I woke up Friday morning at around 0530 and knew that something was different........
I had been having warm up surges for a few days now but they were a little stronger and more consistent. I was 40 weeks and 5 days so I knew this could be it and with the excitement about meeting our little boy I was praying it was. My husband had already left for work so I sent him a text letting him know that I was having these surges, not to rush home but to keep his phone on him just incase. At about 10:00 am I decided I should lie down and take a nap and surprising I slept great and woke up about 2 hours later with more intense surges. By the time my husband got home around 2:00 pm the surges were getting stronger and I started constantly thinking about them. We decided to get out of the house and go to a store to walk around since it was raining outside. This helped get my mind off of the surges and pass the time. During our little shopping trip the surges got to the point where I would have to stop walking and lean against my husband, but I would just breathe threw them. Our friends invited us to dinner so I figured it would be good to get out for one last meal, baby free! When we got to dinner around 6:00pm I started timing my surges. They were about 30 seconds long and only about 2-3 minutes apart. My doctor had told me to head to the hospital when they were a minute long and 5 minutes apart. I knew I wanted to stay out of the hospital as long as possible so we stayed at dinner. By the end of dinner around 8:00pm the surges were at least a minute long and about 2 minutes apart. My husband and I both decided it was time to head to the hospital. I was checked when I arrived and was told I was 2cm dilated. The nurse recommended going home and coming back when there was a definite change in my personality. When we got home all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and I wanted my husband near me. At about 10:00pm the surges were very intense, I began telling my husband I didn't want to do it anymore. He was so encouraging and continued to reassure me that I could do it. He also knew this was time to get to the hospital. When we got to the hospital I was checked again and was 6cm opened, I was admitted and my doctor was called. I was so happy that things were moving along so quickly. I was given a hep lock and told I could walk around or use the birth ball but all I wanted to do was lie on my back in the bed. During each surge my husband would remind me to breathe and would even breathe with me, which helped so much. He kept me calm and reassured that I could do this. When I wasn’t having a surge I would allow myself to just relax, space out and almost fall asleep. This allowed me to save my energy and keep calm. Within the next two hours (I lost all track of time during labor) I felt my water break twice. The nurse checked me and told me I was 8cm dilated and was moving along great. Just a few minutes after that my body took over. I wasn’t trying to push but my body was doing it on its own. My husband paged the nurse and she knew it was time. The midwife on call and other staff all came in with all the equipment. My body would naturally push when I would have a surge and then the staff and my husband would remind me to breathe and calm myself in between. My doctor came in and put on his gloves and with a few more pushes our son was born at 1:24am. He was handed to me for skin on skin, was alert and absolutely perfect. It was the most amazing experience of my life. It wasn’t easy and there were moments when I wanted to give up but using the HypnoBirthing techniques and my husband’s support I did it. I couldn't have imagined a better birth!
Sonny and Kailey
Okinawa