Danielle & Max's HypnoBirthing story for their 2nd baby

Danielle took my classes in the fall of 2012 in Encinitas, CA (North County San Diego) to prepare for her second birth. She came by herself for most of the class series because of her husband's work schedule and so he could stay home with their little one.

Hi Carol. My son was born six weeks ago on January 11. Here's my birth story.  My doula,  Rosie Peterson, said I was the most textbook-perfect case of hypnobirthing she'd ever seen. I think you deserve to share in the credit for that. :)

Danielle

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I took Carol's Hypnobirthing class because I wasn't totally pleased with the experience I'd had with my first son. It wasn't necessarily a bad experience, but I didn't like the epidural. I was also disappointed with some parts of my situation at the hospital. With my first son, I pushed for three hours and was told by the doctor that if he wasn't born within three hours of pushing, she would have to take him by c-section. My water had also broken before I went into labor, so I was under time constraints because of that too. I didn't like spending my entire labor at the hospital.

So in search of a different experience the second time, I asked my doula for recommendations for natural birth classes and she recommended Carol's class. I was a bit nervous to attend class because I thought I would be surrounded by hard-core natural birth types. But I was relieved that most other people at the class started out like me--more curious than convinced. And I appreciated that Carol's style was very even-handed and not abrupt or abrasive in any way. By the end of the first or second class, I was sure that natural was the way I wanted to go and that I could do it.

I had been having contractions for a couple of weeks before my due date, which had at times been fairly intense. But I suspected I was in true labor when I woke up at 3:30 the morning after my due date with uncomfortable contractions. I timed them for about an hour, and they were consistently seven minutes apart. I was able to go back to sleep for another hour and a half before I got up to shower and get ready. I told my husband that the baby was coming, and we got our two-year-old ready to head to the park with his grandma (who had luckily flown in the day before).

I called my doula at 9:30 and asked her to come over at 11:00. I was doing ok on my own, but it was definitely nice to have my doula's calming reassurance and to have two people available to fetch me things and be there for me to lean on (literally).

By 1:00 the contractions were about 90 seconds long and were coming back to back. At 1:30 I figured it was time to head to the hospital (Scripps Memorial in La Jolla). When we got checked into the hospital around 2:00, the nurse checked me and said I was fully dilated. So I'd accomplished the first part of my plan, but the second part of my plan--which was to show up at the hospital ready to push out a baby--was not so easy. The nurse said the baby's head was still at -3 station, so I still had a way to go. I guess that's pretty rare for a mom to be fully dilated with the baby not yet descended. 

My doula had me lunging and marching to try to get the baby to come down. I was also occasionally having the urge to push. Because I didn't want to spend all day there waiting for the baby to come down, I was pushing on and off pretty much since we got settled in at the hospital. Throughout the whole process, the nurses were all very deferential and mostly left us alone to do our own thing. I was very glad that we got nurses that were happy to oblige us in our birthing wishes. One of the nurses confided in me that she was bending some of the rules for us and was glad she was able to stay until our baby was born so that we didn't get another nurse who wouldn't have been as accommodating. And just as I've heard other people say, all the nurses on the floor wanted to come in and get a peek at the girl who was quietly laboring without any medication. They all seemed pretty impressed.

Probably about three and a half hours after we got settled in at the hospital, I could feel the baby getting closer. I called out that he was coming, and there was a flurry of activity as the nurses called the doctor in and got all the tools and supplies ready. And shortly after, my son Bradley was born. He ended up being quite a big boy, weighing in at 9 lbs 3 oz. The nurses and my doula were all marveling at how big he was, but to me he just looked like a sweet tiny little baby.

All in all, I'm very happy with how things went. At the time, I was not mentally prepared to have to get through four more hours of contractions and pushing after arriving at the hospital, but I know I was only able to handle it because of the hypnobirthing training. I have to admit that the "ring of fire" was way more intense than I anticipated, and I do not look forward to experiencing that again in the future... In the moment, I told my husband that, even though I knew I was about to say something that was typical labor room talk, I never wanted to go through that again. As I expected, I've since reconciled with it and know it was completely worth it. My recovery was much smoother and faster than with my first baby. And my doula mentioned something I hadn't thought of. She said it's likely that if I'd been on an epidural that I would've ended up with a c-section because I wouldn't have been able to get up and move around to get the baby to descend. The doctor might have just said that since I wasn't progressing the baby would need to be taken by c-section. Who knows how things would have turned out, but thank goodness I was able to have the smooth natural birth that I wanted! Thanks so much for your class!

