A Well Lived Life

Erica & James' 2nd HypnoBirthing story

2012-01-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

Erica & James took my HypnoBirthing classes for their first baby and had a great experience. When she got pregnant for the 2nd time, they took the class again to refresh themselves on the material. They took my Thursday night classes in July 2011 at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA (North County San Diego). Here is their birth story:

When I found out I was pregnant with our second child I knew that I wanted to do things differently this time around. Our first baby, Blake, was born in a hospital and although it was a fairly good experience, I wanted something better. Even though we had a natural birth in a hospital setting, the environment was a stressful one. I was hooked up to uncomfortable and constricting monitors and an IV, while the nurses anxiously ran around. They coached me to push harder instead of listening to my body, and gave me an injection of Pitocin after Blake's birth without first consulting with me. After much research and finding the perfect team of midwives, we decided to have a homebirth for our second baby.

The experience with our midwives, LaShel and Jamin at San Diego Midwife, was incredible; they truly cared about our entire family. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for them! We also enrolled in Carol’s Hypnobirthing classes like we did during my first pregnancy. Carol gave me the greatest gift –confidence. Hypnobirthing gave me confidence in the birthing process, and in my ability to have a safe, natural birth.

Anya’s birth story:

At 38 weeks I woke up at 11:40 PM with some steady contractions that were about five minutes apart. I told my husband, James, that we should start getting things ready just in case this was it. We thought we might do a water birth so we got the birthing pool ready in our bedroom and placed several towels around it. Once we were done getting the room ready for the birth, I began to mentally prepare myself by listening to the hypnobirthing affirmations and Native American flute music while relaxing on a birthing ball.

The contractions continued to be consistent and were now every three minutes apart. They were mild enough that I could talk and even laugh through them. We called LaShel to let her know that I might be in labor. Since the labor seemed to be in the early stages, we determined that we would call her again when things started progressing. Shortly after ending our conversation, my contractions went from three minutes apart to four and then five minutes. I started to doubt myself—was I really in labor? Just as quickly as I asked myself that question, my body affirmed that this was indeed it through an extremely intense contraction. James called LaShel back to let her know we would need her and Jamin soon. I had another contraction and then had an overwhelming urge to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom, I reached down and, to my surprise, felt our baby’s head; she was crowning. Although LaShel only lived six minutes away, I knew we were going to have this baby on our own and was at peace with the idea, as I knew from Carol and our midwives that if things go fast they often go without complication.

I managed to walk back to the bedroom next to the birthing pool when the next contraction came. I squatted and with that contraction, my water broke and our baby’s head was out. Having read the week before on how to deliver a baby, James stayed incredibly calm and was ready to catch her. Just seven minutes after my first intense contraction, Anya was born into the arms of my husband who caught her in a beautiful purple and pink beach towel. What a proud moment this was for James! Blake must have intuitively known what was happening because he woke up and was calling for us. So after our baby girl started to cry and we knew she was okay, James ran and got Blake. The next several minutes were such a blessing… just the three of us together welcoming Anya. It was perfect! About three minutes after her birth, LaShel came running up our stairs and said, “Hi guys!” while laughing. We all laughed; I don’t think any of us could believe what just happened. Jamin arrived shortly after and performed Anya’s newborn exam. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and was 19 inches long. She was born at 1:59 AM, which makes the entire labor only a little over two hours!

Anya’s birth was more amazing than I could have ever dreamed. As with Blake’s birth, her birth was so empowering and a day I will cherish forever. I am in awe of my body and its innate wisdom. I am incredibly grateful to have found such an incredible team of supportive women. Thank you Carol, LaShel, and Jamin for giving me the confidence and the opportunity to have a beautiful homebirth!
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Congratulations Erica & James! What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing! I hope life with two kids is going well!

If you are interested in HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol Yeh-Garner's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net to see Carol and her teaching partner, Kelly's class schedule. There are also several other HypnoBirthing instructors in San Diego as well as throughout the world, so check www.hypnobirthing.com in the Find a Practitioner section to find one near you.

If you are interested in having a homebirth with San Diego Midwives--LaShel & Jamin--you can contact them via their website at www.sandiegomidwife.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Kelli's HypnoFertility journey

2012-01-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

Kelli shares her experience with HypnoFertility:

My experience with Carol was really life changing, not only for our fertility struggles and journey to have a baby, but also in how I now handle stress, challenges, and struggles in my life as a whole. I came to Carol following a year-long struggle with “unexplained infertility.” Following a miscarriage, I found myself seeking anything that would help our journey both medically and emotionally. After seeing her card in Dr. Biter’s office, I excitedly made my first appointment.

This appointment and the many that followed were the best “therapy” sessions I could have ever asked for! Through discussing our journey, ups/downs, emotions, and thoughts, Carol was able to be the caring, nonjudgmental, supportive listening ear that I desperately needed. Her expertise and the Hypnofertility practice were vital tools in redirecting my thinking from the befallen and negative to hopeful, optimistic, and driven to continue on our journey. I endearingly started to refer to Carol as my “fertility therapist” because I really felt that she truly was the one inspiring me emotionally and mentally in order to get me through this journey that can seem so impossible.

Throughout the year I spent with Carol there were other hardships. Painful treatments, another miscarriage, and many personal struggles that I thought were going to be too hard to overcome. I crumbled in her office following my second miscarriage feeling so weak and disheartened. However, I was able to pour my heart out to Carol in such a safe, nurturing environment and she was able to listen and affirm my emotions, yet give me the strength and reassurance that I would get past this and I would eventually have the baby that I so badly wanted. Every time I left a session with Carol, I felt renewed, centered, and with the skills I needed to overcome the emotional/mental challenges that the “infertility game” involves. She was able to target the fears, negativity, and insecurities that I was carrying with me and through the hypnosis work, we were able to work through these together and overcome their effect on my body and mind.

I was amazed that when we finally had to resort to IVF that I had a strength and optimism that would have seemed unfathomable to me a year before. My “head was in the game” and I knew that this was just another step in our story. I felt so strong when I told Carol in one session that, “I know I can do this. I know if this doesn’t work that I can do it again. I know I am going to keep doing this till we get our baby.” It was such a change from the crying and weak version of myself that sobbed that, “I can’t do this anymore” just a year before.

Although millions of women struggle with fertility issues, there is an overwhelming feeling of isolation, loneliness, and insecurity that we all struggle with. Carol truly made me feel that I wasn’t alone out there, that there was hope in my journey, and that I could find strength in the confidence that I would one day have my miracle baby. I couldn’t’ wait to let her know in October when we found out that our dreams came true and that our baby would finally join our lives in June! I cannot say enough about Carol and Hypnofertility… I tell anyone and everyone about my time spent with her. I trust her so deeply and I look forward to her now leading us through our wonderful birth experience through Hypnobirthing.
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Thank you so much for sharing your story, Kelli! I know it will help so many people that are struggling with infertility know they aren't alone. It has been a pleasure working with you and an honor to be a part of your journey. I look forward to meeting your little baby!

If you are dealing with infertility and would like more information about Carol's services, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. Carol is a Nationally Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. The combination allows her to not only assist you in your journey using hypnosis, but also to support you as a therapist as well. Learn more by scheduling a free 1/2 hour no-obligation consultation with Carol by contacting her via her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story--Katie & Adam

2012-01-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

Katie & Adam took my HypnoBirthing classes in August 2011 on Tuesday nights at Babies by the Sea Boutique in Cardiff by the Sea, CA (North County San Diego). Here is their birth story:

Aiden arrived on October 6th at 2:41am, 7 lb 15 ounces. The information we received from the Hypnobirthing class was so helpful and made it possible for us to be able to bring Aiden into this world naturally. I remember before attending Carol's class, watching hundreds of natural births on YouTube and bawling my eyes out and not wanting to do it. I never thought I could be so calm, collected and relaxed during labor and delivery. Adam was so amazing at reading the scripts, light touch massage and reading my body language that no one would have ever known that he snored his way through class! haha lol! I won't say it was easy, but knowing what to expect and having the tools to be able to stay relaxed during the whole experience is what made it overall a beautiful event for me, Adam and Aiden.

Here is our birth story:

Aiden has finally arrived!!!!! So our "guess date" was Oct. 5th, and this little guy had it planned to be on time. The night before the 5th we decided to get eggplant parmigiana from Buca de Beppo, we ordered enough to feed a small army. I had heard about a diner in Georgia that was known to have Mom to Be's go into labor after eating their famous eggplant parm, and my friend Kristina reminded me to try it because it worked for one of her friends. So I stuffed my face full of yumminess and called it a night, since I had an early morning the next day.

I woke up on my "guess date" which is also my Dad's birthday and felt a little pressure, but I knew I couldn't think about it. I went into the office, and had a few meetings that lasted till about noon. I went to the restroom and felt a little leakage and I am thinking to myself "NO WAY this is my water breaking at work on my Guess date". I waited a few minutes and then knew this was the real deal, instead of freaking out like my male co-worker did when I told him what was going on, I calmly told my boss"my water broke, and I will have my baby within 24 hours...YAY" and drove home. When I got home, I called my hypnobirthing instructor, Carol, to fill her in on our status, she was able to give me the reassurance I needed to stay at home until I felt comfortable and wish us well in our birthing experience. I think I even mentioned while on the phone with Carol that it was just good to hear her voice because it was just what I needed at the time of uncertainty. We stayed and labored at home in bed with Louie (our 3 lb Chihuahua) by my side till about 7pm, I wanted to stay at home later, but it was rainy out and with traffic we decided it would be best to go get settled at the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital my Mom brought cookies and coffee for the staff and we got checked in, my doctor was at the hospital that night so we were so happy and relieved that she would be delivering our little man. When we got settled in I had Adam read the balloon trip script to relieve any anxious feelings I was having and it definitely helped me to be calm. I decided to use the Hep lock instead of IV and was happy to be able to frequent the toilet and be able to walk around the halls in my little labor gown I bought online and my furry Uggs without something attached to me. Things started progressing around 12:20am and I had my IPOD in my ear with my rainbow relaxation on repeat the whole time and Adam reading my scripts to keep me calm. I got checked and I was 5 cm dilated. I had both Adam and my Mom there doing whatever they could to keep me comfortable they were truly "MY DREAM TEAM". Things started moving quickly and I had the urge to push around 1:40 am, so the doctor checked me and I was 9 cm dilated. At this point not pushing was the hardest thing to do, but my "Dream Team" encouraged me to blow whenever I wanted to push. I went to the toilet so many times I thought he would have been delivered on the toilet. Finally I reached 10 cm and was able to push, this was such a relief and it actually felt good. After about 40 minutes of pushing, I was able to reach out for my baby!!!! After Papi Bear cut the chord and we just stared at him and both felt a love like no other. It was the most surreal experience and I was so happy that it had gone exactly as planned, it was truly beautiful... It felt so good to bring Aiden into this world naturally and to accomplish my goal. I could not have been so relaxed and pain free without my amazing husband and Mom, they were by my side the whole time helping me with whatever I needed.

What happened next was not part of the plan, but thanks to my hypnobirthing classes I took I remained calm throughout the next sequence of events. One minute I was enjoying my new baby and family, and then the next minute the doctor had a very concerned look on her face and was covered in blood. The first time I had really felt the pain was when she had to put her whole hand inside my uterus to try to stop the bleeding. My doctor then informed me that I was hemorrhaging so bad that I may have to have an emergency hysterectomy...here I am thinking "this was the most amazing experience and then this is happening right now? This must be a nightmare, and I am not going to be able to have any more kids? My mind was racing and all I could do was go back to my place of focus, think positive and be thankful that I have my son, husband and family all there supporting me. I had to be rushed into the OR at that point no discussion, no talking about options. I was frightened and just wanted to be with my baby.

We are now home settling in and enjoying time with our little man, our lives are forever changed and we feel so blessed.

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Congratulations Katie & Adam! You did a great job! Even with the special circumstance that happened at the end. I hope you've fully recovered now and are enjoying being parents! Thanks so much for sharing your story!

If you are interested in learning more about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. Carol Yeh-Garner & Kelly Pappas teach classes in North County San Diego. If their classes do not work with your schedule, please visit the www.hypnobirthing.com website and go to the Find a Practitioner section to find a practitioner near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story--Sara & Dan

2011-12-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

Sara & Dan took my HypnoBirthing classes in March 2011 on Tuesday nights at Babies by the Sea Boutique in Cardiff by the Sea, North County San Diego. Here is their birth story at the UCSD Birth Center in Hillcrest:

Sara and Dan’s Birth Story

2 days before my due date I was up most of the night with an upset stomach. Thinking I had eaten something the day before that was causing it, I called my midwife at about 6 am to let her know how I was feeling. She told me to drink plenty of fluids and to call back that evening if I wasn’t feeling better. Almost as soon as I got off the phone I started to realize that the cramping was starting to have a pattern and so I started to time them realizing that this might be “it”. At that point the surges were about 8 minutes apart and very mild. I was excited but wanted to try to rest and let Dan sleep (I had gone into our other bedroom that night so I wouldn’t keep him up with my tossing and turning) to prepare for the day ahead. A couple hours later they were getting more intense and so I woke Dan up and we called the midwife again and our doula Julie. We decided to stay at home as long as possible, but by 10am the surges were 4 minutes apart and I felt like we should head in to the birth center since it seemed like things were progressing quickly.

When we arrived I was surprised to find that I was only 1 cm dilated and my surges had slowed to 6 minutes apart. Luckily our midwife had room in the birth center (they usually send you home unless you are 4 cm) so she let us get settled in. Soon after we arrived I started throwing up and shaking, which I knew were signs of transition, yet I still was only a couple of centimeters dilated. We played the rainbow relaxation CD on repeat in our room and we read several scripts and did a lot of breathing to help relax. I spent a lot of time in the shower and then several hours in the tub but things continued to move very slowly. We did several side lunges to help reposition her head because the midwife felt like she might be face up. By 10 pm I was still only about 4cm and was very tired from not sleeping much the night before and having very painful back labor. I was starting to ask about an epidural but my midwife suggested trying a mild drug first that would allow me to sleep between surges so that I could get some rest and not have to transfer to labor and delivery. We decided to go that route first and so the next 4 or 5 hours I would fall deeply asleep between surges, then wake up and breathe through them as my husband, doula, mom and sister took turns coaching me.

Early the next morning I was still at 4 cm and the sleep medication had worn off, my back labor was becoming more intense and I was very discouraged to not be progressing at all. We made the decision to head up to labor and delivery for an epidural. I insisted on walking up hoping that gravity and walking would help and I swear that walk seemed to take a week! I would stop every few minutes and hold onto Dan or Julie and breathe through my surges. The new midwife (we were now on our 3rd shift!) wanted to break my water when I got the epidural but I insisted on waiting as I didn’t want to start the 24 hour clock for a C-section. Several more hours went by then the doctor came in to see me and said that they were starting to think that a C-section might be necessary so I agreed to have them break my water as a last effort to avoid a cesarean. I then progressed to 2 min apart and 7 cm over the next several hours but she was still not dropping past -1 station. Though her heart rate was strong, it had now been 33 hours and the midwife and doctors were concerned that there was something happening that they couldn’t see that was causing her to be stuck. We agreed it was time to get her out and they wheeled me in for a cesarean. Julie read a script that helped me feel a little better; I was initially very upset that my desire for a beautiful natural birth had slipped away. But then a few minutes later my husband and I heard our daughter Autumn cry for the first time in the operating room and I knew that none of what I had gone through mattered anymore, we finally had our little girl in our arms and she was healthy and beautiful! It turned out that she was face up and her head was stuck in the right side of my pelvis, so it was the right decision to have the cesarean. The doctor did not think she would have ever been able to come out naturally.

The value of our hypnobirthing training was priceless, it not only kept me from feeling anxious during my pregnancy but it helped me to cope with a difficult labor and later to come to terms with not having the natural delivery I had wanted. It greatly helped my husband to support me and to stay calm and focused during our experience as well. Thanks again for the great class! It helped us in more ways than I ever expected :)

Thank you Carol!

Sara & Dan
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Congratulations Sara & Dan! I hope you're enjoying being parents! I'm glad that even though you didn't have a natural birth, you were able to utilize the HypnoBirthing techniques to the best of your ability. My goal of the class is to teach you information to trust your body & the birthing process as well as empower couples to know what to do so the choices you make for your birth are ones that you KNOW are necessary. It sounds like you did everything possible to get the birth you had planned for & that you were able to decide to get the epidural & later, the c-section, knowing that was what you needed to do in order to have the best outcome you possibly could. Thank you for sharing your story!

If you're interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website to learn about classes being offered in the North County area of San Diego. There are also other HypnoBirthing instructors in San Diego that teach in other areas of town, so please visit the www.hypnobirthing.com website to Find a Practitioner near you.

If you're interested in hiring Sara & Dan's doula, Julie Mitchell, please contact her at www.blissfulbellys.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story--Diwata & Bryan

2011-12-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Diwata & Bryan took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesday nights in August 2011 at Babies by the Sea Boutique. They went into labor early & only made it to class 1-3. Here is their birth story:

Hi Carol,

After class on Tuesday night, while I was laying in bed preparing to sleep, my water broke and sent me into early labor. Bryan and I immediately went to Scripps Encinitas to learn that my membrane did indeed rupture and my doctor did not recommend postponing the birth due to the vast amount of amniotic fluid that was lost (it gushed out just like the movies).

We were admitted at 12:45am but I didn't feel any surges until around 5:00am. Although we only had the benefit of 3 hypnobirthing classes, Bryan and I were committed to the process and stayed focused on bringing Dylan into the planet drug and stress free. I steadily used the breathing, visualization, and relaxation techniques to manage the surges and embrace what was to come.

By 9:00 am I was at 5 centimeters dilated and this was the point I started to wonder about pain management options. Thank god for Bryan's steadfast commitment and the incredible staff at Scripps Encinitas. With just a little "stay the course" reminder, I got my second wind and remembered to allow my body and my baby to do what we were meant to do.

With just a little more breathing, Baby Dylan was born with three simple pushes at 1:28 in the afternoon - with his hand at the side of his head no less! Our premie was born at 34 weeks and 4 days weighing in at 5 lbs, 10 oz and 19 inches long. I was heartbroken not to have the immediate skin to skin experience with Dylan as a result of his critical lung condition. He was rushed to the NICU after assessing that he was working too hard to breathe. He was later transferred to Rady Children's at Scripps La Jolla where he has been steadily progressing for the last couple of days. We expect him to have a full recovery and hope to have him home in a week or two. He is so precious.

Overall, the hypnobirthing experience was incredible and I felt so proud of our accomplishment as a team. Bryan was such a strong support coach, cheerleader, and doula. We are so much closer as a result of this life-changing experience and we could never have done it without you and your class. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

Needless to say, we won't be attending the remaining 2 classes. We would also be happy for you to share our story as encouragement for your classes. It was an amazing experience & I want to shout from the rooftops about it! Thank you so much!

With gratitude,
Diwata and Bryan
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Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your birth story and I am so glad that Baby Dylan is doing well! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

If you're interested in using HypnoBirthing for your birth, you can learn more at Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. Carol Yeh-Garner & Kelly Pappas teach HypnoBirthing classes in North County Coastal San Diego. There are many practitioners in San Diego County & you can find a listing of them on www.hypnobirthing.com in the Find a Practitioner section.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoFertility success story

2011-12-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

Here is Sarah's HypnoFertility testimonial:

After delivering our first child nine weeks prematurely, followed by a miscarriage and then difficulty in conceiving again, my doctor recommended that I see Carol Yeh-Garner. She helped me see past my anxiety about having another premature baby, my grief over the miscarriage and my doubts about being able to conceive again. My sessions with Carol gave me an optimism and sense of well-being that I just didn't have before. I believe Carol played a big role in my getting pregnant with our second child by addressing and clearing away all of my negative subconscious worries.

Thanks, Sarah, for sharing your experience!

If you are trying to conceive and having difficulty, HypnoFertility can help you release the stress, tension & anxiety that comes along with infertility so that your body and your mind are working in harmony. HypnoFertility will help you get pregnant faster and more easily.

Please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net for more information or call Carol at 858-837-1259 to schedule your FREE 1/2 hour introductory session now!

A HypnoBirthing story-Erika and Ben

2011-11-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

Erika & Ben took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesday nights at Babies by the Sea Boutique in Cardiff by the Sea, CA (North County County San Diego) in April 2011. Here is their birth story:

Ayla Maeve's Birth Story

Ayla Maeve was born at 9:17pm on Saturday, July 9 2011 at Pomerado Hospital. Her labor was officially a total of 38 hours from water breaking (or more like leaking) to delivery, but to me it felt like a total of only 2 intense hours!

The morning of Friday, July 8th I awoke to a possible slow amniotic fluid leak, so we called the OBGYN, Dr. Cobb to see if we should come in earlier to our appointment that we had scheduled for later that day. We arrived at 8:30 to Dr. Cobb’s office, he tested the fluid and believed that it could be amniotic fluid, so he asked us to go home, get our bags, and get tested at Pomerado Hospital with a more accurate test. We arrived at noon to the Hospital, where they confirmed that the discharge was in fact amniotic fluid, and I was admitted. Dr. Cobb called that afternoon and said that the plans had changed for me and I would need to labor at the Hospital instead of at home. I received a heplock in my left arm and every 4 hours received antibiotics since the water had somewhat broken. Our Doula, Val Peterson, arrived but there was not much going on and contractions were 6-7 minutes apart and not painful. We spent most of the day hanging out, watching a movie, walking around the hospital and outside, and enjoying a full dinner in the cafeteria before calling it a night.

On Saturday, July 9th Dr. Cobb arrived around 9am to the hospital to discuss my options since 24 hours had passed since my water had broken. He suggested that I be given a small dose of Pitocin to get the contractions moving, but left us the option of continuing to wait or to proceed with the Pitocin. We asked if we could have an hour to think about it and go for a walk, which included a trip to the cafeteria for a big breakfast. After we enjoyed a big meal, we headed to the parking garage where I tried to speed up the contractions by walking up and down the staircase. This seemed to work, as contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes while walking around, but when we went back to the room for monitoring, it went back to every 6-7 minutes. I was then hooked up to an IV for Pitocin, along with a continuous fetal monitor around my stomach, and a blood pressure cuff on the other arm. I was truly confined now to a limited area since the monitoring fell off easily when I tried to sit on the birthing ball we brought with us. I found it most comfortable to sit hooked up to the machines in a rocking chair with my feet on the birthing ball, while we watched another movie. Around 3pm, the contractions started to get a stronger and more regular so I put on the hypnobirthing CD with noise-cancelling headphones and put an eyemask on my face so I could tune everything out.

I fell in and out of the relaxed state and would rock myself in the chair when the contractions were a bit intense. Apparently I would drift off to sleep between some of the contractions. I did not realize that the nurse was monitoring me during this time and increasing the Pitocin while I was in the rocking chair. In the end, she upped me to an 8 on the Pitocin drip, which I thought may have been high on a scale of 10, but I found out the next day that it goes up to around 42, so it was a low dose of Pitocin. My husband, Ben, Doula Val, and the nurse were apparently discussing how great I was doing, and how calm and quiet I was at this time, however, I couldn’t hear or see them while I was focused.

When I finally felt like I needed to use the restroom, the nurse said that I would need to be checked first. She offered to check or have Dr. Cobb called. I asked for Dr. Cobb to be called and after he checked, I was informed us that I was dilated to 7cm. This was the first cervical check in about 30 hours to minimize the possibility of infection with the broken waters. The nurse who had been upping the Pitocin was shocked that I was 7cm as I apparently didn’t show any signs of intense pain. We were so excited that things had progressed so fast…about 6-7 hours from Pitocin to 7cm with discomfort but minimal pain.

The pressure was a bit intense from this point forward, so I moved to a chair where I was able to sit down. Doula Val was crucial at this point in labor and tried to alleviate the tension by putting a washcloth on my head, having me chew on a hard candy, and massaging my temples. At one point I was chewing on the washcloth to get through a contraction. I felt like the pressure was too much and asked Doula Val if I should get the epidural but she told me I was doing great, was so close, and didn’t need it. I thought that only 20 minutes of time had gone by, but in reality about 1.5 hours had passed by. I asked Dr. Cobb if I could get the epidural but he suggested that I get checked again instead. He checked my cervix, and said “are you ready to push this baby out?”

From the Hypnobirthing videos I had seen, I thought that the baby would arrive with 3quick breaths, so after 3 pushes I felt confused. Dr. Cobb and the nurse thought this was a bit amusing, after I asked for the vacuum to be used after my first attempt with pushing! I continued forward and pushed for about 40 minutes until Ayla arrived! Time again went by so quickly that I felt like I had been pushing for about 10 minutes. Doula Val took amazing photos of the arrival of Ayla and us during the hour of chest-to-chest contact afterwards! The umbilical cord was left to pulsate after the birth and then Ben was able to cut the cord. Ayla weighed 8 pounds and 6 ounces and was 22 inches.

I feel that without my supportive team, I probably would have given in and asked for the epidural at 8-9cm. I also feel that with most other doctors, considering my water had broken, I would not have been given 38 hours to allow things to progress, and would have most likely been encouraged to deliver within 24 hours, whether naturally or medically. Friends consistently ask me if I would have another baby again “naturally”. My response is always Yes! It is really about being prepared…with the hypnobirthing classes, ability to eat during labor, supportive doctor, Doula, and my husband, I had an amazing labor and delivery.

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Congratulations Erika & Ben! Thank you so much for sharing your story! It just goes to show that if you have the education necessary to trust your body & the birthing process, that you can have the kind of birth experience everyone should have--empowering & beautiful! Even with pitocin! One thing that is important to know is that you searched for the right OB/GYN & changed OBs during your pregnancy, which was stressful, but it ensured that you were confident that you had the kind of medical care provider that you trusted & you knew trusted the normalcy of birth. Thanks again for sharing your story & continue enjoying your babymoon!

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes with Carol, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net for more information. If you are unable to take her classes, there are several other HypnoBirthing practitioners in town. You can find them via the Find a Practitioner section on www.HypnoBirthing.com. If you are out of San Diego County, you can find a practitioner near you the same way.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Cobb, you can contact Seaside Women's Health at 760-642-0800.

If you are interested in learning more about Erika & Ben's doula, Val Peterson, please visit her website at www.birthdaywithval.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Kristina & Petro's HypnoBirthing story

2011-10-31T14:29:00.001-07:00

Kristina & Petro took my HypnoBirthing classes at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA on Thursday nights in April-May 2011. Here is their birth story:

I wanted to let you know that baby Isabella came early! She was born on May 21 at 2:39am, 6 pounds 8 oz and 17in long!!! The whole labor was amazing and I really wanted to thank you so much for the hypnobirth classes. My water broke at 4:20am on Friday and since I was strep b positive we went to the hospital. The whole time I was calm and relaxed and was listening to the relaxation cd in one ear like you suggested. Dr. Capetanakis met us there and I was only 2cm. So Petro and I were walking around the hospital and outside to get things going. When Dr. Capetanakis came back to check on me a couple hours later I was only 3cm. So we knew this was going to be a slow process. We still kept walking and thinking positive vibes and I kept listening to the affirmations and relaxation cd. When Dr. Capetanakis came back around 6pm I was only 4cm so at this point he wanted me to do pitocin because I was strep b positive and things were not moving as quickly as we hoped. I was fine with it because I wanted to make sure that the baby was ok and if this was the best thing for her then bring on the pitocin. I started feeling more of the contractions and really worked through them. They were intense at times but nothing that I couldn't breathe through. By time 10:30 pm came around I was exhausted. I told Petro I can't do this anymore. Physically my body was super tired and shutting down since I have been up for 17 hours at this point. Around 10:30 pm I decided to get the epidural and instantly felt better. I didn't sleep but my body relaxed and got the energy it needed. By 12:40 am I called the nurse because I started to feel the contractions so she helped me turn to the left side and she told me to press the button for more epidural to come out so I did and then I also mentioned to her that I felt like I had to pee but I had a catheter in. She checked me and said that's why, it's time to push! I was like what?!!? I went from 4 cm-10 cm in two hours! I guess my body just needed a little help. Overall, my birthing experience was amazing and I really owe it all to hypnobirth. I stayed calm throughout the whole process and even now Isabella is such a calm baby. Everyone is amazed that she sleeps, doesn't fuss or cry and I swear it's from hypnobirth!!

Thank you Carol for such an amazing experience!!!! :)

Kristina, Petro, and Isabella
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Congratulations Kristina & Petro! Thank you so much for sharing your HypnoBirthing story! I'm so glad that you were able to have such an amazing birth experience! That's the goal of my teaching...is to give women & their partners the information & confidence so that they can have the most comfortable, calm, empowering birth experience possible! Enjoy your babymoon!

All my best--Carol
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Bridgette & Kenneth's HypnoBirthing story

2011-10-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Bridgette & Kenneth took my HypnoBirthing classes on Thursday nights at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA in March 2011.

Here is their birth story:

I just wanted you to know that I had my daughter on 5.10.11 at 3:12 am. Her name is Alaya Myra and she was 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches. I went to the hospital on 5.9.11 at 2 something in the morning and I was having contractions that were every 5 minutes apart but I was only dilated 2 cm. They were going send me home because my water didn't break but right when they were getting the release papers ready, my water broke, so I had to stay in the hospital. I had to get pitocin because when I was 6 cm dilated my contractions started to space out to 5 to 6 minutes and they wouldn't stay constant. They had to use pitocin to make the contractions close again (wow were those contractions a lot of pain!) but I still had a natural vaginal delivery. I had her at Pomerado Hospital in Poway, CA. Those HypnoBirthing techniques worked until the contractions from the pitocin came. Those contractions were the most painful thing, even more painful than pushing. The pushing was pretty easy, it didn't really bother me. Dr. Cobb was the one who delivered my baby. Thank you for everything you taught me and Kenneth at your HypnoBirthing class!
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Congratulations Bridgette & Kenneth! I'm so glad that the techniques helped you have a more comfortable birth experience even with Pitocin! I hope you're having a great time being parents! Thanks so much for sharing your birth story!

All my best--Carol

If you're interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, CA, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you need to find another practitioner, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com & click on "Find a Practitioner".

If you're interested in having Dr. Damon Cobb, D.O. as your OB/GYN, please call Seaside Women's Health at 760-642-0800.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Brina & Gus' VBAC HypnoBirthing story

2011-10-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Brina & Gus took my HypnoBirthing class in August 2011 on Thursday nights at Seaside Women's Health. They were expecting baby #2 and had a c-section for baby #1. They wanted to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) & researched their options. They chose an OB that was extremely supportive of VBACs, but late in their pregnancy, they decided to have a homebirth with the midwives of San Diego Midwife because Brina really didn't want to go into a hospital at all.

Here's their birth story...it's a wonderful story of how even when birth goes completely off-track, knowing your options & being in control of your choices is so important to help you have the kind of birth experience you want.

October 2, 2011

Day 2

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That’s all I can say about the last few days, my darling Willow Bee. As I write this, you are cuddling on your daddy’s lap (and crying a little bit) and I just can’t believe I am at the end of this journey and the beginning of a new one. Writing your birth story might have be done in chapters because it went on so long and honestly, I am already starting to forget the details – as is Mother Nature’s little trick on moms.

So, here’s what I can remember, with the help of your dad, Omi, Mimi, Papa and Grandpa who helped fill in some of my memory gaps as we all reminisced about it today – so we would never forget!

Real labor officially began at 2:00am on Friday morning, September 30, 3011. As I wrote before, surges had been growing in regularity since Tuesday but it wasn’t until 2:00am on Friday that things seemed to be getting more serious. I ate for pretty much the last time – not much, just a banana and some lemon cake – and went upstairs to wake up my birth companion and tell him to get the heck out of bed! He started timing the contractions and they were around 2-4 minutes apart for an hour. We called the midwives around 4am and your grandparents.

Everyone arrived before dawn. They stayed downstairs and waited for Ryder to wake up. When Jamin, our midwife arrived, I was 6 cm dilated and officially in active labor. What a relief! This wasn’t so bad! I still had a sense of humor and now that I knew that I was really in labor and making progress, I felt great. This was manageable.

I’m not sure when that all changed but everything you have heard about natural childbirth is true. Transition, the period of time that your
cervix completely dilates to 10 cm is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. All of my hypnobirthing tools were futile. There was nowhere to go. I had to keep doing this and the only thing that was keeping me going was my midwives, LaShel had joined up at around 8am, telling me that I could do it and this was normal and we were going to have a baby soon.

I made it to 9 cm in the birthing tub and while time was standing still for me, I apparently spent an hour in there, looking for relief from the unrelentless surges. No position was comfortable. Your head was lodged deep in my pelvis and it was causing me amazing back pain during surges – one hip was on fire.

