All of my mother's 5 babies were late by at least one week, and I was the latest of all. Given this track record, I was preparing myself to go to 42 weeks. Ironically, I went into labor ON my guess date.
That morning, the first of MANY trips to the bathroom, I found some light pink blood spots on the toilet paper, having passed some of my mucus plug the day before. I was very tired, even after just waking up, and I felt a little crampy. I figured it was just this diarrhea that had set in, and figured THAT could be due to the magnesium supplement I was taking. Even so, I had hopes that this was early labor. I was ready to meet my baby. As the day wore on, the diarrhea-feeling became rhythmic. It was still very light and manageable, and located only in the front of my low abdomen. Even so, I could time the wave of sensation--each surge lasted about 15-30 seconds and had anywhere from 5-30 minutes between. I had an acupuncture appointment--to encourage labor, actually-- and a routine prenatal that day, and fully intended to keep both. I kept myself busy readying snacks and meals just in case this WAS the real deal. I also made sure to eat a lot. My mother texted me, "happy almost birthing day! Feeling any twinges?" "Maybe. Some rhythmic cramping and maybe some bloody show. Super tired." "Sounds like all is as it should be." At our prenatal, the midwife offered a cervical check, but I declined. After hearing my symptoms--and watching me breathe through a wave or two, she said, "You seem pretty labory to me. I won't be surprised if you call me tonight. I also won't be surprised if you don't. This seems early; it could go either way." She counseled us to go to bed as soon as possible, and said to me that I should sleep between waves as much as possible, and let Jess get sleep in case it turned out to be a long labor. At around 9:30, I moved to our guest bed so as not to wake Jess with my hypnobirth tracks I was using to try and fall asleep. I breathed through surges like I had practiced, but by 11:00 or so, they were coming faster--about every 4-6 minutes for 30 seconds each. I needed to be on all fours and started vocalizing, eventually loudly enough to wake Jess around 1. I was glad she woke up, even though I was supposed to let her sleep. Being alone in the middle of the night timing contractions put me in a bit of a panic. "I think you should call Nadine" I said to Jess, handing her my phone and timing record to call our doula, Nadine Ashby. She also called to update our midwife, who said that Jess could inflate the birth pool but could probably hold off on filling it unless I said I wanted it. The moment I knew Nadine was on their way, I was able to relax. "You know, baby," I thought, "It'd be really nice to get one more night of sleep." By the time our doula arrived, I'd fallen asleep and the surges had slowed way down. The surges became light enough to simply breathe through as I'd been taught, and I did fall asleep between them. I moved back into my bed with my wife and Nadine slept in our guest bed. We all slept through, and in the morning, waves were coming, but farther apart and I didn't feel the need to vocalize. Even so, I didn't want Jess to go to work. For much of that day, we watched Great British Baking Show and took it easy. I napped through a technical challenge. Occasionally, I would get a cluster of surges--6 to 10 in an hour instead of 2 or 3. Our midwife came by to check in around 5 p.m. When she checked my belly, she said baby was higher in the pelvis than the day before. This made sense to me. Baby had been moving their head around A LOT in the few days before the guess date. On our guess date, the head movements had leveled off, and the midwife found their head was flexed and low, which I was ready to settle for. Baby had been OP for pretty much the whole 3rd trimester, despite my diligent efforts to turn them to OA. In fact, my chiropractor helped me make peace with it by saying, "maybe baby knows something we don't. Maybe their cord is positioned so that they can't comfortably or safely hang out OA in utero, and they'll move at the end." Well, on Thursday, Jan. 20, baby's head was gnashing again and had moved up in the pelvis, which was enough to make me wonder if this baby WAS trying to turn. My midwife agreed that could be true, and gave me several positions to move through in order to give her space. She also offered to check my cervix. I was very curious about the progress, having now idea if this was prodromal labor or if it was progressing my cervix, so I consented. Honestly, the cervical check was the worst part of the whole birth process, and the only part I'd do differently if I could do it again. Even so, it was useful. While Janine and I both thought I'd be dilated to maybe 2 cm, I was actually dilated to 5. Up until then, I had thought that since I only felt the waves very low and in the front, they couldn't be the "real deal." Janine dispelled me of that notion, sharing that that's similar to how her own labor felt. Janine left to eat dinner, saying she'd return after that and faster if we called. I think by the time Janine left, I was in active labor. I went to lie down in bed in the "flying cowgirl" position and labored there with Jess's support until our doula arrived around 8 p.m. Here, I very slowly ate a snack and drank water while Nadine used a massage ball on my low back. The surges ramped up to the point where I needed much more coaching to stay relaxed during them, until it didn't feel right at all to relax my muscles. I still breathed as deeply as possible, sending oxygen to my uterus and baby, but I felt the need to push against the surges, with my voice and my hands, more and more with each one. I followed those instincts, which was also a thing I'd practiced in our hypnobirth class. I became nauseous, so I got myself up and to the toilet. After vomiting, it was time for clothes to come off! I labored on