A Beautiful HypnoBirthing® at 41+ Weeks

Many thanks to this first-time Flutterby family for sharing their story!

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At 41 weeks and 2 days, it wasn’t unusual to have middle of the night surges. As much as I kept reminding myself that my baby doesn’t know what a guess date is, I was convinced I would be the first person to be pregnant forever. I didn’t think much of the first few surges as I was able to fall back asleep after each. However, when I woke at 6 am on July 4th, I noticed my membranes had released. I called the midwife who said that if I would like, I could come in, but she advised that if the membranes had released I would have to stay at the hospital. We agreed that I would labor at home and be in touch.

While Kyle and I were home, we did our best to make it a calm and relaxed morning. I focused my attention on breathing through the surges, and we even found time to do the Rainbow Relaxation together. Between tidying up the house, to focus my attention on things other than the surges, I read through my affirmations, walked around, and bounced on the birth ball. At this point, I was calm and really not convinced I was having a baby yet. Once the rain stopped that morning, I called the midwife to see if I could go for a walk outside. She confirmed if I was comfortable enough and the temperature was cool enough, I could go. We got the dog, Luci, excited to go but I quickly changed my mind. At this point, the surges were becoming more frequent and more intense. We agreed that a walk was necessary for Luci, so Kyle left, and I continued to labor at home. When Kyle returned I very calmly, but urgently, asked “How much longer until you’re ready to go?” This was the signal . . . finally . . . that we were going to have our baby!

We arrived at the hospital around 12:30 pm and were admitted to a triage room. Monitors placed to check the baby and I confirmed what we already knew: that the surges were 3 minutes apart, increasing in intensity, and indicating that the baby would be joining us soon. Our midwife checked how far I had thinned and opened, but she did not tell me the result, as per our birth plan. After this check, we immediately transitioned to a birthing room.

Once we were admitted to a birthing room, we continued using our Hypnobirthing tools - calm and surge breathing, using our key words and phrases to move me into deeper relaxation, and scents and sounds we utilized during surge practice before birth. I can honestly say I had never felt so relaxed as I was feeling between surges during our baby’s birth. Kyle was an amazing birth partner and fully embraced all the techniques we had learned with Erin and practiced at home. We labored at the hospital for several hours, and after 2 ½ hours of breathing the baby down, Vivienne Kate arrived - at 5:09 pm, 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long on July 4 2018. It was the most incredible feeling holding our baby after a completely natural birth, especially considering that 24 hours earlier we were mentally preparing for an induction. Vivienne just seemed to be waiting in the womb for so long!

I’m so thankful for the tools we were given in the HypnoBirthing® class and that we had a medical team that was very respectful of our birth plan. This respect emanated out of the fact that we advocated for our family and our HypnoBirthing® plans. We did this during the prenatal visits, during the nearly two week wait past our estimated date of delivery, and during the actual birthing day.

​- Kaitlyn, Kyle & Vivienne

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Erin Stertz-Follett, Flutterby's Owner, is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Certified HypnoBirthing® Educator, and Certified Birth Doula who has taught and assisted hundreds of families. Feel free to email her at [email protected] with any questions!