We were almost ready to push at 11:30am or so. LaShel checked my cervix again and I was 9 cm but there was a bit of lip left to go. Disappointed, I went back to work, using the contractions to breath you down and stomping my legs to jiggle your head lower to get rid of the last lip. I alternated using panting breaths to the count of 37 – surges peaked at 22 and subsided at 37 consistently – and screaming my head off to the point that the neighbors on our street will see the large “It’s a Girl!” stork placed on our lawn tomorrow and go, “OH! That’s what that was!” Luckily, our house is such that you couldn’t hear the rebel yells from downstairs, just the stomping apparently, which everyone downstairs started doing in solidarity.

After a half hour of that, LaShel checks me again and now the entire cervix has swelled and I am back to 5 cm dilation during surges. Not good news. My body is feeling the urge to push and apparently, the pressure of not being complete and involuntary pushes have swollen the cervix.

So, at 12pm, I am given a choice – try to relax for an hour and see if the swelling went down or head to the hospital, have an epidural and try to sleep to allow my swollen cervix to fully dilate.

Willow, my biggest fear and anxiety about your birth, besides it ending in a dreaded second c-section, was the car ride to the hospital and here I was, facing this probability at 9 cm dilated with an insatiable urge to push, and having to fight that with everything I had to avoid more swelling. My hip was killing me, the surges were 1 minute apart and 37 counts worth of the most unexplainable torture one could never hope to describe. Your head was stuck and swelling behind my pelvic bone. There was no single body position that provided any relief.

I knew that it was 11.2 miles to the nearest hospital and at least a 15-20 minute drive. I also knew that I would have to be registered, admitted and then wait for the anesthesiologist. It was not an emergency situation – your heart beat was strong. I decided to go to the hospital. I wanted to be put out of my misery. Every moment that passed was another minute I would have to wait.

We took Papa and Mimi’s motorhome. The trip to the hospital was an exercise in self control. Every other minute, a painful contraction would begin along with the uncontrollable urge to push. I closed my eyes and counted while steadily breathing slowly. I concentrated on relaxing my entire body. I went to another world. When the contractions would subside, I returned to my body. The motorhome was quite and no one said a word. Just reassuring smiles from Daddy and Mimi. We arrived in record time and they were waiting for us.

I was admitted in and the labor and delivery room by 12:55pm. I told the nurse I needed help. I pleaded with everyone there to please help me quickly. I put on the gown, I got an IV, I got an oxygen mask. I had blood taken. I signed forms. All between contractions. I had no idea when the anesthesiologist would arrive – he was in surgery. We needed the lab results back first. I was in for a long ride.

The first epidural came at 3:15. It was partially successful. I still felt the surges (I’ll call them surges from now on because that is how they
felt at this point) and I still felt hot pain in my hips and lower back. I hadn’t had any food at all and my sides were cramping with hunger. Food wasn’t an option and I cursed myself for not eating before we left but I just wasn’t thinking straight. There would be no food until you were delivered. Another reason to have you vaginally – I could eat straight away.

The second epidural came at around 6 and it was successful. I finally felt the warm, numbness in my hips, uterus and back. I could finally relax. My legs were totally dead to me – like they belonged to another body. I was happy. I was ready.

Lots of other stuff happened at the same time, of course. But when you are under that much pain and pressure, you don’t really notice. For instance, I had a new doctor to contend with. He was extremely anti-natural birth movement, as they all are it seems, and admitted that he was appalled at the fact that we were attempting a home VBAC. Of course, on the other hand, our new night nurse Tracy had gone and jacked up my pitocin to 8mg and was going to go up to 20mg if needed and the doctor had to chew her out and put me back to 4mg tops. So, with all the talk of how dangerous having you at home was, they were meanwhile increasing the odds of rupture with the pitocin. Pretty ironic I think.

The doctor that delivered you, and despite having an amazing ability to remember all names, was called Dr. Brum-something. He was huge – like 6’6” and when he checked for dilation, which is done so with the checker’s index and middle fingers, he said for him I was at 7cm but
for most, we’ll consider me complete. He would allow me to finally push at around 8pm. It was surreal. I finally got the change to push you out! Of course, I can’t feel anything at all at this point so I am worried that I won’t be able to move any muscles. I am reassured that I will be able to and I am ready. Omi on one side and Mimi on the other side to lift my 500lb legs and Daddy behind me to help hold my head with my chin to my chest, we worked first in cycles of 3 with the surges, pushing and holding my breath for 10 counts and then, we added a 4th as my pitocin induced surges were long and strong. At one point, when sensation began to return, I got up to 6 cycles.

All the while, the Hypnobirthing method of “birth breathing” was in the back of my mind. We aren’t supposed to push you out our bodies, we are supposed to let our bodies do the work and birth breathe you safely down the birth path. When nurse Tracy turned her back, I birth breathed you down. You were coming in at a funny angle. Tracy thought you were sunny side up – that is, instead of facing my spine, facing up to my belly button. But I knew you weren’t. I could feel your spine against the front of my tummy and your body was perfectly straight down. Your swollen little head was somehow stuck under my pelvic bone. There was a heck of a lot of pressure on my hips and back and I was able to get a little more epidural every 10 minutes by pushing a button.

After 2 hours of this, Tracy gave up on me. She told me you would need to be delivered by C-section because your head was developing pressure and it was creating a blister. It was now or never. She walked away from my bed. I turned to one side and visualized you coming down while breathing with my contractions. When Dr. Huge and Imposing returned, he barked, “You can’t sleep through labor, Girl!” Or something equally condescending. To which I replied, “trust me, I am not sleeping; I am working.” And guess what, Willow? In 15 minutes, your mommy had willed you down far enough into the world that even mean-y Doctor had decided that you were ready to come out with just a little help from a vacuum. He gave me 2 choices – I cut him off by the 3rd – c-section if I was too tired to go on (I wasn’t. I would have fought for you forever), deliver you right now with the use of a vacuum – “Stop! We’ll take it!”

So, in comes the Calvary. The nursery nurse, the supporting nurse staff, the tools, the baby bed gets prepared. I can hardly believe that anyone else thinks there is going to be a baby there in a minute or two. He tells me I have to push like I have never pushed before and I am ready. Get your face mask on, Doc, she’s getting shot out of here!

3 big pushes for your head. I feel it coming down. It feels like the biggest relief in history. POP! It’s out!!! One more little push for one shoulder, and another one for the other shoulder. One small push for the rest of you and WAH!!!!!!! You were here, laying all buttery smooth on my chest looking at me questioningly. I introduced myself to you formally and kissed you, calmed you. You knew me and I knew you in a
familiar way that I can’t describe.

Everyone is cheering and before I can stop them, the normal hospital dance begins with the cord cut, you being whisked away to be weighed and tested. Your scores are great. You weigh 8lb 8.3oz and are 21 inches long. You are bigger that your big brother was at birth – and he was born 13 days gestationally longer than you were. You were in the baby warmer with your grandparents protecting you on every side from the assault. I laid on the table watching and being stitched up from a gnarly tear.

Eventually, everything calms down and everyone leaves. I don’t know where they went but it was just you and me in the room. I nursed you. I kissed you. I sang to you. I thanked the universe for you. My own little baby daughter to love, teach, and instill within a strength to stand up for what she believes in and fight the system. No regrets, baby Willow.

The story, of course, just begins there. And there is already so much to tell. Like how you recognized your Daddy when he picked you up for the first time and gently introduced himself. And how your brother sat still on my lap for 20 minutes after a nap and told me he missed me a couple of days after we got home with you. He is going to be such a good big brother to you! He says, “Ryder likes baby Willow!” I came downstairs once without you and he asked if I had put Baby Willow back in my belly button. I explained that there was no going back, you
were here for good. He’s ok with that.

I love you my little darling,

Mama

Carol,
‎3 Cheers for Hypnobirthing and Class 4 (Birth Preferences Plan) especially. We were able to hit the hospital and know what to ask and what to refuse. I can't thank you enough!
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Congratulations to you & Gus! You did an amazing job using your HypnoBirthing techniques to the best of your ability! The knowledge you acquired from class and the support of the amazing midwives gave you the courage to stand up for what you wanted & do what you needed to do in order to have the VBAC you wanted. Even though it wasn't as comfortable & calm as you had hoped, my goal of having you informed & educated was successful. You were able to make the right choices for you & your baby in order to have a safe, successful VBAC birth. You trusted your body, the birthing process & you willed your body to do what it needed to do! I hope you continue enjoying your babymoon! I'm sure you're feeling over the moon!

For more information about San Diego Midwife, please call 760-809-9396 or visit their
website at www.sandiegomidwife.com.

For more information about Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, CA, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. For other practitioners in your area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to locate a class near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story--Kirstin & Joe

2011-08-31T10:43:00.001-07:00

Kirstin & Joe took my HypnoBirthing classes in February 2011 on Thursday nights at Dr. Biter & Dr. Cobb's OB/GYN office, Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA. Here is their birth story.

Kirstin, Joe & Declan’s Hypnobirth Story

My husband, Joe and I did the Balloon Trip Fear Release HypnoBirthing script the evening of April 27th, as we were 2 days away from my estimated date and we were anxious for our little guy to arrive. My water broke that night at 1:30am- my surges were mild and about 10 minutes apart at this time. I called Dr. Biter and our doula at 5am, and we decided that I’d just eat some breakfast and try to rest until the surges got more intense (they were 7 minutes apart). Our doula suggested that I take a walk around 9 am, since the surges had decreased as I was resting. You can’t avoid walking hills at my house, so by the end of my 30 minute jaunt, labor was in full progress.

I got back to the house and needed Joe for each surge at this point. We had really wanted to labor at home as long as we could, so we headed to the bathroom and spent the next 3 hours between the bathtub and sitting on the toilet. We kept the Rainbow Relaxation and Affirmations CD on repeat in the background, which really helped set the tone. Joe also read some prompts that Carol included on our “cheat sheet.” I often started to draw my shoulders up with each surge and tense up my back- Joe kept repeating to count to 20 with each surge, keep my body relaxed and breathe with just my abdomen. The Opening Rose visualization during surges, and Instant Relaxation exercise in between surges were especially helpful during this time. We’d decided that our doula should come to our house and help us decide when to head to the hospital. She arrived within an hour, but by that time I’d already gone through transition (vomiting and sweats), and we made the decision shortly after her arrival. My surges were very intense and 3-4 minutes apart, and I knew we needed to get to the hospital.

We had the Rainbow Relaxation on during the 25-min. ride to Pomerado, which really helped me go into a deeper state of relaxation. My surges were VERY intense, and I wasn’t sure if we would make it, but I knew I had to relax into the labor at this point. By the time Joe pulled up to the hospital entrance, I had started feeling the urge to push. They got me up to my room in L& D, examined me and found out I was fully dilated. Dr. Cobb was on his way, and I really wanted to push, but we had to try to wait for him to get there. In the meantime, the Electric Fetal Monitor showed our baby’s heart rate was low, so I needed to have an oxygen mask. The nurse, however, kept repeating how urgent it was for the doctor to arrive because of the baby’s heartrate, which of course was alarming. Joe kept reminding me of my breathing and counting, which helped me to stay calm. Dr. Cobb then arrived and we were ready to push.

Dr. Cobb had to ask me to push not only with my surges, but also in between them, because he wanted to get the baby out as fast as possible due to the heart rate. Since I’d been diligent about perineal massage, I wasn’t scared at this point. After 35 minutes of our arrival to the hospital, which includes 11 minutes of pushing, our baby boy Declan arrived. I had a small tear which required two stitches, just because the doctor was working to help get Declan’s head out. He was, however, calm and alert upon his arrival.

After 13 hours, 6 of those being intense active labor, we experienced the labor and birth that we had envisioned and hoped for. No pain medications, no interventions, and laboring at home as long as possible (although we probably should have left a little earlier and give the doctor more time to get there!). While I do have a great maternal history of fast, unmedicated births, I feel we would not have achieved this end result without the use of Hypnobirthing. We’d made the commitment to the practice and it really paid off. With Joe’s support and use of hypnobirthing tools, I was able to go with labor rather than resist it, and will forever remember this incredible experience. Thank you to Carol, her great instruction, and the confidence she instilled in us!
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Congratulations Kirstin & Joe on the birth of Declan! Thank you so much for sharing your birth story & I hope you're enjoying parenthood!

For more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, CA, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. For information about other practitioners in your area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com & go to the Find a Practitioner page.

For more information about Dr. Cobb & Dr. Biter's services, please call 760-642-0800.

For more information about Kirstin & Joe's doula, Jenna Anderson, please visit www.birthofadoula.blogspot.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story--Julie & Frank

2011-08-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Julie & Frank took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesdays in February/March of 2011 at Babies by the Sea Boutique in preparation for baby #2. They had not taken HypnoBirthing for their 1st baby & wanted to be better prepared the second time so they could have a natural birth.

Julie wrote about her birth story on her blog.
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Congratulations to Julie & Frank! Thank you so much for sharing your birth story! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

She had a doula to help them during their birth named Jenna Anderson. Her contact information can be found on my website's resources page.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story-Julie & Rick

2011-07-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Julie & Rick took my HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique located in Cardiff, CA (North County San Diego) in February 2011. They took the classes in preparation for their 2nd child's birth.

Here's Logan James' birth story! Born May 2, 2011 at 7:13 pm, UCSD Birth Center:

At about 4:30 am on May 2nd (3 days past my EDD), I woke up to a mild surge, but it was different from the many "practice surges" I had had in the past. I just knew today was the day my little Logan James was going to be born. The surges continued for the next two hours at about 8-12 minutes apart and I contacted my doula, Val Peterson, letting her know what was going on. At 7:00 am, I got out of bed and started getting my newly 5 year old daughter ready for school. I still was having surges every 10 minutes or so, but they were manageable and I could breath through them. My parents were in town for Logan's birth, so when they woke up I asked them to take Eden to school and go for breakfast and I would update them with changes.

After my parents left with Eden, I felt like the surges were getting a little shorter in length and they were stretching to almost 15 minutes apart. Around 10:00 am, my husband Rick and I went for a walk in the neighborhood to keep things moving...we held hands and just enjoyed the anticipation of Logan's birth. I had religiously listen to my HypnoBirthing tapes and I was determined to have a very different birth for my son than I had had for my daughter (tons of interventions).

It was a HOT day, so the walk ended a little earlier than I wanted it to. It was 11:00 am when we got home and the surges were still 10-15 minutes apart, so I laid down for about an hour nap. It was noon and at this point I was gearing up for the possibility of long labor (my daughters was about 30 hours total). I had a 1:00 pm appointment already scheduled with my UCSD midwife so we decided we might as well go and see what she had to say. Since I was 40 weeks 3 days pregnant, I was eager to hear her thoughts. Jasmine (midwife) checked me and told me I was 2-3 cm dilated and 75% effaced. She encouraged us to walk or rest, whatever my body needed, until my labor "kicked- in." So we went to the car and I felt like I should keep moving, but soon after we started driving I felt like the surges were becoming a little more intense and that a "change" might be happening, so I told Rick I wanted to go home. At 2:30 pm, shortly after returning home, I decided to start timing my surges and I put on my rainbow relaxation HypnoBirthing CD. After about an hour, I asked Rick to join me in the bedroom and to stay with me, because the surges were definitely getting more intense and I wanted him to read the balloon trip fear release script.

I could tell with the intensity increasing that I was having some fear of not being able to handle the sensations, and I wanted to nip that in the bud as soon as I could. After reading the script, Rick realized that the surges had been about five minutes apart for over an hour and he thought we should call the midwives and let them know. I didn't want to get to the birth center too early (fearful of being sent home) so I decided to get into the shower while Rick texted our doula and packed the car. The shower was soothing, but the surges were really feeling strong and intense. I worked through them on all fours with the hot water running down my back. When Rick had the car loaded (20 minutes or so later)I got out, got dressed, put my rainbow CD back on and got into the car.

The car ride to the birth center took about 15 minutes and I probably had 4-5 surges on the drive. It was now 5:30 pm and after breathing through a surge at the front desk, the nurse walked me directly to my room. No triage - yeah! The midwife checked me right away and said I was 5-6 cm and 80% effaced! I felt a huge sense of relief knowing that they weren't going to send me home and that the surges I was having were making progress. After Anna checked me, they began to fill the tub, but I didn't want to wait the 40 minutes it took to fill the tub, so I got into the shower with my birth ball. As intense as the surges were, the ball and the heat from the water brought me some relief.

My breathing during the surges became more like a moan, but that seemed to help me and I rocked through the peak of the surges. The surges felt like they were one on top of the other, but she had just checked me and said I was 5-6, so I knew I wasn't in transition yet. At this point, I was beginning to have moments of doubt about my ability to make it through. After 45 minutes in the shower, I asked my doula to check if the tub was ready and it was! I had great expectations that the tub would bring me relief, being submerged in warm water. I focused through one more surge and then got into the tub. When I first climbed in it felt wonderful, but as a surge hit, I realized I wasn't prepared for the buoyancy of the water, and I didn't know what to hold on to or how to position my body.

Rick got in and I immediately had another surge and I thought I might be feeling some pressure in my bottom. I'd only been in the tub for 5 minutes and I whimpered a little that I didn't think I could do it. Val asked me if I was feeling any pressure and I said "I think so" and leaped out of the tub and headed for the bed. Val went to get the midwife to check me and they announced that I was 10 cm!! I couldn't believe it! I was 5-6 cm 1 hour ago...how could I have gone from 5-6 to 10 in a little over an hour? I was in shock...I had made it... The midwives were very supportive and told me I could start "pushing" whenever I felt ready.

All of a sudden it dawned on me that I had spent too many hours preparing for labor, and practicing relaxation, but I wasn't sure how to "push," but I knew I wanted a peaceful entrance for my baby boy. A surge came with a lot of pressure and I began to breath and groan. Beth (midwife) reminded me to focus on my low tone, and I breathed, moaned, ohmed through. It only took and couple pushes and Logan's head and arm were out, but he was still in his bag of waters!! The midwives moved Logan's hand down, which allowed the waters to break and I slowly breathed Logan the rest of the way out into Rick's hands! They immediately put him on my stomach and I felt relief and intense joy! My placenta followed without difficulty and I didn't need any stitches! We did it!!

We had an amazing experience and I want to thank you for all your knowledge and support!
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Congratulations Julie & Rick on having such an amazing HypnoBirthing waterbirth! Thank you so much for sharing about your experience! Enjoy your babymoon!

If you'd like more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside the San Diego area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

If you'd like more information about Julie & Rick's doula, Val Peterson, please visit her website at www.birthdaywithval.com.

If you'd like more information about UCSD's Birth Center, please go to: http://health.ucsd.edu/women/child/facilities/center.htm

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Amanda & Wayne's 2nd HypnoBirth

2011-06-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Amanda & Wayne took my HypnoBirthing classes as a refresher class in preparation for the birth of their 2nd baby. They took my Thursday classes at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA in January of 2011. They had an amazing HypnoBirthing experience with their 1st birth and wanted to make sure they had all of the tools that helped them with their 1st birth.

Here is their story:

This is something that I dreamed of and imagined since the minute I saw the positive pregnancy test, something that I was so excited to do all over again. Not only because I enjoyed Anella's labor and delivery so much but also because after 40 weeks of pregnancy the anticipation of meeting the miracle growing inside of me and finding out if it was a boy or girl is the most life changing experience.

I was approaching my "guess date," and everyday felt fleeting moments of "today could be the day" and then the next moment thinking "I'm never going to have this baby!" Around the 10th of April, I started having daily cramping and contractions, usually in the middle of the night sometimes enough that it would wake me up. Every time I'd wake up with cramping or contractions all I could think of is "Is today the day??!?!?!?!" and the excitement and anticipation would keep me awake for a little while. I'd eventually fall back asleep, wake up in the morning and think, "well today is not the day." For some reason I just knew that for me labor would happen in the middle of the night. Night after night as I climbed in bed I'd wonder if tonight was the night.

The night of April 21, I went to bed thinking that maybe this baby was going to be "late," my due date was April 23, I laughed to myself thinking that I'd make my "40 week" OB appointment after all seeing that it was the afternoon of April 22nd. Little did I know.

After Wayne got home from work I took a bath, as I did almost every night in the last trimester. Got out, put on my pj's and headed downstairs for dinner. As I sat down for dinner I just felt "off," I can't explain it really I just felt like things were happening. I got really hot and just felt different, I mentioned it to Wayne in passing but didn't really put too much thought into it. Wayne made dinner and as we sat down to eat I just didn't feel like eating it, a little nauseated but more than anything just "off." I mentioned to Wayne that maybe we should go to bed earlier than normal. Around 9:30pm we went to bed. I actually slept the best I had in months, I wasn't up every hour on the hour to pee like I had been. Actually I only woke up once, at 1am I rolled over to get up to pee and felt a gush of water. I laid there a second wondering if I had peed myself only to have it happen again. I knew immediately what was going on it was the exact same thing that happened with Anella. I got up and went to the bathroom to pee, checking my pants to make sure that there was no odor and that it was clear. I peed and knew that labor was around the corner. I walked out of the bathroom and woke up Wayne. Now I was quite surprised when he asked "Are you sure?" I actually laughed and said "Yes, I'm sure." I immediately called my parents as they were coming over to watch Anella for us and asked Wayne to call Dr. Biter. After I got off with my parents Wayne still hadn't called, he was still in a sleepy haze. So I called Dr Biter's office.

I decided to take a shower and just enjoy the warm water. We headed downstairs to wait for my parents and I sat on my birthing ball. I was starting to get stronger contractions, nothing regular but I could tell they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. All I could think about was how Thursday April 21st, was my last day of just the three of us, my last day with just Anella and I asked Wayne to go get her so I could give her a kiss before we left. My parents showed up at 1:30am which was perfect timing, they were surprised to see Anella awake and I of course started crying. I just knew that our life would never be the same, her life would never be the same and although I was so excited to meet my miracle at the same time I was just overwhelmed by all that was going on. I told Anella that "mommy was having the baby," and asked for a kiss she gave me a kiss and then gave baby a kiss which she had done a million times during the pregnancy, then she gave Wayne a kiss and we handed her to Grandpa, he took her to bed.

We had a 25 minute drive to Pomerado hospital and knowing how fast my labor with Anella had gone we wanted to get there ASAP. We left at 1:35am. I was so glad that it wasn't rush hour seeing that rush hour could have potentially added an additional 45-60 minutes to our drive. As we got on the freeway I was very surprised to see that it was stopped, the three left hand lanes had been closed down and the freeway was narrowed down to one lane. The traffic was SLOW, I laughed and said to Wayne "who would have thought that we'd get stuck in traffic at 2am!" We decided to take the side streets to avoid getting stuck in the traffic. As we drove, I was able to get myself into a very relaxed state during each contraction and I was noticing by the time we got there I was having them about every 4 minutes.

We checked in, got in our room, I changed into my gown and waited for the nurse. She came in and immediately wanted to hook me up to the monitor, this is something that I remember with disdain from Anella's delivery. This time around, I took it with stride. I laid down and she hooked me up, I was counting down the 20 required minutes. During each contraction, I would go within and be completely relaxed (I would repeat some of the birthing affirmations from Hypnobirthing in my head over and over), after it ended I would be with Wayne and the nurse. We gave her our birth plan which she read and immediately changed some of her wording (not using any reference to pain) and she was really excited to find out that we didn't know the sex of the baby. She said that she only has one or two deliveries a year that they don't know the sex. After the 20 required minutes, the nurse mentioned that she didn't get a "reactive" strip from the baby so she wanted to keep me on the monitor. I agreed to stay on the monitor, she then wanted to do an internal exam. Since I hadn't gotten a cervical check during the last few weeks of pregnancy, I had no idea what I'd been, when she checked me I was 5cm. She then got me some ice water hoping to get the reactive strip that she was looking for, I drank it fast. Still with each contraction I would go to my relaxed state and then chat with the nurse and Wayne after. It took much longer to get the reactive strip than I planned, but I had gotten so comfortable on the bed that when she told me I could get up I realized I didn't want to. I kept telling Wayne how nice it was to have these "breaks" between contractions I never had them with Anella and I was thankful to have them this time.

I spent almost my entire labor in the bed hooked on the monitor, this is NEVER in a million years how I pictured my birth. At one point the nurse came in to check me, I'd had the monitor off and she wanted to check the baby's heart rate before, during and after a contraction. She put the monitor on the heartbeat and waited, after a few minutes she said "Can you tell me when you're having a contraction because I can't tell by looking at you!" This made my day! Wayne had kept telling me how amazing I'd been doing but to have a stranger reiterate it was invigorating. She did another cervical check and I was a 7 cm. She told me she'd go call my Dr and let him know to come in. I had drank a ton of water and gotten up a ton of times to pee and would continue to lay back in the bed and go into my relaxed state during each contraction. I remember thinking to myself, I wish we were taping this for Hypnobirthing class (we do have a short video of me at around 5am, 8cm and just watching it it still amazes me that I was in labor). Dr Cobb showed up a little after 5am, at that point he checked me and I was 8cm, my water was still intact and so Dr Cobb asked if I wanted him to break it. I had always thought if I was in this situation I'd say no but I really wanted to get to the pushing phase so I asked him to go ahead and break my water. I continued going deep within with each contraction. We would talk and with each contraction I would close my eyes and get quiet. Dr Cobb would put his hand on my leg and Wayne would do light touch massage. I got up to pee for what felt like the 100th time, as I was sitting on the toilet I heard Dr Biter walk in. I had two more contractions while sitting on the toilet then came out of the bathroom and gave Dr Biter a hug and said "let's have a baby."

I got back in the bed and went into my relaxed state with each contraction, I started to feel a lot of pressure and asked Dr Cobb to check me again. At this point I was 9cm, I was disappointed because with all the pressure I had really thought that I was fully dilated. I started to lose my focus and it was suggested I get up out of bed to help move things along. As I went to get up things intensified even more. I slow danced with Wayne and all of a sudden got so hot, I couldn't cool myself down. Dr Biter brought me ice cold wash cloths which helped but I was still so hot I had to pull off my gown. The intensity was starting to overwhelm me. Dr Biter took a sheet and wrapped it under my belly with each contraction he'd pull back on it to help lift baby. I got to a point where I could barely stand and I wasn't getting a break between contractions. I mentioned that I had even more pressure so Dr Biter suggested I let Dr Cobb check me again. Just the thought was overwhelming so I had to lay back down on the bed. I got back in bed and lost all control I'd had, with each contraction I was taken over by the sensations and pressure from the baby. When Dr Cobb checked, I was fully dilated but I had a small cervical lip on the right, so they asked me to lay on my right side. I rolled over and tried to gain control again. With each contraction I would moan, I remember hearing myself thinking "is that coming from me?" I got to a point where I had no control and my body started pushing for me. I said "I have to push". Dr Cobb & Dr Biter said to let my body do what it needs. We had a mirror set up so I could see the pushing phase (something I had regretted not having with Anella). I started the pushing phase which with Anella had given me a feeling of relief, I was so looking forward to this phase. Well, as each labor is different, I did not get the relief feeling this time around. I remember looking in the mirror with each push thinking that the baby was never going to come. I finally found the right "push" Dr Cobb & Biter told me when I hit the perfect push and I was able to continue to recreate it knowing that it would bring me my baby. I looked in the mirror and saw the baby's head and that was all the motivation I needed. I pushed with everything I had and the head was out. Dr Cobb had to remove a cord wrap from around the baby's neck and then I was able to push again. The shoulders came out and Dr Biter told me to reach down and grab my baby, I grabbed under the arms (thinking to myself WOW this baby is slippery) and brought my baby to my chest. Dr Biter asked Wayne if it was a boy or girl and I looked in the mirror and saw testicles. It didn't matter though I KNEW the entire pregnancy our baby was a BOY! I laid there in complete awe of the last 40 weeks and the miracle laying on my chest. I immediately started breastfeeding. Orion latched within the first 10 minutes after birth.

Orion was born at 7:13am, born 6 hours after my water broke at home. Almost an identical story to Anella's birth. Both born the day before their due date, both having some of my water break at home which sent me into labor, Anella's water broke at Midnight and was born at 6:01 am, Orion's water broke at 1am, born at 7:13am. The similarities are crazy.

The nurse asked me if she could administer Pitocin for the placenta. Dr Cobb, said "no she doesn't need it." The nurse said "Let me ask the patient." She asked me and I said "No, I'd rather not." The placenta came out shortly thereafter, which we asked to have kept as I planned to encapsulate it. I had a small tear so Dr Cobb sewed me up. We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before Wayne cut it.

I laid there with Orion on my chest skin to skin (he was never even cleaned off or rubbed down) for over an hour. He would nurse and then take a break and I would just relish in him on my chest. We asked the nurse to come in so we could weigh him, I was so excited to see how much he weighed. She put him on the scale, it came up with grams which means nothing to me she changes it to pounds and I see 8lbs 14oz! HOLY MOLY!!!! The nurse told me that when she saw me pushing and she saw his head she didn't think I'd be able to do it. I thought to myself "How else was he going to come out at that point?"

The transition from one to two babies has been so easy, both Wayne and I feel like Orion has always been here.

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Congratulations to Amanda & Wayne! Thanks so much for sharing your birth story! I hope you're enjoying being a family of four!

If you'd like more information about Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoBirthing classes in North County San Diego, CA, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside of San Diego, CA, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

If you'd like more information about Dr. Biter & Dr. Cobb's OB/GYN practice, Seaside Women's Health, in Encinitas (North County San Diego), CA, please call 760-642-0800.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story-Mercedes & Corey

2011-06-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Mercedes & Corey took my HypnoBirthing classes at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center in Encinitas (North County San Diego) in 2009. I just got her birth story & she gave me permission to share it.

My Birth Story
Parents: Corey and Mercedes
Son: Gabriel

Sunday Dec 27th, 2009

8am: Another beautiful day in San Diego is upon us as the sun peeks through our blinds, rousing us from sleep. Little did I know I had just woken up from my last slumber as a pregnant woman! We woke up with a lot on our agenda. But first breakfast needed to be made. Corey made some green chile egg sandwiches, and we got dressed to go to meditation class downtown.

10am: We made it to meditation class at the Buddhist center in San Diego. Gabriel was very calm throughout, probably plotting his exit. After the class we headed home and ate leftovers from Christmas.

1pm: I went for a prenatal massage. When I returned, I noticed Corey’s nesting instinct had kicked in, as he was immersed in a deep cleaning of the kitchen.

2:30pm: We went to look at a house in Poway. Nice place with a big kitchen and an amazing backyard for Gabriel to explore. As we were leaving, another couple about our age was waiting to look at the house as well, carrying with them a brand new little baby. On our way home we stopped by the Farmer’s market. Gabriel was hungry again, so we fed him bratwurst from the sausage stand, with lots of spicy relish and a little bit of sauerkraut.

4pm: Headed back home. Corey was adamant about making his homemade leftover turkey soup. In between cooking, he continued to clean the kitchen. He did not want me to do anything, so he made me a warm bubble bath with rose petals for me to relax with my HypnoBirthing music in the background and candles lit. Aahhhhhhhh……

6-7pm: We were talking on the phone with Corey’s parents and then with my mom and sister. In the middle of a conversation with my Tia Anita, I started feeling these “menstrual-like” tightness in my abdomen every 10 minutes or so. Not very painful or frequent, so we wondered…… is this labor? Practice labor? The sauerkraut? ....And why is our dog, Winston, acting so strange, does he know something we don’t?

9pm: Definitely not the sauerkraut. Tightness episodes becoming more frequent, but no pattern is emergent. I thought there was supposed to be a pattern?! The googling of many labor-related keywords starts, followed finally by a call to our doula, Connie, who reassured us that everything that was happening was normal, that those tightness episodes were definitely surges, and that this baby was definitely coming soon! She told us to call when we were heading to the hospital, but we still had no idea when exactly we were supposed to do that. The next few hours are a blur. The surges come and go with no emerging pattern. Sometimes they last 10 seconds and sometimes they last almost a minute, and there is anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes between. This is not how Google told me it was supposed to be. Nonetheless, we start to get focused. We listen to the HypnoBirthing CD, Corey reads scripts, and I take a few hot showers, which really help ease the pain. We try to nap between surges, but to no avail. Long night ahead of us.

Monday Dec 28th, 2009

12am: I think I’m getting the hang of this labor business. When the surges come, Corey coaches me through my breathing techniques while gently doing light-touch massage. We crank up the volume on the HypnoBirthing CD and I do my best to get through the surges, one at a time. At one point, I have an uncontrollable urge to barf. Corey sprints to the bathroom and grabs a trash can just in time for 99% containment – it could’ve been a lot worse. Back into the shower to clean off and ride through a few more surges. Damn does that shower make it feel better.