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Thank you so much, Danielle, for sharing your story! A lot of moms who have not the greatest, but not the worst 1st birth experiences end up taking HypnoBirthing classes so they can have the birth experience they knew they could have. I'm so glad that you were able to have such a positive experience and that the classes helped you with that.

If you are in the San Diego area and would like to take HypnoBirthing classes for your 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even 4th baby, please come join us! Carol's class info can be found at her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or she can be reached at 858-837-1259. If you are outside the San Diego area, you can find a HypnoBirthing class near you by going to www.hypnobirthing.com to the Find a Practitioner section.

If you are interested in hiring Danielle & Max's doula, Rosie Peterson, you can contact her at www.rosiedoula.blogspot.com.

Melissa & James' 2nd HypnoBirthing Story

Melissa & James took HypnoBirthing classes for their first baby a few years ago. She had a wonderful birth experience. When she was pregnant with her second child, she contacted me to set up some private refresher sessions. We did a private individual session midway through her pregnancy and then met with both Melissa & James' in a private session to review techniques and do a fear release/birth rehearsal imagery hypnosis session a few weeks before their due date.

Here is their story:

Thank you Carol!  I have brought both Guthrie and Corrina into this world naturally and just how it is supposed to be.  

Corrina Anne Peterson was born 11/15/2012.  She was 7lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. First off, I need to mention that I had done a private session with Carol Yeh-Garner around 20 weeks pregnant to do some fear release and to help me work through some anxieties I was having about pregnancy and our decision to have a home birth.  I left her office feeling emotionally lighter and ready to move forward confidently.  My husband and I read the hypnobirthing book, and I listened to the cd during acupuncture appointments, but not as often as I had with Guthrie’s pregnancy.  We did a refresher course with Carol at 39 weeks. We went through how I wanted the labor to go and any fears or anxieties I had.  MY LABOR WENT ALMOST EXACTLY AS I HAD HOPED FOR AND HOW ARE GUIDED MEDITATION WENT WITH CAROL.  We used Jamin and La Shel, San Diego Midwife, for her homebirth.

I woke up about 12am on 6/15 with mild surges, lasting about 30 seconds about 5-7 minutes apart.  I wasn’t convinced this was going to last, and I lied in bed watching the clock till about 1.  I texted my midwives somewhere in there to give them the heads up it might be happening, I still wasn’t convinced.  James was in and out of sleep and I was sort of anxious, not having the clear ‘yes your water broke this is happening now’ sign. (But I didn’t want my water to break, and had hoped and visualized it wouldn’t till end) So I wasn’t sleeping.  I kept having the urge to pee and I was passing clots.  About 2:30 I called midwife, Jamin, and at that point the contractions were between 3-5 minutes apart but still lasting less than 1 minute. She offered to come then, but I felt as if the contractions weren’t doing too much and felt pretty comfortable during the surge and I said I would contact her when it became more intense. 

I woke up James and told him to start prepping the house. In between contractions, I was very able to help set up. I was very alert and functional.  He finished setting up the house and I went and took a long hot shower for about 30 minutes while he finished prepping. The water felt amazing. I had candles lit and the lights off and I really got into the mode.  I held the shower head on my low back and did some squats.  James came in to check on me and to let me know everything was ready, except the pool needed to be filled when that time came.  I got out of the shower and I hadn’t felt any contractions for what seemed to be a long time, so James and I lied down to hopefully sleep.  I think the moment I lied down, I felt a sharp stab across my rib cage and it was on. I was incredibly nauseous, and became sick from both ends. I sat on toilet, swaying and moaning with each surge and the compression in my lower spine was intense.  James called the midwives. They came about 4:30 am. I was only 5 cm with a bulging bag. I honestly thought the midwives might not stay because I wasn’t far enough along.  I went back to toilet while they filled the pool. I did say to James at this point that this was so much worse than Guthrie’s and that I was questioning how long I could do this for. I did not think I was only 2 hours away from meeting her.  

