Parents: Ed and Tine
Date of Birth: February 26, 2009
Baby Info: 7 lbs. 14 oz. | 21 inches
Birthplace: Hospital
When I was 39 weeks pregnant I was definitely ready to have this baby! I figured that I would go into labor at full term since my first son was born one day after his due date. With all the yoga and meditation I had been doing during this pregnancy, I felt very ready and relaxed about the upcoming birth. I knew that I would use the hypnobirthing techniques I learned before having my first child and was hoping that my previous birthing experience would help me be more confident this time around.
I had 36 hours of early labor contractions that came about every 10 to 15 minutes—just strong enough to keep me up at night, but not wild enough to have us running for the hospital. After unsuccessfully trying to take a nap in the afternoon, I got up to take a walk. All of a sudden the contractions picked up significantly in strength and were coming about 5 minutes apart. This being my second child, I knew from experience that these were the contractions that would bring this baby…very soon!
We called the midwives and headed for the hospital. My goal was to stay relaxed and calm no matter what this experience threw my way. Upon arrival I was still having 5-minute contractions that were doing a lot of hard work. After spending a few minutes on the birth ball and talking to Ed, I wanted to get into the bathtub. Right away the contractions picked up to 1 or two minutes apart and I knew our baby would be here in very little time.
Eyes closed. Low humming and moaning sounds. Body relaxed. Vibrations of the jetted tub water. Everything was going my way and I knew exactly what was happening with my body. I wasn’t at all scared. In fact, it was a very peaceful process even though I was experiencing powerful and painful sensations. Nothing was unbearable.
Things happened so quickly, by the time the midwife checked me I was fully dilated and ready to push. But I didn’t need her to tell me that. I already knew what was happening and was bearing down with each contraction. With no time to get out of the tub, we just let things happen as nature was dictating, and Andre was born in the water with a few easy pushes. He came into this world a calm, aware and alert newborn baby. Everything was just as we’d hoped it would be.
Since I hadn’t received any pain medication or an epidural, I was able to move easily to the bed and spend time bonding with Ed and our sweet new baby boy. Andre was perfect and spent some time nursing and looking into my eyes.
We couldn’t have asked for a better experience or a more intuitive midwife to attend our birth. Lauren knew that I was using self-hypnosis to deal with labor and allowed me to guide the birth, checking in minimally when she could see that things were moving from one phase to the next. She knew what was going on in my body without one word from me. It was truly amazing!
I am so thankful that I was able to give birth to Andre without medication or interventions. It was an experience that will not be paralleled in my life again and I will always know that I have the inner strength to do anything. It is my deepest wish that all women have a safe, fulfilling and empowering birth experience.