3am: I thought my water broke in the shower, but I wasn’t sure. To be on the safe side we head to the hospital. We grab our hospital bag, a big pillow, and our birthing ball. Winston wants to come, but unfortunately he has to stay behind. Luckily, we had previously given our awesome dog sitter and friend Sherry a spare key to the house, and told her to be on the lookout for a text along the lines of “OMG baby on way!!! Pls get W”

3:30am: We arrive at the hospital, and it’s after-hours so we have to check in at the ER. The triage nurse asks me to come with him but Corey refuses to leave my side, so he comes to the triage station with me, holding a 4-foot diameter ball in one hand and a body pillow in the other. I’m having surges while the nurse is asking me asinine questions, so I just point to Corey and he answers for me, while nurses and doctors try to squeeze past him. Finally, we are admitted and another nurse comes with a wheelchair to escort me to the labor and delivery room. She takes her sweet time, pointing out locations of interest such as the gift shop and the cafeteria. In the L&D room, they asked me to pee in a cup and change. I brought my own birthing clothes so I changed into those, and when I tried to pee my water broke. Wow, this is really happening. My water just broke. I am definitely in labor! As I returned to the bed, they placed me on fetal monitor, which was only supposed to last for 20 min but somehow every 20 minutes the nurses had a compelling reason why it had to stay on for another 20 minutes. When they checked my dilation, I was 9.5 cm!!!!! They finally let me go off the fetal monitor, so I moved into a more comfortable position—on all fours leaning against the head of the bed. With Corey and my Doula at my bedside, I breathed through the pushing, chanting “Welcome Baby” with my helpers and making the occasional grunt. Corey later said I sounded like a weightlifter.

5:36am: After 1-2 big pushes, Gabriel plopped out of me into the nurse’s arms….I felt his arms and legs easily exiting…and we welcomed our happy baby into the world.
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Congratulations Mercedes & Corey on a wonderful HypnoBirthing experience! They are getting ready for HypnoBirthing baby #2 in the fall, so they will be coming to do a refresher class soon. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

To learn more about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. To learn more about HypnoBirthing outside of San Diego, please visit www.Hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

You will find contact information for Connie Merritt, Mercedes & Corey's doula (labor support person) on my website's resources page under "Doula". Connie is a midwifery apprentice, a lactation consultant & infant massage trainer as well!

www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
www.AWellLivedLife.Net

A HypnoBirthing story--Julia & Cory

2011-06-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

Julia & Cory took my HypnoBirthing classes on Monday nights in February/March at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA. Here is their birth story:

My labor went exactly as I hoped it would, up until the very end.... It began with surges/contractions instead of my water breaking, in fact, my water never broke naturally, but we'll get into that later. I progressed very quickly and through the help of HypnoBirthing, remained calm and relaxed. Eventually, we were hurried to the operating room for a last minute C-section to ensure the health of our baby. Our nurse was supportive of our birth plan, and the doctor gave us a chance, so all in all we considered it a successful HypnoBirth.

Labor began on Wednesday, April 27th; I was 40 weeks and 2 days. The night before I had felt some mild surges while going to sleep, and they continued into the morning on Wednesday, but they were pretty spread out so I wasn't too concerned. Cory went to work as normal since I told him I didn't think anything was happening anytime soon. Around noon or 1pm, they had evened out to about 4 minutes apart. I called our doula/monitrice to let her know what was going on, but I still felt fine without her support, so she told me to call her back when they increased in intensity or frequency. I managed the surges with breathing, rocking back and forth, and using the TENS unit that our doula had loaned to me. I listened to the Rainbow Relaxation CD a bit, but I seemed to do better when I could hear my own breathing, so I only listened for a little while. In between surges I did hands and knees to help with the pressure I was feeling in my lower back. Around 5 or 6pm, Cory got home from work, and the surges were increasing in intensity, and were getting closer to 3 minutes apart. Our doula/monitrice came over around 7pm. She checked me quickly and determined I was 5 centimeters. My husband Cory, who is a veterinarian, was interested in learning how to determine effacement and dilation. With my okay, our doula/monitrice gave him a quick lesson and he got a chance to check me as well and got to feel the baby's head for himself...it was neat seeing his expression as he did this.

With the intensity and frequency of the surges increasing quickly, our doula/monitrice decided around 9pm that it was time to head to the hospital. The drive there was so surreal...I couldn't believe that after months of waiting, we were finally meeting our baby soon! I only had a few surges during the car ride, and we seemed to get to the hospital pretty quickly. It was quiet and empty when we checked in at Scripps La Jolla, and we met our nurse Erin, who took us to our room. She was very nice, and looked over our birth plan quickly, saying mostly everything looked good and that she was supportive of our plans. I was hooked up to the monitor with the plan of only staying there as long as needed, then I would walk around and get monitored intermittently. Erin checked me and I was already dilated to 7 centimeters upon arrival to the hospital. Cory said the nurse had a look of shock when she realized how far along I was, and that I was acting like it was no big deal. While the surges were intense at this point, I was still using my breathing and staying calm and relaxed. Cory was doing a great job whispering to me through the surges, telling me I was doing amazing and that we would meet our baby soon. While doing the initial monitoring however, the baby's heart rate began to decelerate from the 120s to the 70-80s after each surge. The doctor on call came in and said I would now be staying on continuous monitoring, which made sense, and our doula/monitrice agreed. The decrease in heart rate was because my surges were so close together that my baby never had time to recover and reoxygenate between surges. Soon they had me wearing an oxygen mask to increase my blood oxygen hoping the baby could recover better. They gave the baby and me a chance to continue with a natural birth by turning me to different sides after each surge, trying to get the baby's heart rate to improve. Erin, our nurse, warned us that this could lead to a c-section if it continued, so I did my best to focus on getting oxygen to the baby, and to remain calm. She was definitely rooting for us. I began feeling pressure with my surges, and when Erin checked me again, I was at 9.5 centimeters within an hour. I had no concept of time...it felt like I had been in our room for only 20 minutes! (Thanks Carol for the time distortion technique!) With the decelerations in heart rate staying steady, the midwife on call asked if she could break my water to help things proceed. Cory and I agreed that since things with the heart rate weren't improving and in fact, getting worse (dropping into the high 60s) we would allow the manual rupture of the membranes. The hope being that would help me get to the last stage of labor and allow me to start pushing. With the thought of preventing a c-section in the back of my mind, and the fact that the baby was still in a -2 position, we should give it a shot. As it released, they found meconium in the water indicating that our baby was already experiencing a stressful labor.

At this point with the heart rate continuing to drop even more, the doctor rushed back in and said a c-section would be advised. If we continued with our plan, we could end up pushing for up to another hour putting our baby at risk for brain damage due to the lack of oxygen. I remember looking over at Cory and our doula/monitrice, feeling so disappointed that I had made it so far with HypnoBirthing and without any drugs, only to have a c-section at the last minute. But our nurse and even our doula/monitrice agreed that this point a c-section really was necessary. So into the OR we went, and very shortly thereafter, our son was born at 11:16pm! We didn't know the sex, so it was so amazing to hear Cory say "It's a boy!". Gavin was born on 4/27, 7lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long.
After the blur of events, Cory told me that our nurses were so impressed and stunned that I remained so calm and content all the way up to 9.5 centimeters! They were all rooting for us and I think their hearts dropped with ours when the doctor finally made the call to head to surgery. We were so close to having the natural birth, but we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome and the expertise of the staff.

Carol, thank you so much for everything you taught us in class. Cory and I felt very empowered and knowledgeable going into our labor, and even though it ended in a way we didn't envision, I still felt very much in control. I'm proud of the fact that I made it so far un-medicated and using our HypnoBirth techniques, and I'm excited to share our experience with HypnoBirth with my pregnant friends. Now that Gavin is here, while we are definitely sleep deprived, it's hard to remember life without him. Thank you!

Julia, Cory and Gavin
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Congratulations to you, Julia & Cory! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I remember getting the phone call from Cory that you'd been in labor for quite awhile & that you both just needed to touch base with me to see if I had any last minute recommendations. It sounds like you did everything possible to have the birth you want. I'm sorry that you didn't get the natural birth you had planned for. I'm glad, though, that the HypnoBirthing classes helped you both feel empowered & educated so that you could make the best decisions for yourselves, your birth & your baby. Sometimes things don't go the way we planned and I'm glad that you were still able to feel a sense of control & have peace of mind with all of your decisions. Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

If you're interested in learning more about Julia & Cory's doula/monitrice, please contact Donna Hayes via her listing on San Diego Birth Network's Doula list at www.sandiegobirthnetwork.com. A monitrice is a doula that has medical training so they are able to do vaginal exams & check the baby's vitals whereas a doula cannot do those specific things.

If you're interested in learning more about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol Yeh-Garner's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. She has ongoing group classes in North County San Diego and is also available for private HypnoFertility sessions for those dealing with infertility.

A HypnoFertility success story

2011-05-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

Jennifer's HypnoFertility success story:

I was finally ready to start trying to have baby #2... and we tried and tried and tried for 9 months, charting my cycles, testing my fluids, reading too many fertility articles and books, and using way too many ovulation strips. Nothing was happening. I was having no luck and was getting more and more frustrated, especially as everyone around me was getting pregnant and having babies. I wanted to be pregnant again, too! The frustrations I was having were also putting stress on my husband and our relationship.

As the 1-year mark of "trying" was looming, I decided I better try something else before I had to go on Clomid or experiment with other more invasive fertility treatments. I really did not want to have to go on medication or have IVF. I remembered that Carol (whom I had taken HypnoBirthing from for my first baby) was now a HypnoFertility Therapist. HypnoBirthing had worked so well for me when I gave birth that I figured HF would probably work, too. So, I set up some sessions with Carol.

After our initial session, my husband, upon my arrival home from the session, remarked that I was so much more cheerful than I had been. I felt more like myself. I was happy and hopeful and a lot less stressed. During the few weeks that I was having my HypnoFertility sessions, my thoughts about conceiving were much more positive than they had been. I was in better spirits in general, and I was able to feel happier for other people as well.

I only had 5 sessions with Carol because the HypnoFertility worked immediately. I conceived during my next cycle. Carol was a miracle worker! I feel so strongly about the positive effects that HypnoFertility had on me. I honestly feel like I went through the trial of infertility so that I could know about HypnoFertility and share it with others. I know that there are so many people out there who could benefit from it, but don't even know that it exists. I want everyone who is battling infertility to know that there is another way!
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Thanks so much for sharing your story, Jennifer! I'm thrilled that you are pregnant & that HypnoFertility was so helpful to you in so many ways. I've heard the same thing from all of my clients--that their overall mood improves & that their stress level about trying to get pregnant and life in general is decreased significantly.

If you are in San Diego and are struggling with infertility and want to get pregnant faster, please visit www.AWellLivedLife.Net for more information about Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoFertility services. She is also available for phone and Skype sessions.

If you are out of San Diego and want to find a HypnoFertility practitioner, please visit www.hypnofertilityfoundation.org.

A HypnoBirthing story--Tracy & Adam

2011-05-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Tracy and Adam took an accelerated HypnoBirthing class in February/March 2011 at Seaside Women's Health Center in Encinitas. Here is their story:

Hi Carol! So first of all.... I LOVE LOVE LOVE being a mommy. It's so cool :-)

Little Avery Rose Walton is amazing. And her birth was really quite amazing as well, especially the more I think back to it. It wasn't exactly the experience I was expecting. I was soooo certain and confident in my relaxation abilities, I was convinced that I would feel NO pain. Seriously, I still don't know why it needed to be so painful. I am pretty sure that the reason for most of it was because she came out face up. Most of the sensation was in my hips and back, definitely not what I was expecting.... but that it’s really a minor detail anyway, let me tell you the whole story :-) At about midnight my surges were about 10 minutes apart. I took a shower and tried my best to relax/sleep in between each surge.
During the surge I would concentrate on staying limp and relaxed as possible, but by about 3:00 am I was telling myself and Adam that I needed some drugs. But first before "giving in" so quickly, I went into the jacuzzi, thinking that it might help a little.... but what I found out was that it helped A LOT. I dunked myself in that water and in an instant I knew I wasn't going to get out, no way. It felt soooo nice. Bless my mother too, because she stayed in the jacuzzi with me. Adam went back to bed, ha! So there I was, under the starlight resting in-between surges on a pool floaty, thinking of all the positive affirmations Marie whispered in my ear over the past three months. I kept reciting in my head things like "Your body is meant to give birth. I hand my birthing over to my baby". By 4:00 am my surges were two minutes apart and my mom called the midwives. They showed up, woke up Adam and got everything ready. Baby and I in the meantime, labored. I imagined in my mind my baby sliding down the birth path, coming out happy and healthy. Really, all I did was my best to breathe through surges and visualize a calm, relaxed birth. I was definitely in a zone, as in zoned everything out and just stayed "in my body" during surges. Each surge was 45 seconds or so of deep concentration and loud breathing. "Oooooooooooooooooh" was the long breathe out during each surge, deep voice and with my chin down.

Every once and a while I would lift my head up and take a look around. Adam, midwife Andrea and her assistant/apprentice Debra were bundled up sitting on the edge of the jacuzzi, just watching me. At one point I remember looking up and seeing the sunrise. The birds were chirping and singing. My mother in law, Susie, had come over around 4:00 am as well and got into the tub with me, bless her. She put on some music for me too. It was really nice, very similar to the music we had listened to in yoga class. I sipped apple juice and water from a straw from time to time, I think I even ate a strawberry or two. From time to time the midwife would hand the Doppler to one of my moms and have a listen to the baby's heartbeat. I am not sure what time it was, but the sun was out and my water still hadn't broken. I had visions of the baby coming out with an intact membrane. Andrea checked me and there was one little part of the cervix still in the way. She broke my water and I freaked out. I mean, I was in panic mode. Very NOT hypnobirthing method. I was tense, I was screaming and I didn't want anyone to touch me. I remember thinking too, this is probably not helping myself any, but I went with my emotions. My midwife firmly got my attention and calmed me down. I am so glad that I trusted her and never had any doubt in her ability to help me deliver my baby because otherwise, I may not have been able to calm down again from such a panic. Now, my water had broken and I was happy to feel like progress was being made.

Then, it was time to start pushing. I was more awake and alert and the surges were not coming quite as often. I felt like it would be so easy, a couple of pushes and she would be out. Not so much. :-) At one point I said "ok, that's it, I'm done, I can't do this" and Andrea would remind me,” you are doing it” and that part of being a parent was having patience. She said it was important for the baby to adjust herself to my body so that she could come out and I remember you talking about this in the class. So I changed the visuals in my mind to baby making her way, in her time. I started talking to her, nicely asking her to come on out, we love you so much. Patience, thank goodness, is definitely a virtue that I have. I had difficulty finding the position I wanted to be in to push. I tried all kinds, on my hands and knees, squatting on my own, holding Adam's hands out of the water and standing. Nothing really did the trick. Then finally, I found it and the end was near. My mom was on one side of me and Susie on the other, the midwife behind me laying on her stomach reaching into the jacuzzi. I was squatting, holding my knees and man it felt so good to push. By this time I wanted to push all the time, regardless of the surge or not, but Andrea guided me. I pushed with the surges and could feel the baby moving down. Sometimes though, I couldn't feel when the surges ended. Andrea thought it might be because I was in the warm water. Well, we pushed, and at times it was purple pushing, but I was determined. I remember feeling her move down and then back up when the surges and I stopped. Then we saw her head (and so much hair she had). By the next surge she had crowned and two surges later at 9:13 am she came flying out (well, really it was swimming out and now my mom calls her the little mermaid, ha!).

It was pretty amazing to have felt her moving down the birth path. I had imagined the same little picture in my mind when you were talking about it in class of her wiggling her little feet to push her way down and her head slowing nudging itself out. Anyway... what an amazing feeling of RELIEF when she was out. My moms floated her, under water over to me and as soon as she was in reach of the midwife, she brought her out of the water; she took her first breather and then was placed in my arms on my chest. I was soooo happy to see her after all this time. She was vigorous, yet calm. I heard your voice in my head "calm babies come from calm births". She pinked up real quick (the midwives gave her a "10 at one minute", still not too clear on what that means exactly, except that Avery came out quite the healthy baby).

What a happy moment, meeting our baby for the first time. Adam had been taking pictures and he came over to the edge of the jacuzzi to meet her too. I was so proud of him for not fainting during the birth. We hugged and loved on her there in the jacuzzi. Andrea helped Avery to get out a good cry, but other than that she was wide eyed, alert, happy and calm. Then, another surge! And I thought “WHAT!?!” Oh yeah, the placenta. I delivered it, yeah, kinda proud of that one (Andrea gave me some guidance of course, but after a couple surges, that was that.) Now it was time to go back into the house. Baby and placenta (in bowl) went with grandma Susie and Adam, Debra and my mom helped me walk into the house. Baby was placed on my chest and the midwives took care of everything. I had some tearing and Andrea stitched me up while I held baby on my chest. Adam couldn't handle that kind of scene, so while that was going on, he drained the jacuzzi (it is his FAVORITE place after all. Actually it is a Walton favorite place. His whole family are jacuzzi fiends, so it is very appropriate that our little Walton was born in one).

Of course baby was naked and pooped EVERYWHERE about 2 or 3 times. Blessing angels they are, my moms cleaned us up after each unloading. Andrea helped us with our first breastfeeding. That was new and cool. Then after the house had been cleaned up a little more and things had calmed down, Adam came back and held the baby, bare-chested for that oh so good skin to skin contact. Avery loves his voice. She hung out with him until we were ready to weigh and measure her. So although she weighed in at 8lbs 14oz and 22 inches long, we decided to call her a 9lb baby at birth because of all that poop she had unleashed. We put on her first outfit and grandmas held her; we took pictures and reveled in the morning events. I cried from time to time just thinking about what had just happened and how GRATEFUL I was for life, my family and my new little love, Miss Avery Rose. Like I said, the more I think back to it, the more appreciative I am of the entire experience. It was really quite amazing and I wouldn't have done it any other way. What a blessing!

I am so thankful that I listened to my heart and birthed at home with midwives. Although I have never stepped foot in a maternity center of a hospital, I imagine that in comparison, my birth experience was able to be more aligned with the natural connection of life and family, in a BEAUTIFUL, comfortable setting, un-rushed, unscheduled and free of unnecessary stress or "convenient" medical intervention.

Thanks so much again to you and all the people who share the passion for helping moms and dads bring their babies into the world. Those little bundles of joy are such blessings and deserve the very best.

Sincerely,

Tracy Walton aka: Mommy
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Congratulations to you & Adam! Thank you so much for sharing your birth story! I'm thrilled that you had such an amazing experience! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

To learn more about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol Yeh-Garner's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside the San Diego area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com.

If you are considering a homebirth and live in San Diego learn more about hiring Andrea Meyer to be your midwife by visiting www.andreasmidwiferysandiego.com.

A HypnoBirthing story--Jewel & Nathan

2011-05-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Jewel & Nathan took my HypnoBirthing classes at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center on Thursday nights. Here is their birth story:

Everly's birth story:

My birthing experience wasn’t what I envisioned. It started out in all the wrong ways, or so I thought, but my daughter was born in a calm, peaceful environment without the use of pain medication and that’s what I wanted most in the end. It took me awhile to realize HypnoBirthing worked wonders for me.

Labor started on Monday January 17 a little after 1 in the afternoon when my membranes released. I was 39 weeks 3 days. I had a feeling the baby would be coming during the week because I wasn’t feeling like myself all day on Sunday. I felt a small gush of water and went to the bathroom not quite believing it was happening. Fluid continued to trickle so I knew it was definitely my water. I didn’t have any surges though.

Mild surges started about twenty minutes later. They were very short and just felt like a general tightening around my abdomen. I called Nathan and told him that my water broke and asked him to come home as soon as he could since he had an hour drive back home. I didn’t want things to go too quickly and have him still be a long way away. My surges were pretty irregular but I wrote them down and tried to remember to pay attention to how long they were. I finished some chores around the house, not really feeling any different. Once Nathan got home, nothing had really changed with my labor. I wasn’t even sure if it had even begun since I was so calm and relaxed. We took our dogs for a walk and relaxed around the house. We started to question when the right time to go to the hospital was. I remembered Carol saying 4-1-1 (surges that are 4 minutes from start to start, lasting one minute & consistently happening for 1 hour) and decided that would be when we would head down. It would take us 30 minutes to get to the hospital as I was delivering at Kaiser. We continued to go on a few walks to get things going but I never felt like I was progressing. However, I just kept thinking that I was so relaxed and well-prepared for the delivery of our baby that maybe my labor was progressing more than I was aware of (wishful thinking!)

The surges never seemed to get more intense but at 10:30 that night we decided to go to the hospital so we could get settled in our room. I wanted to be set-up in the room before things got too intense. I had been listening to the Rainbow Relaxation on my iPod and practicing my breathing up to this point.

When we got to the hospital we checked in and they put us in a small triage room just like Carol said they would. We ended up being stuck in that little room for almost 3 hours because it was such a busy night. The first doctor I met with wanted to check me but with my membranes not intact, I knew they shouldn’t be doing a lot of checks, but I also wanted to know where I was so I allowed it. I was still under the impression that I would be much farther along attributing my progression to my relaxed state. But when he said I was only 3 cm, it was somewhat crushing. I would’ve bet that I was at least 6 cm. But I hadn’t really had to breathe through anything, so that should’ve been my first clue I wasn’t that far along. The doctor mentioned pitocin which equated in my head to an epidural and c-section. I told him that would be a last resort and I wanted to try natural induction methods.

Once we got to our private room, we went over our birth plan with our nurse who was supportive in our wishes for a natural birth and about forgoing the pitocin. I sat on a birthing ball for a little bit and we walked the hallways. The time was going fast and my surges weren’t changing enough according to the nurses. Nathan read me the balloon fear release script and I tried to listen to the Rainbow Relaxation but I was getting frustrated and couldn’t find a position I was comfortable in. And on top of all this, pitocin was looming in the background. We were so exhausted. With each surge I wanted Nathan to do light touch massage on my arm, but the poor guy could barely keep his eyes open. But I’d nudge his arm when I needed him and it really helped.

Just before 7:00 am the nurse checked me again and I was only at 4cm so pitocin was brought up again. By this time I was so tired that all I could think of was the long road ahead and I was so far away. So Nathan and I agreed to the pitocin. I was so defeated and upset that I was going to have it. I knew it would make my surges much more intense than without it and I didn’t think I could do it without any pain medication to help me through. At this point I wasn’t listening to my Rainbow Relaxation. I was just trying to breathe through my surges.

The pitocin started. I asked for the minimal amount knowing I’d have a better chance than if they gave me a big dose all at once. So it started low and within a couple surges I was asking the nurse about an epidural. I wanted to know how long it would take to get once I determined if I wanted one. I was so tired and didn’t think I could go any farther. Nathan was in my ear telling me what a great job I was doing and that I could do one more surge. Finally, I relaxed into a reclined position and put in my earphones and listened to the Rainbow Relaxation. I bent my knees and pushed my hands against my knees whenever I had a surge. I remember thinking it was like a wave and if I could get past the first peak I would come down and work my way through to the end of it. Nathan kept telling me to breathe deeper when he could tell I was struggling with it. I kept my eyes shut most of the time, only peeking at my surroundings every once in awhile. Nathan continued to do light touch massage on my arm and he cooled me down with some ice. I wouldn’t say the surges were painful, but they were difficult and required work to get through.

Sometime in the 10:00 hour I felt a lot of pressure down below and asked if I could push. One of the nurses checked me and I was 9 ½ cm. They told me I could start pushing soon. I felt like I needed to push as the pressure was intensifying and also the fact that I was so surprised how close I was to holding my baby in my arms.

Nathan’s biggest regret is that he let me push so hard instead of doing my birth breathing to gently breathe the baby down. But my pushing even felt out of my hands. It was something my body was telling me to do. It wasn’t what I planned for, but so far nothing had gone according to plan except for the fact that I was relaxed and calm. In my relaxed state, I even heard one of the nurses exclaim that she wished all her patients could be like me and another one say that my focus and control was amazing.

About 4 hours after the pitocin started (almost 22 hours after my membranes released) I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Everly Grace. She was 6 lbs. 8 oz. She was calm and alert. The doctor placed her on my skin and I’ll never forget looking into her eyes for the first time. She wasn’t crying like they wanted her to (I attribute it to the fact that she’s a HypnoBaby) so they took her from my chest after a minute. She was just fine, crying within a few seconds of leaving me. Unfortunately due to my purple pushing, I did have some tearing which required stitches so meanwhile the doctor had proceeded to stitch me up. Only after they took Everly from me, did I notice the pain. Nathan says that at one point I said that it hurt and the doctor asked if I needed more epidural to which all the nurses in the room (there seemed to be about 20) responded that I didn’t have an epidural. I remember the look of shock on the doctor’s face because she had been stitching me up quite vigorously for a few minutes without any type of pain medication. You think a doctor would know if the patient was on any medication or not!

Anyway, my HypnoBirth was the topic of discussion between all the nurses that day. They were impressed with how calm and focused I was.

Nathan and I were on such a high after meeting our daughter and working through such an intense experience that we couldn’t stop talking about it with each other. I was so surprised that with all the obstacles we encountered, I was still able to achieve a somewhat-natural (minus the pitocin) un-medicated birth. The Rainbow Relaxation and breathing techniques helped me achieve the birth we wanted. It took me a little while to understand that HypnoBirthing worked because my birth story wasn’t as easy and quiet as some of the videos Carol showed in our classes. Also it wasn’t what I envisioned so I had to let go of the image of “the perfect birth” that I had in my head.

Nathan and I want to thank you, Carol, for educating us and helping us to prepare for one of the most important and rewarding days in our lives. We were able to have an amazing birth experience while welcoming our daughter into this world because of HypnoBirthing and your guidance. It was the most intimate experience for Nathan and me and I feel like it has bonded us to be better partners and parents for our little girl. We can’t thank you enough.

~Jewel, Nathan, and Everly
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Congratulations Jewel & Nathan! You did an amazing job dealing with the intensity of the surges & with the pitocin! It just goes to show that if you can keep your mind in the right place and stay focused, you can have a natural, vaginal birth even with pitocin!

Thank you so much for sharing your birth story! Enjoy your babymoon!
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If you would like more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, CA, please contact Carol Yeh-Garner via her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside San Diego, CA, you can visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

A HypnoBirthing story--Lisa & Silver

2011-04-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Lisa & Silver took an accelerated HypnoBirthing class in February on Monday nights at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas. Here is their birth story:

Hi Carol,
Thank you for everything. Silver and I are so happy we took your classes. The knowledge and confidence we gained was priceless.

Our daughter True Madera was born on Sunday March 20, 2011, the first day of Spring! She was 8 lbs 2 oz and 21 inches long.

I went into labor after midnight on Sunday, surges were almost immediately within a few minutes of each other, we arrived at Sharp Mary Birch around 5:30am, and True came into the world at 8:30 am. Dr. Cobb and the nurses in labor and delivery were awesome. Silver did an amazing job supporting us through the whole wonderful experience. We achieved our goal of a natural, unmedicated birth. The labor and delivery was fun and exciting. In retrospect, I did not really get into a relaxed, pain free state of mind- but we did use visualization techniques, and other techniques we learned from you.

True was not breathing when she was born. I was able to pull her up onto my chest and hold her for a few seconds, then Silver had to cut the cord sooner than we planned because they had to take her and help her out with breathing. Silver and and True went to the NICU. I didn't get to join them for a few hours. But Silver did a perfect job doing skin to skin bonding with her once they took out the breathing tubes. When I did get there, I was able to nurse her right away. I was happy to find out they didn't give her any supplemental feeding, baths, or pacifiers. We don't know why she didn't start breathing right away, her heart rate and vitals were all fine when she was born. She was perfectly healthy, just took some extra time to start breathing. Silver and I felt informed and involved in the whole emergency process as well. Although we encountered a challenge, we stayed positive and cherished every part of the experience.

Thank you for all that you shared with us. We are very grateful we were introduced to HypnoBirthing. I hope to use HypnoBirthing again in the future. I enjoy receiving all the great information from your Yahoo group. I feel fortunate to be part of the community.

All our Best,
Lisa, Silver and True
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Congratulations Lisa & Silver! I'm so glad that HypnoBirthing helped you feel in control of the entire situation even with the emergency situation with True's breathing! I'm so glad she is alright & am thrilled that you were able to have the natural birth you hoped for! Thanks for the feedback about my Yahoo group (only for my class members). I'm glad that you find my posts & links informative. Take care & continue to enjoy your babymoon!
All my best--Carol

To learn more about Dr. Damon Cobb, please contact him at Seaside Women's Health Center at 760-642-0800.

To learn more about HypnoBirthing in San Diego, please contact Carol Yeh-Garner at 858-837-1259 or visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you live outside of the San Diego area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Shelby & Will's birth

2011-04-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

Shelby & Will took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesdays in January 2011 at Babies by the Sea Boutique.

Here is their birth story:

Hello there! I just wanted to let you know that my baby is here!!! Her name is Tenly Lu. She was born March 24 and was 7 lbs 19 inches. She is the most wonderful, perfect, beautiful baby ever!!!! I knew how great motherhood would be, but really it is even better than I could have imagined! As I'm sure you know!

I ended up having to have a planned C Section with her. She was Frank Breech, and after a week and of going to see Dr. Jack Mawer (chiropractor) twice a day to get her to turn, I just decided to go that way. My Dr. offered to do an external version, but she told me that if she turned they would induce me right away, and if she didn't turn it would be an emergency C Section. I thought long and hard and decided it would be easiest and best on both of us to just do the C Section. That way, I could be calm, well as calm as I could be.

It turned out to be the best decision I could have made! Her cord was wrapped around her neck, and if she had be able to turn, or if my Dr. had done the version, she could have been very affected!

She came out perfect and extremely alert! She was awake with her eyes wide open for most of the day! She is just so unreal!! I still don't believe she is real or mine!!!
She is now above her birth weight!! And she is eating really well. She is getting about 2.5 - 3 oz per feeding. I was in New Beginnings Boutique yesterday, and they offered me to weigh her before and after feeding to see. She is latching on really well too!!!!

So hopefully next baby I will be able to do it all natural! At least I was able to make my own choice, come to terms with a C Section and stay as calm as possible!
I would love for you to meet her!!

Thank you for everything! I look forward to your class again in the future!!
Shelby
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Congratulations to you & Will! I'm so glad that even though you had to have a C-section, you felt that the classes helped you. My ultimate goal for my classes is to have all of my clients feel in control of their birth experiences no matter where their birth journey takes them. Continue enjoying your babymoon! I'm glad that you're both doing so well!
Thank you so much for sharing your story!
All my best--Carol
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For more information about HypnoBirthing classes in your area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you. If you're in the San Diego area, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net to find a class time that work for you.
For more information about breech babies & ways to turn them, please visit www.spinningbabies.com.
For more information about Dr. Jack Mawer, chiropractor, please visit www.AreYouAdjusted.com.

Bach Flower Essences & Homeopathic Vaccines

2011-03-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

San Diego Birth Network, a local non-profit dedicated to promoting the normalcy of birth, recently invited homeopath, Willow Tipton, DIHom, to come speak about Bach Flower Essences & Homeopathic Vaccines. It was such an interesting, informative talk that I asked Willow if she would allow me to share her handouts & my notes so that people who weren’t at the seminar would also be able to learn about them. She generously said yes, so here is the information presented at her seminar. The parts in italics are from my notes.

What Are Bach Flower Essences?
Bach Flower Essences are homeopathically prepared remedies from the blooms of plants, bushes and trees, discovered by English physician and homeopath, Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930’s. There are 38 flower essences (plus one combination essence, Rescue Remedy) that correspond to a specific mental and emotional state. Dr. Bach noticed in his medical practice in the 1920s, that many of his patients’ complaints and conditions seemed linked to their state of mind. He concluded that as a doctor, he was treating primarily the effects of a disease and not its cause. The cause, he concluded, lay in the person’s negative emotional or psychological states. Dr. Bach decided to dedicate his life to the discovery of a system of healing, that would transcend physical symptoms and address the mental and emotional roots of disease. He thought if one’s emotional symptoms are balanced, the body’s own vitality would be strengthened and be able to throw off illness. This led him to categorize his patients’ negative state or inner imbalances and search for the corresponding flower that would restore their balance and transform negative emotions into positive ones. Dr. Bach stated “There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook, peace of mind, and inner happiness.”

