Jenni & Bobby's 2nd HypnoBirth of a 9.5 lb baby!

Jenni & Bobby took my HypnoBirthing classes for their first birth and had a great experience. When they found out they were pregnant again, they contacted me for a refresher class. They came to sit in on a class to review techniques in order to prepare for their second birth. Here is their story:

Our beautiful Brynnlee Elaine was born on September 9th at 4:46 in the afternoon! She was 9.5 lbs and 20 inches!!!

It all started Saturday night around 10:30 and my contractions were 10 minutes apart for a good hour or so. They picked up a bit and then tapered off to about 14 minutes apart. Like my labor with Jordan, I let Bobby sleep and kept practicing what I was going to say to him the next morning when he woke up. Ha! I was able to get a decent amount of sleep in between contractions and was getting so annoyed and having to unlock my phone to use my contraction app every time I felt another one coming. I stopped timing them for a good portion of the night, as I felt I was wasting more energy analyzing them than was necessary.

The next morning when Bobby woke up, the most clever comment I could come up with was, "Today's the day!" I guess all of my prep work and practice from the night before didn't pay off. I then sent a text to LaShel and Jamin giving them a heads up that I was pretty certain Brynnlee was on her way and then texted my mom to see if she was able to come down and take care of Jordan during the birth. She was on her way shortly after getting the news.

Bobby, Jordan and I all got up and came downstairs like every other weekend morning. Bobby made me an egg over easy on a piece of toast and I just labored in the family room; sitting on my birthing ball, standing up and swaying, or leaning against the kitchen table. Jordan wanted "uppies", wanted to play and do normal playful things, and we just kept telling her that mama's tummy hurt and she needed to leave me alone.

My mom arrived only a few hours after texting her and was a huge help in keeping Jordan occupied. I continued to labor as I had been, but started to get discouraged when I was noticing that my contractions were 4 to 5 minutes apart, lasting 60 to 90 seconds while I was standing, but would slow down to 7 or 8 minutes apart, lasting 60 seconds max if I sat down. I was also falling asleep in between contractions while I was sitting, so I guess I hadn't gotten as much sleep as I had thought! I had been losing bits of my mucous plug for a solid two weeks prior, but also started to have a little bloody show here and there throughout the morning.

Earlier in the morning, LaShel had written me asking if she was ok to go to yoga at 10:30. I saw no problem with it since things hadn't really picked up. Around 11:30, I figured she would be out of class and I decided to update her and see what insight she may have for me. She called me right back and recommend I try to take a nap and get some rest and that my be just what my body needs in order for labor to pick up. So that's just what I did. When I got upstairs, Bobby had already prepped the room with all the plastic on the floor and under the fitted sheet on the bed. I curled right up on the bed and was able to get some rest after I decided to stop timing contractions again. I stayed there for a couple hours and LaShel checked in on me around 2:15. Contractions were about 6 minutes apart at that point and I was definitely not able to talk through them any more. She told me to let her know when I was ready for them and they would be over.

With Jordan, my water broke, contractions started and progressed steadily, and everything happened so fast. Mentally, I feel like I was holding on to the fact that my water hadn't broken, so I wasn't going to progress. I expressed my concern to her, to which she told me that my water may not break until I start pushing...duh...I knew that, but for some reason, I just expected everything to be more similar to Jordan's birth. Bobby then came in to check on me and I decided to go to the bathroom to make sure a full bladder wasn't preventing my water from breaking. While in there, I started to think about getting in the tub and Bobby must have read my mind because that was the next question he asked. I stayed on the toilet until the bath was ready. Getting in felt AH-MAZING. It was so soothing to my back. Until......my next contraction. I remember looking Bobby straight in the eyes and shaking my head, "No" and it was like I didn't know what to do with my body. I just wanted to find that one position that would alleviate all the pressure in my back, but there wasn't one. I eventually ended up sitting in the tub like you would normally to just relax and with each contraction, I laid my head back against the glass of the shower and moaned as deep as I could through it. Bobby was so amazing at being right there with me and letting me know if my tone was too high or if he could tell that I was tensing my butt muscles.

