I must admit that I was nervous about performing as well as the couples in the HypnoBirthing videos. Would I be the little engine that couldn’t? Incredibly, we could have also starred in our own segment. Thank you Marie Mongan and thank you Heidi Wilhelm, our adept instructor. On 8/9, my 31st birthday, I was quite depressed that our bundle of joy had not arrived. So I was unbelievably giddy at 4:38 a.m. on 8/10 when I noticed blood tinged mucus on the toilet paper. I tried to occupy myself until a more reasonable hour to inform family and midwives. Around 10:00 a.m., I began having a sensation like menstrual cramping. From 11:30 – 12:30 my husband and I walked around our neighborhood, and discussed baby names. I could feel the surges slightly increasing, as did our excitement. We returned to a house full of family and food. It was quite a celebratory scene, unlike my previous hospital birth. I called Nina, one of our midwives, at 2:00 and told her that I had my first powerful surge. We agreed the time was drawing near. I left the festivities decided to begin relaxing in the tub. During that time I used the imagery of my cervix opening as I rode each wave of uterine contraction. I was thankful for the ability to experience this moment with such confidence. I felt no pain, only the empowerment of being a human about to birth another into the world. I was in a relaxed, focused state and I did not notice my husband entering and quickly exiting the bathroom. From our bedroom, he phoned the midwives with an urgent plea of “THE BABY IS COMING NOW!” This slightly aroused me from my state of relaxation. I told him that we had plenty of time and he shouldn’t scare people like that. However, I did not share his vantage point so could not comprehend how close we actually were to having an unassisted birth. Nina arrived tubside fifteen minutes later at 3:00 p.m. At that time, I felt a change in my surges. I decided to get out of the tub. I moved into the baby’s room and innately began swaying back and forth while leaning on the chest of drawers. I felt intense pressure and informed Nina that my water was going to break. She no sooner placed the chux pad underneath me, when my membranes did release. Kelley, our other midwife, then arrived at 3:30 p.m. I informed them that the baby was moving down. Nina asked to check me; I was very complete. I moved to the birthing stool leaning backward on my husband, and breathed her down. Nina used the Doppler and her watch to check her heartbeat during contractions then said, “We need to get this baby out now!” Later we found out that they were not comfortable the fetal heart rate did not increase during a surge. Four mild pushes later, she arrived at 3:52 p.m. Tess, who was 28-months at the time, was the first to greet her 7 pound 2 ounce healthy sister. She looked at me holding Tobey and said, “Baby’s not stuck anymore. Can I tickle her? Tickle. Tickle.” It was as if she was always a member of our family. Tobey was birthed idyllically in our home. I truly wish everyone could have this experience. With HypnoBirthing, it is possible.
