So I started having this weird pressure way down low in my abdomen this afternoon, right before we left for our last hypnobirthing class. It would come and go, and when I tried to get off the couch, it was so strong it was hard to stand up straight. "Maybe this is the baby finally turning!" I thought. When we got to our class, I told our practitioner that the baby hadn't yet gone head down, at least to my knowledge. "Although I've had this pressure--oops, it's happening again!" She came over and poked and prodded and said, "Honey, that's a contraction." Then she got all excited. "But do you see what you did?" she asked. "You've trained yourself to feel pressure and not pain!" That's one of the major points of hypnobirthing, and the one thing I was worried I wouldn't be able to do, and she was right--it never really hurt, it was just...pressure. Pushing. Somewhat stronger pushing now and then, but pressurey-pushing nonetheless. Now, I know that it's going to get a LOT more intense than that, but I'm on the right path anyway, and that's encouraging.
It's been 5 and a half hours since my first one, and I've been getting them on and off ever since. For a while they were coming very quickly, every two or three minutes, but would only last for 15-30 seconds, and the intensity never got any stronger. At one point I had one last for about 4 minutes with varying strength, but it went away, and after a leisurely stroll through Target looking for a stopwatch (which, go figure, they don't sell) they went away. But since we've been home (and I've been packing my labor bag) they've started to come back a little.
The bummer, though, is that the baby still hasn't flipped! Our practitioner did a hypno-script with me at class that is meant to help the baby turn, and she said it should work within 12 hours, and to spend a good half hour or so in the "polar bear" position (a sort of hunkered-down squat that helps disengage the baby from whatever position it's in so it can turn) to help it along. So now that the labor bag is packed (all I need to get is the stopwatch and the scrapbooking paper that I want to get the baby's foot/hand prints on) I'm off to get ready for bed and "hunker down." Turn baby, turn!!
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Just stumbled upon your blog.. Hypnobirthing will work, just use the breathing technoiques and do not interrupt yourself with anything as much as possible. I just had my 9.5 lb boy 7 weeks ago using hypnobirhting and it worked wonderfully - no medications of any kind. There was nothing I could describe as pain, but lots of work. With every contraction I would run through the long inhale (it would take about 1/3 of the contraction) and then the long exhale. Sometimes it would take two of those long ones to go through a contraction. And each contraction was really like a muscle belt tightening across the abdomen that you have to breathe against - that's the "work" part :) All that breathing while working on being completely limp from face down (as I was told, a relaxed jaw means a relaxed birth opening - apparently it worked very well). I think a combination of being limp and the breating technique worked wonders in making this a great birth experience. I never once thought of pain killers, but I did think of wanting a break to just relax, since it took a while. One stinker though, throughout the entire experience was the monitor they had to plug in every hour or so. I found the toilet to be the most comfortable seat, since the downward pressure did not make it comfortable to sit on a flat surface, lying down on the side made the sensation stronger, standing on all fours, etc. did not allow me to go limp in as many muscle goups as possible. I just ran the rainbow track on my ipod followed by the same-type music tracks and focused on relaxation and breathing. Unfortunately, they made me move back to the bed/monitor every hour and I had to refocus. This is where a birth partner is invaluable. My husband would just tell me to relax, go limp, etc. form face down through all muscle groups. We did not talk, I was in my own concentrated state - he just knew what to say. He was of really great help when positions needed to be changed - to amd from the monitor. I did end up standig most of the time, kind of leaning on opne leg and on the tall table, first next to the bed and around 6-7 cm dialation in the shower. I did have the temptation to start talking, take a break from breathing, but I really felt like a slippery slope away from this controlled state, so I just focused on breathing. We came to the hospital at midnight, told the nurses that relaxation and vosualization will be used and not to offer us drugs and they left us alone except for the monitoring part. The baby was born at 7 am, I had to lie down on my side for the final check (the doc refused to do the check any other way, but I was not going to get on my back) and ended up birthing the baby that way, which was fine. Pushing is easier than the surges, since there is pretty much nothing you have to really work with. J-breathing works, but takes longer, regular pushing is more effective for faster delivery. I was also concerned that the baby would be spending too much time in the birth canal and gave a few good pushes at the end. It is harder to keep those quiet – it's like doing some type of weight lifting :) but as much energy should go down into the push, not noises, though I went through some serious grunting during the last couple. It took about half an hour for the pushing stage (contraction and push, then a break, waiting for another one to help with the push and the baby sliding back and forth). So, everything went well and it was an awesome experience. All of this is so much easier than adjusting during these first sleep-deprived weeks with a baby! Also, make sure that they don;t freeze the baby, especially if it is cold in the delivery room. Ask for extra warm blankets. OK, too many rambling thoughts on the subject. I hope this is of help. Good luck, you have the right tools, they will work for you! If you have any questions, I'll be happy to respond. Best -- Renie.
Renie--thank you SO much for your abbreviated birth story! It's so valuable to me to read how other women have employed the hypnobirthing method. Having never given birth, I'm just so darn clueless about what to expect, and it's great to be able to have other women's successful hypnobirthing stories to draw from and use for my own visualization. Congratulations on your wonderful birth, and if you think of anything else that might be helpful for me to know, please email me!
-Alison
Reine, Thanks from me too! I'm a friend of Alison's who is expecting in February. I'm studying hypnobirthing too and I was so excited to hear about your wonderful experience. Thank you!
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