Birth Story for Tucker
Just a note: I used Hypnobabies with this pregnancy and birth. In August we took a 6-week class to learn about birth and hypnosis. We would have weekly readings that Doug would read to me that would practice hypnosis. After the class I listened to different Hypnobabies tracks each night. Some of the tracks were for fear clearing or visualizing my birth. I truly loved these tracks as it kept my mind really positive and relaxed during pregnancy. I was constantly telling myself everything would be ok and mentally preparing my body for birth. These tracks also had tips for staying positive when out of hypnosis, which were extremely helpful. Hypnobabies teaches to think of birth as a positive and natural experience so some of the wording is a little different (waves = contractions, turning “off” = being completely relaxed and in deep hypnosis). All the hypnosis is self-hypnosis, but Doug and Shannon (our doula) were able to read prompts that would help me stay in that state of hypnosis. I absolutely loved the experience and would definitely recommend Hypnobabies to any pregnant mama.
On Monday, November 5th I went to my 39-week appointment (39 weeks 4 days) with Dr. Lehman. I didn’t get checked, but we did talk about induction if I was still pregnant the next week. We even set a tentative date and I started thinking about how I was going to get this baby out because I didn’t want to be induced.
I stopped by Starbucks and then headed to school. I got to school around 9:50 and at 10 I started a video for my kids (for their guidance class). At 10:15 I had a small gush of water. I went out into the hallway and Robin (a 5thgrade teacher) was out there. I asked her to go into my room while I went to the bathroom. I knew something was happening, but because it wasn’t much I didn’t think my water had broken. I went back to class and continued as my kids watched the video. At 10:30 I took them to music and during that next half hour my water continued to break. I let my principals know that I should probably be leaving soon. I hadn’t had any birthing waves (contractions) so I was hoping to be able to stay at school for a while so that I could be distracted. They didn’t agree so I headed out.
The plan had always been if I went into my birthing time during the day that Doug and I would come to the townhouse to labor for a while since the boys would be at daycare/preschool. The problem with this plan on this particular day is that Brecken was at home with my mom with a bad cough. He had been up most of the night before (which also meant I had been up and was already pretty tired-I had even told Doug that morning that I was going to go to bed early that night). So I came home to wait for Doug, but Brecken was SO clingy-wanting held the whole time I was here. I ended up showering and eating a little lunch. We then finished packing our bags and then went to the mall to just walk and get my waves coming on more.
During our pregnancy we took a Hypnobabies class with our doula, Shannon so while we were walking I was listening to my hypnosis tracks. I was having waves every 4-5 minutes at this point so we updated Shannon and decided to walk a bit more. Around 2:00 we decided to head home because we knew Brecken would be napping. I was planning to lay down and listen to my hypnosis tracks and go “off” (mentally turn off so that body can relax). I wasn’t able to do this while walking around obviously. When we returned home Brecken was awake, because of his cold he didn’t nap long.
We decided that my mom should pick up Camber, after their nap at preschool, and then take both boys out to her house for the night and even if we had the baby early in the evening they could just come the next morning. After kissing both my big boys goodbye they left about 3:30 and I was able to just birth at home for a while. I was getting to a point where I wanted to head to the hospital soon. I like to be at the hospital early enough to get through triage and get relaxed in my room. Shannon met us at our townhouse and we drove down to the hospital. We got there about 5 and were given an amazing nurse (always one of my biggest fears).
We got checked in set up in a room about 6. We started walking the halls, slow dancing, sitting on the birth ball, laying in bed with a peanut ball. All trying to get this baby out. I was so ready for baby to come!
Time was kind of a blur to me, but there were times I knew I was getting tired or I felt like it had been a long time. My frame of time was really off though because I would say I hadn’t had a wave in such a long time, only to be reassured that that I had one just two minutes before. One of the things my hypnosis track kept telling me was that time was shorter than it actually was which was helpful!
I would have really consistent waves that were two-three minutes apart and then I wouldn’t have one for five minutes. I would have a really intense wave and then a minute later have an easier one. It was crazy how they were all over the place.
Around midnight I was able to sleep in between waves using my hypnosis. I was able to be completely “off” during this time. It actually gave me the energy to finish because I was getting really tired.
Later I found out more from our doula, Shannon about the timing of things because at the time I thought it was taking longer than it did. Just before 2:00 I was checked (and found out later I was only dilated to a 6. I never find out what my numbers are because it puts me in a really bad head space. If I would have known I was only a 6 I would have been extremely discouraged.) and then decided to head into the bathroom for a few waves. After two or three really intense waves I decided I wanted to head back into the room.
I was squatting by the bed and all of a sudden felt the need to push (our nurse was sure I was going to have a baby on the floor). My nurse insisted that I get into bed and checked me. I was completely dilated and baby was nearly here. She called for the doctor who ended up being just next door. At this point I got a little panicky because I could feel everything happening really quickly and my body was moving faster than my mind was ready for. Doug was right by my face, reassuring me that I was doing such a great job, as I was on my side pushing.
They got everything set up and after two or three pushes baby Tucker joined us at 2:19 a.m (that's right- I went from 6 cm dilated to baby in my arms in 20 minutes)! It was the best feeling ever to have our baby put on my chest. He was just so warm-I swear I’ll never forget that feeling. Doug and I both asked if the baby was a girl or a boy, but the cord was in the way so no one had told us.
After finding out it was a boy, Doug and I said “I can’t believe we have three boys!” “What are we going to do with three boys?”
Our doula took some pictures and we just held and stared at our baby. They took him to weigh him and he weighed in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20.5 inches long. They brought him back and I was able to nurse him (at which he was a champ).
Around 4:00 a.m. we were finally able to get a little bit of sleep (maybe an hour or two). Except for being a little tired Tucker’s birth was wonderful. It got a little long, but I kind of expected that when my water broke without having any waves first. Having the hypnosis to relax my mind and be able to turn my body off was such a lifesaver. I definitely recommend it to all pregnant mamas!
We couldn't believe how strong Tucker was! He literally held his head up all on his own to look at me within the first hour he was here! His doctor is still impressed with how strong he is.