Bach Flower Essences treat the root cause, which is usually mental or emotional. For example, when you’re stressed or angry, you tend to have low energy, feel run down &/or sleepy. So the root cause is the stress or anger, which is treated with the appropriate flower essence.

How do they work?
The Bach Flower Essences contain no scent and are not to be confused with aromatherapy or essential oils. Dr. Bach was inspired by dewdrops on flower petals. He speculated that through the heat of the sun, the healing essence of a flower is brought out to the dew. The flowers release their healing energy into the water. All Flower Essences contain the life-force energy released from flowers in the peak of their bloom. By extracting essences and through self-experimentations, Dr. Bach isolated flowers which address a broad range of psychological symptoms. With each Essence there are accompanying emotions, feelings, attitudes and behaviors…most of them sounding negative. However, it is important to know and read the positive potentials of the Essence.
They are homeopathic remedies made from flowers in full bloom emersed into fresh spring water.

How do I take them?
There are many ways to take the essences, orally, topically, in a spray or mixture bottle and much more. Taking the undiluted essence straight from the stock bottle has a strong, immediate effect, but often not as long lasting. By adding 2 drops of an Essence to filtered water and sipping throughout the day is a more gradual dosage that provides an impulse of the Essence with each sip.

Bach Flower Essences are beneficial to men, women, children, pets and even plants! Like homeopathic remedies, Bach Flower Essences can be combined with other forms of therapy and treatments and still be quite effective and safe. Below is a list of just SOME of the issues the flower essences can help:

*Tension
*Hyperactivity
*Anger
*Fears/Phobias
*Anxiety
*Shame
*Guilt
*Hormonal Issues
*Obsessions
*Concentration & Focus
*Compulsions
*Learning Difficulties
*Addictions
*Emergencies & First Aid
*Depression
*Self-Esteem Issues
*Insomnia
*Transitions & Changes
*Fatigue
*Attention Deficit Disorder
*Mid-life Crisis

They are safe to use alongside medications & have no side effects or contraindications. They are safe for pregnancy & for babies. It can be applied to the skin & absorbed that way, which is an easy way to give it to babies.
For anyone sensitive to alcohol or not wanting any of the minute amounts of alcohol (brandy is used as a preservative & antibacterial compound) present in flower essences, the essence can be placed in boiling water for 5 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Flower essences can also be placed in food or drinks & you can also cook with them.
They do not expire & stay in their original state even in the heat of summer sitting in your car as long as the bottle is closed tightly & the tip is kept clean.
They are safe to use for people with allergies.

Essences for Pregnancy, Labor & Delivery and the Family:

Beech – Feeling irritable, intolerant and critical. Good for impatience, bitchiness, short-fused feelings.

Chicory – For child or parent who feels rejected or has hurt feelings when attention has been placed on the new arrival.

Crab apple – The “cleanser”, for feelings of uncleanliness, or disgust (self-disgust or feeling yourself or others are unclean). Feeling of shame or low esteem. Great for doulas! Good for feeling tainted or nauseous.

Elm – For feelings of overwhelm and stress. Too many responsibilities and a strong sense of duty. Overburdened and overextended. Good for feelings of taking on too much, fatigue.

Holly – For any sibling jealousy or spite towards the new baby. Promotes love and harmony. Heart-opener, increases love & empathy.

Impatiens – Restlessness and frustration, wanting things done quickly. Impatient and irritable. Good for physical restlessness & restless mind too.

Mimulus – For specific fears and worries. Nervous, timid or shy. When you know what you’re worried or fearful of. Can have physical symptoms like heart palpitations or sweating.

Olive – For fatigue and exhaustion (physically or emotionally), during pregnancy and for any lost sleep pre and post-partum. Good for feeling emotionally drained.

Pine – For guilt and self-judgment. Feeling you should or could do more somehow. Good for feeling spread thin, feeling bad, apologizing for everything.

Star of Bethlehem – For any trauma, emotional or physical. For effects of grief, fright, upset. Helps body on an emotional & physical level to release trauma.

Walnut – Assists in adjustments and all the numerous changes. To let go of past links and adjust to new phases. Great for Mom and family, especial once the baby has arrived and families adjust to the new addition. Good for transition & change & when you’re needing help because you feel like you’re straddling a crack that’s getting wider by the minute.

White Chestnut – For restless mind, mental chatter and worries. Preoccupied with persistent unwanted thoughts. Often preventing sleep. Good for people who constantly have To-Do lists.

Rescue Remedy – A combination of Cherry Plum, Clematis, Impatiens, Rock Rose and Star of Bethlehem. For any high stress situation, emergency, trauma or crisis. THE Go-To blend to care for any issue with stress. GREAT for childbirth! A must-have for doulas & midwives!

You can make your own custom blend of up to 7 essences diluted into spring water. Take the essence 2-3 times a day for 3-4 weeks & then re-evaluate if you are still having the same issues. For acute situations, take a singular dose of flower essence.
Willow Tipton, DIHom is available for consultation for custom flower essences as is Carol Yeh-Garner.

There is also a formula called Bach Rescue Sleep for sleep issues. It has all of the essences of Rescue Remedy plus White Chestnut. It is excellent for babies.

One of the guests asked about an essence useful for physical pain & Willow recommended using Cherry Plum, which is good for fear of losing control, but is also good for neurological issues & arthritic issues.

Helpful books:
Bach Flower Remedies for Women by Judy Ramsell Howard
Growing Up with Bach Flower Remedies by Judy Ramsell Howard
Bach Flower Remedies for Men by Stefan Ball

What is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy is a therapeutic system of medicine that is based on the principle of the Law of Similars or “Like Cures Like”. The law of similars states that the same substance that produces disease symptoms in a healthy person, when given in concentrated doses, can also cure a sick person with similar symptoms, when given in a very diluted form. For example, if you’re experiencing running eyes and burning nose like you’ve been peeling an onion, a homeopathic remedy, called Allium Cepa, made from the red onion, will effectively dry up similar allergy and cold symptoms. It is a holistic and natural healing method, treating the whole person and not just the symptoms of the disease. By whole person, we mean, not just the physical symptoms, but also the mental-emotional and spiritual, as well.

How does it work?
Homeopathy aims to aid and stimulate the body’s own immune processes, known as the vital life force. Homeopathic medicines use tiny doses derived from the plant, mineral and animal kingdoms to stimulate a person’s inherent natural defenses. These medicines are prescribed to the individual, rather than the particular illness. For example, a room full of patients, all having symptoms of influenza will present their illness differently and therefore each may require a different, specific homeopathic remedy. The labels on the bottles of homeopathic remedies are not particularly helpful in choosing a remedy that fits the exact symptom picture, which makes the necessity of some kind of education important. Unlike many western medicines, with side effects, in homeopathy less is more, and the remedies are so highly dilute that the treatment yields no side effects. The remedies are given in much smaller and less toxic doses than traditional medications, and are used for both prevention and treatment. I like to recommend a 30C potency for most of the homeopathic remedies. This potency is a medium potency, good for acute and chronic conditions. They are generally faster acting in acute conditions than the low potencies and are used where there is a higher vitality.

The Classical & The Combination Methods
This medicine was perfected over 200 years ago by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a chemist, medical doctor and medical transcriber. However, the basis of homeopathy has been around since ancient times. Hahnemann theorized that most cases would benefit from using only one remedy at a time. Homeopathic pharmaceutical companies and some homeopaths employ the combination method. In this method, several different polychrest remedies (remedies that most often treat a particular symptom in most people), in several different potencies, are combined for a certain condition in the hope that one of them will be the correct remedy.

Dr. Hahnemann found that patients he had to travel to treat had better outcomes than patients he treated in his office. He found that the more the remedy was shaken (due to traveling over cobblestone streets), the more effective they were.
1 drop of the original material to 10 drops of water done 100 times & then hand succused (shaken)= C potency. The higher the potency/number, the more dilute & the safer. CK means it was machine succused. C means it was hand succused.
The remedies are so diluted, they won’t be stressful to the immune system. The duration & severity of an illness or disease will be decreased by at least 50% with the use of homeopathic remedies.
Wait 15 minutes after taking a sublingual homeopathic remedy before drinking water or using anything with mint, camphor or eucalyptus because it’ll minimize absorption. Homeopathic pellets are good up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Homeopathic liquids are good in any heat (except boiling) or cold temperatures.

HOMEOPROPHYLAXIS
Homeoprophylaxis is the principle of prescribing homeopathics on the basis of
prophylactics or prevention of disease. Hahnemann noted that homeopathic medicines
can act as prophylactic medicines when the remedy, in its proving, matches symptoms
similar to a particular disease. Hahnemann called it Genus Epidemicus – where you
find a remedy that is similar to the symptoms found in a majority of patients suffering in an epidemic disease and if given to the patient before the onset of the disease, it prevents the epidemic disease or when given during the disease, cures the patient.
Usually nosodes (remedies prepared from the pathogen) are used. However, many
times even more effective results can be seen with a commonly known polychrest
homeopathic remedy. For example for Pertussis (Whooping cough) Drosera has
successfully cured cases and Pertussinum, the homeopathic nosode was not needed.

One of the largest trials of homeoprophylaxis was against an outbreak of
meningococcal disease in Brazil. 65,826 children were given the homeopathic nosode
Meningococcinum and 23,539 were not protected. The effectiveness of
homeoprophylaxis after 6 months was 95%, and after 12 month follow-up 91%. (Source
taken from Mroninski C, Adriano E, Mattos G. Meningococcinum: Its protective effect
against meningococcal disease. Homoeopathic Links Winter, 2001. Vol 14(4); pp. 230-
4).

Isaac Golden, ND, PhD, DHom, in Australia has been extending homeoprophylaxis to
long-term use (homeopathic vaccines), with an average effectiveness of around 90%,
and a very high level of safety, which is comparable to measures of vaccine
effectiveness, which range from 70%-90%, depending on the individual vaccine and the
type of trial used. References for studies may be found in Vaccination and
Homeoprophylaxis – A Review of Risks and Alternatives, 6th edition.

It is also important to state that no method of disease prevention is ever 100% effective. However, homeoprophylaxis provides a definite level of protection against infectious diseases, which is not 100%, but which is comparable to that of vaccines.

There is a theory that recommends giving a patient their constitutional remedy (if
known) as first response. The idea is to boost the immune system and vitality in order to enable the patient to resist illnesses to which they are exposed.

NOSODES
Homeopathic remedies may be derived from plant, mineral, and some animal origins. In the case of nosodes we are concentrating on remedies derived from biological sources, which can be of immeasurable value in homeopathic therapy.

Nosodes are homeopathic remedies prepared from human diseased tissue, matter and
discharges (like cancer or pus). All the tinctures and potencies are prepared like other remedies. The end result is that these medicines do not contain active or live
organisms.

The nosodes were originally prepared and proven in the 1930’s by the
Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital, in Scotland, by Dr. John Paterson and his wife
Elizabeth and Dr. Edward Bach. To the date, there are nearly 200+ nosodes available.
Nosodes are primarily used in prophylaxis (preventative measures), which makes them
an important alternative to most common vaccinations.

One should not be overly apprehensive that these nosodes are prepared from diseased
tissues. In practice, the remedies in their potentized form contain killed viruses or bacteria that are entirely safe themselves and are not pathogenic. Excellent notes on nosodes are given in further detail (beyond Boericke’s Materia Medica) in Robin Murphy’s Lotus Materia Medica, Hahnemann’s Chronic Diseases, Berkeley Squire’s
Repertory of Homeoapthic Nosodes and Sarcodes, Allen’s Keynotes with Nosodes,
Allen’s Materia Medica of the Nosodes.

PROTOCOL FOR EPIDEMICS
Homeopathy has a more than two hundred year history of success with epidemic
diseases. Hahnemann himself used Belladonna to treat and prevent scarlet fever in the epidemic of 1801. He then went on to use homeoprophylaxis to prevent such diseases as cholera and typhoid.

Typically the common potencies used for nosodes, are 200C, 1M and 10M (higher potencies but safer because they are farther away from the original source; also have no side effects at the higher potencies). However, especially in short-term or acute situations, we cannot stress enough the importance of
matching the potency to the person’s vitality and level of health. For prophylaxis, you can take a dose of the appropriate nosode 3 times a week. If there has been exposure, or possibility of exposure, you can take one to two doses of the appropriate nosode daily for 7-10 days. If symptomatic, three to four doses daily until symptoms improve. If you do not have nosodes available there is usually polychrest remedies that will be effective if they correctly match your symptoms. Please note, in situations with serious infections, especially bacterial, an allopathic treatment is recommended and may be used concurrently with the homeopathic remedies, successfully. There is no active material left in a 30C or greater potency & homeopathic remedies are so diluted that they won’t be stressful on the immune system.

Nosodes are not readily found over the counter (with the exception of Histaminum and
Oscillococcinum). You can usually find them online and some of the resources below:

CelleTech www.celletech.com 800-888-4066

Helios www.helios.co.uk

Homeopathy www.homeopathyovernight.com 800-ARNICA30

Overnight Ainsworths www.ainsworths.com 888-689-1608

Or you can order them through Willow Tipton, DIHom.

PROTOCOL IN LIEU OF VACCINATIONS:
Use the appropriate single nosode remedy or nosode blend.

Examples of nosode blends:
Pedia Pro - DTaP
RMV Pro - MMR
Vesi Pro - Pox
PF Pro - Polio
TBR Pro - Tuberculosis
HP Lvrpro - All Hepatitis
Flumaxpro - All influenza strains

Take TravelPro & PF Pro (polio) for international travel. You can also use homeopathics on your pets. She encourages you to request that the vet run titers on your pets because they usually over-vaccinate pets. Your pet may have gotten enough of the vaccine to have caused the body to develop immunity, which is what the titer will measure.

Introduce one nosode or blend at a time, when healthy - 2 sprays 1 time a day for 2 weeks or 200C 1 dose daily.

Repeat yearly until 5 years old.

Do a “booster” at puberty time.

If exposed 2 sprays of appropriate spray 2 times a day or 2 doses a day of single nosode (200C) for 2 weeks.

If symptomatic, 2 sprays of appropriate spray 3 times a day for as long as needed or 3 doses a day of single nosode (200C).

PROTOCOL ALONG WITH VACCINATIONS:
Choose the appropriate or corresponding nosode or nosode blend for the vaccine given. Take 1 dose of 200C 2 times a day for 3 days, or 2 sprays of blend 2 times a day for 3 days.

COMPLICATIONS FROM VACCINATIONS AND PREVENTING COMPLICATIONS:
Thuja 30C and Silicea 30C 1 dose of each before vaccination (If able to prevent).
2 doses of each after vaccination for 3 days. Throws out inorganic material in the body.

Use Ledum Pal 30C if injection site is very painful.

Use Belladonna 30C or 200C if a fever comes after vaccination.

LINKS TO VACCINE DECISION AND HOMEOPATHIC VACCINES

http://arcanum.ca/2009/05/17/homoprophylaxis-in-cuba-a-monumental-success/

http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-papers/dr-hahnemann%E2%80%99s-two-approaches-to-prevention/

http://www.heilkunst.com/directory/michelle.html http://theatlasoflife.com/2010/06/08/natural-disease-decline-immunization-effectiveness-and-immunization-dangers/

http://thedoctorwithin.com/index_fr.php?page=articles/sanctity_blood.php

http://www.naturalrearing.com/J_In_Learning/Vaccinations.htm http://thinktwice.com/nosodes.htm

http://thinktwice.com/vaccine.htm http://www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in/activity/editorial.htm

http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/ask-the-doctor/2007/05/pros-and-cons-of-vaccinating-y

http://www.attachmentparentingdoctor.com/vaccinations.html

Willow also spoke about the recent ban by the FDA of teething tablets due to the fact they contain belladonna. She said that the amount of belladonna is minute in teething tablets. She recommended using Boiron’s Chamillia teething tablets which still contain belladonna but at the higher potency so there is no risk of any side effects or harm to your infant.

You can contact Willow Tipton at www.place360healthspa.com or call 858-793-1104. She is available for private consultations in her office located in Del Mar as well as over-the-phone & Skype sessions. She also teaches seminars in San Diego, CA about Homeopathy & Bach Flower Essences through www.LearnHomeopathyNow.com.

You can learn more about San Diego Birth Network & find a list of practitioners (childbirth educators, doulas, midwives, OBs, chiropractors, acupuncturists, homeopaths, cranial sacral therapists, clinical nutritionists, osteopaths, etc) that support the normalcy of birth at www.sandiegobirthnetwork.com. They have monthly meetings for practitioners & often have them open to the public like Willow’s seminar. If you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, please visit the website for great articles.
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Thanks again to Willow for coming to San Diego Birth Network's March meeting & for sharing this very useful information!

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Jenni & Bobby

2011-02-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

Jenni & Bobby took my HypnoBirthing classes in August of 2010 at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center on Thursday nights. Here is their birth story:

About four weeks prior to my due date, my husband and I had made the decision to have a home birth since Dr. Biter’s hospital rights were still up in the air. After taking Carol’s HypnoBirthing class, this decision came so naturally. We had been equipped with such copious amounts of knowledge and felt that avoiding the extra stresses brought on by hospital staff was the best decision for us and what we were most comfortable with. Dr. Biter provided us with the phone numbers of a team of midwives that he had been working closely with. I met with LaShel and explained our situation and made sure that we were both comfortable with one another. After hearing that she and her partner had room for us in their schedule, we knew we had a lot of getting to know one another and catching up to do. We scheduled the home visit for two weeks prior to my due date. This was the first time for me to meet LaShel’s partner, Jamin, and for my husband to meet both of them. Everything went so smoothly and although it was a lot of information to take in, in such a short amount of time, I had been waiting for that appointment in order to feel 100% ready for my baby to come at any time……and these thoughts were a perfect example of just how much your mind can control.

The very next night, Saturday, November 6th, I had put in my Evening Primrose Oil and gone to bed. Somewhere around 11 or 11:30pm, I rolled over and felt a little gush. Not wanting to get anything on the sheets, I laid still on my side and sat there noticing that my shorts felt completely soaked and it didn’t seem to feel the same as when the EPO leaks. I continued to feel little gushes here and there and my surges started almost immediately. They were nothing more than mild menstrual cramps that would alternate between my belly and my lower back, but they confirmed to me that our precious baby girl was on her way! After about 15 minutes, I decided to get up and change my shorts and check things out. I had definitely soaked through and it was definitely not the EPO. I put a pad on and got some new shorts and went back to bed. It being Daylight Savings, I didn’t pay attention to the time at this point, but I eventually had to get up and change my shorts and pad again. I had decided not to wake my husband, since there was nothing he could really do at this point anyways, and I was able to go back to sleep and get some rest.

At 4:30am, my husband’s alarm went off. He was supposed to meet up with some people and carpool to a golf tournament at 5:30am. When he woke up, I told him that my water had broke, to which he responded, “Wait, what??” I repeated myself, and he then asked if I was sure. Ummmm, yes I’m sure!!! I told him that I had soaked through two pairs of shorts and they were in the bathroom sink if he wanted to confirm it! Knowing that most first time moms take longer to deliver, I then told him to go ahead and play in the tournament, but that he should drive himself just in case I needed him to come home. He instantly said he wasn’t going anywhere and sent a text out letting people know he wasn’t going to make it.

We waited till about 6am to call the midwives. At that time, I called Jamin and let her know what was going on and she told me go back to bed, get some rest, and then eat a big breakfast and she would check back in a bit. Before I went back to bed, I knew I needed to get the baby’s clothes washed and some other things in order that I had planned on doing later that week. Once I got back into bed, Bobby turned on my HypnoBirthing CD and went off to the grocery store to stock the fridge and to buy a stool since our bed sits pretty high. While he was out, Jamin called to check in on me and let me know that LaShel would be checking on me next and that I should try to get out of bed and keep moving. By the time Bobby got home, which I think was around 8:30am, my surges had gotten more intense and all I wanted to do was lie in bed on my side and breathe and moan through them. At this point the surges were all in my lower back. Having suffered a herniated disc, the tightening that I was feeling instantly reminded me of the spasms that I experienced when I first got hurt and I now had to try and block out the thought of my baby’s birth doing more damage to my back.

Bobby made me some peanut butter toast and so adorably brought it up to me on a breakfast tray with a little glass of milk, a little glass of orange juice and a piece of my favorite white chocolate. Sadly, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of it! I forced down a couple bites of the toast and spent the next couple of hours in bed focusing and doing what I needed to do to get through each surge while Bobby was running around the house getting things ready. At some point, he returned to the room and I told him to grab a trash can for me. I had started to feel sick and instantly threw up the second he handed it to me. I knew that this was a sign of being in transition, but I kept thinking that it was too early and I had better be prepared for more of that to happen later on.

Knowing that he needed to get the bed ready and that getting me up and moving would only benefit my progress, Bobby urged me to get out of bed and get in the shower. He got the shower going for me and the warm water felt even more amazing than I could have imagined! I ended up in a squatting position in the shower and started to feel like I needed to go to the bathroom…another sign of nearing the end, but for some reason, I still could not believe that it was possible yet. The longer I stayed in the shower, the stronger the sensation got, so I decided to move to the toilet. Sitting there was not easy. Every contraction killed my back in this position. I had been and kept visualizing the crowning rose and its blossoming petals and reminding myself of the amazing gift that was on its way.

By about 12pm, I asked Bobby to call LaShel and update her. Things had gotten very intense and I was starting to feel like I needed some sort of progress report. Time distortion was definitely on my side and the hours had passed so fast, but the intensity of it all had grown just as fast and I could only help but think I had SO much more to go. Bobby talked to LaShel and she told him she was going to shower up and then come over. I was still sitting on the toilet when Bobby came back in to tell me what she had said. After he let me know that she would be over soon, he wanted to make sure that I was still staying strong mentally and said to me, “No matter what she tells you when she gets here, you’re not going to get upset, right?” Knowing exactly what he was getting at, I agreed while thinking to myself, “Hell no!! If I’m not nearing the end, I’m going to break down!”

I don’t know how long I sat on the toilet, but once I got up, I could feel my body relax again and I started pacing up and down the hallway and through the bathroom, leaning on the banister, the counter, or our dresser during each surge. Bobby had brought up my birthing ball and encouraged me to give it a try. I sat on it for a bit while he provided counter pressure that helped IMMENSELY and he just kept telling me to breathe and go to my happy place! HAHA! At the time, it helped SO much, but I can’t help but laugh every time I think about it now.

I think it was about 1:30pm when LaShel got to the house and when she walked into the room, I was standing between the bed and the dresser in the middle of a surge. I remember having some sort of a conversation with her, but I don’t have the foggiest clue what she had asked aside from her telling me that she wanted to check me and I needed to get back on the bed. I think I must have waited through 4 or 5 surges before I had the guts to make the move on to the bed because it seemed like every time I changed positions, the surges were double the strength. During one of those surges I remember LaShel telling me to relax every muscle and then she specifically told me to relax my buns. Once I was able to relax them, it was like instant relief. Imagine that! Even though I had been concentrating and doing my best to keep my body relaxed, I wasn’t 100% successful. This made me realize that I needed go deeper into myself and allow my body and my baby to do what they were meant to do. When I finally got up on the bed, she checked me and I remember thinking that there was no way I was more than 3 or 4 cm……boy was I wrong! LaShel grabbed my hand and looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Jen, you’re a rockstar! You’re already 8 cm! The baby’s head is RIGHT there!” She then told me she needed to go call Jamin, Dr. Biter and update Bobby. I don’t think I have ever been given better news. I was so relieved, but just wanted to return to my side lying position. I did so as LaShel left the room and I laid there amazed that this was it. My little baby girl was about to make her appearance!

LaShel and Bobby both returned to the room and Bobby had to fill in as her assistant for a bit until Jamin arrived. Once she did arrive, she let us know that she had given Dr. Biter a call, but had not been able to reach him. We didn’t have time to wait, so they got me into position to push. It was all so surreal and although I couldn’t really put birth breathing into effect, I pushed for 44 minutes and beautiful Jordan was born at 2:29pm, only an hour after LaShel had arrived! She came out with a nuchal hand (go figure, after all of the ultrasound pics with her hands covering her face!), one big cry and then looked me in the eyes, looked around the room and was completely calm. She was placed on my belly and I was told to leave her there because the umbilical cord was really thick, but short. I know I heard the words, but I kept forgetting and trying to lift her closer to me. Once the umbilical cord was cut, I brought her closer to me and stared at her in amazement! I had just experienced the birth of my daughter, my first child, and it was a better experience than I could have ever dreamed of. My husband was truly amazing throughout my entire pregnancy, labor and birth. He may not think he did much, but the little efforts that he did make could have moved mountains in my mind. Just knowing that I had him there supporting and encouraging me was pure motivation to see this through.

I also cannot express how appreciative we are for the amazing team we had behind us. Not an appointment went by that we did not laugh with Dr. Biter or break out in some sort of sing-song in the ultrasound room! Because of him we were introduced to this “alien” birthing technique of HypnoBirthing. Then to commit to it and meet Carol made us both realize that we were headed down the right path and I could not imagine having gone through this blind and uninformed, like so many other women do. I am so passionate about everything that Carol taught us and have since tried, and will continue, to enlighten others. We were then put in the hands of LaShel and Jamin when we decided to do a homebirth. It was an instant connection with them and we were so blessed to share this day with them both. Dr. Biter, Carol, LaShel and Jamin were all so loving, comforting and easy to work with. Bobby and I are forever grateful for them all and hope to build our relationships with them throughout my future pregnancies and children’s births.
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Congratulations Jenni & Bobby! Thanks so much for sharing your story! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

For anyone interested in having Dr. Biter & his new partner, Dr. Cobb for their OB/GYN care, please contact them at 760-642-0800.

For more information about hiring LaShel & Jamin for your OB/GYN care or for a homebirth, please visit their website at www.sandiegomidwife.com.

For more information about Carol's HypnoBirthing classes, please visit www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside the San Diego area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Bridget & Greg

2011-02-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

Bridget & Greg took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesdays at Babies by the Sea Boutique in September 2010. Here is their birth story:

Audrey's birth story

Audrey was born on January 10th. She was 3 days late. Val Peterson was supposed to Doula but because she was at another birth (another couple from the same class!) I ended up with her back-up Doula, Annely Allen - she was really amazing.

During my birth, I had back labor. My labor went on for over 40 hours! I started having regular surges Saturday night at midnight and by 3am they seemed to close enough together to head to Scripps La Jolla hospital. In retrospect, I think I mis-timed them though. When we got to the hospital they told me I was not dilated at all! Lesson one from HypnoBirthing - don't go too early to the hospital. Luckily because I knew I didn't want to be induced, they suggested we go home. I managed to get about three hours sleep and by daybreak, the surges spaced out a bit but still were regular. We sat around and watched the playoff football games. Lesson two - walk around when you're in labor to keep things going. By Sunday night, the surges got closer together and I thought that this must be it! I was in a lot of pain and could not talk through the surges. Got to the hospital and still no dilation. By this time, we knew Annely was going to be our Doula, so she met us at the hospital. Lesson three - if you get a Doula, don't be afraid to call her early in labor. I didn't want to waste Val's time, but you're paying for their services and I wonder if help might've shortened my labor. When Annely arrived, she got me up and moving and provided the only relief I had during surges by pressing my hips together. I lost my mucous plug and thought for sure I was more dilated, but alas was only 1 cm when I went back to the hospital! Since I still didn't want to use any drugs, we went back to our house and Greg took a nap while Annely labored with me through the night. By morning, I was exhausted and writhing in pain. We got to the hospital at 7:30am and I was finally 4 cm. Hallelujah! I've never been so happy in my life! By that point, I was so fatigued from no sleep that I knew I wouldn't be able to rest up before pushing unless I had relief from the constant discomfort. (side note: I've read that back labor is more intense than normal labor and I was constantly listening to the Rainbow Relaxation and birth affirmations CD and breathing but nothing seemed to make things less intense.)

Anyhow, from there, we all slept a bit which was a relief, but of course my dilation slowed and by 3pm I was only at 7 cm, which was not as far as they wanted me to be at that point, and of course they started to threaten a C-section unless we did other things to move things along. My water hadn't broken yet so they stripped my membranes and still no more dilation so my Dr (Dr. Duhamel) called and said I either take Pitocin or they'd need to do a C-section. I finally said ok, but I did request the lowest dose possible as I had also done with the epidural as I recalled from class that you have that option. Reached 10 cm at 6:40pm and after less than an hour of pushing Audrey McKenna was born at 21 inches and 8 lbs 7 oz at 7:30pm Monday night, 12 hours after we got to the hospital by one of the midwives of Dr. Duhamel's group. I believe having a light dose of epidural (I felt surges as pressure so I knew when to push) along with my Pilates background helped. Thank goodness it went fast as the cord was wrapped twice around her neck!

I am a bit disappointed that I didn't go totally natural but I think with the length and intensity of my labor that if I hadn't taken the class I could've easily given in to inducing labor and possibly needing a C-section. I'm grateful that I had the tools and understanding to go natural for as long as possible and have as minimal drug intervention as possible. I would highly recommend hiring a Doula! I'm happy that I've been successfully breastfeeding after requesting and receiving alot of help at the hospital and Audrey is over the already robust size she was born at.

Thanks again Carol for a wonderful education on birthing! We felt quite educated through the whole experience which really helped us make decisions that gave us the best birth possible.

Bridget, Greg and Audrey :).
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Congratulations! I'm glad that you were able to have a more comfortable experience by getting the epidural. I'm sorry that you didn't the natural HypnoBirth you were hoping for. You did everything the best you could & you had your support team to help you as well. The main goal of my classes is for people to have empowered births in which they make choices based on educated, informed decisions. You did exactly that--you knew that you needed the epidural & just got a light one & that helped your birth go much easier & comfortably than it would have without having taken the classes. You're exactly right that without the classes, you probably would have ended up with a much different experience full of interventions. But you & Greg stayed in control the whole way making the best choices for you & for Audrey and that's what I call a HypnoBirth! A few people get the births like the videos. A lot of people get a natural birth that's noisier & not as calm as the videos. Some people get births like you did--not what you hoped for & needing an epidural. And a small few end up with a c-section. My hope for you is that you're able to grieve the fact that you didn't have the birth you hoped for AND that you can be proud of what you accomplished with Audrey's birth! I'm certainly proud of you & Greg & am glad that Annely could be there to support & help you since Val was with her other client.

For more information about Carol's HypnoBirthing classes, please visit www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside of the San Diego area, please go to www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Keris & Jeff's Birth Story

2011-01-26T17:49:00.001-08:00

Here's the full story of Keris & Jeff's HypnoBirthing experience:

The Story of Grayson’s Birth

Carving time to sit down and write out Grayson’s birth story has not been easy while I spend most of my time tending to or gazing at my little boy, and the hours and days seem to melt into each other. But, I want to make sure that I write down as many details as possible from this amazing experience before they feel like a dream.

On Tuesday, January 11th, I felt a strong desire to go out to dinner with my husband, Jeff. I hadn’t wanted to do much of anything the last two weeks of my pregnancy, but suddenly I wanted a date night, knowing that it would be our last chance to go out before our baby was born. While we were at dinner, I noticed some mild contractions. They were very subtle, and because I was at 40 weeks and to the point where every little sensation made me anxiously wonder, “Could this be it?”, I simply mentioned them to Jeff and then tried to put it out of my mind. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and then went home to relax on the couch. As we sat and watched TV, the surges became more noticeable, yet still mild. They were, however, different from anything I had felt up to that point in the pregnancy, so I began to feel more and more excited that something significant was taking place. Jeff went to bed and I stayed on the couch, hoping that the TV would be a nice distraction. I dozed off for about an hour, only to be awoken by stronger surges. It was 1:00 am, and I tried to get into bed and sleep it off. It soon became apparent that it was nothing I could sleep through. I told Jeff what was going on and then got into the shower to relax. The surges felt pretty strong but were very irregular, happening anywhere from every 5-10 minutes. After the shower, I tried to go to bed, but the contractions and the excitement kept me wide awake.

By sunrise, the surges were getting stronger, but still irregular. Jeff and I called our parents and told them what was happening, assuming that the baby would be born some time that day- and on his due date to boot! We spent the morning moving through the contractions at a leisurely pace. We took a walk down the block to the lagoon and sat on our favorite bench. We spent time taking in the beauty around us, giving thanks for our many blessings, and saying prayers for a healthy birth. As the day went on, the surges got stronger, but were still not forming a pattern. So we waited...took more showers, listened to music, and waited. As the surges became stronger, Jeff and I found our rhythm as laborer and birth partner. Through each surge, he would apply counter pressure to my hips, which really brought me relief. He kept me focused and breathing, using key terms and cues that we learned in our Hypnobirthing course. Finally, we got to the point where the surges were finding some regularity and we began to time them. Over the next couple of hours they increased and at about 5:00 they were coming on every 4 minutes and lasting for at least a minute. We rode this out for another hour and then called the midwives at the UCSD Birth Center. They told us to come down and we were thrilled to be moving on to the next phase!

