I had a few signs of early labor on the days leading up to my first wave (on Wednesday). I contacted my Doula on Tuesday morning and she agreed it could be early labor but it could be a while before it progresses. I felt good enough to go into work on Wednesday and even did a workout, with very few additional signs of the impending labor throughout the day. After work, my husband and I went on a walk. I was feeling some pressure and back pain, but that was pretty normal after our walks at this point. I decided to try some raspberry leaf tea I had been given and take a bath to calm my back muscles.
Within an hour of drinking the tea, I had started having waves. I thought they were braxton-hicks, but started to monitor them because they felt really long and close together. I drank cold water and tried to lay down, but the waves kept coming, and were already lasting a minute long. Soon my app was telling me to go. I called the birth center, and the midwife said to give it another hour, and if things don't calm down, we could call her because I was worried about being sent home. An hour later, nothing had changed, so we called the midwife and met her at the birth center around 1:30am. I had a cervical exam to see where I was at. and decide if I should stay and start the antibiotics (for GBS) or go home. We found out I was 5cm already and decided to start the antibiotics. Our doula met us at the birth center, but soon things slowed down. My waves were further and further apart, and by 10:30am (Thursday), we were headed home to get some rest and hope things would start moving along. The day progressed with no change, so our doula said she was coming over. At that point I was going on very little sleep from the last 3 nights and starting to become exhausted. Our doula arrived at 8:00pm that night to try some positions, but within an hour, it was clear that I just needed to try to sleep. She put me to bed at 9:00pm, but it didn’t last long because lying down made the waves stronger. I actually told my husband I didn’t know how much longer I could do this and seriously considered the hospital. Luckily, very soon after that, at 10:00pm, my water finally broke and we headed back to the birth center. At my 11:45pm cervical check I was still only 6cm, but they started my next IV for the antibiotics. Baby’s head was not tucked and we think that is why I stalled for so long. We did some more positions and things started to pick up again. After about an hour, I felt baby move and started to feel the need to push. I got another cervical check and I was 10cm, so they started the bath for my water birth. Once in the water, I pushed for about an hour and a half, and finally met my baby girl at 2:31am! I had a very minimal tear and didn’t need stitches, which was my biggest motivation for having a natural birth. I was so happy that I got the birth that I wanted and I could not have done it without my doula and husband. I am so proud my first birth experience was a success. I can’t wait to do it again! My husband and I both felt it was a good choice to do the Hypnobirthing class a little earlier in pregnancy. It gave me enough time to put everything I learned into practice. Thank you, Erin, for giving us the knowledge and tools to have a successful birth experience! 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 [email protected] with any questions. Sharing is caring!
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