax all night.

At 5am, the midwife and nurse came back in and checked me.  I was
still 5cms!  That was so disappointing.  She said they knew I didn't
want any interventions, but my options were either to go home
(although some of the roads were closed because of the snow) or to
have them break my water.  She thought if she did that I would go
pretty quickly.  

Since I was 41 weeks and the roads were so bad, we decided to break my water.  She did that at 5:15 and water went everywhere…projectile!  They got my bed cleaned up and left telling me to call when I felt pushy.  I listened to my headphones laying in
the bed and then had to use the bathroom at 5:45.  The nurse came in
to help since water was gushing everywhere when I got up.  My husband
even put his snow boots on to keep dry!  I had an intense contraction
in there but still thought I wasn't feeling pushy.  When I came out I
bounced on my ball leaning over onto the bed, but couldn't get
comfortable.  I wasn't in p**n, just lots of pressure, and felt like
I needed a different position.  Then I tried dancing with my husband,
but I didn't like that either.  At 6:10 I called the nurse back in
and said I felt like I had to go to the bathroom, but maybe I was
pushy.  The midwife and nurse came in and they just watched me.  They
never checked my cervix, just waited.  I tried the ball, hanging on
dh and finally tried getting onto the bed on my knees, facing the
headboard, and leaning on the headboard.  That position felt right
and I had a few pressure waves there.  I was shaking and remember
smiling to my husband saying "I'm in transition".  My hospital gown
was hanging off me and I took it off and threw it, then I felt better
just wearing my sports bra. I still felt pretty good,  listening to
my headphones still and leaning on the bed.  

The Easy 1st stage script seemed perfect and I remember saying open, open, open, and
peace through my waves.  I thought I was loud, but my husband says I
was pretty quiet…Then I had a wave and realized I was pushing through
it.  I couldn't believe how my body was pushing itself and I had no
control over it.  I just tried to stay relaxed and the nurse helped
by rubbing my back.  It felt just right being on my hand and knees,
so I said no when they asked me to try laying on my side.  Then I
asked my husband to put the Pushing script on the cd player for
everyone to hear and the next wave my body was pushing more.  I
started saying ice, ice, ice envisioning ice coming down the birth
canal and couldn't believe how good it felt to have her coming out.
I was so aware of the sensation and it was amazing.  I felt them
stretching and supporting my perineum.  I didn't feel pain, only tons
of pressure, and then they told me her head was out!  I saw them
bringing scissors and thought they were going to cut me so I got
worried.  They told me they had to cut the cord because it was around
her neck and not letting her come down farther.  After they cut the
cord she slid out and I was just amazed.  She was born at 6:30 am,
only on hour and 15 minutes after they broke my water.

I asked them to fix the bed to make a spot for me to sit and then I
held my precious baby girl, Sierra Claire.  Unlike my 1st three
deliveries, I didn't have any tearing or stitches…and I really felt
great.  I couldn't believe how all the sensations "down there" were
gone almost immediately!  I was surprised when I had another pressure
wave and had to push out my placenta.  I had forgotten that part!
When I finally was ready to let her out of my arms for a second, they
measured her…8 lbs, 9oz and 21 inches long!  Much bigger than our
first 3 all near 7 lbs!

I am so thankful for Hypnobabies in helping me have an amazing pain-
free birth.  I felt so aware and in control of everything that was
happening and my nurse and midwife were definitely impressed!  I also
loved listening to my scripts everyday during the pregnancy and feel
it really helped me to relax and enjoy it everyday!  I will
definitely tell everyone I know about it and only wish I had known
about it earlier to use with my first 3 births!!