During our 30-minute drive to UCSD, I put on my headphones and listened to the relaxation CD that we had been given in our Hypnobirthing class. Up until that point, I had only wanted to hear Jeff’s voice, but since he was driving I knew that would be difficult. The meditation relaxed me and made working through the surges easy. But, I noticed on the drive that the surges seemed to be slowing down. We got to the hospital and went to check in at the birth center. We were told that at that moment the rooms were full but that someone was about to be discharged, and that I would briefly have to go down to the regular labor and delivery floor to be checked and admitted. This threw me for a loop, but I tried to breathe through the glitch and focus on the surges. Arriving on the labor and delivery floor, they had no idea why I was there and had to track down the midwife to see what was going on. Eventually, they put me in a tiny triage room where I changed into my nightgown and had my vitals taken. Through all of this, I was aware that my surges were again irregular and not nearly as strong. I did not like this feeling at all, and was really concerned that my labor had just regressed a few hours. The midwife came in to check me and I was at 4 cm and 80% effaced, but it was obvious to everyone that I was hardly contracting anymore. I felt so confused.

Meanwhile, the room upstairs opened up and they moved me into the more comfortable space that I had been expecting. Also, while this was happening, my dear friend, Julie, and my parents arrived at the hospital, and we went upstairs together. Upstairs, the midwife explained to us that she was not going to admit me until she saw that my labor was picking up, but that I could hang out and walk around to try and get it moving again. So, we did just that. I moved around the room, having stronger but again irregular surges. My brother and sister-in-law arrived and soon the room felt very full of loving, but staring eyes, and I started to feel extremely self-conscious that they had all come to witness the birth, and here I was barely even having contractions. We finally had to ask everyone to leave so that I could really focus on my labor. Julie stayed, however, acting as a doula to both Jeff and me. We spent the next few hours pacing the hospital and working through surges, but they never did resume their strength or pattern. I felt so sad and frustrated, and very, very tired.

At 11:00 pm, the midwife came in and told us that I was in, what she called, ‘early labor hell.’ Essentially, my labor had stalled out and I was only becoming more and more exhausted, having now been up for 24 hours. She offered us two choices. She said that I could go home and take a Benadryl to try and get some rest, or that I could stay in the birth center and receive an IV of sleep medication, of which she referred to as Therapeutic Sleep. I was torn. I cried. I felt so confused. I had really thought that I was having my baby that day. I knew that the surges were too strong to sleep through, but I had never had an IV of anything before, and I didn’t want it to interfere with my natural birth experience. Jeff, Julie, the midwife and I all talked it over and eventually decided that if I wanted to have the strength to have my natural birth experience, then the best choice would be to induce sleep through the IV and hope that I woke up in active labor. And so we slept...for about 6 hours, and although I did not wake up in active labor and was actually still quite groggy, I felt so much better and stronger after having had some sleep.

After a quick breakfast, the midwife came in and checked my progress. I was still at 4 cm and having only mild surges. So, as hard was it was, we packed up our things and headed home. The nurses and midwives were all so sweet, telling me that I would be back it no time at all. But, emotionally, it was rough. I got home and sat on the couch, still very heavy lidded from the sleep medication. I felt so sad and so discouraged. All I could do was sit there. I dozed between mild surges and found my mind wandering to places that I didn’t want it to go. Jeff encouraged me to get up and move around, but I couldn’t. I began to cry and told him that I didn’t even feel like myself. My head wasn’t in the game anymore. I felt like I would be having surges every 10 minutes for the rest of my life! By this point, it was 3:00, and my labor was still stalled. Jeff was concerned and he called Julie for support and advice. Together they decided that they needed to do whatever it took to get me moving. And, at the same time, I had decided that I needed to do whatever Jeff told me to do, no matter how difficult it seemed. So, when Jeff turned on the shower and told me I had to get in it, I did. I stood in the shower crying. Jeff told me that he was going to read me a Hypnobirthing script. He chose the balloon script, which is one about letting go of fear, anxiety, and anything else that you might be holding on to that could interfere with your birth. I sat down in the shower and he read. It was hard to focus and hard to feel positive, but, subconsciously, something shifted. After the script, my surges began to pick up. I got out of the shower and Jeff told me to eat. He fed me yogurt and coconut water and noticed that my face was coming to life again. The surges were becoming stronger and more frequent and all of a sudden I was back in the game!

The surges increased with such strength and frequency that it was only a couple of hours before they were 2-3 minutes apart and we were ready to head back to the birth center. Again, I listened to my relaxation CD in the car, but this time the surges stayed strong and consistent. Leaving for the hospital at 5:00 pm put us in the middle of rush hour traffic, but I didn’t notice. Jeff, on the other hand, was saying prayers to all of those who passed before us, calling on them to get us quickly through traffic...and they did! By the time we arrived, I couldn’t even make it through the lobby without stopping to breathe through three surges. When we got to the 4th floor, our room was ready for us and we were greeted by smiles from everyone who had seen us leave earlier that day. I quickly changed into my gown, put the relaxation CD on the speakers, and Jeff and I continued moving through surges together. By this point, Jeff and I were so in sync, and he was such an amazing support, that when I was offered the doula service that I had thought I wanted (the hospital has a volunteer doula program), I decided against it. I knew that Jeff and I could handle it. Jeff was my chair, literally, and through each surge, I would squat down on his lap as he pressed counter pressure into my hips. I was very focused and breathing hard, using a range of breathing techniques, sighs, sounds, grunts, and moans. It was not a quiet labor. As the relaxation track played on repeat in the background, I would tune in every so often and use whatever part I heard to keep focused. All the while, Jeff was behind me offerings encouraging words and Hypnobirthing cues to help me stay motivated. The midwife came in and checked on my every so often and every 30 minutes the nurse would check the baby’s heartbeat. Finally, I reached a point where my surges were on top of each other with no break at all. The midwife told Jeff that I was “double peaking,” and that she would get the birth tub ready for me. Wow! The double peaks took my breath away. This is when I wanted out. No more. No, thank you. I was done. Silently, I was cursing natural birth and all my Hypnobirthing training. If I could have jumped out of my own skin, I would have. I don’t know what came out of my mouth at that time, but I know that what was being said in my head would have to be censored! Just when I thought I couldn’t handle the double peaks anymore, the voice of my HypnoBirthing instructor, Carol, echoed in my head. I remembered her telling us that we might get to a point of wanting to throw in the towel. That there might be a moment when we would want out of the situation and want to get the drugs, and, that when this time came, we had to hold on, because it meant that the end was near. She explained that soon after, the surges would slow down and give you a break again. So, I rallied and worked though it, and after a little while I was getting a break between surges once again. By then, I was in the tub, which offered some relief and a welcomed change of position. As the surges slowed down a bit, I felt a shift and became very aware of feeling the baby move down the birth canal. I knew I was getting very close. My breathing changed and became more of a deep moan followed by a yoga lion’s breath to clear my throat. Again, this was definitely not a quiet labor! The nurse was keeping both Jeff and me hydrated with coconut water between each surge. Soon I began to feel like I needed to push. It was not as strong as the urge would later become, but an urge nonetheless. I began to use my birth breath at this point, very gently breathing the baby down. The midwife came in to observe me and could tell I was close. She put a mirror under me but could not see much, so she asked me turn over so that she could check my progress. I actually remember feeling quite annoyed at this point because I was already so aware of my own progress and I didn’t want my focus to be disturbed. I knew that I was fully dilated and the midwife confirmed not only that, but also that she could feel the baby’s head right there!

The UCSD Birth Center does not yet allow for water births, so they moved me from the tub onto the queen-sized bed that we could later sleep in as a family for the first time. Unbeknownst to me, at the same time that all of this was happening, there was a woman next door who was fully dilated and also ready to give birth, so the back up midwife had been called in to tend to my birth. As I was getting situated on the bed, she walked in, and I could not have been happier to see that it was our own midwife, Rebecca, the one that we had been seeing through all of our appointments. As soon as she got there, my need to push became incredibly strong. I no longer felt like I could breathe the baby down and had to succumb to my urge to push. Jeff sat next to me on the bed, but I didn’t want any more cues at that point and asked him to turn off the relaxation CD. I was completely inside my head and needed to focus. Rebecca led me through a few different positions, trying to find the best one to help move the baby along. He was having a hard time moving over my pelvic bone and I ended up having the most luck laying on my right side. It was about 10:30 when I really started to push, the room was quiet and dark and the midwife and nurse were using nothing but a flashlight to watch my progress. Rebecca gently encouraged my pushing, quietly saying things like, “You’ve got it sweetie, that’s it. You’re doing it.” She was fantastic. I pushed hard for about an hour. In the last few minutes, Rebecca asked me nudge the baby gently, and again I found myself practicing the birth breath. I wasn’t sure why she asked me to do that at the time, but later Jeff told me that she was trying to keep me from tearing by gently working the baby’s head out. After a few nudges, the baby’s head was out and looking right at Jeff! Rebecca instructed me to give one more gentle nudge and that the baby would do the rest. She told Jeff to put his hands on either side of the baby’s head and, with one more nudge, the baby was out and Jeff was holding

him in his arms! He announced to us all that we had a baby boy and quickly put him on my chest. Amazing! He was healthy, had beautiful color, and was crying to clear his lungs on his own. He lay on my chest and settled down as the midwife watched carefully for the cord to stop pulsing. When it did, Jeff cut the cord. The three of us laid there together for a while, taking it all in, as the midwife and nurse quietly gave me 2 quick stitches (after his head cleared, the baby nicked me with his elbow and gave me the slightest tear) and cleaned up around us. When all of this was done I sat up in bed and was finally able to get a good look at his little face. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous he was and that this tiny little person had been inside me all those months. It was instant love.

In the hours following his birth, our baby boy was greeted by his grandparents, took to breastfeeding beautifully, and took turns sleeping on Mommy and Daddy’s chest through the night. It was so special to be able to sleep together as a family in the birth center bed and to wake up to his sweet little face nuzzled up to mine.

In the morning, Jeff and I decided on the name Grayson. We had come in with two possible names, and Grayson seemed to fit him perfectly. We spent the entirety of the next day lounging in bed as the nurses came in to check on us only when we called for them. They were so respectful of our time to rest and bond. More family and friends came to visit that afternoon and again that night we slept together as a family. In fact, Grayson slept for five hours straight, curled up next to me on the bed, exhausted from his grand entrance into the world. It was hard to get any sleep, because all I wanted to do was stare at my beautiful baby boy.

Slowly it began sinking in that he is my son and I am his Mommy, forever and ever.

What a gift. What a blessing. What an honor.
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Wow Keris! I didn't expect you to finish writing up your birth story so quickly! I really appreciate it! I'm sure your birth story will inspire others.

For anyone considering a natural birth, UCSD's Birth Center is a great option. They have tubs to labor in, midwives that support natural birth & the availability of the regular hospital in case of a special circumstance.

For information about my HypnoBirthing classes, please visit my website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or if you're outside of San Diego, CA, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Keris & Jeff

2011-01-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

Keris & Jeff took my Tuesday night HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique in Cardiff in November 2010. Here's the short version of their birth story:

I am holding my sweet little boy in my lap right now- Grayson Edward. :)

He was born last week, January 13th, 2010. He tried to arrive on his due date, the 12th, but my labor stalled out...I am working on writing up my birth story and hope to have it done over the next few days.

My birthing experience was totally different in a lot of ways from anything I had envisioned, but equally beautiful and satisfying in its own right. Jeff was beyond amazing as a partner, so much so that I didn't even end up wanting the doula there with us. And the UCSD Birth Center...wow! The midwives and the nurses were all superb. I wish more people knew about that option. We were extra happy because at the last minute another midwife had to be called in as there was another woman delivering at the exact same time as me. The midwife called in happened to be the one that we had been seeing for all of our appointments and it felt so wonderful to see her familiar face.

I want you to know that your voice was distinctly in my head at a crucial moment. I remember clearly that when I was at the point where my contractions were double peaking and I was leaning into Jeff's counter pressure as hard as I could, I thought to myself that all I wanted to do was jump out of my body. I was cursing HypnoBirthing and natural birth in my head and I just wanted relief! Right then, I heard your voice telling me that when I got to the point of wanting to throw in the towel, it meant that I was almost there. I just kept focusing on that and it was not long after that they had me in the birthing tub and I was getting a break in between contractions again. I knew exactly what was happening at that point and knew that I was fully dilated and could feel the baby making its way into the birth canal. In fact, when the midwife came in to observe me and said she wanted to check my dilation, I responded with "What? Why?" (in kind of a why the hell are you bothering me voice), only because I was so aware of where I was at. She checked me and said, "Oh, you're fully dilated and I feel his head right there." "Um, yeah, I could have told you that. Now can I go back to what I was doing please?!" ;-)

Anyway, just wanted you to know that you were present at my birth in a very important way!

We have told so many people about your class and how empowering it was. Thank you again for everything.

Keris & Jeff
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Congratulations Keris & Jeff! I can't wait to hear/read the full account of your son's birth experience! I'm so glad that the HypnoBirthing classes helped you have a wonderful birth experience & that my voice came to you just when you needed it.

Enjoy your babymoon!

All my best--Carol
www.AWellLivedLife.net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Kelly & Trevor

2011-01-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Kelly & Trevor took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesdays at Babies by the Sea Boutique in August 2010. She was the last of her class to give birth. All of her classmates had wonderful HypnoBirths & they all became close friends through their experiences as pregnant moms & moms of newborns. Here is their birth story:

This is the birthing story of the love of our lives, Keaton James. From the moment I first found out that my husband and I were expecting a baby, something shifted inside of my heart. I felt more empowered, a sense of strength I never knew I had, more amazed at what the body was created for and what it is capable of. As my pregnancy progressed I found a yearning in my heart that I never knew would have existed … I wanted to trust these feelings of empowerment and opt for a birthing experience that mirrored this newfound confidence. HypnoBirthing was the answer to that yearning …and here is our story:

Keaton made us wait in anticipation to meet him, but he was well worth it! I was 41 weeks and 4 days pregnant when my labor began- still feeling great physically, mentally- just anxiously and excitedly waiting to meet my little guy (and to finally not have to answer so many questions from others about why I was not getting induced!) Trevor, my husband, and I did EVERYTHING possible to naturally help spur labor along- and on this particular Sunday night (it was a full moon, too!), things finally started happening. I had no idea that labor was on its way when I went to bed around 9:30pm- exhausted from a long evening walk- but right when I got into bed I felt a little trickle of water. A moment later, as I was getting up to investigate what was happening, my membranes fully released. This was the only moment of my entire labor that was like what you see in the movies- water was everywhere and I just stood in the bathroom with a towel between my legs thinking- He’s coming, he’s coming! I was not nervous whatsoever, I had spent the last couple months mentally preparing for this moment, and after weeks of affirming how I was going to rock out this birth, I truly felt it in my heart. I told my husband that tonight was the night, and to page Dr Biter so we could let him know what was going on. My surges began almost instantly after my water broke, and they were intense from the get-go, lasting about 45 seconds-1 minute, about 2 and a half minutes apart. Intense! I didn’t have much time to ease myself into “the zone” so I put to good use the practice of instant relaxation, put my ipod in, and listened to my HypnoBirthing affirmations and relaxation tracks. I was SO thankful for the time we had put in to prepare for this very moment- it made the weeks of practice incredibly worthwhile.

With Trevor’s help, I moved positions every 30 minutes or so- moving my hips around on the birthing ball and sitting on the toilet were my two favorite spots, the pressure seemed less intense and in many ways I felt like my surges were getting more done in those positions. The surges were intense, tight, and at times very uncomfortable (particularly the few times when I felt my surges in my back, but it was all manageable), but never painful. I actually remember thinking after one of them- I am doing it, this is working! After my surges I always felt a sense of deep appreciation for what my body was doing and for the fact that everything we had practiced for so many nights was actually working! Time distortion set in almost immediately, and each hour literally felt like 10 or 20 minutes. I think I was most thankful for this aspect of my labor- instead of dreading an upcoming surge or tensing up in anticipation- time just seemed to drift by, and my body drifted along with it. And it’s not that I just don’t remember what was happening- I just literally was so relaxed that I wouldn’t even realize I had had 10 surges, not just 1 like I thought. I stayed quiet most of the time and Trevor went back and forth between giving me light touch massage and helping me change positions. As much as we had practiced Trevor reading scripts to me, during labor I didn’t want him to read to me at all- only my HypnoBirthing CD and a few choice songs. In fact, Trevor and I didn’t talk much throughout my labor, but he was always right there, supporting me through massages, counter pressure, or just holding my hand. At first, I texted a small group of friends and family about what was happening (including my HypnoBirthing classmates!) and enjoyed receiving all of the encouraging messages in return. Soon after, I didn’t even want to look at my phone anymore- I needed to focus completely inward so that I could handle my surges- again, they weren’t painful, but just incredibly intense and tight. To me, the tightness I felt was the most intense part of my labor at this point- I had had a lot of practice labor leading up to this point but this tightness was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. When I would hit a peak of one of the more intense surges that I wasn’t sure if I could completely handle, I could hear Carol’s voice asking, “What’s that sensation?”- and I would focus on the fact that my uterus was tightening, or that the baby was moving his way down- never on the idea that it was painful. I knew in those moments how helpful it was to understand the labor process so that I did not have a reason to freak out or question what was happening within me. Soon after, Trevor mentioned that I had been in active labor for 6 hours (what?!), my surges were getting stronger. I literally have never been so relaxed in my life- which is still amazing to me to think about since I was in active, ACTIVE labor.

I was jolted back into reality when I began to shake pretty heavily while sitting on my birthing ball and felt a rolling urge to begin pushing. I immediately thought- I remember Carol mentioning that she shook when she was in transition. “This is not supposed to be happening yet, I’m still at home!” I thought, and I quickly fell into the immensity of the situation. There I was, sitting on my birthing ball rolling my hips, shaking, telling my husband I felt like the baby was only minutes away, and we were still at home! I could see Trevor was worried, and all he said was- “Okay, change of plans. We need to leave. Now.” Trevor put together some comfortable clothes for me, threw together a bag, and off we went to the hospital- he held it together for me and spoke softly and sweetly to me throughout the whole drive. I tried to stay in my zone in the car, but I couldn’t get comfortable and I began to think about having this baby in the car, or without my doctor- not reassuring thoughts! I immediately began feeling a new sensation- I had been dealing with a bit of back labor in my lower back at home but it was nothing I couldn’t handle, but now … now I could feel each surge rolling up and down spine. Each little nerve ending felt like it was on fire, one by one. “This isn’t normal” I kept thinking, and it began to freak me out. I could feel the reverberation of each surge on individual nerve endings and up into my brain- I remember commenting that I felt like I was about to have a seizure. I was still able to breathe through my surges, but the tightening and intensity of what was going on in my abdomen was like a walk in the park in comparison to what was happening with my spine.

We got to Sharp Mary Birch hospital and I had to get checked in and monitored. I wasn’t allowed to move from the hospital bed for about 15 minutes- time distortion worked just the opposite for me at this point, it felt like an eternity before they transferred me to L&D. The intake nurse checked me and stated that I was 7.5cm at this point- I told the staff and Trevor I felt like I had un-dilated between our house and the hospital- and I wouldn’t be surprised if I did, it was a psychologically and physically draining drive for me. I was fully aware of the fact that once I began to freak out about the situation was when my spine began flaring up, so I tried my hardest to get back into the zone I was in while I was at home. I was able to get back to a point where I was holding it together (not like I was at home, but I was managing the situation)- the affirmations I was listening to helped immensely during this time (i.e. Calmly handling whatever path my birthing may take)- and Trevor was doing everything he could to figure out what position would be best for me. Once we began talking with the hospital staff about my spinal pain (something I was reassured would not cause any permanent damage as I thought in the moment it might), I began to get frustrated. Trevor continually asked, but no one at the hospital had any idea when it came to natural options to relieve my spinal pain- no positions were working, and a request to try to change the baby’s position inside me was denied because he was facing the correct way and they “didn’t want to disturb him.” I felt like I was trapped and didn’t know what to do, I was on the verge of tears. My labor at home was so sweet and gentle, and my labor at the hospital felt like it was out of control. I was amazed at the difference between the two. Trevor responded by encouraging me with how well we were doing as a team, and how proud he was of me, and how excited he was to meet our son. This was exactly what I needed to hear. I turned on my relaxation tapes and played them in my room, turned down the lights, and tried to wait it out. I breathed through each rolling surge and tried to stay calm through each rapid firing throughout my spine- and it took every inch of my mind to stay in this mindset.

After about an hour and a half, I just couldn’t handle what was happening in my spine, it was agony at this point- despite my quiet breathing and lack of screaming (which threw the nurses off). Yes, I had a great coping tool in HypnoBirthing, but I soon realized that this very rare issue was throwing off more than just my ability to focus. The mood in the room changed dramatically and more staff started coming in to look at the intermittent monitoring that I was on. I could tell something was happening but no one was speaking loudly enough for me to hear whatever it was they were obviously worried about. Trevor asked for an explanation, and we were told that the baby was in distress and his heart rate was dropping significantly, and was staying that way. I went into the hospital being very leery of staff suggestions as I didn’t want to be manipulated in any way- but the hospital staff had been very open and understanding of our desire for a natural birth- so when they asked if it was ok if they gave me some pain and/or anxiety medication to help with my spinal issues (as they believed this was the source of Keaton’s distress- they thought I was in internal distress despite not showing it outwardly), we took the request seriously. I immediately tried to send calming and relaxing thoughts to Keaton to try to help stabilize his heart rate without intervention. I couldn’t fully focus on that though as my spinal pain was simply off the charts. We requested five minutes to talk it over (something we learned in our classes!), but were denied the length of time (in a respectful, empathic way…). They stated that Keaton’s need was immediate, and they didn’t want to let him go any further in the birthing process without stabilization- and they felt this was the least intrusive way to get Keaton stabilized. Again, they simply were not well educated on natural interventions for this type of thing- but that was the situation we were in and we needed to confront it. We felt like they were being honest, and their candidness spurred us to see this is a very serious request. Trevor said to me that the staff had nothing to gain by asking us this, as I was progressing quickly and had been relatively quiet throughout my labor thus far- we weren’t causing them problems at all and I hadn’t even spoken of my spinal pain for about an hour or so at this point. Because I felt like I didn’t know what else to do naturally, we agreed to a small amount of medication that would localize in my spinal area and would not affect my ability to experience the rest of my labor and delivery. They originally asked about an epidural- but we politely declined that offer. I was worried that the medication might cause the baby to be drowsy, but was told that this was an unnecessary fear. I prayed at that point that they were telling me the truth, and we went forward with it.

The hospital simply was not equipped to help me cope naturally, and my husband and I had done everything we knew of, but not being professionals ourselves we realized our shortcomings and, as much as I wasn’t a fan of taking any kind of medication- I felt like this was what needed to happen for Keaton to be safe and for me to continue having the birth I wanted. After receiving the medication, my spine calmed down tremendously (although I was still aware of it, I wasn’t imprisoned by it anymore, it was almost like having a glass of wine or something- my back and spine just felt a lot more loose) and I was able to refocus myself towards breathing through my surges- and I was feeling these more intensely again because of the lack of focus on my spine. I was actually thankful for this, as the source of my frustration (my spine) had eased up, but my body still felt fully present in the labor. Keaton’s heart rate stabilized quickly after that as well. I had to internally let go of the fact that I accepted intervention, and seeing the easing of worry in the staff’s faces when Keaton’s vital signs stabilized helped tremendously.

As it turns out, he was just about ready to make his debut anyway. I’m not sure if that was spurred on by the calming of my spine or this was already in motion. Within the next twenty minutes I began shaking again, I was telling Trevor that I was feeling overwhelmed and incredibly claustrophobic. It was very hard to stay in a relaxed state with so much going on internally. I had about a twenty-minute span where I felt like I simply wanted to run out of the hospital room and not be in labor anymore. I could tell that the relief for my spine was allowing my body to go ahead with the labor that I felt was stalling beforehand. Trevor remembered from our HypnoBirthing classes that this was a normal reaction to transition, and encouraged me that the baby was so close. Soon, a rolling sensation returned and I felt like my body was ready to start breathing the baby downward, but I was still apprehensive about this without my own doctor there. I wanted to share my labor with my doctor who had been such a huge point of encouragement and love throughout my pregnancy. My body reacted to the apprehension and stalled again for a little bit, which normally would be frustrating for many- but it turned out to be a wonderful thing. Dr. Biter came to meet us at the hospital within only 20 minutes from that moment.

I was able to instantly go deeper into my body and I could feel that my baby was ready as well. Literally the moment I saw Dr. Biter, I knew that I was ready and that I was well taken care of. Birth breathing did not go so well for me, and I felt overwhelmed with the urge to push- as much as I didn’t want to do this, it was what my body instantly went to. It was intense and I needed to make these very low grunting, animalistic noises as I pushed- although quietly. I could feel my baby making his way down with every push, and was able to watch my progress in a mirror- something I didn’t think I’d want until it came time- it really helped me focus on Keaton and gave me even more motivation with each surge. It was intense, not painful, but I just felt so incredibly FULL at that point- my body wanted the baby to be out in the world and I felt like I was just along for the ride.

Within the next half hour, with some amazing encouragement from Dr Biter, we welcomed our son, Keaton James into the world. He was 9 lbs 6 oz and 21 in long. A big boy, to be sure! He was lifted directly to my chest, and Trevor and I got to spend the next hour cuddling, feeding, and enjoying our alert, strong, calm little boy. The medication I took during the labor didn’t seem to have any affect on Keaton, at least outwardly. He was already able to hold his head up, nurse, look around, and look into our eyes (without any of that gook they normally put in baby’s eyes!). I had energy (not just adrenaline-type of energy), a gentle energy that allowed me to stay calm and in the moment with our new son. I tore slightly despite the many nights of perineal massage over the past couple months, but it was very slight and did not even bother me at all after a couple of days.

Many of the nurses commented on the fact that Keaton was so big and that normally they thought my body structure couldn’t have handled a vaginal birth of a baby that big- especially when it took about 8-9 hours altogether. It felt empowering to have birthed my little man in this way. My recovery time from labor and delivery was minimal- further reminding me how the female body was created for this very event! I needed time to personally cope with the fact that I used some kind of medication during this labor, as this was something I felt very opposed to beforehand- but the more I thought (and continue to think) about it the more proud I am of our decision- because we were informed and we knew why we were making the decision, and we chose the best option that was available for us at the moment. Not once in our labor did we feel as if we were being forced into something- although we do wish there were more naturally minded health professionals out there! It was a freeing and transformative experience for the both of us. Although things did not go according to how we had planned, we truly embrace our baby’s birthing story, and are eager to re-tell it whenever anyone asks.

We are so thankful for you, Carol! You empowered us to trust this process in a way that we wouldn’t have known otherwise. I also want to send a very heartfelt thank you out to the other women in our class with us- Jill, Brooke, Candace, and Holly. Their encouragement and friendship during my pregnancy, labor, delivery, and now into mommyhood has meant the world to me! And, of course, thank you to the amazing Dr Biter! His presence throughout my pregnancy and at Keaton’s delivery was unparalleled in terms of understanding, love, and encouragement. Delivering a sweet little Biter Buddy was an honor!
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Congratulations to you both! Thanks so much for sharing your birth story! I know it will be inspiring to others to know that even with extreme pain & a little bit of medication, you can still have a HypnoBirth! It's my goal to teach the classes so that everyone leaves the class feeling empowered & educated to have the birth experience of their choice. If things come up along the way that aren't what they wished for, it's important for them to know what their choices are & how to ask questions to know whether or not the intervention being suggested is due to a true medical situation or just due to hospital protocol. You & Trevor were able to do that perfectly & did what you needed to do in order to have the best birth experience possible for Keaton.

Continue enjoying your babymoon!

All my best---Carol
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www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

With HypnoBirthing, NOTHING works!

2010-12-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

Marie (Mickey) Mongan, the founder of HypnoBirthing recently presented the following speech at the HypnoBirthing Conclave/Convention. It's worth sharing...

With HypnoBirthing NOTHING works!

We see it often - HypnoBirthing mothers accept that they have the ability to relax through the first phase of labor. But when it comes to talking about the baby’s descent and birthing, the question is, “What do I do then?” My answer is always the same - “NOTHING!! That’s what I want you to get out of this course. The understanding of doing “Nothing!!”

With HypnoBirthing NOTHING works. It’s Nature’s perfect design from the very onset.

Let’s look at a newborn baby girl - as she emerges, who teaches her to breathe? She does absolutely nothing to make it happen - but it happens.

If properly placed and encouraged, she crawls and bobbles her way to the breast for her first meal outside the womb. There is nothing that anyone gives her in the way of instruction - A natural GPS??

Within minutes of being born, she releases her anal sphincters, and out comes her first stool, or she pees. How does she do that without a chart of how to perform timely bodily functions?

Over time, as she grows and develops, with nothing to tell her how or when or how many times, she learns that she can sneeze to clear her nasal passages; she can signal that she is hungry or wants attention if it’s not readily there; she startles and becomes alert if she is frightened; and, if she feels secure, she can relax and fall asleep in loving arms. What did she do to learn to fall asleep? Nothing! Who taught her to awaken? How did she know she was hungry?

Fast forward to when she is a teenager. Her body changes with nothing but internal hormonal secretions to act as catalysts - she becomes a woman. The power of nothing is, and has been, alive in her human experience in so many ways, and she has mastered many functions with nothing but instinct to guide her.

Nothing has to teach her that she is experiencing her first love. She instinctively knows it and feels it. And when the time is right, there is nothing she has to study to learn how to express that love physically.

But enter the miracle of pregnancy, and all of a sudden, her previous trust, power, and confidence crumbles. She is now taught that her body is incapable of leading her through what should be a perfectly magical time. She must now be carefully taught how to nurture her pregnant body and her baby and ultimately how to give birth.

She is further taught that her trust and dependence is best placed outside of her own abilities and externally placed into the hands of others - strangers, trained and practiced experts, who know better than she. She needs them now to efficiently and conveniently manage her birth. They will teach and guide her along each step of the way. Instinct be damned!

She is now categorized onto charts - primagravida, and she’s put onto schedules, and regimens. She learns that she is inadequate and almost irrelevant to her own birthing experience.

For the woman who senses this as a disconnect, there are two options. She can go along with the prevailing model, or she can trust birthing, register for a HypnoBirthing class and learn to do nothing!!

We know that many of our moms hear a common question when they say they are preparing to birth their baby with HypnoBirthing. The question often is “Are you out of your mind.” In truth the response to that is “Yes.” To rely on her basic birthing instincts, a mother literally needs to be “out of her mind”. That’s where she turns her birthing over to her body and gets her mind and the regimens and techniques out of the way.

That’s exactly where we want our moms to be. When we teach them otherwise - how to do, and when to do, and how often to do - we confuse the inner consciousness, which controls instinct. Instinct no longer can function - we have stifled the natural function with the clutter of confused, panicked mind talk.

We strip it of the internal knowing, and then we turn to drugs as an external means of forcing the body to do what it used to know how to do. We know that drugs inhibit the bonding experience at birth, and mind talk also inhibits bodily function. Instead of achieving the objective, we confuse the body and it abdicates.

My question to all is: How dare we? How dare we presume to think that we can manipulate and redesign and introduce confusion into the experience with our own special outlines, instructions and techniques? How dare we mess with what is already perfectly created?

When we distribute charts and lists and lessons, filled with exercises and positions and advice,in effect,we are telling our parents that they need to do more and they need to do it this or that way at particular times. We need to bring about an awareness that what we teach in HypnoBirthing is not the cornerstone of HypnoBirthing, but rather suggestions to pass time.

Parents panic. They are afraid they will forget what we carefully instilled. They question are they doing it “right’? The only important thing is that they learn to do nothing - to just “allow” - to be the mammals that they are and return to their basic instincts.

Birthing has a rhythm and a flow, and every bit of “fixing” that we impose helps to disturb and shut down that very rhythm and flow. What they need to develop is a mastery to be “Out of their minds.” We need to stop humanizing birth. We have to put aside our own egos and our need to be a relevant factor in their birthing.

The time has come when we need to stop labeling these births as “exceptional” and “fantastic” and “out of this world.” They need to be seen as the norm and not out of the ordinary. When we no longer feel that we have to talk about how shocked and surprised the caregivers are, we will have begun to make progress. These will be the births that all mothers will expect when they are “out of their minds” and doing Nothing.

