Katrina's Birth Story (AKA "Our Unplanned Homebirth" or "HypnoBirthing Really Works!"

Alanna & Mike took my Tuesday night HypnoBirthing classes in Encinitas (North County San Diego, CA) to prepare for their second birth. They had taken another birthing class for their first birth, but weren't happy with the outcome and decided that they wanted to learn more to be even more prepared for their second birth.

Alanna's story:

On Monday and Tuesday (Feb 10 & 11) I started having some mild cramping sensations in my lower abdomen, almost like pre-menstrual cramps. They were infrequent and mainly only started in the afternoon through evening and went away by morning. They weren't uncomfortable at all but I practiced my slow breathing through them just to start preparing for labor, which I assumed was probably a few days away.

On Tuesday (11th) the cramping was becoming a little more intense and by that night I figured we were probably getting close to the start of labor. I researched prodromal labor (false labor), sat on my birth ball for a bit and drank some red raspberry leaf tea in hopes that my cramping would turn into labor surges rather than disappear again in the morning. I was convinced that this was going to drag out over several days.

Sometime between midnight and 1:00 AM on Wednesday morning (12th) I woke up with what I could tell were real uterine surges. I could actually feel everything tightening up and starting to push my baby down. I started listening to my Rainbow Relaxation and HypnoBirthing music playlist on my headphones and slowly breathed through each surge. Mike had fallen asleep in Sammy's room so he had no idea anything was going on. I figured I'd have a long time to go so I didn't want to wake him and bother him yet. One of us might as well get a good night's sleep! Around 3:30 AM I decided I should probably start timing the surges just to be sure that we didn't need to get ready for the hospital yet. I timed them for about an hour but they were all over the place - no rhythm or pattern to them at all. I went back to bed and continued my breathing and relaxation. Around 5:30 AM I noticed Mike was back in our bed and he realized that I was having real contractions. I assured him that nothing serious was happening yet and that we'd see if everything slowed down again in the morning as they had the two days before.

Around 7:30 AM on Wednesday 912th) I got up for the day. I had a cup of coffee, sat at my computer, and took care of some essential business, just in case. I let our friends know that there was a good chance we'd need them to watch Sammy that day. Then I hopped in the bathtub around 8:00 AM where I soaked for about an hour while listening to a podcast about "How to Know if You are in Real Labor" (I decided that it was still practice labor since my surges were still irregular) and then listened to my relaxation music. Getting in the tub slowed down my contractions for a while but eventually they became pretty consistently 5-7 minutes apart.

Mike was still home that morning and was getting Sammy ready for the day while preparing to go out and run some errands. I figured that since my surges were still pretty far apart (real labor would start when they were 4 minutes apart) he had plenty of time to go out and do some things before we had to go to the hospital. I was planning to call my aunt, who was going to be our birth companion at the hospital, and let her know that we would most likely be going to the hospital that afternoon. 

I sat up in the tub and started draining the water when a really strong surge hit me. I breathed through it and continued my process of getting dried and dressed. I did my best to get my hospital bag ready but from that point on, I just kept having surge after surge. I couldn't even properly brush my teeth because they were coming so fast. I started timing them and realized they were consistently 2 minutes apart and about 1 minute each. I was afraid I wasn't going to have time to track them for an hour to see if they fit the 2-1-1 timeframe! It was at this point I realized there was probably no way in hell we were making the 45-60 minute drive to Balboa Hospital down in San Diego.

While Mike made me some eggs for breakfast (so I'd have energy for the day ahead), I sat in my chair and kept breathing through the surges and relaxing. I got about two bites of my eggs and then had another surge. That one was SO intense that I suddenly had a moment of panic and felt like I couldn't take it anymore. I yelled to Mike that I didn't think I could handle this anymore. He came in the room, told me to calm down and relax. (While he was seriously concerned that I was already losing it so early into the labor process!) I relaxed for a minute until the next surge hit. This time I yelled again that I didn't know how long I could do this. 

All of a sudden I felt the urge to push. I thought that it was still way early in my labor so I figured I must just have to poop. I rushed past Mike into the bathroom and told him so. He said "no, I don't think you do" but figured that this pressure was just a part of labor. I sat down on the toilet and started pushing and instantly realized that it was NOT poop pressure....my baby was ready to be born. Mike checked and at first didn't feel anything, but then I breathed down a little bit and he could feel her crowning. He made me scoot forward so he could see (and catch!) the baby. He handled it so calmly that it was easy for me to get back to my relaxed state. I remembered that I wasn't supposed to "push" and I just needed to bear down a bit with my breath whenever I had a surge. This is what I did, and I think it took about 4-5 breaths before my baby was fully born at 9:35 AM. She was still in her bag of waters, and thankfully we had seen this in a birthing video recently so Mike wasn't freaked out. He knew it was totally fine and once she came out he just broke it open and handed me our baby.

