Birth story - Allie and baby Kinzie

First & Foremost I have to say that I wouldn’t have been able to have given birth how I did without Siobhan, the positive birth company digital pack and APP 🙌🏻.

From 30 weeks pregnant to the day of my birth I was listening to the Positive affirmations , reading everyone’s amazing birth stories and meditating with the up breathing technique. Week 38 and on I would stretch while completing ball exercises and listening to the positive affirmations mp3 religiously. During my entire pregnancy I was blessed enough to be able to workout throughout each trimester, which I also feel helped tremendously in my birth and energy.

On March 9th at 5pm my body started giving me signs of labor, and at this point all I was feeling was cramps like you would have on your period.

Come March 10th 7:30am I woke up with those same cramps, and after using the restroom I noticed I had lost my mucus plug and instantly had a feeling my birth would be soon. I was very excited to take on this experience and meet my baby girl. These cramps became more frequent and a little more intense but nothing I couldn’t handle I went about my normal routine.

Rather quickly my surges became 5 min apart lasting 45 sec and had been going on for more than 2 hours but I wasn’t feeling any kind of ramp up in the intensity of the surges so I held off before heading to hospital. Taking a shower and bringing myself to a calm state I started to leak amniotic fluid slowly, so After 30 more minutes or so I decided I’d better go in as I was a FTM and had never done this. I also had a 1 hour drive to the hospital.

The car ride was calm and positive. My surges were totally bearable but I would practice my Up breathing every time they came to prepare mentally. Eating one last snack before arriving at the hospital at around 4:30pm I was put into triage and checked , determining I was at a 3cm dilation. They held me there for another 45 min or so to check again and I had slightly progressed but not quite to a 4cm. They allowed me to stay and moved me to the labor and delivery room a little after 6PM.

This is wear the magic happened.

After getting settled in and setting up my area, which entailed lavender cotton balls placed in my favorite pillow, dimmed lighting , & PBC App with my headphones ready to go.

Staying upright I walked around and also sat on my pregnancy ball making sure I was in UFO positions. About 1 hour passed with my surges starting to pick up quickly, and a little more intense. The nurse wanted to check my cervix to see if I had progressed as I was only at a 3cm last time and I agreed. After checking once again I was still at a 3cm and they were contemplating on sending me home. I stayed calm as I knew my body was ready. My husband and I decided to take a walk around the hospital halls and while we did this I had my most intense surge thus far, during this time a lot more fluid came out so I knew it was getting ready to be “Go time”.

From this point on my surges were happening back to back and I needed to focus. My husband and I stood up as I leaned on him and controlled my breathing with the amazing PBC App. Having my husband holding me was another plus as I felt secure and safe.

Within 15 mins my cervix dilated from a 3 to 8cm. So things were ramping up for delivery. At this point I felt best on my side in bed with pillows in between my legs. I was able to grab my husbands hand every time a surge started so that he knew to start the APP and I could breath along with Siobhan’s voice.

Things were in full force as I started to naturally make a moo’ing sound as I exhaled and I automatically felt the urge to push.

The doctor came in and it was time to push my baby out and I couldn’t have been more ready and excited at this point that the pain was honestly washed away with excitement. I was so relaxed that there came a point where my surges were allowing more rest in between and the doctors were starting to think they were slowing down. Each push I began with Down breathing but for some reason I wasn’t making any progress so I was told to hold my breath and push. I decided to try it and it worked as I birthed my baby after approximately 12 sets of pushing. Only down fall to holding my breath is I broke many blood vessels in my eyes and face. But it was all worth it.

From arriving at hospital to birthing my baby naturally took only 6 hours. I’m truly blessed to have had such a wonderful birth. HUGE thank you to the @positivebirthcompany for the knowledge and amazing APP I couldn’t have done it without this community.
Cheers!