After laboring in the tub for a while, (it felt like at least an hour), I finally told Bobby that I was ready for LaShel and Jamin to come. I just needed to know where I was at and how much more I had to get through. Now looking through my texts, I realize that it had only been 45 minutes since I was texting her myself about my water not breaking. LaShel arrived shortly after 3pm. I got out of the tub once she was all set up and had her check me. Amy, a student midwife, had also arrived at this point and Jamin was on her way. Just like with Jordan, I could have sworn I was not going to be very dilated and I was going to lose my ever-loving mind. My body is now two for two in proving me wrong. I was already 8 cm with a bit of a cervical lip. Oh, I could not have been more relieved. I curled up on my side on the bed and just asked Bobby to apply counter pressure on my lower back. Jamin showed up in the mean time and one of them expressed that they didn't want me laying down and suggested I get up and sit on the toilet...the one place that I found the most excruciating while having a contraction. But.....if it was going to help, I was willing to try it out. The very next contraction that came on while I was on the toilet was H*LL!! The sounds that came out of my mouth were horrifying and I remember hearing Jamin say something like, "Yup, that's what we were hoping for!" I felt so much pressure at that point that I was so ready to get this baby out. I don't remember why, because I was a bit confused as to when I was going to start pushing, but I got off the toilet and ended up spending a few contractions leaning against the sink with Bobby applying counter pressure again. With each contraction, I was starting to squat down into it and finally asked when I was going to push. They told me I could start whenever I felt I was ready, so we made our way to the bed. I didn't want to push while laying on my back again, so I started out on my knees with my upper body over the birthing ball, but the ball was too high, so they stacked a bunch of pillows for me to drape myself over. This position was fine except that I was practically sitting on the bed still and this left no room for the baby to move down, let alone, out. So they told me I needed to lift my butt up a bit. Stink bug it was. My big bare A** up in the air, but I couldn't have cared less. I bared down a few times in this position and then ended up switching to a side lying position. I don't remember exactly why I decided to move, but I did. I continued to push in this position while pleading for someone to tell me how much longer I had to do this and dropping a number of F bombs. It felt like I had been pushing for hours. Time distortion was not on my side, as I ended up pushing for 12 minutes! LaShel ended up having to break my water for me and said that it was actually pretty difficult for her to rupture. It was housing our mighty healthy 9.5 lb baby girl after all! I had to sit with her head crowning in an attempt to help from tearing, but I ended up with a tear anyway. Once her head was out, LaShel told me to reach down and pull my baby out and I couldn't believe she was here. I reached down, grabbed her underneath her arms and went to pull her to my chest, but she slipped right out of my hands! I regripped and was holding my new love, my new life, my new baby girl on my chest. The feeling is indescribable.

And, without further ado, here is the latest addition to our family!

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Thanks so much for sharing your birth story! Wow...a 9.5 lb baby! You did an amazing job! I'm glad that the HypnoBirthing refresher class you took helped you have such an amazing experience!

If you're interested in learning more about Jenni's midwives, please visit www.SanDiegoMidwife.com.

If you're interested in learning more about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, Please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If Carol's class schedule doesn't fit yours, she would be happy to refer to you some of the other practitioners in San Diego. If you're outside of San Diego, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find an instructor near you.

A HypnoBirthing story--Roshni & Naveen

Roshni & Naveen took my HypnoBirthing classes at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas to prepare for their second birth. Their first birth was a c-section and they very much wanted to have a vaginal birth after c-section. They decided to have a homebirth with Dr. Biter & San Diego Midwife, LaShel Montgomery and Jamin Sylvada.

Baby Ira’s Birth Story

Wednesday, 2 November started out as a pretty regular day for us, with Naveen working from home like he does most Wednesdays and me getting Rian, our 3-year old ready for school. I had my prenatal appointment with Dr. Biter at noon and Naveen wanted to come along since we thought we would get to see our little one in an ultrasound. I had been getting practice surges for a few weeks now and also some cramping but nothing else and so was convinced that I would be going over my “due date” of 4 November. Although we were anxious, we tried not to think about it. We wanted to give ourselves the best option for an unmedicated natural VBAC and so had opted for a homebirth with Dr. Biter and the dream team.