the toilet and birthing ball in the bathroom, accompanied by Nadine, while Jess and Janine filled the birth tub. The surges came more powerfully and closer together. I still wouldn't say I suffered at this point, but it definitely got harder. Nadine pulled out more of my planned comfort measures--peppermint oil, birth ball, music. I pushed harder with my voice. My doula and my midwife noticed the change. Nadine said, "That's your power." I remember thinking, "I need the water! I can't do this much longer!" Lucky for me, it wasn't long after that thought that Janine and Jess said I could get in the tub. "I was going to wait for a break to move." Janine said, "I think you've just gotta go." At that point I realized I wasn't really getting a break because I was in transition! The team helped me into the tub. Once in the water, I did get a break. I'm not sure if that was because of the effect of the water or if I was done with transition, but on the very next wave, I started pushing--and roaring--my baby down. This was where it started to feel really sacred, or like magic, with peaceful music playing and candles burning, and this team I would trust with my life close by. Nadine cooled my face and neck with ice water, and Jess held my hand. It was anything but quiet, though. I think I was the loudest I've ever been in my life. It was like the sound filled up my head from the outside, like I was hearing someone else make those sounds, but still attached to the satisfaction the roaring brought. I remember thinking, "these are like the sounds of a baby crying." Since then, I've heard my baby make them. It's like I was only instinct at this moment, the way a newborn is. Instinct and power. I pushed on my knees, leaning against the wall of the tub. My dog made an appearance at my face. I could feel my baby descending, feel Janine's light pressure on my rectum with the instruction to push toward that sensation. Nadine said, "send all that energy down." Janine narrated to Holly, the midwife who was charting, that my bag of waters was emerging as my baby's head started to crown. For a second, I thought, "Will my baby be born en caul?!" But a second later, the bag broke in the pool. Shortly after, I reached down to touch my baby's head. "So much hair!!" I called, and it was so motivating. Baby was so close! The next few pushes, I definitely felt the ring of fire. At that point, my roar became a scream and then panting as I instinctively tried to give baby time to stretch those tissues. As baby's head emerged, Janine moved baby's hand out of the way, and after the head was born, helped to rotate the shoulder. I don't remember feeling any of that, just the power of the waves helping me to push this baby out. It seemed to me that once the head was born, they just flew and floated out. Janine caught baby and handed them to me. I don't think I've ever before felt so accomplished, so HIGH, as when I held my baby the first time. I tried to check the sex (it was a surprise to us), but I couldn't actually lift them up far enough out of the water because the cord was too short. Pretty quickly, I was given Angelica tincture and a shot of pitocin (with consent). I'd lost more blood with the birth of the baby than Janine was comfortable with, so they wanted to get on that. The placenta still didn't come, so they got me and baby, still attached, out of the tub and onto our bed so they could see better. More Angelica. More pitocin. "If you feel the need to bear down, follow that!" I didn't feel the need, though. I felt urgency in the room, and I could feel my uterus contracting, but not with any kind of rhythm. It felt like it was bubbling like a cauldron. I attempted to bear down anyway, and eventually, the placenta did ooze out. With the placenta delivered, I could see that our baby had a vulva! We had a beautiful, intimate golden hour or two or three. She latched and had her first meal while she soaked up the rest of her cord blood from the still-attached placenta. We got a tour of the placenta and I got to cut the cord! Turns out that the cord was on the short side--21 inches long--so the guess that this baby wasn't comfortable OA due to the cord is pretty plausible. Then Janine did the newborn exam and vitamin K shot. After taking guesses from everyone in the room, we learned our baby was 7lb 14 oz. When examined for tearing, I learned that I had a second degree perineal tear, was assured that this level of tear was pretty mild and normal, and was given the choice whether or not to have stitches. "Do I NEED stitches?" Holly said, "If it were my body, I wouldn't choose them." "I don't want them." We cut a deal--no stitches if I could stay upstairs for a full two weeks. Since that was the plan anyway, it was an easy deal to make! Holly told me what I could expect with healing, and then encouraged me to go pee. Hesitant, I said, "Do I want to? No. Should I? Probably." Holly joked (very effectively), "well we always have the catheter option." "No, thank you. I'll pee." Nadine and Janine both helped me to accomplish that. It stung, but it's been better every time since. Before leaving, the midwives prepared comfrey root compresses and Peri wash, as well as herbal sitz bath. They started the birth laundry and washed the bowl used to catch the placenta. Janine made sure we knew what to expect in the next 36 hours and set our next house call for then. Jess said, before they left, "Wait! We don't have to do a hospital transfer!" Indeed not. While it had a few unexpected turns, we got the peaceful, empowering, safe home birth of our dreams and now our baby was in our arms. Exhausted, I thought, "I don't want to do this again tomorrow, but I definitely do want to do it again." - Katrina, Jess and Baby E
Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. 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. Email her at erin@flutterbybirth.com with any questions. Sharing is caring!