While I held her, Mike called 911 to ask for assistance. The EMT's showed up and helped transfer us to the hospital to deliver the placenta and make sure we were okay. It was pretty crazy and exciting! Meanwhile, Sammy was in the bathtub in the other bathroom, completely oblivious that her sister was being born. After the event, Mike went to get her so she could see her sister before we transferred to the hospital.

Mike’s story:

First let me say “I am the man”! Whoo. That aside, I went to sleep the night before labor with my daughter Sam aound 11, woke up around 2 and crawled into our bed. Alanna was awake and said she was feeling some tremors and I asked if we should get the birthing party started. She said the contractions weren't that strong or consistent yet so I went to sleep. I woke around 7:30 and Alanna was in the rocker recliner in the baby’s room covered in a blanket with her eyes closed and headphones on. She looked asleep. I knew that was part of the hypno-birthing deal so I took a pic when she wasn’t looking and went to my daily routine. After some coffee and some email checking I asked Alanna if she thought I should stay home from work. She said it wasn’t necessary but it would be nice to have someone around the house to help with Sam while she was in the pre-labor stage. While Alanna took a bath it slowly crept into my mind that this was going to be the day so I cleaned, had breakfast with Sam and then put her in the tub. When Alanna got out of the tub she said her contractions were coming hard and fast. I mentioned that maybe they slowed in the tub and now her body is catching up to make up for lost momentum. She agreed and I made some her eggs and an english muffin. 

Sitting in the baby chair again she started eating her breakfast. I went to the kitchen to clean up and I heard her scream, “Miiiiike, I don’t think I can do this anymore!”. I thought Whaaat? We didn’t even get to the hospital yet! Why did we take hypo-birthing lessons for the past month and a half if we’re going to just jump to freak out mode off the bat? I went into her room and reassured her and did some light massage on her legs. Then the next contraction came. She said “I have to poop” and she pushed me out of the way and started walking towards the bathroom. I said “You know you don’t need to poop”. My thinking was based on an anecdote provided by our birthing teacher. Wrong! We went into the bathroom and she said “I think the baby is coming. I feel like I have to push.” I said “The baby’s not coming”. So I told her to lean back and I looked. As I inspected I started to say “See, nothing is coming… Oh yea there’s something there”. I felt to see what it was and since it was so close to crowning I waited to see what it was. At first I thought it was just the bag of water that was coming out on it’s own before the birth actually started. Never saw that before but hey she wasn’t about to have a baby in the bathroom right? Then as I watched I saw hair under the shiny sack. Oh shit! I told her “Okay, were having a baby”. She started to tense and I reassured her that we can do this together. The baby was coming fast with every contraction so I grabbed my shower towel off the wall behind me and got my head together for the next couple rounds of contractions. I held Alanna’s butt up as she leaned back as to not drop the baby in the toilet. After 3-4 contractions the head came out. She was still in the bag of water. I think if I hadn’t seen this in one of the birthing movies we saw I would have freaked out. I knew she was still attached by the cord and that’s what was important, she didn’t need to breathe yet. Another couple of surges and she was out near her shoulders. I then used my finger nails to pop the bag between her head and shoulder. POP! Like a balloon. Another 2 contractions and out she came. She was as beautiful as a new born baby could be. Alanna said “Give her to me” so I did. We got the cord from around her neck and she sneezed and breathed in a couple times. 

I didn’t know what exactly to do at that point. I knew I should cut the cord after it stopped pulsing but I was kind of bewildered so I thought I’d call the pros. I then called 911 and they sent the EMT’s. While waiting for them we got Alanna's shirt off so the baby was skin to skin and the 911 person instructed me to tie a shoe lace around the umbilical cord and knot it. This is where my brain should have thought “I can do this, I saw Crab Man do this on My Name is Earl with some coupon scissors and some chip clips”, but I just followed the person's directions instead. The EMT’s showed up and I heard “Daddy, What’s going on?”, oh man Sammy is still in the tub. I told her to get out and dry herself while I did finally get the chance to cut the cord. I have a crappy iPhone pic that no one will see because my wife is buck naked in the shot, but I do have it. I got Sam dressed and told her she gets to see her baby sister. She looked dumbfounded. I don’t assume to know what a 3 1/2 year old is thinking when she hears that but it seemed to be surprise and excitement. I made room in our bedroom, now with 5 guys and a gurney and Sam got to see her baby sister. She said  “Ooohh, she’s so cute!”. As they moved Alanna and the baby together to the gurney Sam kept saying “Hi baby” and “She’s so cute” and making a happy little squealing sounds. They took Alanna and the now pinker Katrina to the Ambulance, we gave them Alanna’s hospital bag and they were off. Sammy and I followed to the not planned Tri-City hospital.