I wanted to go into water soon. Midwives suggested I start walking and do some high knee type walking, so that is what I did-I have no idea on how long, maybe 1 minute, maybe 20.  Just before I got into pool, LaShel checked me said I was 8+ and my amniotic bag was crazy bulging.  My water broke right after. I got into the water at 6 am.  I had James call our friends to watch Guthrie thinking he would be up around 7 am and there would be no way for James to juggle his needs and my needs.  I probably had one surge and she started to come after that.  I wanted to put my legs together, to straighten them out...that was my immediate reaction but with James and midwives assistance, I held my legs back.  I honestly had no idea what the midwives were doing...they were doing nothing - nothing had to be done. But I kept saying help me, help me because I had thought there would be the whole "massage the baby out, help kind of tug her out". But no, the water softens the skin so there is no need for assistance. I wanted to push, but they just kept telling me to breath out and let her stretch it out and come.  She was born 6:30 am.  It felt just so natural to have her. It went the way it was supposed to.   Guthrie awoke around 8 am or 8:30 am, after they had already left.  I was in bed that day but we all were together.  I had a great first birth in the hospital, but to be home with my family that afternoon to eat as a family, to nap as a family and for Guthrie’s life to not be interrupted, was perfectly natural.  And I am a fan of the water.  I had no tearing, no burns, and the healing was quick. 

I am a massage therapist at Indigo Dragon Center and I work with a fair amount of pregnant women, and I get asked about my natural births and how hypnobirthing helped. For Guthrie’s birth, it provided me so much knowledge of how the process worked and what to expect, the biggest fear.  I used hypnobirthing to empower me to do what I know is already a very natural process and as for Corrina’s birth, it was a reminder of what I already have done and a guided meditation.  I was pleasantly surprised that my ‘plan’ was how it went, down to my 3 year olds time he woke up!  

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Congratulations Melissa, James & Guthrie! I'm thrilled that your birth happened almost to how you envisioned it and that our private sessions helped prepare you for Corrina's birth! Thank you so much for sharing your story!

If you're in the San Diego area & are interested in HypnoBirthing, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside of the San Diego area, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

If you are interested in hiring the midwives Melissa & James used, please visit www.sandiegomidwife.com.

If you are interested in getting a great massage by Melissa, please schedule one with her at www.indigodragoncenter.com or 760-652-1116.

Ani & Andre's HypnoBirthing Story

Ani & Andre took my HypnoBirthing classes in Encinitas (North County San Diego), CA.

Ani & I had been in contact a few times before the birth of her baby due to some issues with low amniotic fluid levels & the possibility of an induction. I encouraged her to drink plenty of fluid to ensure she wasn't dehydrated & gave her the numbers to some local acupuncturists to see if they could help induce her labor naturally. Her fluids were normal after she increased her fluid intake, but she still needed to be induced. She had the choice to do a foley ball or cervidil and she chose the foley ball. 

She wrote the following text to share her birthing experience at UCSD's Birth Center:

OMG...what an amazing experience. I ended up getting induced with pitocin nearly 24 hours but thankfully gave birth naturally & vaginally! It was beautiful. We did skin to skin contact right away and got all of the things we wanted on our birth plan. All in all, we are very grateful & blessed. My doula (a volunteer doula from UCSD's Birth Center) was shocked by how well I handled it all. I got my placenta encapsulated too. 

Many thanks to you. I owe it all to you, your resources & support. You made our pregnancy & birth so much more special & meaningful. I would do it again! It was one of the best experiences from our pregnancy. Till this day, we still talk about your classes and how it empowered us and gave us a beautiful birth.

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Thank you so much for sharing your birth story with me! I'm so glad that you had such a beautiful experience even with some scares towards the end & with an induction with pitocin!

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

Please visit the UCSD's Birth Center website here if you'd like more information about birthing in a birth center with midwives within a hospital setting.

Marjorie & Carl's HypnoBirthing story

Marjorie & Carl were referred to Carol's HypnoBirthing classes by their doula, Linda Goldsmith. They took classes in Encinitas (North County San Diego), CA.