——Mickey Mongan, Director and Founder of the HypnoBirthing Institute

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Jill Ann & Ben

2010-12-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hi-

Jill Ann & Ben took my HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique on Tuesdays in August 2010. There were 5 couples in that class series. All five couples had amazing births & they all become close friends. Jill Ann was the last of the five to give birth. She came to class wanting a different experience for her 2nd birth than she had with her 1st birth.

Ben and Jill Ann’s Birth Story

A little back story on my journey to a HypnoBirth:

When I found out we were pregnant with our son, I researched everything! I knew I was going to breastfeed and cloth diaper, and there was no BPA or parbens in my house but we spent very little time researching birthing options. I knew the notion of natural birth, especially since my mom had all three of us naturally, but I never even considered it. Everyone around me encouraged me to get the epidural so I just thought that was the way to go!

As my pregnancy came to an end, I was feeling miserable and huge (feelings I never had with my HypnoBirth) and as soon as I went up to my due date, I scheduled an induction for 41 weeks.

The morning of the day I was going to go in to get the cervix ripener my water broke.

It was 7:30 am and the only thing I could remember from the birth class DVD was to check the water to make sure it's clear and take a shower. It was in the shower that the fear took over. My contractions started immediately and were painful. I felt like I was going to die!

We went to the hospital right after my short shower and I was admitted right away. No joke- I had the epidural 15 minutes later and felt nothing!! It was sweet relief. I took a nap and patiently waited for them to tell me it was time to push. About 4 hours later it was time. I pushed and pushed and pushed some more!! After two hours of pushing, it was suggested that I had pushed for "the time" and now I should consider assistance or.... I was terrified of a C-section so I agreed to the vacuum and the episiotomy that came with it. My son was born 2 pushes later with the vacuum assist.

Again nothing went 'wrong' with my birth; it was a quick and easy delivery with no pain, but afterward I realized that I wanted something different for baby 2.

Before we even got pregnant, I was entertaining the idea of a natural birth in the back of my mind. When I would mention it to people they would look at me like I was crazy (kind of like when I share that I cloth diaper)! But one good friend shared her natural birth story and then I got encouragement from my midwife and then another friend shared her story. All of these women were passionate and positive about natural birth – my first exposure to something other than “get an epidural.”

I already knew I wanted Deborah Strauhal, my massage therapist, who is also a doula, at my birth and she suggested HypnoBirthing. I Googled and found lots of information including Carol's website (www.AWellLivedLife.Net)and blog. I also ordered the book off Amazon and read it before committing to class. It was Carol's blog that sold me. I already felt like part of the family before class even started.

This time around things were very different. I worked out to prepare my body, I felt great even at the very end at 41+ weeks pregnant... When my labor did start I was not afraid... In fact, I was opposite! I was excited! I was completely in control and ready for just about anything...

My recovery time was minimal and very, very easy! I was up and walking around that day and released from the hospital 32 hours after being admitted (pretty much the minimum allowed)

So here is my HypnoBirth story:

I was overdue and reluctantly scheduled for an induction on Friday (42+ weeks) and the baby was being monitored every 3 days and everything was looking great so I was not worried about the health of the baby and waiting until Friday.

I had been having practice surges for about 3 days and on Sunday (41 weeks 5 days) I experienced a sensation that was different than all of the other practice surges.

It was 2:00 in the afternoon and it was a rolling wave that took over my entire abdominal area and even brought tears to my eyes… not painful at all but it was like my body was reacting. I had another one 10 minutes later and then no more.

I was distracted after that because my 2 year old had woken from his nap. I was still experiencing surges but they didn’t seem consistent (or that I should be timing them).

Eventually, I took some time for myself and took a shower and listened to Rainbow Relaxation and Birthing Affirmations CD. I even tried to take a nap but I was too excited that I might actually be going into labor.

So, I decided to hydrate up with coconut water and Gatorade. I was trying to watch TV to keep my mind off of things but it was hard so I finally gave in and started using my ipod to time my surges.

Shortly after I felt a small gush and it was my mucous plug being released.

At this point I called my doula to give her a heads up and secured overnight care for my son “just in case” and then went about our nightly routine of eating dinner and getting my son ready for bed. I ate some apples, cheese, eggs, and toast, all washed down with lots of water!

At about 9:15 pm, I decided to go “relax” to see if I could get the surges to become more regular. At this point they were 5-6 minutes apart and lasting 30 seconds.

After 45 minutes of listening to the Rainbow Relaxation and Birthing Affirmations CD, I was feeling the surges coming on more frequent and stronger. At this point, we called our doula to come to the house. She arrived about 20 minutes later.

Once our doula arrived, things really took off. I moved onto the birth ball and laid my body over the bed. While still listening to the Rainbow Relaxation CD, my doula would massage my muscles in between surges. The massage was really helping my body truly and ultimately relax in between each surge and it was a little slice of heaven.

After about 45 minutes I felt the need to go to the hospital. I didn’t feel like I needed to push or anything, I just wanted to get there and be admitted so that I could get to my birthing room and get back into “the zone.” After calling the hospital, I took another shower and then we left. At this point my surges were 2-3 minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds.

When we arrived at the hospital I was 5 cm and “stretchy.” I had to be in the triage room to confirm that I was in real labor… again… I was relaxed and talking in between surges so there seemed to be a little reluctance that I was in active labor. During this time in triage I expressed that I did not want an IV, however, I ended up getting a hep lock, which was the compromise. I tried many times for no IV, but in all honesty, I didn't even care as the surges were close together and it was taking a lot of concentration just to breath and it really seemed to help the RN relax a little bit.

About 12:30 we went to our room, got a hep lock and more monitoring. I actually liked the monitoring because my 'team' could know when I was having surges. Before this, I had been holding up my finger to let them know and it was getting annoying to me… I just wanted to be still.

It felt like I was in my birthing room for minutes before I was feeling pressure (time distortion it was actually 45 minutes). I was checked and only 7cm. During this time I was laboring laying on the bed and the birth ball still listening to RR and still having light touch massage during a surge and more intense massage between surges.

Shortly after being checked at 7 cm, I was feeling claustrophobic and that I needed to escape!!!! I was breathing through my surges but I could feel that I was not relaxing and I started freaking out a bit. I was begging for someone to get me through it and MY TEAM did a good job of refocusing me and grounding me a bit (though I don't think I was actually listening to them).

Around 2:30 my body took over completely and I could feel the need to push. It was a rolling sensation in my body that I knew had to be it! As I was complaining that I had to push, the RN checked me again and of course I was 10!! At this point my membranes had still not ruptured and the baby was still -1 station but the RN gave me to go ahead to start pushing.

The RN then brought up breaking my membranes and asked if I would be interested and I was!!!! Since the midwife was delivering another baby at that exact time, my doctor was called to rupture my membranes (he was on-call). Meanwhile, I was birth breathing with every surge and ‘pop’ my membranes ruptured! Things progressed REALLY quickly after that! I literally felt the baby drop into the birth canal. At the time that my membranes ruptured it was clear that there was meconium in the fluid and her heart rate started dropping quickly!!!!

At this point I remained calm since I had faith that she was going to be okay but I also knew that I wanted to get her out as quickly as possible. I changed my position a bit (I had been lying on my side) and did the traditional 'pushing' to get her out ASAP. I pushed my body a little more that I wanted and she came out in one big woosh. I tore a bit (again didn't care) and she had to be tended by the nurses immediately, but Daddy was with her and I was still surging intensely. I delivered the placenta about 5 minutes later. Though she came out blue (the cord was wrapped around her) she pinked up immediately and she did not have any meconium in her lungs!

It was no time before I had her in my arms and she started nursing immediately!Though it got really intense at the end, I know that HypnoBirthing allowed me to remain calm and deliver my baby without any intervention.

I am so thankful that I had the support of my husband, mom, and doula and I had an awesome RN who stayed as close to our birth plan as she could.

Thank you Carol and my classmates: Brooke, Holly, Candace, and Kelly! Your support truly allowed us to have the birth that we wanted!

Audrey was born on Monday, November 29th at 2:52AM 20.5in and 9 lbs!

Thanks so much--Jill Ann

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Congratulations Jill Ann & Ben! Thanks so much for sharing your birth story! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

For more information about Jill Ann's doula & massage therapist, please contact Deborah Strauhal via her website: www.kheya.net.

For more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please contact Carol Yeh-Garner through her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. For classes outside of the San Diego area, please go to www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.
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www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Allecia & Jordan's birth

2010-11-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

Allecia & Jordan took my classes on Tuesday nights in July 2010 at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center. Here is their birth story:

Allecia & Jordan's Birth Story

My daughter was born August 16th, 2010 at 8:35 pm. She weighed 7lbs. 1oz. and was 21 inches long. I would say this day by far is the best day of my life. I don't think this intimate experience would have been the same without taking HypnoBirthing classes and having her at Best Start Birth Center. My daughter is my first child so there was a lot of reluctance and fear experienced. I wasn't sure what to expect and HypnoBirthing really helped me. It helped me not feel this way by teaching me to trust myself and my baby. My labor started at night on the fifteenth while I was in bed sleeping. The surges weren't regular so I didn't really suspect anything. I also think it had to do with how I dealt with the sensations I was feeling.

I woke up at about 9:30 am the next morning feeling the surges more frequently and regular. At this point I put my HypnoBirthing Relaxation CD on and concentrated on my breathing. I began to also time my surges with the application I downloaded on my phone. For the next two hours I timed my surges and they were above five to six minutes apart. I called the midwife on call at the birth center to tell her I would probably be in to give birth later in the day. She told me to call her back in a couple of hours. After the phone call I kept track of my surges for another two hours and got into my bath tub to relax. While I was relaxing in the bath tub my surges became for frequent and increased with intensity. I called the midwife back and told her my surges were three to four minutes apart and that my husband and I would be heading down to the birth center soon since its forty minutes away. My
husband had to run to Best Buy to get a video camera to tape the birth. He was only gone about an hour but it seemed so much longer! I was in active labor and told him to hurry up and that we were leaving as soon as he got back.

Before we left, we literally had to throw all our stuff into a few bags because the only thing we had ready was the baby's bag. We ended up bringing stuff we didn't even need but brought if we ended up at the hospital. On the way down to the birth center the traffic was crazy and we almost got into a car accident, someone almost ran into the side of our car. We left the house around four in the afternoon. I thought we would have to pull over on the highway because the surges were so intense. We arrived at the birth center at around five. We checked in with the midwife and I was examined to check for dilation. At this point the surges were very intense and it was very hard to get onto the exam table because every time I went to get onto the table I started to have a surge! The midwife measured my dilation at 7 cm!

After that was done I went to the room so the midwife could get information from me and to get ready to get into the warm bath tub water. The room at the birth center was so awesome because I felt so at home. I was able to labor, deliver, and spend the beginning of post-partum in it. The bath water was so relaxing during labor. I don't think I would have been able to relax as much during active labor and transition if I wasn't doing a water birth. I guess wanting the best for my daughter's birth I had good experiences myself. I spent about three and a half hours in the bath tub going through the rest of active labor and transition. It was very intense and I was on my knees in like a modified squatting position. The last part of my labor didn't seem like three and a half hours because I was experiencing time distortion which you have happen when you're in a deeply relaxed state. I was really focusing on my breathing and letting my body do the work. The most intense part was getting the baby's head out. It seemed like the baby's head would never come out but it wasn't painful just a lot of pressure. Not too long after the baby's head came out Ruby Rose was born from a little assistance from the midwife. I was able to pick her up out from underneath the water. It all seemed like a dream holding her little body close to mine.

She was and still is the most precious person in my life. It was awesome to have her with my husband and doula there to share this once in a life time experience. The staff at the birth center was very supportive and respectful. If I could say anything about giving birth it would be to make sure you inform yourself and do what is best for your child.

Thanks so much Carol,Best Start Birth Center, Jordan and Amanda!

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Congratulations Allecia & Jordan! Thanks so much for sharing your birth story! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

For more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, CA, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. For HypnoBirthing classes outside of San Diego, please go to www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

You can find more information about Best Start Birth Center on my resources page of my website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing class testimonial

2010-10-04T20:46:00.001-07:00

Dear Carol-

We both learned a lot and you provided a lot of valuable resources that I never would have been exposed to without the classes. My husband really walked away with a lot of knowledge that he never would have been able to get through me. To have his support, understanding and partnership at the level I do because of my doula training- it's because of your class. Thank you for your wisdom and support!

~Candace (a doula/professional labor support person) & Eric, 1st time parents, San Marcos, CA.
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Thanks, Candace! I'm glad that my classes gave you & Eric a way to bridge the gap so he could be completely involved in your baby's birth!

All my best--Carol

To learn more about Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoBirthing classes, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you live outside of San Diego, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner in your area.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Homeopathic recommendations for pertussis & the flu

2010-09-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

This information was shared with me by Willow Tipton, DIHom, local homeopath, regarding homeopathic pertussis & flu prevention. If you're looking for alternatives to getting immunized with a shot, this is some very helpful advice. I've personally had great success with using homeopathic remedies for illnesses & symptoms with my family. Hope you find it helpful too!

All my best--Carol

Here is information from her newsletter about pertussis:

Homeopathy Highlights
News From Learn Homeopathy Now August 2010
www.LearnHomeopathyNow.com (760) 942-3440

Remedy Highlights - Respiratory Help

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough has been making the news more frequently
as there has been outbreaks in schools. Interestingly, it's been affecting
those who have been vaccinated and not. Homeopathy has been hugely successful
in helping pertussis as well as similar difficult respiratory coughs.

This highly contagious bacterial disease derives its name from the "whoop" sound
made from the inspiration of air after a cough. Pertussis in infants or young
children is characterized initially by mild respiratory infection symptoms such
as mild coughing, sneezing, or runny nose. After one to two weeks, the coughing
develops into uncontrollable fits, each with five to ten forceful coughs,
followed by a high-pitched "whoop" sound as the patient struggles to breathe in
afterwards. Coughing fits are sometimes followed by vomiting. Fits can occur on
their own or can be triggered by yawning, stretching, laughing, eating or
yelling; they usually occur in groups, with multiple episodes every hour around
the clock. The bummer about these coughs, is they seem to linger, but with
homeopathic help, can clear much faster!

The following homeopathy remedies prove useful in cases of pertussis and
difficult coughs. As our advanced students know, you simply match your symptoms
to the remedy. When your symptoms change, change remedies.

Drosera:
Spasmodic, dry irritative cough, like whooping-cough, each cough following each
other very rapidly; can scarcely breathe; chokes. Cough very deep and hoarse;
worse after midnight; yellow expectoration, with bleeding from nose and mouth;
retching. Sensation as if crumbs were in the throat, of feather in larynx.
Harassing and titillating cough in children-not at all through the day, but
commences as soon as the head touches the pillow at night.

Antimonium Tart:
Great rattling of mucus, but very little is expectorated. Velvety feeling in
chest. Burning sensation in chest, which ascends to throat. Rapid, short,
difficult breathing; seems as if he would suffocate; must sit up. Coughing and
gaping consecutively. Bronchial tubes overloaded with mucus. Cough excited by
eating, with pain in chest and larynx. Cough and better lying on right side.

Arsenicum album:
Unable to lie down; fears suffocation. Air-passages constricted. Burning in
chest. Suffocative catarrh. Cough worse after midnight; worse lying on back.
Expectoration scanty, frothy. Wheezing respiration. Cough dry, as from sulphur
fumes; after drinking. Restless & anxious, better warm drinks.

Hepar Sulph:
Cough troublesome when walking. Dry, hoarse cough. Cough excited whenever any
part of the body gets cold or uncovered, or from eating anything cold. Croup
with loose, rattling cough; worse in morning. Choking cough. Rattling, croaking
cough; suffocative attacks; has to rise up and bend head backwards. Anxious,
wheezing, moist breathing, asthma worse in dry cold air; better in damp.

Ipecac:
Constant constriction in chest. Difficult shortness of breathing. Continued
sneezing; coryza; wheezing cough. Cough incessant and violent, with every
breath, to the point of vomiting. Chest seems full of phlegm, but does not yield
to coughing. Bubbling, rattleing sounds from chest. Suffocative cough; child
becomes stiff, and blue in the face. Whooping-cough. Croup.

Phosphorus:
Cough from tickling in throat; worse, cold air, reading, laughing, talking, from
going from warm room into cold air. Sweetish taste while coughing. Hard, dry,
tight, racking cough. Congestion of lungs. Burning pains, heat and oppression of
chest. Tightness across chest; great weight on chest. Whole body trembles, with
cough. Pain in throat on coughing.

Rumex Crispus:
Tickling in throat-pit causes cough. Copious mucous discharge from nose and
trachea. Dry, teasing cough, preventing sleep. Aggravated by pressure, talking,
and especially by inspiring cool air and at night. Thin, watery, frothy
expectoration by the mouthful: later, stringy and tough. Rawness of larynx and
trachea. Lump in throat.

Spongia:
Dryness of all air passages. Hoarseness; larynx dry, burns, constricted. Cough,
dry, barking, croupy; larynx sensitive to touch. Croup; worse, during
inspiration and before midnight. Respiration short, panting, difficult; feeling
of a plug in larynx. Cough abates after eating or drinking, especially warm
drinks. Chest congestion, with wheezing, asthmatic cough, worse cold air, with
profuse expectoration and suffocation; worse, lying with head low and in hot
room. Oppression and heat of chest, with sudden weakness.

Pedia Pro by Apex Energetics:
A potentized combination of remedies specific for Pertussis, Diptheria and
Tetanus. Some of the ingredients are: Pertussinum, Drosera, Phosphorus and
few more helpful ingredients like Colostrum. Comes in a convenient spray
bottle.

*Pedia Pro is a prescription remedy, however you can order it thru a
practitioner, or thru Willow's Patient Number by calling Apex Energetics
800-736-4381 and tell them you're ordering under patient number P2502 (Willow
Tipton) with a credit card. They will ship directly to you.

If you are looking for just the pertussis nosode homeopathic remedy, you can find it from www.homeopthyovernight.com or from Celletech.com - however, for my patients, I'm recommending PediaPro by Apex which has pertussinum as well as other helpful cough and lung support remedies as well as immune support. It comes in a spray and is easy to administer - 2 sprays once a day for prophylaxis - 2 times a day
if exposed and 3 times a day if symptomatic. It is considered a prescription, so
to order call 800-736-4381 and order under patient number P2502 and get
PediaPro. They ship fast, usually getting it within a day. Let me know if you
have any questions. 1 bottle goes a long way & should be enough for a family of 4. I recommend giving to people of all ages with the same dosage recommendations except I do not recommend it for breastfeeding infants.
In health
Willow Tipton, DIHom
AjaMed Lifestyle Spa
1349 Camino Del Mar, Suite F
Del Mar, CA 92104
858.793.1104
www.ajamed.com
willowdihom@gmail.com

www.learnhomeopathynow.com (760) 942-3440

Here is information about homeopathic flu prevention & treatments:
Calm Down & Stay Relaxed!

While the media creates a scared frenzy regarding pandemics, you can feel
fortunate that you know about homeopathy. We personally know of one story of a
man who was given homeopathics for severe flu symptoms. By the time his blood
work confirmed that he did in fact have Swine Influenza, the remedies had worked
and he was symptom free. If you should become sick, using your notebooks from
Homeopathy Level 1 & 2 classes, just match your symptoms in choosing the remedy
- as you've already been taught to do.

You can also make the following Bach Flower Essence combination to increase your
emotional sense of well being: Aspen, Cherry Plum, Crab Apple, Mimulus, Star of
Bethlehem and White Chestnut.

Sending Light,
Shelley & Willow

Remedy Hightlights - Flu Help

Swine Influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza
virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. The 2009 flu
outbreak in humans is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtypre H1N1
that derives in part from human influenza, avian influenza, and two separate
strains of swine influenza. It passes with apparent ease from human to human,
an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation. As with other flu
like illnesses, Swine influenza is spread as follows: coughing, sneezing,
kissing, touching infected objects, touching nose, mouth and/or eyes with
infected hands. Swine flu does not spread by eating pork. The strain in most
cases causes only mild symptoms and the infected person makes a full recovery
without requiring medical attention and without the use of antiviral medicines -
and is greatly aided by homeopathic remedies!!

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to symptoms of regular human
influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some also
report runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

The following homeopathy remedies prove useful in cases of influenza regardless
of what strain it is. As our advanced students know, you simply match your
symptoms to the remedy. When your symptoms change, change remedies.

Aconite:
Sudden onset of symptoms. Fever and chills, thirsty. Restless and fearful.

Arsenicum album:
Chilly and anxious, restless, yet exhuasted. Nausea with diarrhea and burning
pains. Coughing, wheezing, runny nose and burning symptoms. Thirsty for warm
drinks.

Belladonna:
Red, hot & dry. Fever, sore throat, headache, dry cough and inflammations.

Bryonia:
Aches and pains. Feels worse from any motion. Emotionally grumpy and
irritable. Bad headache and dry cough that hurts the head and stomach. Very
thirsty.

Gelsemium:
Dull, dizzy, body aches, weak and fatigue. Chills up and down the back.

Ipecac:
Nausea, vomiting with clean tongue. Dry spasmodic cough, often causing gagging.

Phosphorus:
Symptoms that settles in the chest. Hoarseness and coughing, thirsty for cold
drinks. Nervousness that's better with company and consolation.

Veratrum album:
Nausea, possible diarrhea and vomitting. Low vitality, dry constricted cough.
Low thirst.

Oscillococcinum:
As soon as you start feeling run-down or have other flu-like symptoms, take
Oscillococcinum. Oscillo® is regulated as a drug by the FDA and is supported by
published clinical studies as well as more than 65 years of use throughout the
world.

Clinical studies show that Oscillo reduces the severity and duration of flu
symptoms.

Influenzinum:
To reduce and prevent symptoms of the flu. Influenzinum is the updated each
year based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization. It contains
a dilution of the same three viral strains as the conventional Flu Vaccine.

FluMax Pro by Apex Energetics:
A potentized combination of remedies specific for Influenza. Some of the
ingredients are: Colostrum, Aconite, Belladonna, Bryonia, Gelsemium,
Influenzinum, Inluenza A & B, Asian Influenza A, Haemophilus Influenza,
Oscillococcinum and few more helpful ingredients. Comes in a convenient spray
bottle - see photo above.

*FluMax Pro is a prescription remedy, however you can order it thru a
practitioner, or thru Willow's Patient Number by calling Apex Energetics
800-736-4381 and tell them you're ordering under patient number P2502 (Willow
Tipton) with a credit card. They will ship directly to you.

Willow Tipton, DIHom
AjaMed Lifestyle Spa
1349 Camino Del Mar, Suite F
Del Mar, CA 92104
858.793.1104
www.ajamed.com
willowdihom@gmail.com
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Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom, Willow! I really appreciate it! I'm attending your Bach Flower Essence training this Monday, September 27th, & am looking forward to being able to share that knowledge with my HypnoBirthing clients.

All my best--Carol Yeh-Garner
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Kimberly & Matt

2010-09-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Kimberly & Matt took my HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique on Tuesday nights in March/April 2010. They originally planned to have a hospital birth but decided after a few classes that they would prefer to have a homebirth.

Here is their birth story:

Hi Carol... I wanted to share our birth story with you. My husband Matthew and I took your classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique in March/April. We were due to have our baby in mid-July but she surprised us and came about 2 mos. early!!!

While taking your classes we realized we really wanted to have a waterbirth at home and hired Gerri Ryan at your recommendation. We were soooo excited about our new birth plan and we had a wonderful pregnancy with no complications until late at night on May 16th when my water released unexpectantly. In a state of shock, I called Gerri and she told me to get to the hospital immediately. We rushed over to Scripps Encinitas where they informed me I was having contractions and all at once we lost just about all control of our situation. They gave me magnesium to stop the labor and antibiotics to prevent infection. They also gave me shots of steroids to help the baby's lungs develop since we knew she was going to be early. The magnesium kicked my butt... I couldn't even roll over in bed without assistance!!!!

It was at this time though that I realized how truly valuable the HypnoBirthing techniques are.... I was having surges the next day while laying in the hospital bed and Matt would talk me through them with visualizations. It was so amazing to see how much faster the surge would pass with his help rather than just trying to breath through them. His touch and voice truly relaxed me.I stayed at the hospital on strict bedrest for the next 10 days... on day 10 I started having surges again. This time baby was coming!

I listened to my HypnoBirthing cd through the whole birth. It was not the calm waterbirth we planned to have at our house but it was the best it could be with the situation we had to work with. Gerri could not be our midwife any longer in the hospital but she was our doula and was a great help. I used the birthing ball as best as I could with all the machines hooked up to me and Matt again used visualization and touch techniques to help me. It was an incredible experience.

The doctor and nurses continuously tried to convince us to use pitocin to induce even when I was 9 cm dialated but we held them off and were able to have a natural birth with no epidural. I was not in the ideal position and did end up doing "purple pushing" at the end but I know the HypnoBirthing techniques helped me greatly to deal with the situation and not just give in to everything they wanted to do. I was able to relax for most of the labor and never once considered not doing this naturally. I am so happy for that.

Our daughter... Samantha Rianne... was born May 26, 2010. She was over 7 wks early and had to stay in NICU for 3 wks. However she is amazingly healthy and such a calm and peaceful baby. I know HypnoBirthing really helped her to be so happy and calm. I look forward to the next pregnancy!!!

Thank you Carol :)
Kimberly M
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Congratulations Kimberly & Matt! Continue to enjoy your babymoon! I'm so glad that even though your birth didn't go exactly as planned, the HypnoBirthing techniques helped you remain calm & relaxed so you could have the best birth experience possible.

Take care & thanks for sharing your birth story!
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For more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. For more information about HypnoBirthing classes outside of San Diego, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com

For more information about Gerri Ryan, LM, CPM, Kimberly & Matt's midwife, please visit www.centerfornaturalbirth.com

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Brooke & Matt

2010-09-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Brooke & Matt took my HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique on Tuesday nights in May/June 2010. Here is their birth story...

The birth story of Grace M

We had been given several different due dates during my pregnancy because I switched doctors; the earliest of which was Friday July 16th. So when I started having mild surges Saturday afternoon on July 10th I made the assumption it was just false labor and that I had been doing too much and needed to relax. Matt and I had a very mellow Saturday and at 3pm I took a two-hour nap, which I think was a Godsend considering what the next 24 hours held in store for me!

The surges continued all Saturday evening and around 9pm I got into bed to watch a movie and try to relax. At this point, the surges felt like typical menstrual cramps; somewhat uncomfortable but not painful. I downloaded an app on my iPhone and started to time the surges (yes, there is an app for that!!) because I knew from class the difference between false labor and real labor was whether the surges were coming in a consistent time frame for at least an hour. The surges were kind of all over the place – it would go from 10 minutes apart to six minutes back to 10 minutes, etc. This further confirmed my thinking it was just false labor. Matt came up to bed around 11pm and was surprised to find me awake and timing surges. I told him I thought it was still just false labor and we went to bed. I was able to sleep, or at least rest, between the surges until around 3am at which point I was just awake and trying to rest and remain calm since I was starting to think we had a long day ahead of us. I was listening to the rainbow relaxation CD on my iPod this entire time, which helped me stay focused on keeping my body limp and relaxed.

Around 6am on Sunday morning I could no longer stay in bed and moved to sitting on the toilet, which was comfortable and helped keep my pelvis open. This is when we called my sister-in-law Kelly (who is a midwife), and she confirmed that since the surges had been coming since Saturday afternoon, I was definitely in labor. She booked a ticket on the next flight out of San Francisco and was landing in San Diego at 10:20am. She was originally scheduled to fly down later in the week to act as our doula at the birth.

Matt drew a bath for me and I labored in the tub for about an hour while he got the bags and everything ready to go to the hospital. Around 8am we called the doctor’s office and as we expected my doctor was still on vacation so his backup called us back. She said if the pain was too much we could head to the hospital so I could receive an epidural, but if not to wait until the surges were about 4 minutes apart for an hour. The surges were fairly intense at this point, but I kept breathing through them and it really wasn’t too bad. It was actually quite an exciting time because we knew our baby was coming and everything we had been preparing for was happening!

As far as we could tell, when we called the doctor the surges were ranging from 4-7 minutes apart. We had a really hard time timing the surges because they start off mild and then get more intense and then get mild again before stopping. This being said, it was hard for me to tell exactly when they were starting and stopping which made timing them very difficult.

Around 9am, I had showered and Matt had the car loaded and everything ready to go to the hospital. We didn’t want to go to the hospital too early so I laid down on the couch and kept listening to rainbow relaxation on my iPod and trying to relax. Around 9:45am, during one of the surges my water broke while I was on the couch. At this point, the surges were ranging from 2-4 minutes apart, and now that my water had also broken we decided we should head to the hospital.

It happened that we were ready to go to the hospital at the same time my sister-in-law was landing at the airport. Rather than her having to take a cab all the way to Encinitas we decided to pick her up at the airport and then head straight to the hospital. Like I said before, our thinking had been we didn’t want to get to the hospital too early so at the time it just made sense that we’d pick her up. And since I had been laboring on the couch, the front seat of the car didn’t seem too different. ;) We live in the Kearny Mesa area so I ended up laboring in the car for about 40 minutes.

We picked up my sister-in-law at the San Diego airport at 10:20am and headed up 5 North to Scripps Encinitas hospital. During the drive, I had the front seat fully reclined and was lying on my side which felt better than on my back. My feet were up on the dash and I had the window half way down because the fresh air felt so good. I’m sure people driving by thought it was a strange scene! I was listening to rainbow relaxation on my iPod this whole time and was continuing to breath through the surges. My instincts told me I was in pretty intense labor at this point but still the surges were manageable as they don’t last that long. And the breaks between them, albeit short, were still wonderful! When we pulled up to the hospital, Matt actually asked if I had been having surges during the car ride because I had been lying there with my eyes closed and not making any noise! I kind of chuckled and said, “Yes”!

We checked into the hospital and it took some time to fill out the paperwork, etc. I declined the wheel chair they offered me because it felt much better to stand during the surges. As we got to our labor and delivery room around 11:30am I was starting to feel intense pressure like I was nearly ready to start pushing! The nurse checked me upon arrival and I was 8cm! Considering this was my first birth I didn’t really know what to expect so we were all really excited with this news! The nurse gave me a hospital gown but I had brought a robe from home that I preferred to wear which she was fine with. Once I had changed I sat on the birth ball and leaned against the hospital bed while the nurses did all the initial tests/monitoring to me. The fetal heart and contraction monitors were attached around my stomach while I sat on the birth ball. The plan had been to do the initial monitoring for 20 minutes and then have everything removed so I could move around (this never happened since things moved along so quickly). At 37 weeks I had tested positive for Group B Strep. I had been doing some natural at-home remedies, but still had to get a dose of antibiotics when we arrived at the hospital. They gave me the antibiotics while they were doing all the other initial monitoring things.

We requested the nurse check me again a little before noon because I was feeling such intense pressure and felt ready to start pushing. At this point, I was now standing next to the hospital bed doing the modified downward dog position with my hands on the bed because I could no longer stay seated on the birth ball. Once the nurse checked me again and confirmed I was to 10cm I moved onto the bed to start pushing. It was noon when I started pushing.

Right away the doctor confirmed she could see the baby’s head, and I was trying to push the head to pass under my pubic bone. After about 20 minutes of pushing and between surges the doctor checked me and then asked us when our last ultrasound had been. Both Matt and I were so confused and told her it was at 19 weeks when we had the anatomy ultrasound. After this she told that was not the baby’s head we were seeing and it was her bottom! We were all in disbelief as my doctor had confirmed at my 37-week appointment the baby was head down, and then again at my 38-week appointment the nurse practitioner had felt my stomach (because my doctor was on vacation) and also said the baby was head down. The doctor immediately suggested a c-section and we asked for a few minutes to discuss it privately. As my sister-in-law is a midwife and has delivered breech babies, we did consider trying to still do a vaginal birth, but in the end we decided to be conservative and agreed to the c-section.

Grace was in the Frank breech position, which is where her legs were straight up so her feet were at the top of my stomach and were kicking in the same area she would have been had she been head down. And then since her head and bottom are both firm, it did feel like it was her bottom at the top of my stomach. Regardless, it was disappointing her breech position hadn’t been discovered earlier so we could try some things in order for her to move positions, but in the end if she hadn’t moved we probably would have scheduled a c-section. I’m glad this didn’t happen because as crazy as it sounds, I am glad I got to experience labor as it was such an amazing experience; emotionally as well as physically. So after all of this Gracie was born at 1:05pm via c-section! She came out alert, healthy, and crying loudly!