Alanna was supposed to birth at Balboa hospital in Downtown San Diego. Why? It was free that’s why. But like Alanna said “She wasn’t getting to the car let alone a hospital 45 minutes away”. So we ended up at the Tri-City hospital 5 minutes away. The hospital was not a good experience. Unknown to me while asking for directions to the birth area I met our doctor on the way in and told her our story. Once to the front desk of the baby ward they told me Sam can’t be there because of flu season. Grrrr. 15 min later our friend Joy came and got Sam and took her home for the evening to have her first sleepover with her best friend Audrey. After not seeing my wife or baby for about 45 minutes I finally made it back to the room where Alanna and Kat were. I was super relieved that they were both healthy and happy. Alanna still didn’t birth the placenta yet and the doctor was somewhere else. The nurses wouldn’t let Alanna try to push it out without the doctor so we waited. This is where Alanna would tell the story best but to summarize, the doctor wanted to give an IV & give Pitocin. Alanna refused both. The doctor was kind of pissed, you could tell by her body language while she explained why it was smarter to do what she wanted us to do. We knew everything was going smoothly so again Alanna refused. Alanna passed the placenta naturally by pushing a couple times. She did need to get sewn up a little since the baby came so fast out of the gate. And that was the extent of the medical involvement. Some stitches and catching the placenta. 

I do not recommend Tri-City at all to anyone. Out of the 5 nurses we had 2 that were considerate to our wants, the doctor was pushy, and the building itself… all the furniture was just destroyed, the dust on the bathroom vents and window cills were so thick you couldn’t see the actual metal. The crown jewel was a couch in the birthing room so used that the sitting surfaces were discolored about 10 shades darker than the sides of it. The best thing about Tri-City was the exit door.

We’re now happy and healthy and doing what we do, but now with a new Kat. The experience of helping birth my daughter was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I tried to liken it to something else I’ve done before. It’s pretty impossible, I was excited yet super relaxed, anxious and focused. It was awesome. While our culture doesn’t support it and most dudes would pass, I think dads should have the opportunity to receive their baby and bring them into this world. I would do it again in a second.

Alanna's story:

To make the rest of the story short, everything went fine - baby Katrina and I are both perfectly fine and healthy (even after me being GBS+ and not getting any antibiotics!) with no complications whatsoever. I was a little annoyed that they kept trying to push an IV and medications even after I had a 100% natural home birth, but we just kept refusing everything, to the doctor's annoyance. Like Mike said, the hospital experience was not good at all. If I were to have another birth (which I am NOT planning!) I would totally do it all at home. The labor and birth at home were AMAZING and I can only imagine how much more peaceful and relaxing it would have been to just finish up everything else with a midwife at home. I have no regrets though - this birth experience was absolutely amazing. I will never forget any minute of it!

Side Note: I highly recommend HypnoBirthing to anyone interested in a natural, peaceful birth experience. I am convinced that my labor went so smooth and easy because I was totally relaxed the entire time. My relaxation allowed each contraction to be so effective that I didn't even realize anything was really happening yet! On my contraction timer I started by noting each surge as "Mild", then gradually started marking them as "Moderate". Toward the end a couple of them brought tears to my eyes but I never really considered any of them to be painful. It wasn't until the last two surges (where I yelled out to Mike) that I considered them "Severe". It was just amazing. No words can really describe how awed and amazed I am about this experience. I can hardly believe it, but I did it!

Not sleeping...just totally relaxed.

From 5-7 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart!

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WOW! Congratulations Alanna & Mike! I'm thrilled to hear that things went so well that you didn't even make it to the hospital...and yet, were still really prepared to handle anything that came your way! Mom, baby, mom's body (& dad) knew exactly what to do once the body is able to relax! So excited for you--thank you for sharing your story!

If you are interested in taking Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoBirthing classes, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If her classes do not fit your schedule, feel free to contact her for other local practitioners. If you're outside of the San Diego area, you can visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

Thanks!

