Bodhi's Birth
Our Daughter Bodhi came to us at a time in our lives that we needed her, the most. She has truly enlightened and enriched our souls from the minute we found out we were expecting. I was a fairly fit woman and had practiced meditation and relaxation techniques as well as yoga for a number of years and I felt very prepared to bring my first baby into this world. I wanted it to be a beautiful and peaceful event that would be deeply spiritual for myself, my partner Derek as well as my Baby.
After discussing my beliefs with our doctor, Dr Owen Miller, he highly recommended Hypnobirthing for us. We signed up right away with just under 5 months to our due date, and were on our way to begin our daily practice for a gentle, natural birth. And so the journey begins...
I made the commitment to myself and to our growing baby inside me the minute we took our very first class. Hypnobirthing was everything we were looking for to bring our baby into the world gently and naturally. Every night I listened to the relaxation CDs, alternating between the rainbow relaxation and then the birthing affirmations. I visualized a healthy baby inside my womb and imagined a baby the perfect size for my body. First thing in the morning after wakening I would practice the deep breathing techniques for about 10-20 minutes, affirming positive energy into myself and my baby for the day. I would visualize my baby being head down and ready for the journey ahead of him/her. With every bowel movement I would do the “J” breathing technique to prepare for breathing my baby down when time to do so. I dedicated my time and energy into preparing for one of the most memorable and euphoric times in a female’s life. Our estimated arrival date was for the 8th of August. Derek and I had a strong intuition that baby would come out and meet us far sooner than that, but we continued to plan for the beginning of August. We hired our Doula Cheryl Lloyd on the 10th of June. She would come over to the house and share positive insights and kind words of wisdom on natural births. Cheryl shared positivity and believed in me so much I was honoured to have her share in our baby’s birth. I was determined to have a natural birth without any medications or epidural. I was so proud to be a woman and couldn’t wait to experience the feelings that went into birthing a baby. With every negative comment I would hear from other mothers, telling me that I couldn’t handle the pain of a natural birth, would give me more determination to birth my baby into safe and a stress free environment. I was prepared to let my body and my baby take over and do what mother nature intended.
On July 14th, I was 1cm dilated and baby was low in my pelvis. As exciting as this news was to me, I continued to stay relaxed for the next couple of weeks and patiently awaited the arrival of our little bundle of Love. By July 28th I was 3cm dilated and Dr. Miller performed a membrane sweep. With a little spotting and minor surges throughout the day I knew baby was coming closer. By morning of the 29th my surges became more regular and were about 10 minutes apart. They felt like minor menstrual cramps and I found comfort through gentle deep breaths with each surge. By 3:30 that afternoon the surges increased to 7 minutes apart. Knowing full well that we were to have a baby in the next few days or hours, Derek and I took the time to treat ourselves for a nice relaxing supper at Moxie’s. I stayed calm and collective throughout supper and filled up on what was apparently my last meal before my birthing marathon. After supper we packed our hospital bags, took photos of my large beautiful belly that homed our precious little being for 9 months and went to sleep at around 11:00pm with my surges continuing at 7-10 minutes apart.
I managed to get a little bit of rest throughout the night, dozing in and out of sleep between frequent bathroom breaks. I set my ipod to repeat all of the affirmations from the Hypnobirthing CDs and prepared myself mentally for the hours ahead of us. I woke around 4:00 am with strong feelings of pressure in my lower back. I decided it was time to get up for the day. I stood in the shower with the water pouring over my lower back to relieve some of the pressure. I then ran a bath and soaked for over an hour with candles lit and soothing music. After my bath I sat in my living room with candles and incense burning and rocked gently on my yoga ball. Around 6:30 am my surges were still to 6-7 minutes apart but were beginning to get stronger and I felt in my back more and more pressure, I decided to wake Derek so he could prepare himself for the day and I called our Doula Cheryl to let her know my progress. By 8:00 am my surges were 4 minutes apart and I started to feel a little anxious and felt the need to move to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital around 9:15 and the medical staff determined I was 6-7 cm dilated. They set us up in our birthing room where I laid down and made myself as comfortable as possible. Shortly after Cheryl arrived. All of my anxiety disappeared instantly. I felt at complete ease. I now could just let my body completely go into total relaxation and let my body and my baby take complete control. I went with my intuition and with what felt right at that present moment. With every surge and wave I would envision my baby getting closer and closer to me.
