Many of us overlook in our birth choices and planning how essential it is to assemble a care team that truly supports our needs as birthing women. To be respected in even the smallest of ways makes a huge difference — even talking softly so a mama maintains her focus, feels profoundly soothing and respectful to a birthing mama.

Today’s birth story comes from new mama, Nicole, who writes that her chosen birth center “provided an amazingly calm environment with low light, candles, music from my relaxation tracks and only the softest whispers.” And shouldn’t every woman have the opportunity to birth that way, whether at a birth center, hospital or in the operating room? We think so!

Congratulations, Nicole, and welcome to the world, baby August!

Love,

Alisa, Sarah & the women of Blooma

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{By Nicole}

We took and loved the Hypnobirthing course in December, and our instructor recommended that we spend time thinking about the kind of birth we want… visualizing all the details, from the onset of labor through the whole delivery. So for a couple months, we told ourselves the story of the birth, down to the date we wanted ( 2/2).

The unbelievable thing was that it happened — almost 100 percent exactly as we planned.

On Friday evening, 2/1, we went to a happy hour at Moscow on the Hill, and I felt some mild cramping, which I brushed off as Braxton Hicks. When we got home and into bed around 9 p.m., I felt a small gush of liquid. No way this is my water breaking, I thought. So I didn’t bother my husband, Tony, and tried to put it out of my mind.

An hour later, another gush — this time a huge gush. Okay, now maybe this is for real. Almost immediately I started feeling stronger cramping. I called the midwife on-call (at the Minnesota Birth Center) to give her a heads up and talk about the plan — wait until contractions were 3 minutes apart for an hour. At this point, Tony and I were in shock that this was happening as we hoped. After calming down from the initial burst of excitement, I took a Tylenol PM and got some sleep.

Around 3 a.m., the intensity of the contractions picked up a little and it became harder to sleep through them. But I was able to rest a lot in between and stay relaxed. We went over the plan for the day — who was going to take care of the dogs, better freeze that ground beef we were going to make for dinner, cancel the acupuncture appointment at 12:30 p.m.

Around 8 a.m., we had some eggs and toast for breakfast as we timed the contractions — still a bit erratic at 5-7 minutes and only moderately intense. Since my water broke at 10 p.m. the night before, the midwife wanted me to come in to the Birth Center at 10 a.m. if things hadn’t progressed so she could run a few tests to ensure the baby was tolerating labor okay.

We went in and baby was indeed handling it like a champ, but my contractions were still too far apart so they sent me home to get some more rest. If things didn’t progress into active labor by 10 p.m., I would have to be transferred to Abbott to be induced. This was definitely not part of the plan; the MN Birth Center allowed normal healthy births — any complications or risks would have to be managed at the hospital. I grudgingly went home determined to have things pick up so we could birth as planned.

When we got home around noon, I was able to rest and doze for about an hour before the contractions started getting too intense. I couldn’t find any position that was comfortable, so we called the doula to come over and help us out. We had only chosen a doula, Stephanie, the week before. She was trained in craniosacral therapy, so I was hopeful she could help relieve some of the hip/back pain coming with the contractions. Stephanie was barely able to do any work on me before I couldn’t stay still. Contractions were coming closer together and I was even feeling an urge to push, so I knew we should probably get going to the Birth Center soon.

Tony called the midwife, who questioned whether we were far enough advanced. Then she heard me moaning in the background and said “come in.” The pain and intensity were so much at this point that it seemed to take an eternity to get out the door. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, I was definitely in transition!

I prepared myself that the car ride would be excruciating, but I managed it really well thanks to the help of my Hypnobirthing tracks and breathing practice. Tony commented later that he was worried that labor was slowing down and that I was maybe even sleeping!

We arrived at the MN Birth Center at about 4 p.m., at which point I immediately flopped onto the bed as the midwife checked me. I was so afraid she would find me only at 5 or 6 cm.

“Nicole – you’re complete,” she said, which rang like music to my ears. I believe I told her I loved her at that point! I could hear the sound of the tub filling and wanted so badly to get into the water. They helped me in and told me it was time to go whenever I was ready.

I was determined to follow my body and let it direct me how to birth. Luckily, the Birth Center shared the same philosophies and fully supported me at my own pace. They also provided an amazingly calm environment with low light, candles, music from my relaxation tracks and only the softest whispers.

With the help of my amazing husband, my best friend, and the doula, I slowly breathed my baby down, using deep breaths and allowing my body to guide the baby out slowly. It took a while this way, but I was able to stay in control and relax deeply between contractions. The midwife and doula helped me channel my energy effectively so I could be in control yet be productive with each wave.

When I felt the baby crowning, I anticipated a few more pushes before he would be out. But with the next push, at 8:03 p.m, baby August shot out like a torpedo surprising us all!

I was able to grab him myself and pull him to my chest. My first thought was “ohmygod it’s over!” followed immediately by “ohmygod this is my baby!!”

The midwife had to prod Tony to check and announce the sex, as we both somehow completely forgot about that as we gazed into baby’s eyes. It was a boy (just as we had suspected)!

Throughout the pregnancy, I prepped myself to approach birth without fear. I wasn’t denying the reality of childbirth, but I certainly didn’t fully anticipate how intense and difficult it would be. Especially as I progressed into the active labor phase, I felt waves of fear and doubt come over me. “I can’t do this,” I thought MANY times. “Just get me drugs; take me to the hospital – I want the drugs!”

But somehow I managed to cope, breathing into the intensity and using many of the skills I learned in yoga. I remember hearing someone’s birth story and her comment how savasana was the most useful pose for labor. So true! I thought about that as I went deep into relaxation between each contraction.

I fully attribute my successful and calm childbirth experience to the amazing prenatal yoga and Hypnobirthing skills I learned. I specifically thought about Bridget McGreevy’s recent “Fear” class and how we should recognize our fears and let them be with us as we struggle and cope. That was the last prenatal yoga class I attended. I made it a point to say goodbye to Bridget that night and thank her for her wonderful class that I loved attending. I must have known that baby August was coming soon…

*{A little note from Blooma: We joyfully share birth stories sent to us by Blooma families, however, Blooma does not claim responsibility for and does not endorse individual choices made by families or their care providers. We seek to share an array of birth stories to showcase a wide range of experiences.}