Tawn
New Mummy!
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When considering my “ideal” birth, I looked into hypnobirthing which was something I actually hadn’t heard of before seeing references to it on this forum. I was very enthusiastic about the concept of a calm relaxed environment to welcome baby into while (hopefully) staying drug-free. I used the CD's religiously at home and read the booklet that came with it, but never attended any classes so wasn't entirely sure if it would be very effective but was hopeful that it would work when the time came.
Well the time finally came at 10 days overdue when I had my 3rd and final sweep attempt before my induction at +12. The previous two had done absolutely nothing and I had no symptoms that labor was coming (no cramps, no mucous plug loss, nothing!) But midwife was able to do a good sweep that time at +10 at 12pm and by 9pm minor period pains had started. They became more consistent as the night rolled on and I got hopeful that this was it! We went to bed at midnight and I was up by 2:30 unable to sleep through the pains anymore. By 4 am I had a huge bloody show and the pains were consistently 3-5mins apart and lasting about 45 seconds each. They were still all based really low down though so when I called the ward for advise they said that they were “effacement pains” rather than contractions and not to worry about the consistency until they moved up to the top of my bump.
So I put my TENS machine on and sat on my birthing ball, breathing through the pains pretty easily. But by 10am they had gotten much more intense and I was worried about them being so close together that we called again and were advised to come into be checked. Once at the hospital, we could see the contractions on the monitor 3-4 mins consistently but I was only 1cm dilated so rather disappointed to be turned around and sent home being told that they weren’t “real” contractions because they sure felt like it! We got home again at about 2pm and the pains definitely starting intensifying to the point where I decided to try getting in the bath so that I could rest (since I’d only had 2 hours sleep the night before and had now been having them consistently with no break for over 12 hours).
Fast forward to that night after much more of the same and only another hours or 2 of sleep, and by 4am I was in a whole new level of pain. I was finding them more difficult to cope with at this point and hubby was insisting we go to the hospital early (rather than waiting for our induction time at 8:30am). I lasted until about 7, feeling certain that they weren’t “doing anything” and I didn’t want to “be dramatic” going in early just to be told they were still not real contractions because they hadn’t moved up my bump or my back at all, they still were only down low. When we arrived for our induction, I was put on the monitor and told that my contractions were too consistent and strong that they wouldn’t like to have to give me any induction meds because it would likely overstimulate my uterus. So we crossed our fingers as I had my first check that I would be progressing and they could just leave me to go naturally. I was 3cm almost 4 so they told me the good news was I would be left alone and if I was more than 4 at my next check they would leave me, if not they would break my waters.
So I spent those two hours laboring upright and actively as I had planned, leaning over the edge of the bed or bouncing on the ball. But at my next check, I was still only 4cm so they went ahead and broke my waters to get things moving quicker. There was loads of merconium in the waters, so they told me baby would need to be monitored constantly. I was upset as I believed this meant being stuck in the bed and was against everything I wanted for my labor but my midwife was fabulous and told me she would attach a clip to baby’s head so that we could keep track of her that way so I could stay upright. Once this was in place, my contractions seriously intensified. At first, I was doing “OK” with them, but was vocalizing a bit to get through and not fully into my zone with the hypnobirthing. The contractions were coming hard and fast at this point and the pain was much higher than it had been thus far and I used the gas and air religiously (which was AMAZING because it worked so well with my hypnobirthing breathing techniques)
But all of a sudden, during a particularly strong contraction, I suddenly figured it out! I realized that even though I was doing my breathing, I was fighting the pain, tensing up a bit with each one rather than melting into it as my training had taught me. Suddenly it CLICKED so well, my whole body language changed immediately and I sank into each contraction. I literally let my hips stop moving as I leaned over the bed and melted each muscle in my body and focused on the feeling of pressure and warmth moving the baby down rather than thinking of it as “pain.”