Here is their birth story of their first daughter, Sienna:
I started feeling very irregular contractions Thurs and Fri night (May 24 & 25), but I knew they weren't the real thing. They only happened in the evening and stopped by the time i went to bed. I called my doula though on Thursday and told her that I had a feeling I would go into labor within a few days. She said to keep her posted. 

On May 26th, I woke up at 3:30 am to contractions. I started timing them and they were about 8-10 min apart. I decided to lay back down and listen to my Birth Affirmations/Rainbow Relaxation CD so I possibly could get some more rest. From everyone I had talked to (and read about) I figured my first birth would last HOURS so I knew I had nothing but time…I might as well try and get some sleep. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep (too excited…knowing this was probably "the" day!). So I woke my husband around 6:30 am and told him to finish packing everything for the hospital. I called my doula and told her not to rush, but this was it, so she needed to come to our house some time this morning.

My contractions were still about 8 min apart, but very regular. I decided to keep my mind busy to pass the time, so I sent some work emails, took a shower, braided my hair, and then made breakfast. I had to stop and breathe through the contractions, but again I thought I had hours of this yet to go through so I just kept busy. Around 7:30 am or 8 am, my contractions were now 5-6 min apart and getting to the point where it was difficult to talk through them. I still kept busy in between them, but I called my doula and said I needed her…now…thank goodness she was just pulling up in the driveway.

As soon as she arrived, I was transitioning…I started shaking a little and got the chills. My doula helped relieve some of my back pain with counter pressure and we decided it was time to leave for the hospital. On the way to the hospital, my contractions were coming on strong at about 3 min apart. The drive to the hospital was definitely the worst part of the entire experience! We arrived at the hospital around 9 am and my doula walked me in while my husband parked and grabbed our bags. I had 3 contractions before I made it up to the labor/delivery level, and when we arrived there my doula asked for a birthing room. The nurse politely smiled and said that I needed to go to an exam room first, and then the doctor would decide if I was ready for delivery. My doula tried to insist that I needed a delivery room, but they quickly refused and insisted I be examined first. I was asked a few questions and answered them quietly…and all I remember hearing was 2 of the nurses commenting on "can you believe how calm she is!". From the moment I arrived at the hospital I had my eyes closed and was deep breathing. I honestly don't think the nurses thought I was in actual active labor or as far along as I actually was. 

As soon as I got undressed and got myself up onto the bed in the exam room, my water broke. The doctor was there and quickly examined me and my husband said he was shocked when he announced I was already 10 cm. There was a little bit of panic…from the staff, not me or my husband. My doula leaned over to me and whispered "they're a little panicked because they didn't expect you to be this far along, but this is a good thing…it means you'll get to meet your daughter very soon. They will settle down soon." That was all I needed to hear! It helped keep me positive. They quickly moved me into a birthing room and before I knew it, they told me it was time to push. I don't have a sense of the time that lapsed, but my husband and doula said I pushed for about 20-30 minutes and then she was born! I remember reaching a point where I thought that I couldn't go on. I said that to my doula and I remember her asking me to give her 2 or 3 more pushes. I said to myself "2 or 3…I can do that!" The doctor made a comment about me not being on my back. "I've delivered over 3000 babies and for all of them, the mother was laying down in her back!"  Linda, our doula, was great! She responded with "Well, then, what an opportunity for you! This will be your first!".

My husband was by my side the entire time. Things progressed so quickly the staff didn't even have time to check my vitals or even think about asking me to get an IV. We arrived that morning around 9 a.m. and Sienna was born at 10:20 am…6 pounds 15 oz and 22 inches. It was exactly the dream birth I had imagined! I felt amazing afterwards and we were all chatting with the nurses in the room after the birth. The nurses even commented on how much they love seeing babies who are born to drug-free mothers. I felt so good, I even ate lunch when they brought it to my room around noon. 

The one thing I remember having doubts/fears about before I went into delivery was tearing…and that's the one negative thing that happened. I didn't have a bad tear at all, but I think that because I couldn't release that fear. It definitely was in the back of my mind during my birth. Sienna's little hand was up by her face, so I had a little first degree tear that required a couple stitches. 

