My Birthing Story

I know it is long but it is special to me and so I wanted to share it.:
When I was pregnant I knew I wanted to have a natural birthing. When we lived in Oregon I still had Kaiser Permanente insurance and the first doctor I saw said that they don't really do natural births anymore! I saw someone else the next time and she also tried to discourage me. So when we moved to Rexburg, I chose to see a midwife and told her that I am having a natural birth and she said that was great. I knew I had found the right clinic to help me with my birth. She suggested I look in to hypnobabies.

From the first time I looked at the flyer I knew I wanted to do it. I was a little nervous to tell David about it, but he was actually very supportive from the get-go. I called the instructor, whose name is Kelly. She told me about the program and I signed up for the class. On the first night we started the hypnotic exercise, and it worked! I was really able to let go of the feeling in my body, and I could focus all my mental energy on being somewhere wonderful with my baby.
I practiced most days (6 days a week or so) and always listened to the Affirmations CD. It became easier as I practiced and learned more. It became more comfortable, and I was excited to birth my baby. I knew I could do it.
At Thanksgiving we drove to Provo, UT and then back the next day. I started to have some side/back pain, and a week later it was getting worse. The night I started having pressure waves we went to the hospital. They had to give me an IV, which before would always freak me out, but I was able to turn my light switch off and I was fine. They also checked my cervix, which was quite uncomfortable, but after the first time I was able to focus, turn my switch off, and I was fine. At this point I knew without a doubt that the hypnobabies techniques were worth my time, money, and would work for me for my birthing. It turned out I had a urinary tract infection, so they gave me medication to stop the pressure waves, and we went home.

After being on mild bed rest for a week, I went back to work. Yuk! After working for two days I started to have pressure waves again. I left work and went to the midwife (I was 37 weeks along). She said that the baby looked fine and that they would not stop the pressure waves, but that I should take it easy. So I took my maternity leave from work. I had a hard time being at home all day with David at school, and working. I would sleep a lot which was good for me, but I would dream so vividly of my birthing time and of holding my baby. My arms literally ached to hold her. I was still practicing my hypnobabies exercises everyday, which helped me focus on letting my baby be born at the right time for her. I was having pressure waves every other day for a few hours at a time, and I just needed to accept that my body needed to do this in order to get ready to give birth. While they were not fun, I was able to use my light switch technique and sleep though it, for the most part.

On Dec 28 (Thursday) David went with me to an appointment with the midwife. We wanted to see if it was feasible to drive to Provo, UT for a wedding reception for David’s little sister. The midwife checked my cervix and found I was three centimeters dilated, and 50% effaced. She said that I would probably have the baby within the week.

On New Years Eve David had to work an 11-hour shift at work, but his shift ended around 9 pm. We were going to go down to Shelley, about a 45-minute drive, to celebrate the New Year with my brother John and his wife, Heather. John and Heather were in town visiting her family for the holidays. I had felt nauseas and dizzy since 8 pm, but I felt better after about an hour of taking it easy, so we went to the party. We arrived about 10pm. We played a card game called Killer Bunnies, and during the game I started to have some mild pressure waves, but didn’t think much of it because I had been having pressure waves on and off for a week. I had a hard time concentrating on the game and soon after it ended the clock was going to hit midnight. When we were standing and counting down the time for the new year’s shouting and kiss, I though to myself, “I am going to have this baby today.” We stayed at the party for a little while longer, and then drove home.

We arrived home around 2 am. I was still having pressure waves, but encouraged my husband to get some sleep. I decided to listen to my Deepening CD and try to get sleep myself. I slept for about an hour, but then woke up with the pressure waves being much more intense. I switch the CD track to the Birthing Day Affirmations, and sat on my birth ball with my head resting on the side of the bed. At this point I said a prayer to ask if this was really it, and to know that this was indeed my birthing time, or if it was not yet time for the baby to be born. I received a wonderful warm feeling that this was my birthing time and my baby would soon be born.

I tried to get more comfortable because I wanted to stay at home for as long as possible. But I had to wake David up at about 5:30 am for some help concentrating. Now I did feel the pressure, and it was not fun, but it was doable and it almost felt good to know that my body was able to do such an amazing thing. At about 7:30 am we decided to go to the hospital. They checked my cervix and it was 4-5 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced, so they checked me in. At this point I had to lie on my back for about an hour, being monitored and getting a hep-lock. At this point my pressure waves began to slow down to the point where they had almost stopped. To start the pressure waves again, I got up from the bed and we walked the hospital for about 30 minutes at a time. They needed to monitor me when we stopped every 30 minutes. I wasn't really progressing, so I opted to have my midwife break my water. In all honesty, it hurt. I wasn't focusing when she did it, so it took me by surprise but it was only 30 seconds. Then a tidal wave came rushing forth. After I put on some hospital panties and a huge pad we started to walk the hospital again.

As soon as I left the room the first pressure wave hit, and it was way more intense then they had been before. I had to sit on the floor to wait it out and then refocus, on my special place, turn my switch to off and tell David exactly what I needed him to do. It really helped to squat holding on to the railing and have him right behind me during the pressure waves.

At about 1:15 they checked my cervix again, and it was 6 centimeters dilated, and they said I could get in the tub if I wanted to. I did want to, and am so glad I did. I was in the tub for about 45 minutes when I got the urge to push. Rachel my midwife checked my cervix, and it was fully dilated and ready to go. The warm water helped to keep me relaxed and my midwife brought me some flavored ice to munch on, which also helped. We walked back to the room and I started to push lying on my side. After about 30 minutes I switched to sitting on a birthing chair, which was much better for me. My pressure waves were strong, but too short (about 30 seconds each) so I opted to get a pitocin drip. I was so glad that I already had the hep-lock in place, and they could just screw the line into it. Then I got back on the bed on my side and they put a big mirror out so I could see. I could really see my baby's head. At this point I could feel a slight burning sensation when I pushed down, but it was really helpful because it helped me focus where to push. Before I knew it, I had pushed a big push and Rachel was telling me to stop and to give little pushes. Then the next moment she was born and placed right up on my belly. The discomfort and pressure was all gone. It was weird to feel the umbilical cord still attached inside for a few minutes. When it was done pulsating David cut the cord and I could really hold my baby girl. It was all worth it at that point. I know I must have delivered the placenta, and I did get 2 stitches but I don't really remember because I was holding Arora and David and I were singing her the song we wrote for her.