In fact, I found my groove so well with my hypnobirthing that I stopped vocalizing (low moans) during contractions and was completely still and calm, just breathing deeply and able to relax and chat between each one. So my midwife called in the doctors saying that they thought my contractions had stalled because I didn’t appear to be in pain anymore. They immediately insisted on putting me on a drip to speed things up, and were pushing to do it ASAP, even recommending use of pain meds beforehand to be able to deal with the increased pain. But I insisted to them that the contractions had NOT slowed or lessened in intensity, that I just had found my groove. They really didn’t believe me and I had to adamantly insist on them checking me before starting the drip. They humored me, even though they didn’t want to because of “increased risk of infection” but warned me that if I wasn’t at least at 6cm, they would start the meds right away. I agreed, fully confident in my body and knowing that I had progressed.
Sure enough, I was 6-7! They were so taken aback they all looked absolutely SHOCKED it cracked me up! So they said, just keep doing what you’re doing and we will check you again in 2 hours. The midwife was suddenly so excited and on board with my hypnobirhting, she said she’d never seen anyone actually use it effectively but that I had made her a believer. The doctor still looked skeptical though as she walked out. At this point, I had my husband put the background music from the hypnobirthing tracks on the ipod dock I had brought and I settled into the most peaceful and amazing part of my labor. I stayed standing by side of the bed, leaning over on my hands and bearing down/relaxing into my contractions in complete calm. It is honestly a lovely haze, the sun was setting and the room glowed golden and the music was lovely and my husband and midwife just hung back and relaxed, letting me have my space to focus, which was perfect.
When the time came to check again, I was confident about my progress again even before I got the results. 9cm! The midwife couldn’t wait to go tell the doctors, she said that none of them could believe it as every time they came into the room it was the most peaceful environment they had ever seen on the ward. But the exam also revealed the front of my cervix had a hard lip that wasn’t effacing because the baby had spent so much time back-to-back.
This is where things got a bit dicey.
My lovely midwife's shift ended and when the new one on duty examined me, she felt the lip on my cervix and started saying that the only option to get rid of it was the drip and that I would need pethidine or an epidural immediately to handle the pain. I told her I had NOT come this far to give up at the last minute, especially since the pethidine would be delivered so late it could affect the baby and post-labor and most likely our immediate breastfeeding. So she said we would need a doctor to come and examine me but that they were all in emergency surgery dealing with a very serious problem for another woman and none were available to come. So I spent the next hour and a half feeling the urge to push but being told not to because the doctor hadn't come yet. It was VERY frustrating since everything had been so amazing so far.
However, when the doctor came, she said she could move the lip around the babies head easily. About 10 seconds later, she physically stretched it around the baby's head and we were finally ready to push! Because of the examination, I was on my back on the bed (NOT the position I wanted to deliver in) but I couldn't manage to get up to my knees as the pressure was too strong. So I turned on my left side with my right leg up in a stirrup to brace and with just about 5 contractions and 30 minutes total, Madison was delivered into this world! (Thanks Raspberry Leaf Tea!
)
Even with the merconium, her apgar scores were perfect so they gave me my precious golden hour and delayed cord cutting, though the cord was so short she only made it to my stomach at first. But a few minutes later when it stopped pulsing, daddy cut the cord and Madison was popped onto my chest and immediately latched perfectly (clever girl!)
She was born on May 5th at 11pm exactly and was a healthy 8lb 3oz (pretty good since I was worried about her being gigantic being 12 days overdue!) I had only two small grazes which didn’t need stitches and was feeling wonderful immediately after the birth and was even able to take my shower about an hour and a half after delivery while daddy gave Madison some skin to skin time. It was an amazing experience, especially after worrying about her being back to back and that I might have to be induced, I was SO grateful to be able to have a drug-free, peaceful, and “easy” enjoyable birth! I would recommend hypnobirthing to anyone, even if you only do the tracks yourself from the comfort of your home like I did. I am proof that it can absolutely work, even in a hospital environment!