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My sweet baby was born on 9/9, and it was a beautiful experience. Thanks in large part to you, I switched to a midwife practice at 35 weeks after seeing the chart you shared in one of the first classes about cesarean rates at different twin cities hospitals. This was the best thing I could have done, as I think this, paired with your class, was why I was able to have the labor and birth experience I’d dreamed of. My labor experience went relatively quickly once I was in active labor (after a day of prodromal labor - I definitely listened to your guided Hypnobirthing tracks a lot that day). I used many of the tools you’d taught us when I was clearly in labor - focusing on an object, playing calm music (I downloaded the Hypnobirthing tracks without words!), using the different breathing techniques, and finding positions that felt best to labor in. Nick, my husband, had read up on what I’d been learning in class each week, and used affirming words and light touch to support me. The midwives seemed to know exactly what to do and say to help me along in the labor process, and always made it clear that I was in charge of my body and what I wanted to do (for example, regarding cervical checks). Auggie’s birth itself was so calm, and honestly, one of the best experiences of my life. I felt strong and powerful. I think being in such a calm frame of mind and supportive environment made my body relax and my labor go pretty quickly (though it didn’t necessarily feel quick in the thick of it!). Auggie was born via water birth, after maybe 10 minutes of pushing (though I was totally involuntarily pushing - my body was just working of its own accord, it felt like). Nick was able to “catch” Auggie and help bring him up to my chest immediately after birth, where he stayed for the 4 hours we were at the birth center. He was and still is a healthy baby, and my recovery has been very smooth. My 3-year-old, Rowan, loves Auggie and is a great big sister - I can’t believe I have the family I’ve always hoped for. I’m so grateful for you and your class, Erin. Thank you for all of your insights and support - I hope you know the impact you’re making! -Rachel Congratulations to this Flutterby Hypnobirthing Family who welcomed their first babe earlier than expected… before class ended… and used their skills and knowledge to maintain their dream of an empowered experience! Many thanks to them for sharing their story. “Hi Erin!
I'm writing to let you know that Eric and I will miss our last class today because we had a surprise arrival this weekend! On Friday night, walking home from a neighbor's house around 9:45, I thought I peed my pants (because waters releasing never happen like they show in the movies, right?!?). Shortly after, what I thought were Braxton Hicks started. I popped my headphones in and listened to my Hypnobirthing playlist on repeat from about 1am - 6am. I was definitely in and out of wakefulness during that time, potentially dozing between each surge. The surges started at 20 minutes apart, and advanced throughout the night until they were much closer together. The sensations were mostly in my back, which was not very pleasant, but I breathed through it. About 6:30am, we called the NurseLine and they advised we come to Labor & Delivery at Regions to see if I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid. We called our doula a bit before 7am, and right when we called her I started feeling the urge to push! Since we were only at 33 weeks 5 days, we didn't have our hospital bag packed yet, so Eric quickly threw together a bag while our doula supported me through surges. We drove to Regions Family Birth Center and arrived a few minutes after 8am. I got to the triage bathroom to give a urine sample, but I couldn't pee, so I reached down and I felt a head! They rushed me to the delivery room and 3 pushes later, Lochlan was born at 8:24am, 6 weeks early! It was an incredible and unexpected experience, but honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. I truly think the Hypnobirthing playlist and the prep work we did beforehand allowed me to be so calm and relaxed that labor progressed so quickly! Thank you for your class and all that you taught us!”
