With this post, I desire to capture the awesomeness of Brinley Marie's birth with words and pictures. I have a feeling it will fall short but I'll try my best.
For months I practiced for the unmedicated arrival of our sweet baby girl using a self-hypnosis program called HypnoBabies. HypnoBabies teaches the expectant mom how to self-hypnotize herself so she is in a state of relaxation while remaining in total control and able to accept or reject any suggestions she hears. There were a series of studies I completed and recordings I listened to on a daily basis. The studies and recordings trained me to think of the sensations that accompany childbirth as being natural, normal, healthy and safe versus painful or scary.
It's hard to say when the beginning of Brinley's arrival truly started. I woke up Friday, April 23rd, with some mild contractions. They didn't feel like the typical Braxton Hicks contractions and when they didn't subside with movement, drinking lots of water or lying on my left side, I decided to time them. They were consistent enough that I thought it could be the beginning of the real thing but wasn't sure. I called my doula and midwives and one of the midwives stopped by to check on me. Turns out they were real "early labor contractions" but as Brinley would have it, they wouldn't progress for days.
By Tuesday, April 27th, I was definitely losing patience because every day I was wondering if it would be the day where something would progress. April 27th was Brinley's official due date and I knew the statistics were weighing against us that she'd come that day since less than 5% of babies are born on their due date. I joked with several family members that if she came on the 27th, she's punctual like Daddy but if she takes after Mommy, it'd be 15-30 minutes into the 28th (at the earliest) before she'd arrive.
Around 10:20am on the 27th, I felt a pop and then a gush. I ran to the toilet and sure enough, my water had broken. Not all of it had come out but as I sat there, more and more released. I was excited but knew it could still be hours before anything started to progress. I once again called my birthing team and one of the midwives stopped by to check on me and Brinley around 1pm and everything checked out well. The afternoon wore on, I took a nap and the evening started to set in. I decided around 6:30 that I'd get a pedicure and then come home, eat dinner and take a nap in case things decided to pick up during the night.
We arrived at the pedicure place around 7pm and the wonderfully relaxing pedicure wrapped up around 7:40pm. As we walked to the car, I had the strongest contraction I'd had at that point. It wasn't very strong but it was stronger than the others had been and made me a little nauseous. We headed home and when we arrived, Brad made me some chicken noodle soup. I ate it up and went down for my nap around 8:15pm. As soon as I went down, I had a strong contraction (lots of pressure) and told Brad I needed to go to the restroom. Little did I know that things were going to start progressing quickly.
I went to the restroom and as I tried to stand up, another strong contraction hit me. It wasn't painful but was strong in that it created a lot of pressure so I sat back down. This repeated over and over with each contraction having more pressure than the last. I finally looked at Brad and told him he needed to call the birthing team and get the birthing tub filled or else I'd be having her on the toilet. He called the troops and while he worked on getting the tub filled, I worked on getting off the toilet.
At first I didn't make it far. I ended up on my hands and knees on the bathroom floor rug. When the next contraction came, I found my abdominal muscles pushing INVOLUNTARILY. I had read of this but when I experienced it, I was floored. I had never experienced anything like it in my entire life. I knew Brad had just called the birthing team and they would likely not be arriving for another 30-45 minutes. Brad came to check on me and asked if I wanted to move to the tarp in the family room (the one the birthing tub was sitting on) while the tub filled. I said yes and somehow moved myself from the master bath floor into the family room (which Brad had set up perfectly). I once again got on my hands and knees and my body continued to push involuntarily. I remember Brad getting on the floor, looking me in the eyes and asking me if there was anything he could do for me. I looked at him and said "I just need you to be strong if Brinley arrives before everyone gets here". I had never thought my labor would progress so quickly.
Before I knew it my doula arrived and I asked her why my body was involuntarily pushing and she said it was because I was likely in transition and Brinley was ready to make her way out. We told her the midwives were on their way. She helped me get into the tub which felt wonderful. I immediately made my way to the edge where I could hang over it like a limp noodle. It was so relaxing. Brad poured water over my lower back while Brinley continued to make her way closer to us. I knew the entire time I practiced my HypnoBabies course that I'd use "ahhhh" breathing to breathe Brinley out (versus pushing her out). I ended up using it to stay relaxed from the time I was on the bathroom floor until she arrived. It was great at keeping me focused on what my body needed from me which was relaxation. Brad told me after the fact that it was amazing seeing my abdomen contract and push while my arms, hands and other body parts were completely relaxed. He said by looking at everything other than my tummy, you'd never know I was in full-blown labor.
The midwives arrived and shortly after I changed positions and leaned back into a somewhat reclined position for the actual birth. Brinley crowned multiple times but the crowning was intense but not what I'd call painful. I actually hurt more in my hips and groin the days (and months) before she arrived than I did delivering her. I truly contribute the lack of pain to staying relaxed. I think I was able to stay relaxed for several reasons - I delivered at home and it's pretty hard to not be relaxed in your own home; Brad was incredible at tending to my needs without me having to give instruction; HypnoBabies helped me prepare for the experience; and I had a wonderful birthing team.
Brinley arrived to us at 10:43pm on April 27, 2010. She weighed 8 pounds, 1.6 ounces, was 19.75 inches long and perfect in every possible way.
We decided ahead of time that we wanted to have the birth professionally photographed. Here are some of our favorites.
