I was so proud of myself! I had achieved my dream! I calmly birthed my baby!

It has been almost 2 months since the birth of my hypnobub, Nikita! It was an amazing labour and birth experience, and it’s all thanks to the hypnobubs course! 

 

A little background information to start with: My first child was born in January 2019. I wanted a natural labour and birth and I did some light research going in, but never really committed to an actual course. I laboured 8 hours at home before I couldn’t talk through surges. After only being at the hospital for 2 hours (and 4cm upon arrival), my surges were getting really intense. I had some young nurses that while very nice, were a bit inexperienced. I asked them if they thought I could have made any kind of progress in such a short time and they told me that it was unlikely since it was the first labour. I figured they were probably right so I thought I had many more hours of this intensity left (not realizing I was actually already in transition!) so I asked for an epidural.

 

As soon as it was placed they laid me on my back (which I hated and it was almost unbearable!) and I told the nurse I had peed on myself (actually my membranes released) and I told her I needed to poo. She checked me and I was complete and ready to push. I was not prepared for this, I had given in and thought I would have pain relief for this part. The epidural medicine was not set up yet, and I was scared! My doctor was called into the room right away and they told me it was time to push so I put my legs up like they asked and she was born after only a few pushes because the epidural hadn’t had time to work so I could feel everything and knew when to push.

 

The pain was intense and I know that it was due to fear because I was unprepared for what to expect. About 30 min after that the epidural medication kicked in and I was numb and unable to walk for no reason! I hated it! So I essentially got my unmedicated birth experience, but it was nothing like I envisioned, and while I was and still am so proud of bringing my daughter into the world, it left me a little disappointed in myself and the experience. 

 

Fast forward 18 months, and I got pregnant with my son. This time I knew I wanted another unmedicated birth, and I knew there was a way to achieve it that was much less chaotic and fear controlled. I started looking online and found the hypnobubs course! My partner was a bit sceptical, but he did agree to practice the techniques with me and try to be the best birth partner that I needed.

 

I practised the tracks and breathing techniques daily from 20 weeks on. At 30 weeks my partner and I started doing the birth rehearsal weekly. I felt so prepared and ready to meet my baby! On the evening of May 4 I started to have strange vision changes. It felt like migraine aura which I am unfortunately familiar with. I also knew this could be a bad sign in pregnancy. I work in a hospital so my partner drove me there and a coworker checked my blood pressure. It was normal and no migraine was coming on like I expected.

 

My appetite was decreased so I only ate half my dinner and then soaked in the bath. My baby was usually so active when I took a bath, but that night he was very calm and not moving much. I joked with my partner that sometimes babies become less active right before labor begins. We laughed because I was 37 weeks and 4 days and was due for a doctor appointment the following day. The beginning of my weekly appointments. I went to bed and woke up May 5 at 2:30am to go to the restroom. When I laid back down in bed, I felt a very low pop and what felt like a little fluid leak. I thought maybe that was my membranes release. I went back to the bathroom and put on a sanitary pad to monitor any more leakage.

 

I laid back down and by 3am I was having surges. By 3:30am when I stood up I had another small gush of fluids and my surges were becoming regular so I text my mother to come over around 5:30am to help get my toddler ready and off to daycare. I woke my partner at 4am and told him that I was in labour. I reassured him that it was early still, but we were definitely meeting our baby that day. I showered, took out the trash, fixed my hair, applied a bit of makeup to feel good, started a load of laundry, and got my toddler up and made her breakfast all while breathing through my surges. Neither my mom nor my partner could tell how strong the surges were for me because I was so calm and focused. My toddler once looked at me and said, “mommy, you belly hurt?”. I reassured her mommy was ok and sent her with my mom to go to daycare. they left at 6am and I couldn’t speak through the surges so I told my partner it was time to go to the hospital.

 

I listened to the birth affirmations on the way to the hospital and continued to breathe through the surges. We arrived and were checked into labour and delivery at 6:30 am. We told the nurses we planned to go unmedicated and they prepared me for a cervical check. I was 8cm! Already in transition! I was so excited and ready! I let them start an IV in case of an emergency. My partner provided me with a cool rag and stood by me reminding me to breathe.

 

After the IV was placed I sat up and immediately told the nurse I felt like pushing. My doctor was not there yet, but one of her midwives was available so she came in to check me. I was complete! We hadn’t even had time to play any of our tracks from the course, but it hadn’t mattered because I had already achieved my calm inner focus without them and was breathing through my labor. My partner was by my side and the nurses too. All reminding me to breathe my baby out while the midwife gently stretched my perineum to ease the baby’s passage.

 

Nikita Connor Smyrnov entered the world at 7:19am and I immediately held him to my chest and nursed him. I was so proud of myself! I had achieved my dream! I calmly birthed my baby! The nurses went on and on about how calm I was through transition, and kept saying how I was an amazing birther! My partner beamed and told me how proud he was of my strength! I had the tiniest tear that required literally one stitch and that was it! I could move about freely and bond with my baby how I desired. I look back with a smile at this birth experience and love to share it with others. 

Thank you melissa for the hypnobubs course, and the amazing techniques provided within it!