We were very excited and anxious at the same time and the last few days were hard to focus on anything but the birth and how it would be. We had prepared the supplies and everything was ready to go! So to distract my mind, I activated my new iPhone that morning with the intention of immersing myself with learning to use it and also went around doing errands before my appointment! Then we went for our appointment with Dr. Biter at noon and were pleasantly surprised to see LaShel there. We ended up chatting with her for a while and she reassured us that everything would be fine. She also noticed my tummy tightening. Then Dr. Biter came in and also said the same thing. We did an ultrasound hoping to get a good 4D picture of our little angel in her now cramped home but she had turned face down and we could not get a clear picture, nevertheless I still took the very first photo on my new iPhone of our little angel inside her home within me! Dr. Biter then said he would see me early next week and then chuckled “or maybe tonight”!

We had lunch and returned home at 2 pm. I was very tired and went to take a short nap at 2:30pm. At 2:36 pm I felt this strong kick and quite painful cramping for about a minute. Then for the next half hour I felt strong cramping every 8- 10 minutes as I lay there on the bed. So I called Naveen and then got out of bed. It felt like my water had broken but I was not sure. So I called Dr. Biter and he said that if nothing changes then he would see me the next morning to determine if my water had really released. I called our doula Dawn and was talking to her when I got up and suddenly there was a strong gush and there was no doubt that my waters had released. The surges now were still of the same intensity and about 8-10 minutes apart. They were just uncomfortable but bearable.

So now that we were officially in early labor we started preparing our bedroom and Naveen got busy spreading plastic all over the carpet, setting up the water tub etc. I helped where I could in between the surges and alternated between the birth ball and helping Naveen. Dawn and I decided that she would come over at 7 pm to be with me while Naveen went to drop Rian off at my sister’s home in Orange County. Later my sister called to say that she would instead come to our home and bring Rian with her so that Naveen did not have to leave me.

I am not sure how the time went and before I knew Dawn arrived home and I felt an immediate sense of comfort. She observed me for a bit and said that my belly was low or “pendulous” and the baby was not quite in the pelvis. My surges were now 4-5 minutes apart but very short in duration. So she suggested that we go for a curb walk (one foot on the curb, one on the asphalt) to help the baby engage into the pelvis. Dr. Biter called me to check how I was doing. He said that he would come very soon to “catch the baby” and that I should try and rest as much as possible. Rian was being quiet and staying away from me as he must have guessed something is going on. So we asked him if he wanted to join us but he said he “no thank you, I want to relax with my dad”. For a moment I felt guilty that I was the cause of this discomfort in my little one and that our exclusive and precious Rian-Mama times together was coming to an end, but I canceled that thought quickly thinking that this was temporary and that he would have a sibling to play with soon.

So it was just Dawn and me and we went outside at 8:30 pm and walked for perhaps 10 minutes. By then my sister and her family arrived and we came back inside the house. My surges started getting longer, a bit more intense but further apart. Dawn, my sister and I headed upstairs and spent some time together chatting before Rian and my sister’s family left. Rian was a changed boy once he saw his cousin and playmate and was happy again!

When Naveen joined us upstairs my labor actively progressed as Dawn had predicted and the surges got more and more uncomfortable, and I also started feeling cold and started trembling. Don’t quite know how things changed after that but I went into active labor and Naveen and Dawn helped me through each of the surges as they became more and more intense. Initially I made low moaning noises but then I got tired and breathless and eventually I just tried to breathe downwards through each one with Dawn’s help. She kept reminding me to embrace the pain and not fight it; to imagine the energy moving down and out. She also applied counter pressure on my lower back which helped a lot and Naveen simultaneously squeezed my hand.

I alternated between lying on the bed and sitting on the toilet. The surges on the toilet felt like they would lift me out of my body at times and so I asked Naveen to stand on my feet so I would feel grounded when the surges came and would not fly off! All that pressure somewhat relieved the sensations from the surges. I also got into the shower and the water tub at times but I kept getting cold and did not feel good in the water tub at all. Sometime, probably around 11 pm I opened my eyes and saw that Dr. Biter had arrived and his calm presence gave me an instant relief and also the reassuring feeling that things were progressing well. He examined me gently and also massaged away some cervical scar tissue while I went through another surge. Although this was very uncomfortable, Dr. Biter was ever so gentle and encouraging through it. He then said that I was getting close and that I was between 6 and 7 cms.

