Skyla's Hospital Birth Story
I was a first-time mom and I was excited, curious, and confident all at the same time. I had a beautiful pregnancy despite working the night shift as a new nurse at the hospital where I ended up giving birth. At my last ultrasound at 40 weeks I was told that my baby was already 9lbs 6oz and that this baby needed to come out and might need help because “she was huge.” I left that appointment with my head held high and I let any negativity fall away. I held tight to the words from my hypnobirthing class, “I am prepared to calmly meet, whatever turn my birth might take.”
We left our appointment and indulged in the “inducer pizza” from Hawthorne’s NY Pizza and later that evening my labor started with light cramping that intensified and never let up over the next almost 49 hours. I tried to go about my normal routine until the strength of the surges seemed to surpass my level of expertise and we called in our doula Rebecca for support and guidance. We all chatted, snacked, and did some rebozo work to try to help my baby along. After a few hours, Rebecca went home to get her things, so she was ready to support us later on as labor seemed to be picking up even more. Around 10 pm that evening, Rebecca came back and I could tell progress was being made. We all decided that it was time to go to the hospital and caravanned there. My surges continued during the drive and we had a smooth check-in to triage around 1 am where I was informed that I was 3.5 centimeters dilated. Rebecca looked at me as if she could read my mind and said that’s a great number to be at. I told myself that progress was happening and that my baby would come when she was ready.
I walked around our birthing suite like it was going out of style but I felt in control of my birth and my body even as suggestions were made of what I needed to do next. I leaned into my baby and felt that we just needed to keep on progressing as we were. I was tired but determined. Everyone was concerned at this point that I was about to enter night number three without sleep besides two short naps. The hospital staff stated that it would be a good idea to break my water which I did not want but decided it might assist my labor and I let my midwife perform that procedure only to be informed that there was no bag of water to be felt anywhere. It turns out that my water had broken earlier that morning during a very powerful surge where I thought my water broke on the floor but the nurse at the time had stated it was not my water. Now that I knew my water had broken hours ago I was even more encouraged that the intensity of these surges was matching where I was currently in labor.
My midwife encouraged my husband and I to just walk and embrace uninterrupted from the staff for a while to assist my labor. I will never forget the feeling of my first involuntary bearing down sensation that I felt.
I was informed that I was 10 centimeters and if I wasn’t carrying a pregnancy belly I could have done a backflip for joy! I was coached to push as each contraction appeared on the continuous fetal monitor but my body told me otherwise and due to being unmedicated I was able to let my body do the work and tell myself when I needed to push instead of a monitor. The staff was puzzled by this but tried to be supportive. I kept telling myself “I can do this! I was made for this! The result will be my baby in my arms!”
Pushing felt like a relief, like the momentum I wanted to feel this whole time and I loved it. I felt powerful and excited and I could feel my body working perfectly with my baby girl. We knew what to do the whole time.
I pushed for 1 hour and 45 minutes and my chubby, EXACTLY 9lb 6oz beautiful baby girl was born at 8:20 pm and was placed directly on my chest. My whole world changed in that moment. I felt the biggest rush of accomplishment, joy, and more love that I had ever felt in my life. Suddenly sleep didn’t matter, and time didn’t matter all that mattered was my little family and my healthy girl who knew exactly how to come earth side and I knew I would be forever changed that I stuck to my birth plan despite obstacles to achieve my dream, unmedicated birth.
Reya's Homebirth Story
I got pregnant for the second time and was surprised and so excited. My oldest daughter was only 10 months old at the time but I was up for the challenge and was excited about my daughter having a sibling. I started care again through the same OB office I was with before. I knew I wanted to incorporate hypnobirthing again in this birth as I loved how gentle it was. I dove so much deeper this time around into the hypnobirthing teachings, books and affirmations. I was so excited to read about calm, gentle births taking place every day, and suddenly at 31 weeks pregnant I said I wanted to do a home birth. In our hypnobirthing class with Rebecca, we write down anything standing in the way our dream birth and then we release or fix those obstacles. I did not fear anything about birth this time besides the hospital staff getting in my way of how I wanted to birth. I felt like it was too late in my pregnancy for me to switch providers and birth plans though. Rebecca said this is your birth and it is never too late to change something that isn’t going how you want it to go. That was my green light and I found an incredible, loving midwife who was still available for my birth.
Eleven days past my date I was at home with my husband and daughter and my water broke. I was so excited and was already in my head basing this birth off my first, and was thinking we would have a baby in the next day or two. We went on about our day and I could feel every surge getting stronger by the minute. I turned on music and my daughter and I started dancing and playing, blissfully unaware that I was in true labor. My husband, watching me like a hawk from the side called Rebecca and my midwife to come over and started filling the pool. I gave him the most puzzled look and said don’t let them come yet it’s way too soon and don’t fill up the pool yet it will be cold by the time I need it! It felt like the blink of an eye and my all-star birth team was there in my bedroom. Still thinking everyone was reacting too soon I looked over at the birth pool thinking that I should give it a try since my husband worked so hard to fill it. The water felt amazing, soothing and supportive. I felt myself relax like I’ve never relaxed before. I could feel my next surge coming and could tell it was going to be a powerful one and welcomed it knowing that was what my baby and I needed. I didn’t push, the feeling was so powerful that it was just happening to me. I felt her head come out but I was so relaxed and so enjoying every second of this birth that I didn’t tell anyone and I reached down to feel her little head and tiny ears. She was so still and peaceful. This moment I will never forget for the rest of my life as I felt like it was just mine and hers little secret that she was halfway earth side and no one knew it yet but us. My birth team and husband were all calmly sitting around the pool, watching, waiting, charting. Suddenly my husband looked down and said “Um, we have a head over here!” My heart smiled. The next surge I could tell was going to be enormously productive and I eagerly welcomed this one too, knowing this would be the birth of my daughter’s body. She came shooting out into my husband’s arms fast and dramatic just as her personality stands currently. I kept saying “That’s it?!” I was waiting for a more drawn-out lengthy battle of a process and couldn’t believe she was here. I was elated and energized. My water had broken less than 3 hours ago at this point and I was in shock that she was in my arms. I said “I want to do it again!” which gave my birth team a good laugh. We made our way to our bed with my husband and our 18-month-old daughter and had one of the best family nights of our lives. My mom cooked the most delicious nourishing food for us and we bonded as a family. I felt like I had won the lottery of life and was overwhelmed trying to count all of my blessings in that moment. I couldn’t stop thinking “This is how birth is meant to be! Fearless, powerful, and full of so much love and support.
Elyse works as a triage nurse at Benton Integrative Medicine in Huntersville NC. She enjoys guiding patients from birth through adulthood in a holistic and integrative environment.
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