I was so happy to have my husband and my doula there. They heard things and remembered a lot more details than I did since I was pretty focused on myself. I was also happy that my husband and I didn't call any family or friends when we were on our way to the hospital. Once Sienna was born that gave us some time to ourselves as a new family before we were bombarded with company…it was a very special moment.

I went home the next afternoon and have been on a Mommy-high ever since. It was such an amazing experience. Thank you again SO much for your help and for your support throughout the process.

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Congratulations Margorie & Carl! What an amazing birth story! I'm so glad that the hypnobirthing classes helped you have the birth of your dreams!

If you're interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes for your birth and are in the San Diego area, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are out of the San Diego area, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

If you'd like more information about Marjorie & Carl's doula, Linda Goldsmith, please visit www.lindadoula.vpweb.com.

Jessica & Jason's HypnoBirthing Story

Jessica and her husband took Carol’s classes on Thursday evenings at Seaside Women’s Health in Encinitas, North County San Diego.  Here is their daughter’s birth story:

I started having sporadic surges on the afternoon of December 12.  A few hours later, I had my bloody show, and I knew Angelica was coming soon.  I starting crying out of excitement as my surges started to come more frequently.  By 3 AM the next morning, my surges were coming between four and seven minutes apart.  I called my doula and she told me not to focus on timing the surges at this point, but to try and sleep in between them as much as possible.  I tried to do so, but they were so intense and were way more uncomfortable than I had anticipated.  I thought I must be close!  There was no way I could sleep.  I decided to go to the hospital and call the doula back when we got there.  When we got to UCSD, I was only 3 CM dilated.  The midwife told me I could stay at the hospital and walk around for a couple hours or I could go home.  We decided to go home and our doula came right over.  By around 11 AM my surges seemed to be coming on top of each other and I couldn’t help but push.  Our doula said it was time to go!  When we got back to the hospital, I was 7 CM.  I couldn’t help but push at this point with each surge, and my water broke during one of the surges.  A few hours later I was totally complete and Angelica was ready to be born. The birthing tub had just finished being filled up, so Jason and I got in, and I did most of the pushing in the tub.  I had to get out as she was crowning (UCSD doesn’t allow water births yet), and delivered her at 4:56 PM December 13 on the comfy queen size bed in our room!  I was totally in shock as they put her on my chest.  She was so beautiful... and huge!  My placenta was delivered within minutes.  Angelica started breastfeeding pretty much right away and laid on my chest for maybe an hour.  When the nurses weighed and measured her, we learned that she was 9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21.5 inches long!  And I didn‘t tear!!!! 

The whole process was unbelievable.  It was way more intense than I had anticipated, but it was totally doable.  I would definitely do it again.  I wasn’t silent the whole time like the videos we watched in class, but I was definitely calm and relaxed.  I think being so exhausted from not being able to sleep helped to keep me very relaxed and “in the zone.” We had the birthing affirmations and the rainbow relaxation CD playing the whole time.  The doula and Jason were awesome at reminding me to relax during each surge, keeping me hydrated, rubbing my back, and being supportive.  I tried to eat a little in between surges, but wasn’t really able to.  By the time I was hungry, the surges were pretty much on top of each other.  Right after I delivered, however, we ordered pizza for everyone, and I ate a ton!  The whole staff at the UCSD Birth Center was great.  I think I will submit our birthing video after we edit it.  The only part of the process I didn’t feel prepared for was how much you bleed afterwards.  I was kind of freaked out and called my midwife to make sure everything was ok.  But it was!

Angelica has been such a great baby.  She has been really calm and barely cries.  I can’t wait to have my next HypnoBirth!  Thank you Carol!!

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Thanks so much for sharing your story, Jessica! I am so thankful to hear that the HypnoBirthing techniques were so helpful and that you got the beautiful birth you were desiring. I hope you both are continuing to enjoy this beautiful time with Angelica!

Contact information for Jessica’s doula, Laura Smith Ramirez: 619.247.3765

For more information on UCSD Medical Center as well as the accompanying Birth Center:

 http://health.ucsd.edu/women/child/facilities/Pages/default.aspx

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes in the San Diego area, please feel free to contact Carol for class schedules and more information at: A Well Lived Life. If her schedule does not work with yours, she would love to refer you to other local instructors as well. If you aren’t in the San Diego area but are still interested in utilizing all that HypnoBirthing has to offer, check out The HypnoBirthing Institute and find a Local Practitioner for you!

