Oona's Birth Day Story

Some of you were interested to hear how her birth went....


As soon as I found out we were pregnant, memories of my two previous deliveries came flooding back to me. They were fast yet furious, fear-driven, and included one epidural gone really wrong. I knew I wanted things to go much differently this time around.

I wanted a natural birth that was calm and in my control (not the doctor's). After interviewing 3 different physicians, I finally found a midwife group that proved to be a perfect match. Besides wanting to use midwives instead of OB's this time, I also knew I wanted to arm myself with more tools and more knowledge of birthing. Thanks to my good friend, Denise, I was able to learn about a program she teaches called HypnoBabies. Since Denise lives far away, she recommended that I do it as a self-study. In the end, all the practice and readings (along with her guidance) helped me enormously.

The day of Oona's birth began, like many others leading up to it, with lots of irregular contractions. It was a beautiful fall day, so we spent a good part of the day outside raking leaves in the backyard. Later, we took the kids out to Fuddruckers for a burger dinner (thank goodness I opted for the less greasy veggie burger). By the time dinner was over and we were back home reading the kids a bedtime story, the contractions became stronger and more regular at 10 minutes apart. We didn't lead this on to the kids, since we didn't know if things would progress. After the kids were asleep, we called Tim's mom (still not quite sure if it was the real thing) and headed up to the hospital.

When we got there at 9:30pm, we found out I was 5 cm dilated. I opted to change into my own nightgown (which somehow made things feel more relaxed than a hospital gown). Tim dimmed the hospital room lights for a calmer atmosphere. We told the the nurses and midwife that I would be keeping my headphones on because I was using hypnosis CDs. As soon as they did the 15 minute fetal monitor, I asked to be on the birthing ball. I spent the next hour on the ball, resting my head on my big body pillow that I also brought from home. The nurses and midwife were so all accommodating to the quiet atmosphere we were trying to keep. We must have been quite a sight, me on the ball with my headphones and eyes closed and arms outstretched, and Tim sitting nearby on his laptop (with his job to to answer any of the nurses questions for me so I could concentrate).

At a certain point, I felt a strong urge to use the bathroom. Tim helped me in and my water broke in there. Immediately after, my contractions became stronger and faster. I knew I was entering into transition. The midwife examined me again and I was 8 cm at that point. She asked if I felt "pushy" (yes!) and told me that I would be ready after 2 more strong contractions. I pushed for 15 minutes, only 2 hours after getting to the hospital. At 11:32 pm sweet and wonderful Oona Violet came into the world alert and ready to nurse. I am so grateful for her positive and healing birth experience!