After that it was just trying to get through each surge and for the next two hours I was in transition and at times felt like this would go on forever. Suddenly when I was in the tub Dawn whispered that I was 9.5 cm! Wow, I thought, soon I could push and our baby would be out. Dr. Biter asked if I had the urge to push but I did not though the surges just kept getting stronger and I just wanted to be on the bed. Shortly after, I did get the feeling to void myself and apparently I made low grunting noises which was when Dr. Biter suggested that I try pushing.

I think pushing was the hardest part for me because no matter how hard I tried I felt the baby was not coming through and I felt I was not engaging the right muscles. Dr Biter made me change positions several times and move from side to side. I also sat on the toilet again to see if that would help the baby descend further down. I was then asked to squat. Although it was painful, Dawn whispered in my ear that the pelvis gets 33% wider in a squatting position and she recommended that I squat for a couple of surges. After that I was back on the bed and it was time to push again! I don’t know how many times I pushed, just remember being extremely exhausted with the pressure and having a tremendous urge to just close my eyes and sleep, but each time my surges went down, my uterus was massaged to start it up again.

Dr. Biter then softly talked to me about going beyond the exhaustion, giving me the example of walking over hot rocks on the beach to get to the beautiful ocean, about how close I was to having the VBAC that I had dreamt of. He also asked me to reach down and feel the baby’s head just waiting to emerge. He was so soft and so encouraging and my sweet husband Naveen fed me grapes and coconut water so I get more energy to push further.

Then out of the blue during one of those pushes Dawn asked me to open my eyes and look down, and there she was-magically out of me at 3:06 am after two hours of pushing-7lbs and 8 oz, and 20 inches long! Naveen and I lifted her gently while Dr. Biter supported her and our little angel Ira was on my chest. It was the most amazing and beautiful moment of my life so far that I still cannot believe happened. Just for this one moment I would go through all of that pain and more! Ira was our champion and stayed strong through the whole labor. Never once did it even occur to me that I should take any medication for the pain or that I was having a VBAC! Everything was so natural and almost sacred in so many ways and the support I had from my husband, Dawn and the dream team was just awesome.

I had a very minor tear that Dr. Biter sutured up gently, did not feel a thing! He then revealed to us that Ira had an arm on her head (nuchal hand) and the cord was wrapped loosely around her neck, arm, waist and her leg twice! So Dr. Biter had to slowly ease her out while I pushed! So although Ira showed no distress, she sure was all tangled up! No wonder I felt like I was pushing my heart out and she just would not descend! Dr. Biter was so calm and confident that no one could tell what was happening! Ira latched on immediately and she is such a calm, happy baby, nurses and sleeps as they say just “like a baby”!

I was diligent in listening to the Rainbow Relaxation CD every night for the last two months but somehow I never got to listening to it during labor at all, but Dawn said that I used all the hypnobirthing tools during labor and was very calm, quiet and focused especially during transition. She even said that it was hard at times to tell whether I was having a surge and she was concerned that perhaps things were slowing down. But then she realized that I only reacted at the very peak of the surge! I do remember reminding myself to think of being closer to my baby during each of the surges and that the pain was getting me closer to meeting my baby.

Dawn was simply amazing in reminding and coaching me to embrace the pain and go towards and not fight it. Anyone looking for a doula, look no further!! Thanks Carol for the tools you provided us during hypnobirthing class! Many thanks for the wonderful and loving support from my husband and many thanks to Dr. Biter and the dream team to help us achieve our dream birth. San Diego is truly fortunate to have them and I hope that many more will be able to have the transformative experience that we did! An unmedicated totally natural birth is the most empowering and beautiful experience a woman can ever have! After my previous C-section, this has been a sacred and healing process for us! Homebirths are the way to go!!
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Thanks for sharing your story, Roshni & Naveen! It is such an inspiring story! I'm thrilled that you were able to have such a healing, empowering VBAC!

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes to prepare for your birth, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net to learn more.

If you are interested in hiring Dr. Biter & San Diego Midwife, LaShel & Jamin, please visit their website www.sandiegomidwife.com. You can also contact Dr. Biter at 760-642-0800.

If you are interested in hiring Dawn to be your doula, you can contact her via her website at www.douladawn.com.

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

Erica & James' 2nd HypnoBirthing story

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

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

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



Anya’s birth story:

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

A HypnoBirthing story--Tracy & Adam

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

Sincerely,

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

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

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

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Jenni & Bobby

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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