A HypnoBirthing Story -- Nick and Jamie

Nick & Jamie took Carol's HypnoBirthing classes on Tuesday evenings in September 2011 at Babies by the Sea Boutique. Here is their birth story:

Bryce William was born on Monday 11/7/11 @ 9:49pm 7lbs 10 oz 20 inches long at Pomerado Hospital. On Sunday 11/6 I woke up and thought my water broke, so my husband and I went for a long walk and did errands. That night I started having surges that got 4 minutes apart but not really uncomfortable so we called Dr. Cobb and he said it was up to us but he would be out of town tomorrow but we still had time tonight to have our baby. I kinda started to panic. I really wanted him to deliver my baby so I told my husband, Let's go to the hospital...its time. We got there. I had my birthing ball and my iPod. I was all ready to go then the nurse checked me and said my water had not broken and I was only 1 cm dilated but having good contractions, so I said I'm going home. I got really discouraged so my husband read the balloon script (fear release) over and over , till I felt OK with the fact that Dr. Cobb may not deliver me.
So I continued having surges all through the night and Monda., I just kept listening to the rainbow relaxation hypnosis script and birthing affirmations, walking, squatting and doing my sleep breathing through surges and at 2:30pm, Seaside Women's Health called me and asked how I was doing. I said, good...I'm having surges but nothing I can't talk through or handle but they are 3 minutes apart and I don't want to go back to the hospital for them to tell me I'm 4cm , so Andrea said come in and Dr. Biter will check you . At 3:30pm we saw Dr. Biter. He checked me and said, Buddy you are 9 1/2 centimeters and the only thing holding your baby in is your water bag and its bulging out like a water balloon. We were all so excited.. So they called the hospital and said we were on our way. Dr. Biter told Nick if we don't make it to call the office and he would walk him through it. I was all for it, Nick not so much.
So we drove to Pomerado in traffic and got there around 5 pm. I gave the nurse my birth plan and told her I was 9 1/2 centimeters. She asked who told me that and I said my doctor. She just gave me a look of disbelief, then she checked me and apologized and said yes you are 9 1/2 cm. I gave her my birth plan which was no drugs at all and no IV. All I had was a hep lock, but nothing ever got put in it. I listened to my relaxation CD and did my breathing while rocking on the birthing ball through each surge. The nurses were amazed how calm and quiet I was during surges and then talking and laughing with my husband and friend in between.
When I got to ten centimeters my water broke. They said I had to get the baby past my pubic bone and then I could push and that baby was sunny side up. I remembered what Carol said and I got on all fours until I had the strongest urge to push and really push. I didn't breath him down. I was trying to breath him down and my body just pushed so I went with it. I felt really strong and alert. I also felt very hot. I kept telling them to turn the air on, and my husband and friend had to fan me the entire time. There was lots of pressure and some stinging at the end. I kept visualizing him coming out . When I thought I had no more strength, I said is he out yet, they said almost. The doctor had me reach down and feel his head and I was determined to get him out and at 9:49pm Bryce was born. They put him on my tummy right away for skin to skin since his cord was very short he couldn't reach my chest. The doctor said they had to cut the cord right away because there was a tear in it, which I was bummed about. I had a small tear that required one stitch but I felt great. The doctor and nurses said I humbled them and that they were proud of me and couldn't believe all the hair he had. I can't wait for my next Hypno birth!

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Congratulations, Nick and Jamie! Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful story, I'm so happy to hear the HypnoBirthing techniques were so useful for you! Enjoy your babymoon!

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit our website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net to learn more and to see the schedule for upcoming classes. Carol & Kelly teach classes in North County San Diego. If their schedule doesn't fit your schedule, please contact them and they will refer you to other local practitioners. If you are outside San Diego, CA, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com & go to Find a Practitioner to find a class near you.

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

A HypnoBirthing story--Katie & Adam

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--Julie & Frank

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

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

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

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

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.