Birth story of Rowan Delaney:
The morning of December 28 I woke up with one thing on my mind-
jumpstart my birthing time before going in for a scheduled induction
later that night. The induction was scheduled due to inconclusive
results on a previous NST and Biophysical Profile. The previous
evening my husband and I tried some of the acupressure points and had
some pressure waves but they were not consistent. That morning we
continued some of the acupressure points and added nipple stimulation
with a manual pump. I was feeling some pressure waves but they did
not feel as if they were productive. During one of the breaks in
nipple stimulation I got up to use the restroom. On my way there my
water broke. I went to check the fluid and noticed that it was tinged
with brown. I knew from my reading and Hypnobabies training that the
fluid was supposed to be clear so my first thought was meconium. I
called out to my husband and he flew up the stairs and looked
frantically for the phone. My doctor's office told me to go straight
to Labor and Delivery.
My husband and I made our way to the hospital in a snow storm- an
event that my husband and I both predicted would happen. Once there
(10:30 a.m.) they checked us in for the long haul so we called our
Hypnobabies Doula, Amber, to let her know today was they day. They
initially did about an hour of monitoring to make sure the baby was
okay and then I was allowed to be more mobile. I listened to some of
my Hypnobabies tracks, walked around the room, sat on the birthing
ball, rocked in the rocking chair, lounged in bed, and waited for
things to pick up. When my doctor arrived at 3:00 and checked me I
was only dilated to 2 and 80% effaced which was no change from when I
had checked in hours earlier. My pressure waves continued on a
consistent basis every 2-3 minutes but were not picking up in
intensity. The doctor recommended that I be put on a low dose of
Pitocin to see if that would help to get my birthing time moving. Due
to our concern for the baby, my husband and I agreed that we would
try the Pitocin. The Pitocin was started at 3:15 p.m. and the
pressure waves really started to pick up at about 3:30.
Throughout this time I was continuing to use my Hypnobabies and it
was working beautifully. My husband and Amber were coaching me
through and attending to my every need. At about 6:15 p.m. I noticed
a shift, something about my pressure waves was distinctly different-
they were MUCH more intense and I was shaking uncontrollably. I
started to lose my focus and p**n started to creep in. My husband and
Amber both kicked it up a notch to get me refocused. Amber told me
that she thought I was in transformation and I didn't believe her- it
was just too soon. I figured as a first time mom, my birthing time
was going to be much longer. I remember telling my husband at one
point that if the rest of my birthing time was going to be like this
I might need some stadol. He replied with the appropriate answer that
I told him to give me if I started to break down. I asked if they
could get the nurse to check me and when she did I was dilated to 8-
almost 9. She quickly left to call the doctor. My husband and Amber
both told me later that the look on her face was priceless. She could
not believe that I had progressed so quickly in such a short period
of time. Once I was told that I was so far advanced in my birthing
time it was as if I got a second wind. This was it, my daughter was
almost here. The nurse came back in and told me that I could start
pushing when I felt the need. Amber then put the Push Baby Out track
on and we went into action. During this time I almost felt as if I
were in a haze, it was very surreal. It was definitely a team effort
to push my daughter out and at 7:39 p.m. we were rewarded with the
birth of my daughter Rowan Delaney who weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. at
19 ½ inches. She arrived healthy with no complications from the
meconium.
I have to say that I cannot imagine my birthing time without the
encouragement and love of my husband, the awesome support of my
Hypnobabies Doula, Amber, and Hynobabies. I had a wonderful birthing
time and would not have changed a thing.
**for those of you that may be put off by my mentioning p**n during
transformation- it was brief. Once I realized I was in transformation
and I had made it that far in my birthing time with no p**n
whatsoever, that is when my second wind kicked in and I was ready to
give birth to my daughter.