I don’t know how I remembered, but after the c-section they were getting ready to stitch me back up and I recalled a section in Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth book that discussed the importance of having the uterus sutured in two layers rather than the one layer method which is currently popular in the situation of a c-section. I asked the doctor if she was going to sew me up in one or two layers, and after telling me they routinely do one layer, she asked if I would prefer her to do two layers. I told her I would. Per Ina May’s book, this will help the uterus stay stronger and increase the likelihood of having a successful VBAC in the future.

The doctor and nurses were all so wonderful, and we were very happy with Scripps Encinitas hospital all around. They were completely supportive of everything we wanted and were very familiar with HypnoBirthing. Everything with the baby was in-room so Grace was never out of my sight. They even brought her to me while I was still on the operating table after the c-section. I really appreciated this.

I definitely think your HypnoBirthing class helped make Grace’s labor as great as it was! Due to all the training and practice I was able to remain very calm and relaxed throughout the entire time I was laboring which I believe helped ease the pain and helped speed labor along. The doctor told me after Grace was born I would be an ideal candidate for a VBAC; something I will definitely consider when Grace gets a little sibling. And even though the c-section was an unexpected turn of events during Grace’s birth, I think taking the HypnoBirthing class helped us meet this calmly and I still have such positive memories from our birth. Thank you so much for all your support and advice throughout the pregnancy! We appreciate all that you taught us and are so glad we took your class!
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Thank you so much for sharing your story! I think it's so important for people to realize that HypnoBirthing helps in whatever situation comes up during your birth experience & that it's not "just" for natural births. It can be extremely helpful during c-sections as well.

Congratulations on the birth of baby Grace! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

All my best---Carol Yeh-Garner
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

For more information about HypnoBirthing, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or go to the main HypnoBirthing website at www.hypnobirthing.com.

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Danielle & Evan

2010-08-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Danielle & Evan took my classes early in their pregnancy in March/April of 2010 at Babies by the Sea Boutique. Their care provider was Dr. Biter, but since he didn't have OB privileges, they decided to have a homebirth.

Here is their birth announcement:

Carol,

Evan & I are proud to announce the birth of our daughter, Violet. She entered peacefully into the world via beautifully successful home water birth on July 14th at 2:20pm {after only 10 hours of labor!} It's hard to believe our little angel is already four weeks old- where does the time go?

Thank you for giving us the confidence to have our dream birth experience. We are eternally grateful.

Warmly,
Danielle & Evan S
Tuesday class @ Babies by the Sea, March 2010

Here are some pictures from their birth:

Danielle having surges in the birth pool with Evan supporting her:

Danielle receiving her baby:

Danielle relaxed after the birth:

Evan cutting the umbilical cord:

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Congratulations to you! Enjoy your babymoon & thank you for sharing your birth announcement & pictures of your birth experience! I look forward to being able to share your birth story soon!

All my best--Carol

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To learn more about HypnoBirthing in San Diego, please visit Carol Yeh-Garner's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or go to www.hypnobirthing.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Kristie & Michael

2010-08-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

Kristie & Michael took my classes on Tuesday nights at Babies by the Sea Boutique in May/June of 2010.

Here is the email that they sent me to announce the birth of their baby:

Eggroll M (we actually don't have a name yet, so referring to him as his in name in utero) was born on July 8 at 3:45 pm. EVERYTHING went just as you said it would-so perfectly. We were completely prepared and excited, not scared at all! 6 lb 7 oz 19 inches. Honestly Carol, we know we couldn't have done this without you. We feel so empowered and special to have been able to have the birth experience we wanted. More details to follow, as we would love to share our incredible story with others.
smiles and hugs, Kristie and Michael M.

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Thanks so much for letting me know how your birth went! I'm glad that it went so well & look forward to hearing/reading your birth story. Thanks for letting me share your announcement. Enjoy your babymoon!

All my best--Carol

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For more information about HypnoBirthing classes with Carol Yeh-Garner, LCSW, HBCE, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you live outside of San Diego County & want to find a HypnoBirthing practitioner near you, please visit the main HypnoBirthing website at www.hypnobirthing.com.
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www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Katie & Steve's HypnoBirthing C-Section

2010-07-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

Katie & Steve took my HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by The Sea Boutique on Tues nights in May/June 2010.

We had our baby boy, Carson, 3.5 weeks early. We hired our doula Kayti Ricker one day
before going into labor. I had a mild case of polyhydramnios which means that I had
extra amniotic fluid. My Dr. did not mention that pre-term labor or labor
complications could be an issue.

I lost my mucous plug on June 27th. I thought my water broke on June 29th as I felt
a few small gushes. The Dr. told me that it was not my water breaking and that the
cramping I was experiencing was normal at this stage of the pregnancy. I was 36.5
weeks along. The Dr. sent me home. I knew something was happening but I did not know
what or when.

Soon the contractions were 15 minutes apart and then 10 and then 8. My husband and I
tried to get into bed around midnight. I was listening to Rainbow Relaxation CD but I
felt the contractions closing in on me in the bed. I had to get out of the bed and
move around. I went from the birth ball to the couch to outside etc. Moving through
my contractions and focusing on my breathing really helped. The contractions
progressed and we called our newly hired Doula. I saw a small amount of bleeding
which Kayti told us was normal. We waited at home until my contractions were 3
minutes apart and expected to have our son soon after arriving at the hospital
around 4:30 am.

Upon arrival at Grossmont hospital, they confirmed that I was 100% effaced but only 1cm dilated. I was disappointed but I needed to know a starting point for my progress.
Due to how thin my cervix was the staff said that my labor should go very quickly.
The staff finally gave up on monitoring me as my baby kept moving around and they
were losing track of his heart rate. Oh....and I refused to stay in that hospital
bed!!! It was impossible to manage my contractions while lying on my back. They
tried to tell me that the baby could be having decelerations but I knew better. They
finally agreed to do periodic Doppler monitoring. They left me so alone that I
actually had to request that they come check on the baby. I could feel Carson moving
his legs and feet trying to help along the labor. The surges were intense. I was in
and out of the shower 6 times. It was my sanctuary. I was breathing through all of
my contractions and did feel the need to make noise through each one. I experienced
time distortion and periods where I went within like you described in class. When I
would open my eyes, my husband and Doula were looking back at me. They confirmed that
several minutes had passed.

My Dr. came in to check me around 8 am and wanted to break my water. I was dilated
to 4 cm. I asked for "5 minutes to think about it" and the Dr. left and went back to
his office. He never gave me a chance to have 5 minutes. In the mean time test
results came back on my broken water (it broke on the floor of the birthing room
while I was throwing up). The tests showed that my baby's lung development was at 33
weeks. . I had to put this out of my head and focus on my labor. The Dr. no longer
wanted to break my water. When the Dr. came back to check me a few hours later I was
still at 4 cm. I continued using my breathing techniques, showering and different
positions. The Dr. came back again sometime later and the baby had moved up and was
now at a minus 2 station where he had previously been at a minus one. The baby had a
lot of water to float in and was unable to push on my cervix and help me dilate. I
remained at 4 cm. By 2 pm on the 30th I was still at 4 cm. Kayti had me try some
positions that were hard to get through due to all of the pressure but I pushed
myself to do them. Due to no sleep and a long labor that was slow to progress, I
elected to have the epidural. At this point, I had been in labor for 24 hours
completely unmedicated. It felt like my choice to have the epidural and I was glad
that I had labored naturally thus far. Once I had the epidural I was still planning
for a vaginal delivery.

My Dr. came in and told me that he was very concerned that the baby had moved up. If
my water broke (the previous break was a high leak) then it could pull the placenta
away from the wall or the cord could come out before the baby due to the large
volume of water. Polyhydramnios was the cause for these concerns. The Dr.
recommended a C-section. This was the very thing that I was trying to avoid.
HypnoBirthing and the feeling of being educated and informed helped me to stay calm.

Kayti, my Doula, called a midwife friend of hers to get a 2nd opinion. I was very
appreciative of this. It helped me to realize that the C-section was necessary. The
midwife validated the doctor's concerns. Finally, we asked everybody to leave and my
husband Steve and I weighed the risks and benefits of the C-section and made the
decision in our own time and our own way. We agreed that you do not get pregnant to
have a natural childbirth but rather to have a baby and we could not put our baby at
risk. We elected to have the C-section that the Dr. was strongly recommending. I
even asked him what he would do if it was his daughter to see if he would hesitate
but he did not. Without any hesitation he said “I would perform a C-section
immediately.”

When the decision was made about the C-section, I felt very calm and in control.
Kayti was allowed to join my husband and I in the operating room. She was there to
help carry out the rest of our birth plan. Carson came out crying with no lung
problems at all. The Dr. even had to use the vacuum because he had floated so high
up into the uterus. There was water everywhere according to my husband and the Dr.
All that extra fluid! I did not get to see my son much in the OR. My first glimpse
of him was while I was in recovery and I could see him across the room being held
by my husband who remembered to do Kangaroo Care (thank you for talking about this
in class). It was a precious site. Kayti waited with me in recovery while Steve was
with the baby.

Steve brought the baby to me in recovery. Kayti suggested that I try to breastfeed.
I knew I wanted to breastfeed but with all of the excitement and being in recovery
etc. it did not occur to me that this was an appropriate time. The nurse allowed it
and Carson started trying to nurse.

Looking back I would not have changed a thing. I am so glad that I prepared for a
natural HypnoBirth and had hired a Doula. I felt very educated and in control. It
was wonderful to experience and manage REAL LABOR! I am confident that had my labor
been able to progress and there were no risks that I absolutely could have had the
natural childbirth that I was hoping for.

Besides the baby being healthy, the important thing is that it felt like it was our
birth and our decisions despite the fact that it did not go as planned. Thank you
for everything. Our son is healthy and weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and was 18.5 inches long.
We are adjusting to new parenthood and the lack of sleep! Our son is healthy and
beautiful!!

Katie and Steve P.
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Thank you so much for sharing your story, Katie & Steve! I'm so sorry that your birth didn't go as planned & that you had a c-section. I'm glad that the HypnoBirthing classes helped you feel in control & informed every step of the way. My ultimate goal in teaching HypnoBirthing classes is to inform & educate my clients so that no matter where their birth journey takes them, they feel as in control as possible & make choices based on fact not fear.

For more information about HypnoBirthing in San Diego, please visit my website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside of San Diego, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com for more information & to find a practitioner in your area.

For more information about Kayti Ricker, Katie & Steve's doula, please visit her website at www.mysandiegodoula.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Meara & Mike's HypnoBirthing Story

2010-07-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Meara & Mike took my HypnoBirthing classes in April/May of 2010. This is their birth story of their 2nd child.

Sylvie Ines D was born at home on May 21st, 2010
She entered the world at 4:03 am
9 lbs, 21 inches long...

As you know, I had been experiencing surges during the temporary suspension of Dr. Biter's privileges and during that wretched period of time I silently pleaded with my baby to stay put until we had a plan in place... I was so certain that I wanted a birth experience that included Dr. Biter, my friend and advocate, that I needed a little time to figure out where and how we would deliver.

Linda Goldsmith, whom I met at a rally for Dr. Biter, offered to be our doula and when I expressed my hesitance to delivery at Sharp Mary Birch, Dr. Biter suggested I contact Jamin Sylvada & Le Shel Montgomery. Trusting that Dr. Biter would come to our home to attend the birth of our daughter should we choose that route gave me to confidence I needed to opt for a home birth. We met with Jamin for the very first time on Monday, May 17th. Later than afternoon I met with Dr. Biter and all at once the details seemed to fall into place and I was able to let go... to whisper softly to my baby that it was ok to come now, that I was ready.

Wednesday evening my surges began to find a rhythm and were gaining in intensity. I lay down for bed though, and they stopped all together. I slept deeply and awoke the next day feeling calm and ready. No surges though... After an entire day without surges like I'd had the night before, we went for a long family walk to the park where I ran and played with Elsa, our 2 1/2 year old daughter. I went to bed that night feeling somewhat discouraged by the false start, and uncomfortable with the weight of baby but still listened to the Rainbow Relaxation just as I'd done every night for weeks... I awoke several times in the night to go the bathroom and was vaguely aware each time that I'd been woken by a surge, but they weren't very strong or uncomfortable and each time I went easily back to sleep. I awoke to really strong surge and looked at the clock at 2:41 am. It was the first of them that was really intense and somewhat painful and I decided to get up and shower to relax and see if more would follow. I had several more really intense surges in the shower and when I got out I woke Mike up, letting him know that labor was getting started. Thinking we might have a baby the next day or evening, I was really trying to relax for the journey ahead. I lay down and put my headphones back on to listen to the Rainbow Relaxation again and my calm was punctuated by several more really strong and uncomfortable surges. I sent Linda a text message letting her know that I was now in labor and asked her to contact Dr. Biter. At 3:25 am my waters released in a warm wave and I had Mike call Jamin immediately. All at once my surges were just one minute apart and I could hardly catch my breath between them, let alone relax! I was really trying hard to quiet myself, to turn inward and to stay present. I was so tempted to just leave my body when the surges swept over me but I managed to stay put. I was unable to find any position that offered any relief so found myself squatting on a towel on the bathroom floor while Mike and my Step-Mom Lorraine (who was visiting from Canada) feverishly rushed around preparing our bed and room, organizing the supplies for Jamin & Le Shel. I recognize now that I was in transition while I was alone there on the bathroom floor. There were a few minutes where I lost my focus and started to get scared, all alone in there with a overwhelming pressure from within and no doula, midwife, or doctor... But Jamin rushed through the door at 3:55 am and she could tell immediately by my breathing (and low moans) that the baby was coming. She and Mike managed to get me onto our prepared bed and Jamin barely had a chance to get her gloves on before Sylvie was emerging. I wasn't pushing, it felt as though Sylive was pushing, as though nothing in the world I could have done would slow her down... Jamin reminded me to breath, not to push, and our daughter was born at 4:03 am. Jamin had only been in our home for 8 minutes and I hadn't even opened my eyes, thinking that we had hours more ahead... I was just desperately trying to stay focused and calm and that singular effort required every ounce of energy and attention. Sylvie weighed 9 lbs and was 21 inches long. Linda, Dr. Biter, & Le Shel all arrived within minutes of her birth, before I'd even delivered the placenta. The atmosphere in our bedroom was so lovely--calm and relieved and joyous and sacred. Sylvie was placed on my chest immediately and remained there until it was time to repair the tear that I sustained during Sylvie's rapid arrival. She was calm and alert and latched onto my breast at first try... It was so beautiful to be at home, to be surrounded by such loving and supportive birth attendants. I have no regrets about my birth experience, I wish I'd thought to open my eyes for a moment, but other than that it was perfect! Perhaps if things had progressed a bit more slowly I could have remained a bit more relaxed and in my hypno-state, but I think everything happened just as it should have and your HypnoBirthing classes gave me a quiet confidence that I might not have mustered otherwise! I was very aware of breathing and my focus inward was my method of hypnosis... Not relaxed perhaps, but very deliberate and purposeful.

After everyone had tidied up and left our home to return to theirs, we snuggled up in our bed with Sylvie as the sun rose. Elsa, miraculously, slept through the night and its many disturbances and wandered into our room at 7:15 am to find that her sweet sister had arrived in the night. The look on her face is indelibly etched on my heart and I will carry the joy of that peaceful meeting deep in my heart for the rest of my life. What a blessing it was to be cared for in our home, our birth experience treated like the sacred rite that it is and not a routine medical procedure! It was magical...

The upheaval of Dr. Biter's temporary suspension of privileges offered up a blessing to us that we never could have foreseen at the time--we were welcomed so warmly into the natural birth community in San Diego and grew to feel so supported by so many wonderful men and women. Your classes were invaluable, and so were the friendships I formed with the women who joined us at the rallies and who offered up their wisdom and services. I knew that Dr. Biter would support our birth in the way that I dreamed possible, but I had no idea that there was such a wonderful community of others who share our same beliefs.

Thank you Carol, for your classes and for all of your support in the weeks and days leading up to Sylvie's birth. You are amazing.

Best,
Meara, Mike, Elsa, & Sylie D
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Thank you so much for sharing your birth story, Meara! I know it wasn't the path that you had originally chose for your 2nd birth, but I'm so glad that everything worked out & that you had a beautiful home birth!

For more information about HypnoBirthing in San Diego, please contact Carol Yeh-Garner at 858-837-1259 or through her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. You can also learn more about HypnoBirthing at www.hypnobirthing.com.

For more information about Dr. Robert Biter, Linda Goldsmith--labor doula, Jamin & LeShel of San Diego Midwives, please visit Carol's resources page on her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net for their contact information.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Mikayla & Brian

2010-07-08T14:32:00.001-07:00

Hi-

Mikayla & Brian attended my classes at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center on Thursday nights in April/May 2010. It was their 2nd birth. Mikayla had a vaginal birth the 1st time around but was somewhat traumatized by the experience, especially the pushing phase. They took my classes to help her feel more confident about her ability to have a better, more comfortable birthing experience.

She contacted me when she was a few days overdue & wanted to find some natural induction recommendations. I recommended acupuncture & prenatal massage.

Here's her birth announcement:

Hi Carol,
I contacted Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center and had an acupuncture appointment on Friday. That morning I thought I was feeling surges, but decided to keep the appointment. I really enjoyed it. That evening I continued having surges . After a calm labor and very in control of myself and the experience, I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy at 8:25 am on Saturday, July 3rd. Declan M, 7 lb 10oz and 19 1/2". Thank you for all of your help!!! I must have listened to Rainbow Relaxation 30 times during my labor!

Fondly,
Mikayla & Brian
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations Mikayla & Brian! Enjoy your babymoon! Thanks for letting me share your story!

All my best--Carol

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing baby #2 for Sarah & Troy

2010-06-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sarah & Troy took my HypnoBirthing classes for baby #1 in May 2008. She had her baby at UCSD Birth Center & had a wonderful HypnoBirth. You can listen to her 1st birth experience at http://www.pregtastic.com/sarahs-birthing-story/.

Sarah contacted me a few months back to arrange for a private refresher class in preparation for baby #2. She & Troy came to my office in May for a 1 1/2 hour session. We talked about the fears & concerns they had about birth & becoming parents & reviewed key points about HypnoBirthing to help Sarah feel confident about what techniques to use & how to use them during her 2nd birth experience. Then I did a hypnosis session with them--a fear release & a birth rehearsal imagery. They left feeling really relaxed, excited & confidnet about their upcoming birth experience.

Here is their birth story:

Crash! Boom! BAM!

My labor started Saturday night at straight-up Midnight. It was pre-labor so it was random in both time and intensity, so I just stayed quietly in bed and thought about millions of things. I carbo-loaded and hydrated all Saturday like I was getting ready to run the 2010 Rock-n-Roll Marathon. I packed the remaining items in my hospital bag and walked the dog. I spent as much time as I could Saturday meditating, listening to my HypnoBirthing CD and relaxing.

By late afternoon I knew Saturday was not the day of my baby’s birthday. However, when I woke on Sunday I knew that birth was sooner than later, because I called Alma (my Mother’s Helper) in the morning for her to watch Miss Riley that day. The pre-labor continued with the surges/contractions gradually increasing in strength. Timing was still random, but even with eating a ton of carbs and drinking more Smart Water than all the marathoners combined, the surges/contractions strengthened.

We went to the grocery store late in the afternoon and it was all I could do to make it through the store or even to the front doors. I went to bed around 8:00pm to meditate and listen to my HypnoBirthing CD. Troy laid down with me and I was squeezing his hand when the contractions started and stopped. From there, I lost track of time. Alma was called to watch Miss Riley for the night and Kayti (Kayti Ricker my bad-ass doula) was called to come and assist us with the birth.

Kayti arrived around 11-11:30ish pm and she got me out of bed to finish the deed! I lunged, yes, the workout routine move, around the house until I could do no more. After the lunges, we just walked until I could not walk anymore. I kept eating and drinking until I could do no more. Then it was time to head to UCSD Birth Center and we left the house around 2:45ish am. At 3:10am I was checked in at 6cm, fully effaced, -1 station and at 4:00am Colby Cash was born.

My labor was beautiful! Troy was my king and was so perfect. Kayti was awesome and without her, there is no way I could have had such a great labor. It was a perfect HypnoBirthing experience. Full on relaxation, meditation and assisting my little Colby during labor.

Now this is where the story takes a twist in the wrong direction. Colby hit the tile floor because I shot him out like a rocket. No pushing whatsoever! In 55 minutes from the time the midwife checked me Colby was on the floor. There was no midwife or nurse in the room to catch him. Kayti tried her best to catch the slippery fella but was not in the right position. She did break his fall, thank goodness. I was standing at the side of the bed…remember I was doing my best to dance him out. To describe it better, I was doing a modified downward dog at the side of the bed since my hands were on the bed and my feet were on the floor.

From the floor, he went to have a CAT scan of his head due to the bump and precautions. All Monday, we were in the NICU for observation and everything turned out wonderful. Colby is healthy baby boy and can take a licking with the best of them. Even the best plans and preparations along with the best labor cannot predict birth.

I used deep relaxation, breathing, meditation and the power of positive thinking to help me have my amazing birth experience. Thank you, Carol, for teaching me HypnoBirthing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow! I've heard of babies sliding out quickly without minimal (or any) pushing, but never shooting out! Congratulations Sarah & Troy & big sister, Riley! Enjoy your babymoon & thanks so much for sharing your birth story!

For more information about Kayti Ricker, local San Diego doula, please contact her via her website at www.mysandiegodoula.com.

For more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please contact Carol Yeh-Garner via her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or call her at 858-837-1259. It is recommended that you take HypnoBirthing classes sometime between your 5th & 7th month of pregnancy. Carol has openings in her upcoming July & August class series held at Babies by the Sea Boutique & Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center. Please contact her for more information.

If you are outside San Diego & would like more information about HypnoBirthing, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner in your area.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement & story--Thanya & Elbert

2010-06-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Thanya & Elbert took my HypnoBirthing classes in April 2010 on Thursday nights at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center. They switched OBs during their pregnancy to Dr. Biter. While Thanya was in her 3rd trimester, Dr. Biter unfairly had his OB privileges suspended from Scripps Encinitas hospital. His supporters held daily rallies in front of the hospital & Thanya was often there--even at 38 weeks--standing there for hours in support of her OB. The hospital medical board found that Dr. Biter had done nothing to deserve the suspension & lifted it & then he resigned. Thanya & Elbert had considered having a homebirth since Dr. Biter wasn't able to be their acting OB for their birth, but their 1st meeting with the homebirth midwives ended up being a few days too late. Here is their birth story...

Thanya & Elbert H's birth story:

For the first 22 weeks of my pregnancy, I had an OB/GYN that was pro-HypnoBirthing. However, Elbert and I did not feel that we were getting the attention or time that we wanted from her, and eventually switched OBs to Dr. Biter through the recommendation of MANY friends. Words cannot express how glad I am to have Dr. Biter as my doctor!

It was around 2am on Sunday, May 30, 2010 when I experienced some mild cramping in my lower abdomen that woke me from my sleep. I never experienced that feeling before throughout my pregnancy so I assumed I was having surges. They weren't frequent, probably about 15 - 20 minutes apart. I practiced my deep breathing and pictured myself at the beach to get through any discomfort, while I was in bed. Around 9:30am, we called Dr. Biter just to let him know that I was experiencing what I thought were contractions. He told us to just hang out and to call back when my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. The surges kept coming and going until about 11am. Dr. Biter ended up calling us back around 12:30pm to check up on me, and I felt disappointed telling him that the surges stopped, and Elbert and I were just out and about walking around at the Forum Shops. Dr. Biter said it was quite normal for contractions to start and stop and suggested we just go about our day as usual and call him back if anything new happened.

I didn’t have any other surges the entire day until about 6pm. They were very infrequent, some coming at 40 minutes apart. This happened until about 9pm. Then out of nowhere, around 9:30pm, the surges came back and came back with a vengeance. I first took a long, hot shower to try to comfort myself, and after showering, I got on all fours and did my relaxation breathing to get through them. These surges were a LOT stronger than the ones I experienced in the morning. I tried my best to not let the discomfort take over me, so I rode the surges for about another hour or so before calling Dr. Biter to let him know that my surges were about 5 minutes apart. I also called Linda Goldsmith, a wonderful and amazing doula who was helping out Dr. Biter patients while he gets hospital privileges back, to let her know that I was in labor. I really needed her at this point, as I almost gave up on myself thinking that I wasn't going to be able to have the natural and relaxing birth I dreamed of. I listened to the Birthing Affirmations and Rainbow Relaxation CD, but the feeling of these surges was so new to me, I couldn’t concentrate on getting myself to relax and be in my “happy place.” I was in tears and at one point, told Elbert, "I don’t think I can do this."

Linda came over around 11pm and totally gave me my confidence back by showing me different positions and different breathing techniques. She had me constantly changing positions, such as hanging on the back of the couch or kitchen counter and swaying my hips back and forth (what she called the “stripper move”) and in a figure 8. She also let me know that it was ok to let out a low moan while breathing out. She reassured me that it was ok to make noise. I didn’t have to keep everything to myself. Linda also recited positive affirmations to me and gave me light touch massages to help me get through my surges. Around 12:30am, Linda suggested that Elbert and I go lay down in bed together to try to get some rest in between surges. So we did.

Around 1:30am, my surges came on quickly, about 2 minutes apart. Linda called Dr. Biter to let him know how fast my surges were coming, and he told her he was coming over right away.

Dr. Biter got to our house around 2am. By this time, I couldn’t even finish my sentences before another surge would hit. I wouldn't say that I was totally relaxed, but I remained very calm and each surge was bearable to endure. Dr. Biter then suggested checking me for cervical dilation. This would be the first time I got checked for dilation/effacement during my pregnancy. So I plopped on the couch, Dr. Biter checked me, and after he was done, he looked up at us with wide eyes and said, "We need to go to the hospital now or we're having the baby here at home. You're 9cm dilated!" I wasn’t expecting that response, having labored at home for only a little over 5 hours. I looked at Elbert, and he excitedly said, "Let's go! I'll start up the car!"

Linda suggested that I get on all fours in the back seat of the car since the car ride to Sharp Mary Birch Hospital was going to be quite uncomfortable with my surges if I were to buckle up in the front seat. Plus the hospital was a good 20-25 minutes away.

We checked into triage, and the nurses had a wheelchair waiting for me to wheel me to Labor and Delivery. I told them that I was fine to walk and didn’t need the wheelchair. They looked at me like I was crazy.

So we walked to Labor and Delivery, and the nurses were quickly preparing the IV and other machines. I refused being put on an IV or have a heplock. The nurses were trying to explain that every patient needed one in case of an emergency. I still refused and told them that when an emergency arises, then that’s when they can place either or on me, but I was quite adamant that I did not need to be hooked up to anything. I explained that I was planning on an all natural, non-medicated type of birth. I eventually won the fight (yay!). I eventually met Dr. Cousins, one of the perinatologists that Dr. Biter is working with for his patients who are delivering at Sharp Mary Birch. I don’t remember him being in the room again until my baby’s head was crowning. Dr. Biter and Linda were a superb doula team that supported me throughout my entire labor and delivery process. Linda kept feeding me positive affirmations and got me cold wash cloths, water and ice chips. Dr. Biter helped me constantly change positions and guided me through the entire pushing process. With both Linda and Dr. Biter there, that left Elbert to be nothing but my supportive husband, which is exactly what I needed. I’m sure all of the HypnoBirthing techniques he learned went out the window seeing how excited and nervous he was anyway hehe.

I was probably only in Labor and Delivery less than an hour before the urge to start pushing came over me. As much as I wanted to breathe my baby down slowly into the birth path, the urge to push was so intense that Dr. Biter told me it was ok to start pushing. I felt like I had no control over my muscles, and that my baby wanted out right away. It took a few pushes and about 3 different positions to get my baby down successfully. The first position I was in was the squat position on the bed. When that position didn’t seem to progress my baby’s head to go down the birth path, Dr. Biter suggested that I lie on my left side and hold both of my legs back. This position was quite successful in moving my baby down the birth path. I then laid on my right side and held my legs back and this was the position that my baby was born in. My baby was coming down the birth path at such a rapid pace that Dr. Biter had me stop pushing at one point. I think he had me slow down so that I wouldn’t tear, and also, Dr. Cousins was no where to be found to catch the baby. I was told that a nurse had to find Dr. Cousins and when he came running into the room, he hastily had to put on his scrubs since my baby was practically out of me. In a matter of minutes, I successfully pushed my baby down the birth path, and she gave one big cry for about 5 seconds, and then was calm and relaxed when she was immediately placed on my tummy. I was only in the Labor and Delivery room for a little bit over an hour. I can’t believe I was only in labor for about 8 hours. Everything happened so fast!

Madison Elizabeth Tipyapa H. was born on Monday, May 31, 2010 @ 5:04am. She weighed 7lbs, 13oz, and was 19.5 inches long.

Although I gave the nurses my birth plan, there were things that they did not follow, which was kind of disappointing. I was put on a fetal monitor the entire time I was in Labor and Delivery, although I didn’t mind too much since I was only in there for about an hour before pushing. They also wiped the baby down immediately following the delivery and the immediate skin to skin contact lasted less than 10 minutes. I think both Elbert and I were way too emotional and too caught up in seeing Madison for the first time that we couldn’t be upset about everything we wanted in our birth plan that wasn’t followed. The most important thing was that both Madison and I were healthy. Madison passed all of her tests with flying colors and didn’t have jaundice. We were released from the hospital the very next day since both Madison and I checked out 100% healthy.

I was also quite proud of myself that I actually went through with an all natural, non-medicated birth at a high c-section rate hospital! I felt like a celebrity that day as many nurses that came in to check on me in my postpartum room kept asking me how I did it. They were quite impressed that I didn’t need medication and that I wasn’t hooked up to an IV or use a heplock. One nurse was in shock that I was walking around in my postpartum room shortly after giving birth. The nurses had to come in about every 2 hours to take my blood pressure and check up on me, and every time they asked me, “Rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10,” I would always tell them, “Zero.”

Thank you Carol for being such a wonderful HypnoBirthing instructor! I am so happy that Elbert and I took your class to prepare ourselves for the unknown. Although I wouldn’t say that I was a total HypnoBirthing expert when the time actually came to it, I did at least have the breathing techniques down, as well as body positions that helped me relax through the surges. I think the fact that I have never experienced anything like this before caught me off guard, which made me somewhat forget about my “happy place.” All I know was that I was not remotely close to being as calm, quiet, and relaxed as those HypnoBirthing moms in the videos you showed us in class. I was a moaner. A LOUD one too!

I am quite proud that I was able to go through with the all natural birth I dreamed of having. Though there were some times of doubt during my surges, I am so happy that I pulled through and didn't give up. Labor was fairly quick (8 hours) and I am so happy that I was awake and alert through the entire process. You can't beat that feeling! I still replay the entire night in my head over and over, as this is birth experience that I will never forget. Thank you again for providing us with the knowledge and strength to have a birth experience we dreamed of having. I really hope that many more women will learn and acknowledge that pregnancy doesn’t have to be painful and the use of medical intervention isn’t always necessary. I will continue to spread the word of HypnoBirthing! Thanks again Carol!
xoxo
Thanya, Elbert, and Madison H.

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Congratulations Thanya & Elbert! Thank you so much for sharing Madison's birth story! I hope that you are enjoying your babymoon!

All my best--Carol

For more information about HypnoBirthing, please visit my website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are in the San Diego area & are pregnant, I have ongoing classes & am currently taking enrollments for my July & August class series. If you are outside of San Diego, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

To contact Linda Goldsmith, Thanya & Elbert's doula, please contact her at 760-815-3852.

Dr. Biter's office information is:
Seaside Women's Health
499 N El Camino Real, Suite C102
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 642-0800
He continues to see patients for gynecological care & surgeries & prenatal care until he gets privileges at another local hospital.

A HypnoBirthing testimonial--Patty & Dan

2010-06-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

Patty & Dan took my HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesdays in March 2010 at Babies by the Sea Boutique. While they were in my class, they hired Jo Kilburn, a local doula & HypnoBirthing instructor, to support them during their labor. They were birthing at Scripps La Jolla, which has one of the higher c-section rates in San Diego.

Patty kept in contact with me throughout the remainder of her pregnancy. Her baby was breech, but he turned after using chiropractic & acupuncture.

