Truth. Trey’s birth story was the birth of my dreams. I had so many mental barriers and even traumas I had to overcome, but, once I did, I succeeded. His birth was quick, unmedicated, and the perfect Hypnobabies birth – just as I’d hoped.
When I first found out I was pregnant with another baby I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Did I want to try for a Hypnobabies birth again? You see, I’d tried to have an unmedicated Hypnobabies birth with our daughter Kimberlee but it wasn’t meant to be.
My body stopped progressing and I was in labor for over 30 hours. On top of that, her heart rate kept dropping and an emergency C-section was a very real possibility. I remember feeling terrified we would lose her and just praying in my heart, “Heavenly Father, please don’t let us lose another one. Please.” To our great relief, that prayer was answered, but I was still left with the emotional trauma my husband and I were put through.
And so, there I was, about halfway through the pregnancy and I still wasn’t sure. Could I overcome my mental barriers? I decided to at least try and prepare on my own since I still had the program.
Part of the Hypnobabies program includes listening to audio tracks, one of which is Pregnancy Affirmations. I was amazed by how much listening to those affirmations changed my mindset. Truly, this was a different pregnancy and baby, and therefore a different birth. With this new mindset, I invested in taking the actual course to help keep me accountable.
I took the 6-week Hypnobabies course virtually with Kaylee, founder of Utah Valley Doulas and she was amazing. She answered questions, we practiced during our weekly classes, and I did a pretty good job practicing on my own. I remember vividly imagining our son’s birth and how it would play out.
It would be unmedicated, safe, and quick, and I would go into labor on my own. Now, I must confess it wasn’t easy. My pregnancies tend to bring painful physical challenges. With Kimberlee, I had a cracked tailbone about halfway through, super swollen feet, and an added bonus of Gestational Diabetes. Trey’s pregnancy brought some tailbone discomfort, swelling towards the end, and acute chronic hip and pelvic bone pain.
Due to my pain and discomfort, there were a couple of times I wanted to ask my OB for a membrane sweep. I remember going to an appointment and already being 1cm dilated and 70% effaced. I was thrilled. All those pre-birthing waves were working! In my next couple of appointments, my body wasn’t progressing. But, we all know babies come when they want to come (with exceptions of course).
Going into my 39-week appointment I was done. I told my husband that if I wasn’t almost 3cm dilated I would be asking for a membrane sweep because I just couldn’t handle the pain anymore. Guess what? I was almost to 3cm at that appointment and Trey was head down. With the encouragement of my OB, I held onto the hope my body could do this.
That week I did so much walking to bring on pre-birthing waves. There were several times I thought I could be in labor but after a couple of hours, those waves would cease. Saturday, January 21st I woke up disappointed. I was still pregnant. My daughter woke up, we cuddled in bed for a few minutes, and then I went to get her breakfast.
During this time I started having waves again. I turned on my birthing day affirmations track because these felt different. I felt pressure in my cervix like the baby was descending. I texted my mom and told her I think this could be it and that I’d keep her posted since she would be taking care of Kimberlee for us. My husband was in the bathroom, so I had texted him as well, but then he called me and while we were talking I suddenly had a gush of fluid leave my body.
My water broke. I was in active labor and it was about 9 AM. It was time to call my mom, let my doula know, and get ready to leave. Anthony was frantically running around while I stayed calm. We already had our go bags, so I took a shower and got dressed, all while continuing to listen to my hypnobabies audio tracks.
We arrived at the hospital around 10 AM. The drive there was a blur because I was focusing on relaxing, taking deep slow breaths, and listening to my audio tracks. I kept one earbud in when we arrived so I could communicate with the nurses as needed.
The delivery room wasn’t quite ready, so we went to the waiting area. When we finally got into the room, I quickly changed and made myself as comfortable as possible. I needed to stay in my relaxed bubble. At this point, it was about 10:30 AM. The nurse placed the fetal monitor around my belly, checked my progress (I was already 6cm dilated and 100% effaced), and then tried to place my IV.
I say try because I have super small veins. My only good vein is in my right arm where it bends. As you can imagine, that doesn’t work when you’re giving birth. I made the nurses aware that last time they placed it in my left hand and needed to use a light to see my veins. Unfortunately, they didn’t listen and tried three different times in different areas before finally placing it in my left wrist.
In an effort to extend some grace, I do know my staff was trying to work quickly to get antibiotics administered before I had this baby. I was progressing rapidly and at the very beginning of my pregnancy, I tested positive for Group B Strep. This of course comes and goes, but in pregnancy, it is assumed you still have it upon birthing as a safety precaution … super annoying but that’s a discussion for another time.
I kept my eyes closed, continued deep slow breaths while listening to my audio tracks, and the next thing I knew I felt like I needed to push. I’ll be honest, everything else leading up to that point is a complete blur. I cannot remember anything else, including what I might have been feeling during that time. My staff was amazing and paid attention to the different sounds I was making. A nurse asked if she could check me again. I consented and I was 10cm dilated. It was go-time!
I was already laying on my right side and moving seemed impossible. I was comfortable and didn’t want to break the mental state I was in. So, with the assistance of my staff, they made it possible for me to birth lying on my side.
While I was in my birthing time I remained in my own head space. It wasn’t until Anthony pulled me out a little that I realized the nurses were talking to me, trying to get me to shift my position a little to help me bear down. Now, one thing they did try to tell me was to purple push – this is pushing while holding your breath.
No-can-do. I practiced and prepared for mother-directed pushing and breathing my baby down and out, so that’s what I did. I’ll be honest, it was HARD and so I was making loud noises. Not because it hurt. The best way I can explain it is like taking the biggest constipated sh*t of your life.
They say you feel a “ring of fire” when birthing, but for me, it was different. Instead, I felt a burning towards my perineum. I was going to tear and I no longer wondered if I would feel myself tear because I would. That scared me, so I paused. I had to overcome that mental block quickly because I couldn’t stop.
I kept going and within 10-15 minutes I birthed our son, Trey James Armstrong, 9lbs 9oz and 22 inches long at 12:12 PM on Saturday, January 21, 2023. That’s right, I had about a 3-hour birthing experience from start to finish. When they placed him on my chest I couldn’t believe how big he was. No wonder it was so hard!
I was so grateful though. Both Trey and I were healthy. I had a 2nd-degree tear (I tore worse with my 7lbs 3oz baby girl believe it or not), but I was up and moving after we did Golden Hour. I felt great! Now I will say that those belly pushes on the delivery floor made me want to die and I had the worst nursing contractions the following day, but apparently, those contractions get worse after each baby. *cue crying*
Ultimately, Trey’s birth story was the birth of my dreams. I had so many mental barriers and even traumas I had to overcome, but, once I did, I succeeded. His birth was everything I had envisioned and hoped for – quick, unmedicated, and the perfect Hypnobabies birth.