Here are some pictures from immediately after she was born and now. We are so in love!
https://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a455/tatrask/730c14cd-8164-4697-bf75-d179f14f2faa_zps9da0b964.jpghttps://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a455/tatrask/2e0f5f79-6c5d-405d-942e-ce155f324a43_zps26e90f56.jpg
Well the time finally came at 10 days overdue when I had my 3rd and final sweep attempt before my induction at +12. The previous two had done absolutely nothing and I had no symptoms that labor was coming (no cramps, no mucous plug loss, nothing!) But midwife was able to do a good sweep that time at +10 at 12pm and by 9pm minor period pains had started. They became more consistent as the night rolled on and I got hopeful that this was it! We went to bed at midnight and I was up by 2:30 unable to sleep through the pains anymore. By 4 am I had a huge bloody show and the pains were consistently 3-5mins apart and lasting about 45 seconds each. They were still all based really low down though so when I called the ward for advise they said that they were “effacement pains” rather than contractions and not to worry about the consistency until they moved up to the top of my bump.
So I put my TENS machine on and sat on my birthing ball, breathing through the pains pretty easily. But by 10am they had gotten much more intense and I was worried about them being so close together that we called again and were advised to come into be checked. Once at the hospital, we could see the contractions on the monitor 3-4 mins consistently but I was only 1cm dilated so rather disappointed to be turned around and sent home being told that they weren’t “real” contractions because they sure felt like it! We got home again at about 2pm and the pains definitely starting intensifying to the point where I decided to try getting in the bath so that I could rest (since I’d only had 2 hours sleep the night before and had now been having them consistently with no break for over 12 hours).
Fast forward to that night after much more of the same and only another hours or 2 of sleep, and by 4am I was in a whole new level of pain. I was finding them more difficult to cope with at this point and hubby was insisting we go to the hospital early (rather than waiting for our induction time at 8:30am). I lasted until about 7, feeling certain that they weren’t “doing anything” and I didn’t want to “be dramatic” going in early just to be told they were still not real contractions because they hadn’t moved up my bump or my back at all, they still were only down low. When we arrived for our induction, I was put on the monitor and told that my contractions were too consistent and strong that they wouldn’t like to have to give me any induction meds because it would likely overstimulate my uterus. So we crossed our fingers as I had my first check that I would be progressing and they could just leave me to go naturally. I was 3cm almost 4 so they told me the good news was I would be left alone and if I was more than 4 at my next check they would leave me, if not they would break my waters.
So I spent those two hours laboring upright and actively as I had planned, leaning over the edge of the bed or bouncing on the ball. But at my next check, I was still only 4cm so they went ahead and broke my waters to get things moving quicker. There was loads of merconium in the waters, so they told me baby would need to be monitored constantly. I was upset as I believed this meant being stuck in the bed and was against everything I wanted for my labor but my midwife was fabulous and told me she would attach a clip to baby’s head so that we could keep track of her that way so I could stay upright. Once this was in place, my contractions seriously intensified. At first, I was doing “OK” with them, but was vocalizing a bit to get through and not fully into my zone with the hypnobirthing. The contractions were coming hard and fast at this point and the pain was much higher than it had been thus far and I used the gas and air religiously (which was AMAZING because it worked so well with my hypnobirthing breathing techniques)
But all of a sudden, during a particularly strong contraction, I suddenly figured it out! I realized that even though I was doing my breathing, I was fighting the pain, tensing up a bit with each one rather than melting into it as my training had taught me. Suddenly it CLICKED so well, my whole body language changed immediately and I sank into each contraction. I literally let my hips stop moving as I leaned over the bed and melted each muscle in my body and focused on the feeling of pressure and warmth moving the baby down rather than thinking of it as “pain.”