Every hour that passed felt like a minute, and I felt in tune with my inner goddess and found the strength to continue on without the mere thought of any medical interference. By 11:15am I was 9.5 cm dilated and my surges were 3-5 minutes apart and Dr. Miller decided it was time to rupture my membranes. With slight hesitation I felt it was wrong to do so but with the thought of seeing my baby that much sooner, Derek and I decided to go ahead with it. I felt the warm release of my waters and continued on with my Hypnobirthing. Even with the strong back pressure I felt through the surges, I stayed calm, relaxed and at complete ease. I felt incredibly warm through the 60-90 seconds of waves then would instantly feel cold and needed to be covered with blankets for comfort during the resting phase. Derek and Cheryl stayed by my side the entire time. Also my nurse Liz stayed in the room, to witness my calm relaxed state of bliss. I can remember Cheryl talking to me gently and comforting me with words from our Hynobirthing book, along with rubbing and applying pressure to my lower back to relieve some of the tension I was feeling. She also kept the relaxing music going that soothed my body. Derek was so strong and dedicated to helping me through the discomfort. He would rub my arms and make sure to keep me well hydrated and warm or cool through my surges. Throughout labour I was in a deep state of bliss. I even recall the odd comment from Dr. Miller stating how he couldn’t even tell when I was having a contraction. I was 10cm dilated at this time with surges 3 minutes apart, and still calm and smiling through it all. All this positivity around me kept me moving closer and closer to reaching my goal of a natural birth.
At 12:10 Baby had appeared to be asynclitic (head tilted up a bit) and was turned to the left side which would explain all the back pain. I laid on my left side to ease the tension and moved my right leg in a circular motion, following the lead of what my body was telling me. By 1:00pm baby was on the move and now transverse to left side. I felt strong urges to have a bowel movement so I moved to the bathroom and felt comfort sitting on the toilet. By now it was time to breathe Baby down. I switched back and forth from “J” breathing and deep breathing techniques to ease the discomfort. By 1:25pm I moved to the bed and got onto my hands and knees. As time passed it all just seemed to flow together. My heart rate and Baby’s heart rate stayed at a calm steady pace throughout. I had no concept of time or who all was around me. I was in deep concentration. The only thing I can really remember was burping like a trucker after a surge and constantly excusing myself.
At 2:50 pm Baby’s heart rate had started to decelerate and I was feeling extremely exhausted. With the well being of Baby in mind I was encouraged to start pushing baby out. At 3:10, having nearly no energy left to push, Dr. Miller proceeded with a vacuum extraction and an episiotomy to bring Baby into the world without further complications or stress to our little angel. By 3:20pm our baby girl Bodhi Rain was born! Weighing 7lbs and 8ozs. Her cord was short which was causing the heart decelerations and the difficulty I had pushing her out. She was placed on my bare chest for a short time to bond with us. The feeling of Uforia was unbelievable. We had did it. Our little girl was born! Bodhi’s temperature was a little cool so she was taken to NICU for about an hour and a half where I had time to get a little snack and Derek and Cheryl could take a little breather. When she returned to our room, I started breastfeeding immediately and began the excitement and journey of motherhood.
The feeling of euphoria is still with me. Every time I look at my little girl I feel proud to know that I did everything in my power to welcome her to this world with a calm feeling that everything will be ok. I am grateful for Hypnobirthing and the positivity it gave me to follow through with a gentle and drug free birth.
Written by April Pirie, September 2009 |