Here is the birth announcement she sent me:

I went into labor after my acupuncture appt on Tuesday and Tyler was born yesterday at 12:51pm. He weighed 7lbs 7 oz and 20" long. We labored at home for several hours and checked into hospital at midnight at 5cm. Jo Kilburn, my doula, and Dan were an amazing labor team for me. I wanted to let you know he made it into the world and to thank you for all of the help and advice the past few months. HypnoBirthing is the way to go for sure! It was hard but worth it to see the result. Plus I was mini-celebrity on the floor because they don't see many unmedicated births here at Scripps La Jolla!

Patty plans to write up her birth story in more detail to share at a later time.
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Congratulations, Patty & Dan! Enjoy your babymoon!

If you're interested in learning more about how HypnoBirthing classes can help you have an unmedicated, comfortable birth where you feel in control without fear & tension, please visit my website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you. I am currently taking enrollments for my July class series in Cardiff at Babies by the Sea Boutique & Encinitas at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center.

If you're interested in learning more about Jo Kilburn's doula services or HypnoBirthing classes, please visit her website at www.preciousbirth.com.

All my best--Carol
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

What toxins are you washing your hair with?

2010-06-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, people are into their hair! A 'bad hair day' usually means plopping on a hat, crying, complaining, or a rushed trip to the hair stylist or barber. A good hair day makes us feel beautiful - or handsome - and invincible. In the US alone, about 80,000 hair care salons generate combined annual sales of $16 billion dollars.

If you're thinking of getting into the hair care business, this could be good news. But for purists, that means billions and billions of toxic chemicals wafting into the air, pouring down the drain into our ground water, and infiltrating their way into human bodies through pores that suck them up like plants absorb sunshine and water.

It has been a slow erosion that has allowed people to replace lab-generated, synthetic chemicals for natural botanicals in their hair, skin and personal care products. Chemicals might make life easier and produce more drastic effects, but they also exact a huge negative toll on our health and planet. And just as destructive, they offer a false standard of beauty and aging that many people spend their entire lives striving for but never reach.

-

Nature, on the other hand - flowers, herbs, fruits, nuts, and seeds - is simplistic, peaceful, beautiful, and accepting. There is a natural cycle in nature that synthetic chemicals try to eradicate - the seasons. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter exemplify our lives - whether we want to accept it or not. In Spring we burst forth in life so fresh, smooth and delicate, and with such possibility, the whole world wants to embrace us. In Summer we bloom bright and beautiful and with such strong potential and possibility, it takes the breath away. In Autumn we start to change, but with such grace and loveliness, people want to bask in the sheer joy of our experience and calm. And in Winter, we get to rest, reflect, rejoice in the life we've built, taking it all in with the wisdom and sagacity of one who has been there and knows, and can now sit back and simply enjoy.

This is nature at its best. This is what nature offers human beings. This is what we at Miessence embrace when we choose, handcraft, and manufacture the purest products on the planet for your whole body health and wellbeing!

-

Let's compare ingredients & side effects:

Theirs:

1. Cocoamide DEA (diethanolamine) can cause nitrosamine contamination, which is a potent carcinogen. Cocoamide DEA is a detergent that causes allergic reactions, including eye problems, dryness of hair and skin, and can be toxic if absorbed into the body over a long period of time.

2. Propylene Glycol is a petroleum derivative and industrial antifreeze. It's so toxic that the EPA requires workers to wear protective gloves, clothing and goggles. Because PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against skin contact to prevent consequences such as brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities.

3. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate is used in car washes and engine degreasers - and in 90% of products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS and ALS experience eye damage, central nervous system depression, laboured breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. Frequently disguised in semi-natural cosmetics with the explanation "comes from coconut".

4. Suttocide (sodium hydroxymethylglycinate) is a formaldehyde releasing preservative used in many 'natural' shampoos. Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen and is extremely toxic when inhaled or swallowed.

5. Fragrances can contain allergens and sensitisers, which can trigger asthma attacks. Fragrances also contain chemicals called phthalates, which are hormone disruptors that can affect foetal development and fertility and damage sperm in men.

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A HypnoBirthing announcement--Meara & Mike

2010-05-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

Meara & Mike took my Thursday night classes in April/May 2010.

They had originally planned to birth their baby at Scripps Encinitas Hospital with Dr. Biter, but when Scripps suspended him, they decided to have a homebirth with Jamin Sylvada & have Dr. Biter be their unpaid doula. They also had the assistance of labor doula, Linda Goldsmith.

Here is the birth announcement for their baby. Meara promised to write up her birth story soon.

At 4:03am on Friday, May 21st, Sylvie Ines was born at home. She weighed a whopping 9lbs and measured 21 inches long... She's all leg, just like her big sister Elsa! It was an amazing experience, although it all happened much faster than we ever could have imagined. Our midwife arrived just 8 minutes before Sylvie made her grand entrance. My water broke at 3:25am, the midwife arrived at 3:55am, and Sylve was born at 4:03am. For a moment I thought Mike might have to deliver our daughter on the bathroom floor! My OB and our doula arrived after Sylvie had already been placed on my chest. Elsa slept through it all and wandered into our room at 7:15 am, after everyone had tidied and gone home, to find us in bed with her baby sister! What a magical moment... I think everything happened just as it was meant to.

It all happened so fast that I didn't really get to get into my hypno-zone, but I feel tremendously successful in terms of feeling really empowered and unafraid and this time I didn't push--just breathed my baby down and out and in record time! I'll share the full story in the next few days some time. I really do feel like our time with you helped in many ways.

With love,
Meara, Mike, Elsa, & Sylvie

For more info:

San Diego Midwive, Inc
LaShel Montgomery, CPM 760-213-7384
Jamin Sylvada, LM 760-809-9396
www.sandiegomidwife.com

Labor doula: Linda Goldsmith 760-815-3852

Bring Dr. Biter (aka Dr. Wonderful) Back!

2010-05-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

Hi all-

Dr. Biter (aka Dr. Wonderful) has been suspended from delivering babies from Scripps Encinitas as of Friday at 5 pm. His patients are being told by the hospital to show up in labor & have one of the on-call OBs attend their birth.

Scripps is supposed to be one of the most mother-baby-friendly hospitals in town. How can they get away with taking away women's right to have their care provider attend their birth at the hospital they want to birth at?!?

Dr. Biter has a back up plan & has contacted the perinatologist group at Sharp Mary Birch. They have agreed to transfer his patients to their care while in labor & he will attend their births as an unpaid doula. This is the level of commitment this man has to his patients.

Scripps will not provide an answer as to why he was suspended. The last birth Dr. Biter attended was Friday morning. The birth required a c-section & when the c-section was being done, meconium was found in the amniotic fluid. No meconium was found prior to the c-section. According to the parents, the baby's Apgar score at birth was a 7 and then a 9. She gave a good cry but then needed respiratory assistance. The baby was taken to the NICU, but 3 days after her birth, she is already breathing on her own & eating on her own. The parents have no complaints against Dr. Biter & specifically chose him to attend the birth of their 1st baby because they did their research & wanted a doctor that would be present & would support their choices. The parents are shocked & distraught that something so drastic as suspending him would possibly be related to the birth of their little girl.

Please come support Dr. Biter, natural birth & a woman's right to choose where to birth & who to birth with.

Where: Scripps Encinitas hospital 354 Santa Fe Dr. Encinitas, 92024
When: Friday, May 14th from 1:30-3:30
Why: We want Dr. Biter reinstated immediately so his patients can have continuity of care & so they can be reassured that they can have the birth experience they want.
Who: You! Bring your family, your friends & neighbors! We want a really large group of protestors. The more the better!

Ricki Lake, documentary-maker, author & actress, will be there as will Anna Getty, author, actress & great-granddaughter of John Paul Getty I. Possibly more celebrities will be attending in support of Dr. Biter.

Wear green to unify the group & bring signs that say:
This is not Mother-Baby Friendly!
Bring Back Dr. Biter!
Bring Biter Back!
Hey Chief of Staff! Bring Biter Back!

If you can't make it to this event, we will be holding mini-rallies Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday in front of the hospital from 9-11 am. Feel free to bring your children!

If you can't make it to any of these events, please show your support by writing on your car windows: Bring Dr. Biter Back!
The more people see this & ask questions, the better.

Thanks so much for any support you can provide.

If you're on Facebook, please join the I love Dr. Biter fan page for up-to-date info & RSVP to the event so we have a good head count.

If you're not on Facebook, please visit www.bringbiterback.blogspot.com or www.bringbiterback.com for updates.

Please share this information with anyone you think can help support our efforts to get Dr. Biter back to doing what he does best--supporting women & their partners to have the best birth experience they can have.

Hope to see you at some of the events!

Carol Yeh-Garner
www.AWellLivedLife.Net

A Labor & Delivery Nurse's HypnoBirthing experience

2010-05-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

Gail & Matt took my HypnoBirthing classes at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center on Tuesdays starting in April 2009. She is a Labor & Delivery Nurse at Sharp Mary Birch. She's seen every intervention used at Sharp Mary Birch, some as standard procedures for laboring moms & some for special circumstances. She knew that when she was pregnant that she wanted a natural birth & that she didn't want interventions for her birth. She chose to birth with Dr. Biter & at Scripps Encinitas.

Here is her birth story:

Hi Carol--

I took your suggestions for Evening Primrose, acupuncture, and prenatal massage last week and started having surges the same day as my acupuncture and prenatal massage treatments at Indigo Dragon. That was Thursday. I had surges that lasted the whole day on 8/20 until 9 pm and then they subsided and I had the best night's sleep I'd had in about a month. The surges started up again on 8/21 after breakfast and continued until after my appointment with Dr. Biter. I had surges the entire time even when he checked my cervix and found that I was dilated to 1.5 cm, completely effaced and the baby was low at -1 station. Dr. Biter offered to strip my membranes which I declined. Then he said I'd probably go into labor very soon and said that he'd see me either that night or sometime over the weekend. I laughed and said that I'd probably see him at my next appointment which was scheduled for Monday.

The surges stopped as soon I left the office and my husband and I went out for dinner with his parents. I settled in for bed around 9 pm but couldn't sleep because my little one was kicking me hard all night.

Around 5 am, the surges started again but this time they felt different. I tried to use my breathing and visualization but it was very difficult. I used the ball, a bath, and took a shower to cope with the contractions. In the end, moaning and making noise distracted me. At 7 am, the surges were really strong coming about every 2-3 minutes and I couldn't talk through them. We started preparing to leave for the hospital and finally left at 9 am.

We got to the hospital at 9:30, got into the shower around 10 am. The nurse checked my cervix when we got there and I was 3 cm dilated. I started seriously thinking about an epidural. My nurse, knowing that I was using HypnoBirthing techniques, called Dr. Biter and he came in to talk me through labor. He asked me to get into the shower and "ride the waves one at a time". That visualization worked and I stayed in the shower for about 1 hour. He came back when I got out of the shower and checked me and found that I was 8 cm. 1 hour later, I was ready to start pushing. I'd been feeling the urge to breath my baby down since 5 am so this was great.

I pushed my baby out for 53 minutes. We didn't know the sex of the baby until she was out. Delilah Rose was born at 12:53 on August 22. She was 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long. She was very alert and calm. She's absolutely adorable and we're totally in love.

Thanks for the class. It really helped us achieve a non-medicated and calm birth which is what we wanted.

Gail and Matt (Tuesday class in April/May 2009)
___________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you Gail & Matt for sharing your birth story! I think it's really great that you were able to have the non-medicated, calm birth that you wanted. You had a lot of visuals to "let go" from being a labor & delivery nurse! I think it's important for future HypnoBirthing moms to read your story, knowing that you still made noises, but not out of discomfort, but rather to distract yourself. So many moms want their birth to look like the videos we watch in class, but sometimes you need to make noise to release all of the energy you're feeling inside or like in your case, to distract yourself.

Happy early 1st birthday to Delilah Rose!

All my best--Carol
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Emelie & Justin's HypnoBirthing story

2010-04-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

Emelie & Justin took my Thursday night classes in February 2010 at Indigo Dragon Health & Wellness Center. Here is their birth story:

Hudson Michael R’s birth story

Emelie & Justin had a different OB through the first 7 months of their pregnancy that said that she supported HypnoBirthing. But, after experiencing persistent doubts about getting her 100% support of their ideal birth plan and feeling rushed through one too many appointment, they decided to explore other options and interviewed Dr. Biter. They switched to him at 31 weeks and feel that making this change was vital to the wonderful birth they experienced.

Even though I was due on May 1st, 2010, I felt throughout my pregnancy that my baby boy would arrive sometime in late April and would say that my guess date was “sometime in late April”… I went to see Dr. Biter on Friday April 23rd for my regular weekly appointment, and although he was not conducting any internal exams, he said he thought my practice surges were happening more frequently than I was aware of and were pretty strong. He said I was having one at the time he measured my belly. I couldn’t feel a thing! Since I was 39 weeks along, we all knew that baby boy could arrive anytime and would likely be very healthy. On Saturday April 24th, my family and I enjoyed walking around the Encinitas Street Faire in the afternoon breeze. The baby felt heavy as we walked, and my mom commented that she thought it looked as if he had dropped much lower in my abdomen than even earlier that day.

As we ended our long, 2-hour walk, I experienced a more powerful surge that seemed to continue uninterrupted for about 10 minutes. My mom checked her watch to time the surges if another one began, but nothing more happened. The surge felt slightly more intense than the practice labor we’d been observing.

After a healthy dinner, we headed to bed. At about 11:45pm, I awoke with the distinct feeling that something was happening. As I stood to get out of bed, a slight gush of fluid let me know that my membranes had likely released. I checked, and the fluid was clear, so I knew that all signs were probably “GO” and that the baby hadn’t released any meconium in the waters. I waited to see if my surges were going to start before waking my husband, Justin. The surges started almost immediately and were 2 minutes apart on the dot. I awoke hubby, and we calmly sat in the living room while I experienced and timed the surges. I instinctively knew that even though they were close together – consistently 2-3 minutes apart and lasting 30-45 seconds, they were not yet intense enough that birth was imminent. In fact, I still wasn’t 100% convinced that I was actually in labor. As each surge came, I relaxed on my birth ball and meditated on my HypnoBirth Birthing Affirmations. The surges were very manageable. After about 2 hours, I took a shower to see how it would make me feel, and it was relaxing, which made the contractions begin to feel stronger. I had a secondary release of membranes that was DEFINITELY the real deal, so I knew for sure that I’d be having my baby soon! I called Dr. Biter to let him know I was in labor and get a feel for when we should head into the hospital. He instructed us to just continue to hang out at home as long as possible, and to call back when we decided to leave. He really left it up to me to listen to my body and decide for myself when it was time. At 4:15am, I felt it was time, and my mom, Justin, and I drove to Scripps Encinitas.

I was welcomed into a delivery room for initial monitoring and check-in. I went over my birth preferences with our nurse, and she said they would be able to accommodate all my requests without any issues. I sat on the birthing ball while they did the Fetal Monitoring, and because I was so calm, the baby’s heart rate was excellent and very consistent. I was dilated to 4cm, which I was a little disappointed about (and didn’t really need to know), but I somehow knew that things would move along quickly, so I didn’t let my disappointment distract me from remaining calm. I was allowed to do intermittent monitoring from that point forward, and the nurse left us to labor in peace and said she’d be back in an hour. I decided to use the shower and sat on the birth ball while hot water poured over me. The surges became extremely intense, and I frequently changed positions in the shower to better control how I reacted to them. I was not as outwardly serene as I thought I would be, but I did feel completely in control of the process. Even when I felt sick and vomited in the shower, I knew it was completely normal and was probably an indication that I was entering the latter part of the thinning and opening phase. I made low moans without even meaning to as the surges continued to get stronger. Justin repeated some of the birthing prompts, and the most helpful thing about that was that it helped him remain calm and have something to do that he felt would help. I think the intensity of my surges and my gutteral, animal response to them was fairly overwhelming to him, and the prompts helped him stay calm, which in turn helped me remain focused.

At 5:30am, I left the shower when the heat became overwhelming, and alternated between laboring on my hands and knees in the bed to standing in a swaying position. I was checked again and was already at 7.5cm in just over an hour! The surges continued to intensify and I kept repeating out loud to “Let it Go” – so that my body would release and continue to open and move the baby down. The thought of pain or pain relief never entered my mind, nor did I even once think that I couldn’t do this. I was more focused than I’d ever been in my life! I started to bleed a bit and feel some pressure at 6:30am. Justin called and told the nurse that I felt like I’d need to start pushing soon. She looked at me quizzically and I think was a little doubtful that I’d progressed to that point yet since I was at 7.5 only an hour before. But my body was telling me what I needed to do, and I told her again that I was needing to push. I must have sounded convincing! She called Dr. Biter and told me to remain calm and focused, that I was doing an amazing job, and would just have to wait a few minutes until the doctor arrived.

I did not feel or look like the calm women in the HypnoBirth videos. Instead, my labor rumbled across my body like a thundering stampede. I let the surges take over and began to rock up and down on my knees to keep from pushing. I blew out through my mouth like a horse – something I’d read about in the Ina May Gaskin book, which ended up being a very helpful technique to remain open and loose.

Dr. Biter arrived just before 7am, and checked me as I was up on my knees. My mom asked him how dilated I was, and his response was – we’re going to have this baby right now!

I pushed from an upright position on my knees a few times, but was encouraged by Dr. Biter to turn around and lay back (in the ‘slanting J’ position) for more effective pushing. I listened to his confident support and lay back. I was relieved to be in the hands of someone I really trusted to help me birth our son the way I wanted to. He helped me listen to my body more effectively and push only when I felt the urge. He told me to push past “that point”, and doing so felt incredibly empowering. It was VERY intense, but I knew that I had to do this for my son… his heart rate was dropping a little as he came down the birth path, and even though the nurse didn’t say anything, I knew I had to deliver him with haste. After about 10 minutes of pushing, I crowned. Apparently the cord was around the baby’s neck, and Dr. Biter gently unwrapped it and kept encouraging me. I wasn’t aware of this until after the fact. A few more powerful pushes, and his shoulders were out. From my birth plan, Dr. Biter knew that I wanted to receive the baby, so he told me to look down and birth my son. I reached down, put my hands under his arms, and gently pulled him from me and placed him on my chest. It was the single-most unbelievable, beautiful experience of my life. Justin was in complete awe.

Hudson Michael R was born at 7:12am on Sunday, April 25th– after 15 minutes of pushing and less than 3 hours of labor at the hospital (about 7 hours of labor total).

We bonded skin-to-skin, and Hudson was incredibly alert and calm. He let out a single cry to clear his lungs and afterward, he just calmly lay on my chest and took his new world in. He latched almost immediately.

The nurses were extremely supportive and kept saying how awesome this birth was… how fast, controlled and natural.

Justin cut the cord after it stopped pulsating, and I birthed the placenta easily about 5 minutes after Hudson was born.

While my birth was not a “textbook” calm HypnoBirth, I do believe that I would not have remained in calm control without the relaxation techniques, self-confidence, and body awareness that we learned in our class. I envisioned how proud I would be of myself if I could achieve a natural birth, and I now feel more powerful, womanly, and natural than I ever have. I will carry the memories of this amazing experience for the rest of my life. In addition – my body is recovering from delivery extremely fast. My positive mental and physical state is ideal for handling the fatigue of newborn care.

Even better, Hudson is one of the calmest newborns I’ve ever seen. The doctors, nurses, and his pediatrician have all remarked at how great his temperament is, how healthy he is, and what a great nurser it looks like he will be. He was born exactly the way he was meant to be, and I think he’ll be forever impacted by it without even knowing it. This has been amazing.

Thank you so much Carol, for providing us the tools, knowledge, and ability to create exactly the right birth experience for us, even if it looked different that what we’d pictured in our minds.
______________________________________________________________________

Congratulations Emelie & Justin! Thank you so much for sharing your birth story. Enjoy your babymoon!

Even though Emelie & Justin's birth experience wasn't a "textbook" HypnoBirth, it sounds like it was an amazing experience--even with moaning, rocking & vomiting! I really work hard to convey in class that the videos are just for a visual & that maybe people will experience birth in that way but even if it doesn't happen exactly like that or exactly like what they had envisioned, that they hopefully will still feel in control & empowered throughout their experience. That is the goal for me when I teach HypnoBirthing. If a woman gets a "pain-free", calm, peaceful birth, that's a bonus. I want women to birth with confidence knowing & trusting their body's natural process. I want women & their partners to go into their births with full informed consent, doing the research to ensure they have the right care provider & the right birth setting for them to feel safe & 100% supported, and to know the questions to ask to ensure that any intervention suggested is for a true medical situation.

All my best--Carol
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A breech vaginal HypnoBirth in Canada

2010-04-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is a news article about a recent vaginal breech birth in Canada, where vaginal breech deliveries are becoming more common. The doula that attended this birth shared that the couple also took HypnoBirthing classes from her. After reading the article, you can listen to Dr. Posner's experience of being the OB that helped to receive this breech baby.

Vaginal Breech in Ottawa

Every birth is a miracle, of course. But the arrival of Lily
Luck-Henderson, just after midnight last Tuesday morning at the General campus of the Ottawa Hospital, was something else as well.

Lily was breech, as are about four per cent of babies, meaning she
emerged from her mother's womb bottom first, rather than head first.
But, unlike most breech babies born in Canada in recent years, Lily was delivered vaginally, rather than by caesarean section.

Her successful delivery is seen as a harbinger of coming change in the
way babies are delivered in Canada -- or at least a step along the way.

At five days old, she has already played a starring role in something
significant, according to Ottawa midwife and researcher Betty-Anne
Daviss, a leading advocate for the return of breech birth deliveries in Canada, who, along with two obstetricians and a doula attended the
birth. It "was a pretty momentous occasion in Ottawa," she said, and an important step toward normalizing childbirth in Canada, something the organization representing Canadian obstetricians stands behind.

"The safest way to deliver a baby has always been the natural way,"
Andre Lalonde, head of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, said last year when it began an effort to bring back breech
birth. "Vaginal births are the preferred method of having a baby because a C-section in itself has complications. "

Not so long ago, evidence said something different.

The practice of delivering breech babies by C-sections was already
becoming the norm when a Canadian-based study published in The Lancet
concluded in 2000 that vaginal deliveries put breech babies at risk. The study cited 16 cases of fetal death, 13 of those involving women who delivered vaginally. The risk was considered so significant that the study was shut down early.

It had an immediate and far-reaching impact in Canada and around the
world. As a result, having a breech baby, in most cases, automatically
meant surgery.

Since then, a reassessment of the earlier trials has come to a different conclusion -- that vaginal deliveries in breech births do not increase complications. As a result, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada has revised its position, saying physicians should not automatically perform C-sections for breech births, but, under the right circumstances, should allow women choice.

The new guidelines were announced last June, but change has been slow.

The problem is that many doctors have never delivered a breech baby and others have limited experience. It had become a lost art.

Ottawa obstetrician Glenn Posner began practising after the
controversial breech birth study and, as a result, had no practical
experience delivering breech babies. He is anxious to change that. On
Monday night he helped deliver Lily Luck-Henderson. He says watching a
video about how it is done in Germany, with women in an upright position or on their hands and knees rather than lying down, helped.

It is time women were given the choice about attempting to deliver
breech babies without surgery, he added. "Aren't we supposed to let
people make their own choices? It's not the 1950s when you tell people
what to do and they say, 'OK, doctor.' "

Daviss, a midwife and researcher has traveled around the world
collecting and dispersing knowledge about breech birth deliveries. She
was recently in Israel where she taught techniques to help mothers
deliver breech babies without surgery. She conducts weekly sessions for mothers and care providers in Ottawa. And she is instrumental in the formation of a "breech birth squad" in Ottawa of physicians comfortable with and experienced in vaginal breech deliveries.

Last year, Daviss was involved in a conference sponsored by the
Ottawa-based Coalition for Breech Birth, aimed at bringing breech birth delivery back to Canada. The coalition was started by an Ottawa mother, Robin Guy, who had a breech baby by C-section.

The issue can be emotional for some. Guy has said her surgery was
unnecessary, except for the lack of skilled care providers to help her. She has lobbied to improve breech skills in Canada.

Daviss calls the return of vaginal breech birth "only a microcosm of
what else might change in obstetrics."

Since the 1960s, probably before, women have talked about taking back
control of birth. Still, with each decade, it has become more a medical procedure and less a natural event.

In the 1960s, about five per cent of Canadian women delivered by
C-section. Today, more than 27 per cent of babies are delivered
surgically and there is a national debate about whether women should
have the option of C-sections on demand.

Some will argue that if women want them and if they reduce risk, then
they should have them. But Daviss and others counter that C-sections are far from risk-free, something women are often not aware of.
Complications, even death, can result. What is more, reliance on
C-sections results in a loss of medical expertise, as has happened with breech deliveries. And "you never know when you are going to be in a place where you don't have a C-section available," Daviss says.

Lily's birth turned out to be problem free. "It went very easily," said Lily's mother Jennifer Luck. "If this helps make things easier for women along the way, I think that's fantastic."

Elizabeth Payne is a member of the Citizen's editorial board.
E-mail: epayne@thecitizen. canwest.com
C Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

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The Best of All in a Day April 13, 2010 "Breech Births"

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reversed its position on breech deliveries last year. They now say that it's safe to deliver breech births naturally in most cases. But a lot of obstetricians aren't trained in delivering breeches, because for years doctors have been directed to do C-sections instead. Well, this is all slowly changing at Ottawa Hospitals. Dr. Glenn Posner is an ob-gyn who's been trying out natural breech delivery. Robin Guy is from the Coalition for Breech Birth.

Listen to Dr. Posner talk about receiving a breech

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Way to go Dr. Posner & Canada! Now we just have to get the U.S. OBs on board!

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing birth story

2010-04-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Alana & John took my Tuesday night classes in January 2010 at Babies by the Sea Boutique. Here is her birth experience:

My Birth Experience

On Sunday morning March 7th I lost my mucus plug so I knew I was on track since I was due March 22nd and all the books say that Labor will start within 24hrs to 2 weeks. I never thought that while I was at work Monday morning March 8th at about 11am that my water would break. I called my Husband, John, at his work and let him know that I had felt some water release but I wasn’t having any contractions yet so I was going to work another hour and then head home. I got home around 12:15pm and decided to try and take a walk to start getting some contractions going.

After an hour of walking nothing had changed. I went home to lie down and relax. I watched some TV while John gathered everything we needed and packed up the car. I had contacted my doctor’s office and let them know my water had broken and since I had tested positive for GBS they instructed me to go to the hospital as soon as I was ready. I decided to take my time since I wasn’t feeling anything yet. I took a warm bath and just thought about the process ahead of me and told myself to remain calm and focus although I was very anxious and excited all at the same time.

On the way to Scripps Encinitas I stopped by an acupuncture clinic to get an induction treatment to help progress my surges. The acupuncturist also showed John & myself some pressure points that would be useful to press on when I started feeling an intense surge. We arrived at Scripps at about 7:00pm, with our arms full of bags, exercise ball, a yoga mat and pillows. It was a strange feeling arriving there without feeling as if I needed to be there since I still wasn’t feeling any signs of labor.

I got lucky and it was a slow night so I had a nurse all to myself who was very supportive in honoring my birth plan and allowing me to voice exactly what I wanted to take place. She was in total agreement with me in allowing me to be free of being hooked up to anything. After my initial 20 mins of monitoring I was allowed to be unhooked. My initial measurement when I arrived was 1 cm. There were contractions that I was having but they were erratic and not consistent and I could not feel them. By 9:00pm my doctor came in and let me know that they were going to start Pitocin since it had been awhile since my water had broken and they were worried about risk of infection with the baby.

I stayed very firm with my ideas of having a natural birth without any drug interventions. The doctor insisted that something be done and after Pitocin was suggested she offered Cervadil to be placed on my cervix but she did explain that the disadvantage was that once the Cervadil was on it could not be taken off. I again stayed firm and asked if there was anything else or if we could please give my body more time since I was already on IV antibiotics. The Doctor then came up with an idea of what she called a Foley Ball and asked the nurse if they had the right equipment available for it. The nurse said they did.

The Doctor was then very thorough in explaining to me exactly what was going to happen. Basically it is a tube that at one end they fill with water to form a ball that is about 2 inches in diameter. The tube is first inserted in your vagina and then filled up with water. The ball then puts pressure on your cervix to cause it to contract. There are no real side effects for you or the baby and once you are dilated to anywhere from 4-6cm the ball becomes loose and is taken out. There is the discomfort of having the remaining part of the tubing hanging out of your vagina the nurse was able to tape it to the side of my leg so I was able to walk around easier.

As soon as the Foley Ball was inserted and filled with water and placed directly on my cervix I started feeling surges and they were becoming more frequent and consistent. The doctor did let me know that if I had not progressed in the time that she wanted that I still would have to get Pitocin, in my mind I just figured that we would talk about that if it came up but I was going to get through it without the Pitocin. By 12:00am midnight I had opened another cm and I was at 2cm so they let me keep going at around 3:00am John and I took a walk all around the hospital for about an hour. By then I had progressed to about 4cm. The doctor was happy with my results so she said there was no reason to administer Pitocin which I was very happy about.

Periodically I would take showers, which felt great. I would sit on the birthing ball in the shower and let the warm water fall on me having John or my Mom rub my back with gentle touch massage. I would walk around the room, sit on the ball bracing my arms on the bed and sometimes just laid in bed listening to my Rainbow Relaxation CD and at times felt so relaxed that I would fall asleep. Even while not listening to the CD I kept positive thoughts in my head and John was encouraging letting me know I was doing great. Also breathing helped a lot I took long slow relaxing breaths.

At around 10:00am I was at 6cm dilated and my surges were getting pretty close together and definitely intense. The Foley Ball was removed and it was nice to not have the tubing taped to my leg. This was the most difficult time for me with the intensity of the surges in my back, at one point I looked at John and told him I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this for. He let me know with words of encouragement that everything was going great & that I was doing a great job. I got in the shower to help with the intensity of the surges. Again John and my Mom took turns rubbing my back and I also used some of the pressure points to help with the intensity. It felt so good in there and time had gone by that the nurse said it had been an 1hr and ½ and they needed to check me. I was in shock when she said that I was at 9 ½ cm and was looking good but still needed to go a little longer and she was going to let the Doctor know to come to the hospital. She also said not to push and she would be back. Of course as soon as she left & John had just gotten back from the cafeteria I felt as if I needed to push and I told John to call the nurse.

The nurse came back in because they had lost the fetal heart rate and I told her that I needed to push and the baby was coming. She let me know that I still had more time to go and that the Doctor was on her way. I said "no, I really need to push, can you check me again?". So she went ahead and did and within those few minutes I had already gone to 10cm and was ready so she said that I could go ahead and push. This was the easy part for me, it just felt like the urge you have when you need to go the bathroom. I could no longer feel the contractions...just the anticipation of seeing my baby for the first time and seeing if it was a boy or a girl. That was at about 11:50am and after pushing for about 20 minutes we had a beautiful baby boy.

Kai William was born at 12:07pm he was 7lbs. 9oz. and 21 inches long. Both the doctor and nurses were great at honoring what I had asked. John was able to announce the sex of the baby since it was a surprise, and cut the cord after waiting until it stopped pulsating. My placenta came out very easy with little effort on my part and the doctor said that I had torn just a little that there was really no need for stitches but put 2 small ones in.

Overall my experience was great. I really feel that taking the Hypnobirthing classes allowed me to find a state of relaxation to help cope with the discomfort of what I was feeling. When it came down to it the 2 things that helped the most were the warm water of the shower while sitting on the exercise ball and listening to the Rainbow Relaxation CD while laboring and also every night before I went to bed to help mentally prepare myself for the birthing process.

By taking your classes both my husband and I were able to feel very knowledgeable about what was to happen at our baby's birth. For me personally, much of what I was fearful about was the unknown since this was my first baby. The classes helped educate us in a calm and interactive way allowing us to ease into and inform us of what we were going to experience as opposed to being told what a scary and painful experience giving birth is. We went into it anxious and excited for it to happen and to meet our baby. The breathing and self hypnosis exercises allowed us to really prepare and envision what was going to occur, which I found very invaluable. Listening to the Rainbow Relaxation CD every night before bedtime really helped me stay focused and relaxed while in labor. I would definitely recommend taking Carol's HypnoBirthing classes and plan on taking them again next time we get pregnant.

I hope this information is useful to your new and prospective students!

Alana
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Thanks for sharing your birth story! I want to add that Alana called me after her water had released & nothing was really happening. I suggested to her that she rest, relax, have her husband read some hypnosis scripts to her while in the bathtub & that she see if she could get an induction acupuncture session in on her way to the hospital. I always suggest to my clients to call me if they have any last minute questions & am so glad when they do.

Congratulations Alana & John! Enjoy your babymoon!

All my best--Carol

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