In fact, I found my groove so well with my hypnobirthing that I stopped vocalizing (low moans) during contractions and was completely still and calm, just breathing deeply and able to relax and chat between each one. So my midwife called in the doctors saying that they thought my contractions had stalled because I didn’t appear to be in pain anymore. They immediately insisted on putting me on a drip to speed things up, and were pushing to do it ASAP, even recommending use of pain meds beforehand to be able to deal with the increased pain. But I insisted to them that the contractions had NOT slowed or lessened in intensity, that I just had found my groove. They really didn’t believe me and I had to adamantly insist on them checking me before starting the drip. They humored me, even though they didn’t want to because of “increased risk of infection” but warned me that if I wasn’t at least at 6cm, they would start the meds right away. I agreed, fully confident in my body and knowing that I had progressed.
Sure enough, I was 6-7! They were so taken aback they all looked absolutely SHOCKED it cracked me up! So they said, just keep doing what you’re doing and we will check you again in 2 hours. The midwife was suddenly so excited and on board with my hypnobirhting, she said she’d never seen anyone actually use it effectively but that I had made her a believer. The doctor still looked skeptical though as she walked out. At this point, I had my husband put the background music from the hypnobirthing tracks on the ipod dock I had brought and I settled into the most peaceful and amazing part of my labor. I stayed standing by side of the bed, leaning over on my hands and bearing down/relaxing into my contractions in complete calm. It is honestly a lovely haze, the sun was setting and the room glowed golden and the music was lovely and my husband and midwife just hung back and relaxed, letting me have my space to focus, which was perfect.
When the time came to check again, I was confident about my progress again even before I got the results. 9cm! The midwife couldn’t wait to go tell the doctors, she said that none of them could believe it as every time they came into the room it was the most peaceful environment they had ever seen on the ward. But the exam also revealed the front of my cervix had a hard lip that wasn’t effacing because the baby had spent so much time back-to-back.
This is where things got a bit dicey.
My lovely midwife's shift ended and when the new one on duty examined me, she felt the lip on my cervix and started saying that the only option to get rid of it was the drip and that I would need pethidine or an epidural immediately to handle the pain. I told her I had NOT come this far to give up at the last minute, especially since the pethidine would be delivered so late it could affect the baby and post-labor and most likely our immediate breastfeeding. So she said we would need a doctor to come and examine me but that they were all in emergency surgery dealing with a very serious problem for another woman and none were available to come. So I spent the next hour and a half feeling the urge to push but being told not to because the doctor hadn't come yet. It was VERY frustrating since everything had been so amazing so far.
However, when the doctor came, she said she could move the lip around the babies head easily. About 10 seconds later, she physically stretched it around the baby's head and we were finally ready to push! Because of the examination, I was on my back on the bed (NOT the position I wanted to deliver in) but I couldn't manage to get up to my knees as the pressure was too strong. So I turned on my left side with my right leg up in a stirrup to brace and with just about 5 contractions and 30 minutes total, Madison was delivered into this world! (Thanks Raspberry Leaf Tea!
)Even with the merconium, her apgar scores were perfect so they gave me my precious golden hour and delayed cord cutting, though the cord was so short she only made it to my stomach at first. But a few minutes later when it stopped pulsing, daddy cut the cord and Madison was popped onto my chest and immediately latched perfectly (clever girl!)
She was born on May 5th at 11pm exactly and was a healthy 8lb 3oz (pretty good since I was worried about her being gigantic being 12 days overdue!) I had only two small grazes which didn’t need stitches and was feeling wonderful immediately after the birth and was even able to take my shower about an hour and a half after delivery while daddy gave Madison some skin to skin time. It was an amazing experience, especially after worrying about her being back to back and that I might have to be induced, I was SO grateful to be able to have a drug-free, peaceful, and “easy” enjoyable birth! I would recommend hypnobirthing to anyone, even if you only do the tracks yourself from the comfort of your home like I did. I am proof that it can absolutely work, even in a hospital environment!
Here are some pictures from immediately after she was born and now. We are so in love!
https://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a455/tatrask/730c14cd-8164-4697-bf75-d179f14f2faa_zps9da0b964.jpghttps://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/a455/tatrask/2e0f5f79-6c5d-405d-942e-ce155f324a43_zps26e90f56.jpg