The day before I went into labor with Gemma, I had a routine midwife appointment, and a Biophysical Profile ultrasound. Standard for being over 40 weeks. I had already tried a few membrane sweeps, and the baby was cozy as could be. My midwife suggested that a herbal induction would be a good idea, since I was close to risking out of home birth care. I am a big believer in letting baby decide birth days, but said I would consider Sunday/Monday (42 weeks would be that Tuesday) if Baby didn't come over the weekend. Joe and I took the 3 kids to the YMCA to swim that evening. I had the results back that my BPP was a slightly lower number than wanted, so we agreed to a natural induction for the following morning at noon. I let my birth team (doula, photographer, friend/family) know. My neighbor/friend Stephanie, was going to come over at 9 to do my hair. If I had to have an induction, I was at least going to look nice for it.
I went to bed that night, and listened to my Hypnobirthing relaxation track. It was quite a weird feeling, knowing I was going to have my baby the next day. I slept pretty good until 5am. I felt really uncomfortable. Joe was going to work a 1/2 day that morning, and come home when the herbal induction/acupuncture was supposed to start. When he left at 7am, I was painful, but thought it was from how big baby was and the movement. All the kids were up around 730am and I went to get them breakfast. I was having a hard time getting them what they wanted with the continuous pain I was feeling. I finally realized I was having contractions every 4 minutes, and was in labor! I called my birth team at 8:15 and told them I NEEDED them at the house now. I have a history of fast labors once I break through some LEEP scar tissue, so I was afraid I would have the baby alone. I let my neighbor/friends Kate and Kodi know that today was the day, and they came over right after Joe arrived to help me and the kids. I listened to my birth affirmations, while I folded laundry. I literally was on the floor moaning every time I had a contraction with bad back labor, so I thought doing something normal would be a good distraction. Kodi helped change Coral and took some pictures. I let my friend know that was doing my hair, that there was NO WAY I could stand still for it... so messy bun it was! My mom and Joe's mom arrived around 9. They both missed Coral's birth by minutes, so they were pretty prompt about being here for the big day! My best friend Kacie, arrived shortly after. My photographer Stef, and doula, Staci arrived, and she did some hip squeezes to help with the back labor. We walked stairs, and did some hip swaying. I was only in the tub 5 minutes before Coral was born, so Joe and others got to filling the labor tub right away. I was able to relax in the warm water, and had a great playlist with Prince, Lizzo, The Police, and Jonas Brothers to get me into the groove. The second midwife, Holly, arrived. The water relaxed me a little too much, so my contractions started spacing a bit. I ugly cried in front of everyone, and complained that "This was taking forever"! Mind you, It was maybe 11am by this point, and people had been here two hours tops. I got out of the tub and asked to be checked. I had been a solid 6cm for the last week, so I was happy when Aly told me I was 9cm. I was motivated to get this kid out of me, so I went back to stair walking. My SIL Angela had arrived, so everyone I wanted at the birth was officially there! I got back in the tub when things were more intense and switched the playlist to my ocean wave noises. I used visualization from Hypnobirthing to help me through all the surges. I pictured I was in Akumal, Mexico... my favorite place in the world. I got out after things stalled again. Aly suggested eating something. Due to my Hyperemesis, I think I got 2 bites in of a sandwich before I said F the food. Staci started doing Lift and tucks on my belly. I said I wanted a break, it was too intense.....and then with a deafening pop at 12:47pm, my water broke. After three natural births, I can say without a doubt, this was the most intense feeling of my life. Baby was higher up in my pelvis. It felt like an elevator went from level 3 to the ground entrance in a second's time. I was mostly quiet before this, but all bets were off now, and I knew what was coming. I SCREAMED for everyone to come down to the basement (Joe, kids, parents were all upstairs). I pulled off my pants and jumped into the birthing tub. I'm so thankful Kate was there at that moment, and got these last few minutes on video for me. I could tell this baby was bigger than the other three and kept saying "oh God, oh God, oh God". In my head, I was saying this baby is flipping huge, and there is no way It is coming out of me! I pushed twice and roared. The head was out. I waited for my next contraction, and Aly told me to lower my butt down into the water and kneel. The contraction came and the rest of the body came out. I caught the baby in my arms and pulled her up at 12:51pm. I started crying. This was almost 42 weeks of HG, and struggling with everything after a previous loss. Everyone