Sara and Erich's HypnoBirthing Story

Sara and Erich took my classes at Seaside Women’s Health in Encinitas, North County San Diego. Here is their story:

I could not believe how similar my birth story was to your first baby's birth! I was really shaking in transition, and I remembered that is what you described as well. My doula did not show up to the hospital as promised which was a disappointment. And lastly, my son was born with his hand up next to his head, just like your first baby!

I was overdue and my OB was concerned about the health of the baby. She had scheduled me for induction on Tuesday at exactly 42 weeks

 which was pushing her from her usual 41.5 week induction date. She was

flexible and understood that I was waiting until the last possible moment to be induced. We decided to try sweeping my membranes on the Friday before to see if that would work. Nothing happened except for cramping. I went to Indigo Dragon Wellness Center for their induction acupuncture the same day. Nothing but lots of cramps. We waited it out Saturday and nothing. Sunday came and finally that evening, after walking the beach stairs, I noticed more intense cramping, but nothing that uncomfortable. I just took my time breathing through them.

My water broke soon after and I was surprised at how different the surges felt from the cramps. From there things got much more intense. Thinking we had tons of time to labor at home, I tried to go shower, wash my hair and relax but it was not happening. I put on the affirmations and ran a bath but it was too uncomfortable against the hard porcelain. The doula was not answering her phone or responding to texts. The only position I found to give me comfort was the "slow dance"; hanging on my husband and swaying. After only about 20 minutes or so, the surges were a minute apart and I was really shaky. My mom came over, thinking we were having dinner, and promptly told us to get going to the hospital. As much as I thought we were going too soon, I knew the surges were really close and we should probably get moving.

It took me forever to get to the car, stopping and breathing through each surge. We sped along the 5 freeway to Scripps La Jolla Hospital and again it took forever to get to elevator and up to the maternity area as I didn't want the wheelchair. They didn't bother putting in a hep-lock, taking blood, signing paperwork or putting the monitor on me. The nurse checked and I was at 9cm. We waited a little bit longer for the doctor and it was time to push! The nurse offered me the epidural, even though the birth plan said not to, but at that point I knew I was so close there was no way I was considering getting one. About 2 hours from the time my water broke, Landon Thomas was born alert, happy and drug-free.

Although I didn't listen to the rainbow relaxation CD at all, as there wasn't much time and I was too focused to get it playing, I know that the HypnoBirthing classes really helped me. They made me feel confident, knowing that my body and my baby would figure out what to do on their own. Knowing I was made to do this allowed me to remain fearless about the final stages of labor and the pushing. I walked away from the experience feeling very empowered and happy about the outcome of the birth. My husband was also able to act as a doula, since she wasn't able to get there, and know how to provide comfort and support in a positive way as we learned in class.

So, thank you so much for providing me with confidence and a birth without fear! We couldn't have done it without you :)

Sara, Erich and Landon

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Sara and Erich, thank you so much for sharing your story! I'm so glad that you were able to have such a quick birth yet feel educated, informed & in control as much as possible with everything happening so fast! I hope you are continuing to enjoy your babymoon!

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 Carol's 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!

Gina and Mike's HypnoBirthing Story

Gina and Mike took my classes on Tuesday evenings at Seaside Women’s Health in Encinitas, North County San Diego.

Zoe decided to make an early appearance six weeks ahead of her guess date! She is doing well, and I wanted to write to give you the news and to especially thank you for the HynoBirthing training because despite all the curve-balls we faced that fateful night, I managed to have a beautiful, peaceful hypnobirth!

