A HypnoBirth story

I got permission from one of my HypnoBirthing moms to put her birth story on my blog...so here it is:

Hi Carol:
Sorry for the delay in getting this to you. I find it hard to stop looking at Carter to get to the computer, he is just so beautiful! I am so happy to be able to tell you that our birth story is as good as they get. The experience was everything that Jeremy and I had hoped for and we have the hypnobirthing to thank for that. After only 12 hours of peaceful labor, Carter came to us at 1:47 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13th at 7 lb, 11 oz and 20.5 inches. so here it is: I started having surges around 2 p.m. and the surges were pretty intense and consistent so we started listening to the rainbow mediation and using the breathing techniques. By 5 p.m. we were confidant we were having our baby and called our midwife (from the birth center). I labored at home for the first six hours on the ball and standing up leaning over the couch. I found these to be the most comfortable positions since i had some prettty good back labor. When we got to the birth center at 8 p.m. I was 2-3 centimeters and 100% effaced. We got settled into our birthing room and started listening to the tapes again, and pretty much had them on the entire time. They were very helpful keeping me focused on releasing with each surge and not fighting what my body was trying to do. The only comfortable position for me was on my hands and knees so I was in that position the entire time. One thing that helped me was the constant mindset of, "I can do anything for a minute," and taking each surge one at a time. I got in a rhythm with my 20-20 breath count and focused more on that than the actual physical pressure. Silence was also important to me. My silence...I was able to block out all needless noise and didn't really notice others talking, I don't even remember the midwife checking me at one point! I just went into myself and I talked internally with Carter. I don't think I spoke more than 100 words the entire time, which allowed my focus to never shift. I was able to breath through all of the surges easily using the 20-20 technique and with counter pressure massage from Jeremy and my sister in law Jen. The counter pressure was imperative and my support took unbelievable care of me. They were there through each surge, massaging me, reassuring me, making sure I got enough fluids and being great intermediaries with the birthing center staff. By midnight the surges were pretty consistent and intense, and I was ready to get in the birthing tub. I had to be checked to see if I was far enough along and to get my second ampicillin shot. To my shock and delight, I was already eight centimeters along. At this point,Jeremy started giving me his own affirmations which were wonderful. It helped me relax in between and focus during the surges. And I can't say enough about the tub, it was just heavenly! It felt amazing having the water all around me and continously being poured on my back. It eased so much pressure and allowed me to fully relax. At 1a.m. I was at 10 centimeters and pretty ready to have our baby. I was told I had one flap left that needed to open and to wait it through for a couple more surges, which I was able to do. I then started feeling this crazy urge to push, so I let them know and within 30 minutes little Carter came into this world, very calm and peaceful. It was truly the most beautiful experience of my life. And it continues every day. He is such a wonderful little soul and I know this is because of the way he was brought into this world! Jeremy, Carter and I want to thank you for helping us learn techniques that allowed us to experience his birth in a way that I truly didn't think was possible before learning of HypnoBirthing. I will forever advocate HypnoBirthing to everyone who is having a baby. I wish our experience on everyone bringing a baby into this world!

Of note: Carrie & Jeremy had originally planned on having a hospital birth, but changed to a birth center after attendingHypnoBirthing classes.