It was a typical Sunday evening filled with lesson plans, laundry, grocery shopping, and prepping for the long week ahead. I had made a grocery list for Chris and he had headed off to Publix. While he was gone, I started to feel a little different. I thought to myself, "Is this it?" I started using an app on my phone to keep track of my contractions, or "surges". I will explain the shift in terminology a little later. I had always had very strong Braxton-Hicks, or "practice surges". They lasted anywhere between 2-5 minutes. These, however, were not going away, and definitely felt different. I had texted my mom to let her know how I was feeling. She said that she would be over in a little bit and for me to go for a walk and take a bath.When Chris returned from Publix I told him we should go for a walk. The look on his face was priceless. I am not a big walk or outside person so he knew something was going on. I told him that I think this is the real thing. Off we went into the night with Reagan on his leash and me holding my iPhone tracking every contraction. We went for several trips up and down the block and eventually made it back home. I hopped into the bathtub dressed with lavender essential oil, cranked up my relaxation music, and started to "get in the zone". At this point, I am beginning to realize that this is the real thing! In my heart I remember feeling so many emotions and in my head thinking so many different things...Yay, I finally get to meet her soon! How is this going to feel? What is going to happen next? The bath was short-lived. A. I did not take one bath my entire pregnancy so 38 weeks pregnant was not a good time to practice maneuvering myself in the tub (Don't judge me) B. I'm not a big soak in the tub person. C. It was really not that soothing.. So out of the bath I came!
I continued to listen to my relaxation music and just did some last minute packing of the hospital bags, checking on Chris, and just walking around the house.
10:30- 1:30 am
Mom arrived at the house. It had been about two hours since it had all started and I knew that I wanted to labor at the house as long as possible. The last thing I wanted to have happen was get to the hospital and they send me back home. We turned the lights down low in the living room, turned on the essential oil diffuser, got out the birthing ball, pillows, and anything else we could think of to stay comfortable. Bless his heart, Reagan knew something was going on and would not leave my side. In fact, he wanted to be right next to me or on top of me or on my pillow. Animals have that special instinct. This period of time seems like such a blur to me. Time seemed to just fly by. At 1:30 mom insisted that Chris pack up all of the things in the car and we head to the hospital. I was not very convinced. Again, didn't want to be sent home. But, mother does know best! Boy am I happy we did head to the hospital.
1:45 am
We arrived at OB triage. After some paperwork the nurse took me into a room to see how far along we were. Yep, I was 5-6 cm, 100% effaced. They then asked that question: "Would you like for me to order any medications for you?" This was the moment of truth. I had practiced for the past several months with the hypnobirthing mindset and was determined to delivery naturally. I said "No, I'm good." I took a big sigh of relief and straight up to the labor/delivery room we went.
2:30-5:01 am
The next few hours went by so quickly. Denise, my wonderful midwife, was on-call that night and assisted in the birth. My mom was by my side as my doula. Chris was my labor partner. My dad was even joining in on the action- behind the curtain, of course. I had two lovely nurses that were also assisting. It was then focus time. I tuned in to all of the hypnobirthing preparation that I had done. Focusing on my breathing, visual imagery, and thinking positively helped me have such a relaxing birth. With my wonderful team at my side, we were able to labor together peacefully and Avonlea arrived at 5:01 am.
God really did bless us with a beautiful pregnancy. I am so thankful for His care and provision over us each and every day.
Throughout this post I have mentioned Hypnobirthing. If you are not familiar with that terminology or birthing method, you can read about it here: http://hypnobirthing.com/
Through some of my own research, reading up on various birthing methods, and calling a local hypnobirthing instructor to ask some questions, I was convinced that this was the method for me!
Mainly, it is about approaching childbirth without fear. With practice of both breathing and guided imagery, it doesn't promise a pain-free birth, but definitely a calm and peaceful approach to birthing your baby.
I could talk forever about all of the many ways I think it is amazing, but I do know that I will be using this method for my future pregnancies and encourage any and all of my friends to at least look into it as you prepare for childbirth.
Ultimately, healthy mommy and healthy baby is all that is important.
Thank you, God, that we had both!