My water started leaking steadily and fairly heavily at 10:45PM on the 14th, and because I was only at 34 weeks, I called the midwives' line at UCSD and luckily got a hold of Erica Wu, who was one of the midwives I'd seen during my prenatal visit. She suggested that we go down and get checked out just to be sure, and so we collected all our things very calmly and drove down to the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest at around 12 am. I was sure that the baby was coming, and Mike was just as sure she was not, but luckily, he indulged me and drove me down! When they began monitoring me, it appeared that I was already in the 4-1-1 stage, but I never felt a thing except a very mild pressure. Erica said that because I was less than 36 weeks, she wouldn't be able to deliver me at the Birth Center, but that she would find the most natural birth friendly OB resident and attending, and that she didn't see any reason why I couldn't have a natural birth. She was true to her word, because by the time my surges became really powerful--around 3 AM, the nurses and OB resident had met with me, assured me that they would respect all our birth preferences (that we hadn't had a chance to discuss with our midwife or write down yet) and they did. The neonatologists, however, were less accommodating, and insisted that I give birth in the OR, but by then I was completely in my zone, breathing with each surge, changing positions, moving about, and never once opening my eyes or talking. It didn't matter to me where I gave birth because I was well and truly within myself and unaware of my surroundings. I had been listening to the Rainbow Relaxation and comfortable with Mike’s light massage during early labor, but I didn't want to listen to the CD or be touched during active labor. Our doula, Jenna Anderson, was awesome, applying cold and hot compresses, taking turns with Mike to apply counter-pressure on my hips, and at around 5 after I had a massive bout of vomiting (which felt really good afterward), she suggested that the resident check my cervix because she thought I was close (the resident said that she didn't need to check me at all before that because I was progressing so quickly and she didn't want to put me in any discomfort). I was 9 cm dilated at 5 am, ready to push by 5:30, and baby came after about 40 minutes of a combination of "purple pushing" and bearing down, both of which seemed completely intuitive to me at the time. The doctors and nurses (Drs. Mimi Schaeffer and Yvette Lacroisiere, and Juliette, the nurse), Jenna, and of course, Mike, were so encouraging and wonderful--- I felt like I was running a sprint with my most ardent fans egging me to the finish line, as gently and warmly as possible. No one ever mentioned Pitocin, epidurals, or episiotomies to me, I was allowed to do everything I wanted to, and even with a portable fetal rate monitor that I continuously had on my belly, no one ever gave me cause for alarm. Baby came easily, and I did tear very little, needing 1 stitch, which hasn't bothered me at all. Incidentally, we practiced perineal massage for the first time the evening of the 14th, so that poor perineum didn't get a chance to get properly exercised! I was really touched when both the nurse and resident said that they felt honored at having witnessed such a beautiful birth--Jenna said that she had never seen OBs treat a birth with such dignity.

If anything, the neonatologists have not been quite as respectful as the OBs, because they did not allow me initial skin-to-skin time with Zoe, nor an attempt at breastfeeding and they whisked her away to the NICU almost immediately. Mike went with them, and they did bring her to me briefly, but that part of it has been less than ideal. This is despite the fact that she weighed a respectable 5 lbs at birth, cried lustily as soon as she was born, and was pink, healthy, and vigorous. She's still in the NICU as a "feeder and grower" so that's hard, but I am so glad I was able to give her a drug and anesthesia-free birth. We are hoping that she comes home very soon, so we can continue bonding in a more comfortable space, when she doesn't have a dozen monitoring devices attached to her. Without the natural birth, I wouldn't have been feeling this good physically so soon after giving birth, and my time with her would be much more limited. I am almost fully recovered from the labor and delivery, save for some lingering exhaustion at the end of each day and my rigorous pumping schedule every 3 hours round the clock.

Thanks you for giving us the tools to be able to do this---it will always be one of the most amazing experiences in both my life and Mike’s.

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Congratulations, Gina and Mike! I am so happy that Zoe's birth was just as beautiful as you desired, even if it was a bit earlier than anticipated! I am thankful to hear that the HypnoBirthing techniques came in handy, and am also thankful to know that Zoe was on the road to recovery soon after you sent this story in. How wonderful you felt so respected and empowered for your experience!

For more information on Gina’s doula, Jenna Anderson: www.thebirthofadoula.blogspot.com

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 Carol's 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!

Ashlee and Gerard's HypnoBirthing Story

Ashlee and Gerard took my classes on Tuesday evenings in Encinitas, North County San Diego. Here is their story:

I hope things are going well! I just wanted to say that we had our Baby Girl!

Thanks to you and Linda Goldsmith, our doula, we had a natural birth and labor lasted approximately 9 hours.  It started around 11:30pm - Midnight with some menstrual type cramps.  The first 2 hours we didn't know we were in labor, the next 2 hours we started timing the surges.  Eventually the water broke and we left for the hospital.  We got to Scripps Encinitas at 6am and had the baby at 9:02 am.  We used the toilet, the back position, side positions and eventually delivered the baby in the hands and knee's position. 

It was awesome.  No pain meds, no tearing, only one stitch.  We left the hospital the following day and have taken multiple walks and been out to our favorite restaurant since then. 

Thanks for your classes they were great! 

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Congratulations! I am so happy that you found the HypnoBirthing techniques helpful and you had the birth that you desired! And thank you for your beautiful pictures- what joy! 

 

If you are interested in hiring Ashlee & Gerard's doula, Linda Goldsmith, you can contact her at 760-815-3852.

 

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 Carol's 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!

Bridgette & Kenneth's HypnoBirthing story

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

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