Dear Learn4Birth,

We can’t wait to share our amazing birth story with you!

As you may remember, my OB kept pushing for an ultrasound at the end of my pregnancy because she thought the baby was too small!!  Finally I gave in and did it- and it gave me the confidence I needed that everything was perfect with him and that he was growing in the right direction. Then my due date came and went.  I started to panic because i didn’t want to be induced and my doctor had already scheduled an induction date.  I started thinking “what if my body is failing me” because I was sure that I was going to have the baby way earlier.  I started questioning everything! I didn’t want to be induced!!

I even turned off my phone because everyone kept asking “is the baby here yet” and  “are you doing this and that!”.  It’s all  so overwhelming at the end!  I kept analyzing every symptom and asking myself “is this it?”!  I even started making myself believe I was having contractions (haha).  So I decided to disconnect and reconnect with my body, baby and spirit!  It was a great time spent with hubby! He made sure I was relaxed and distracted and we worked on the nursery, had dinners together went to the movies! I was trying to be zen and let my body do what it is supposed to do!  You were right about partners – they either make it or break it and boy did Josh make this experience so enjoyable for me from pregnancy to birth! i couldn’t have done it without him.

I woke up June 2nd at midnight with what I perceived as menstrual cramps.  I timed them for 3 hours and they were 5 minutes apart, 45 seconds long. I made sure I had at least 80 oz of water that day ( i didn’t want to be dehydrated) and a small rice cake with peanut butter and banana for my last meal!   Around 6am we go to his Josh’s parent’s house because its closer to the hospital.  Then around 7-8am the contractions changed to 10 minutes apart and almost a minute long. I was still able to rest and take small naps as I was having these contractions. Then I told Josh that I thought we should go to the hospital and his response was “no your too calm, its not time yet!”.  I told him not to compare me to a textbook (!) and then I felt like I really needed to go to the bathroom.  So we got to the hospital at 10am where they checked me and I measured 4 centimeters dilated, 90% effaced with baby super low. They told me they couldn’t admit me until I was at least 5cm. So for the next 2 hours I walked and squatted down every time I had a contraction.  When I would squat down, Josh would massage my tailbone (sacral rub) and squeeze my hips (double hip squeeze) and it helped. Then at Noon,  they checked me again and I was only at 5cm.  I couldn’t believe it!  My body felt that like I was much further along than that (I am pretty in tune with my body).  My birth plan was to do it all natural without epidural but when she told me I was barely at 5 I panicked.  I started thinking about how long it might take me to get to 6 centimeters.  But then Josh reminded me that one of the downsides of an epidural is that it could slow down contractions and necessitate me receiving Pitocin.   So I decided to go  another 3 hours and see where I was after that.   (spoiler alert- good thing we didn’t have to go that route!)

Finally at 12.15 pm they admitted me.  As the nurse was putting in the IV, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure down there.  I embraced that pressure and then whoosh – my water broke!! I asked the nurse if that meant the baby was coming now and she replied “Oh no, it’s not that fast”.  Then I felt the need to bear down with contractions and the nurse was like “What are you doing?  You are only at 5 cm” so I asked her to check me again because I felt this baby so low down!  When she did, I was at 9cm!!  That gave me a huge reason to smile because it was literally was less than 20 minutes from 5cm to 9cm after my water broke!! Then I started pushing and 45 minutes later, baby Oscar was born – 8.2oz pounds (not the small baby that they’d been so worried about!!).  The nurses and doctors were so supportive and everyone was just amazed how fast it was and that I did it without any medications or epidural. The hospital  staff followed my birth plan to the T.   I was the last pregnant women to get admitted that day and the first one to have her baby!

Here is what i did during my pregnancy to prepare– i tried to do the best with the controllable (eating well, exercising and mental affirmations):

• I walked everyday as soon as I hit 6 months a mile a day then last 2 weeks pushed it to 5 miles
• I manifested my positive affirmations about how I wanted my labor and birth to be! natural, unmedicated, uncomplicated vaginal birth! Talk about the power of the mind! i am still in shocked how my labor and birth unfolded!
• I bounced on that ball everyday and did my pelvic floor exercises- since i worked from home it was perfect for me to use it everyday.

What helped during labor:

• The massaging the tail bone(sacral rub) and squeezing my hips (double hip squeeze) helped with the contractions.
• I gave birth laying on my left side! it was comfortable for me. i wanted to do it squatting but they didn’t have squat bars available.
• Josh was so supportive and kept repeating my affirmations to me.

Thank you for your book and class!  It taught Josh and I how to advocate for ourselves and our baby! it was such a glorious experience!

Moral of the story:  Trust your body and baby and spirit! Even when you think you are not progressing, you are!  And educate yourself on your options and breastfeeding because when that baby comes, it gives you the confidence you need!