in the room cheered! Charles was upset with how loud I had been, and started crying too. Coral and Graham came over to see the baby. Joe announced correctly (He said Coral was a boy), that we had a little girl! It wasn't a shock to me. I felt the whole pregnancy, that I was going to have a girl. I also was rubbing her bum at the time and didn't feel any part. Charles cried again, because he wanted a brother, but got over it quickly. My after pains came on pretty fast, so I told everyone I needed quiet. The kids, parents, and Angela went upstairs so I could get my wits back. Another 10-20 minutes, and we were back up in my bedroom, doing a champagne toast, and having a pizza party! We were all shocked to find out that she was 8 pounds 8 oz. - three pounds more than Coral, and two pounds more than the boys! I am so blessed that Gemma really did come when she wanted. It was exactly how I wanted the birth to go. All the people I loved and wanted there were present. My pregnancies may be tough, but holding on to that baby in the first few moments is worth every IV, Zofran pump, and sickness. Happy Birthday Gemma Emily! -Dani (Who also happens to be an awesome Hypnobirthing Doula - Check her out at Dani the Doula!) Thank you to Tiny Moment Photography for the beautiful pictures!
Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. 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. Email her at erin@flutterbybirth.com with any questions. Sharing is caring!
It was Tuesday morning, February 19th and I woke up feeling not especially well rested. I had found myself waking up frequently and uncomfortable during the night, but I was always able to fall back asleep by using my relaxed breathing and some visualizations.
As I was getting ready for work. I noticed that the surges were a bit more intense than I had experienced before. I paused for a moment, wondering if I should even go into work, but I was bound and determined to not use any PTO that had been scrimping and saving for my maternity leave. So my husband, TJ, dropped me off at the hospital where I work (and also where I planned to give birth). It was about 8AM and I was trying to prepare for a meeting. I noticed that I actually had to pause and stop my work in order to properly breathe through the surges. I pressed on and headed into my meeting. At this point, I hadn’t started timing the surges, but during my meeting there was a clock right in my visual field. I started making marks on a sheet to track how often I was having surges. In about 15 minutes, I had four or five of them. Two lovely coworkers gently urged me to leave the meeting as I had been observed closing my eyes and breathing through the surges. I politely excused myself at 9AM and called my husband to come and pick me up and take me home. That’s right - take me home. I could have just walked down a few halls and taken the elevator up two floors to get to the birthing center, but I had planned to do most of my laboring at home. I also think it hadn’t sunk in just how far along I was. You see, I thought I was just starting labor, since I had only really been noticing it for a couple of hours. And I had heard and read that first-time moms tend to have longer labors. So even though the data and my symptoms showed that I was further along, I was convinced I was just starting. After getting home, I popped in my earbuds and threw on the guided hypnobirthing recordings, but found that I couldn’t get into the deep zone I wanted to before another surge would hit. I ended up moving my body, breathing, and sighing my way through some intense surges, while TJ texted furiously with our Doula (the brilliant Rhonda Fellows). After many failed attempts to get comfortable (in/out of the shower), around 11AM I found myself saying “I think we need to go now”. I was dropped off at the ER and transport brought me up to the room while TJ parked the car. I was left alone and in that short time, I felt a sudden urge to use the bathroom (hello transitional phase sign!). While sitting on the toilet, my membranes released. Still completely alone, not having been even checked in, I pulled the call light and called out for support. There was no time for the birthing tub to be filled. No time to check to see how far I was dilated. No time for cervical checks. No time for my Doula and birth photographer to make it. Just enough time for TJ to get there. And Everett Abel was born at 11:47AM that morning. My doula later shared with me that it is not uncommon for hypnobirthing mamas to completely miss the early phase of labor, because they are able to be so relaxed. I believe that is exactly what happened for me. Thanks to Erin and the hypnobirthing method, as I reflect on the birth of my child, I have nothing but positive feelings. Such a beautiful, intense, and empowering experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat. ~ Andrea, TJ, and Everett Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. 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. Email her at erin@flutterbybirth.com with any questions. Sharing is caring! |
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