Kinsley Mae: Birth Story

Kinsley Mae Evans.  Born September 2, 2013 at 8:01pm.  6 lbs. 12 oz. and 20" long.

So, if you're interested here's the story.  The long and short of it all.  :)

First off, I had decided earlier in this pregnancy to try and have a natural birth.  My last delivery with an epidural still resulted in lots of discomfort, but I had no idea how to deal with it and I was stuck in bed unable to move my own body because of the very thing that was supposed to take away the pain.  I finally decided that if I wanted to have control over how I dealt with the pain then I needed to be more informed and prepared for one, and that led me to deciding on a natural birth.  I chose to use the program Hypnobabies.

I started a couple months before my due date and slowly worked my way through the course.  I will admit that I was nervous about whether or not it was going to work for me, but I did know that when I thought about my delivery day I always pictured it all just working out so I just held onto that and stayed positive.

Sunday night I felt a little different and had a few good contractions so once the kiddos went to bed Ryan and I walked up and down our street a few times.  I was hoping it would help things along.  But, nothing seemed to come of it and we went to bed.  Monday morning though I started to have contraction around 9am that were about 10 minutes apart.  Nothing painful and they weren't even always regular, but I still wondered if maybe today was the day.  I figured within a couple hours I would know for sure so I just went about my day like normal.  I continued like this until 2pm.  I really didn't think I was in labor.  At 2, the contractions jumped to about 7 minutes apart so I called the doc to see what he thought.  He said since it was my 3rd and I had been contracting most of the day to come in and just get checked.  Once it seemed a little more real that this might be happening I got a sudden nervous moment.  So, I went in and did a "Fear Clearing" session from my Hypnobabies to just calm my mind.  After that we finished up packing, found a babysitter for the kids, and headed out.  At this point it was 4pm.  I was in no pain, and still didn't feel like my contractions were even consistent.  But, we decided to still go.  I am VERY grateful for that decision.

We ran into bad traffic on the way down to Idaho Falls, because of the all the campers heading home on Labor Day.  About 15 minutes into the car ride I was feeling the contractions a little more and decided to really start using my Hypnobabies, so I put on one of my CD's, popped in my earphones and started focusing.  (You know, just for good practice, since I still didn't really think I was in labor)  I told Ryan I would tap his hand every time I felt a contraction so he could time them.  Come to find out, I was having them every 3-4 minutes.  By the time we made it to the hospital at about 5pm they were 2-3 minutes apart.  I could tell they were stronger, but was still talking through them fine, was very calm, and figured that if I really was in labor they would be more painful.  We got checked into the hospital and all settled by 6pm.  This is when I found

out that I was at a 7!  I was most definitely in labor and would be having my baby shortly.

One of my biggest concerns for this delivery was whether I was going to run into any problems with the hospital.  They were absolutely wonderful though.  My nurses were so supportive and never tried to talk me into things I didn't want to do.  They gave me the information and respected my decisions.  They quickly learned my cues for when I was having a contraction and would wait to ask questions or tell others entering the room to remain quiet until it was over.  We were diffusing oils, had some relaxing music playing, and the lights were low.  I think this all helped for others to understand the mood we were going for.  I didn't notice most of it, but they did.  :)  I was very focused on my hypnobabies at this point.  There were many times I would ignore questions, because I was trying to just stay focused and relaxed.  By about 7pm I was getting a little more uncomfortable and started to try some different positions.  I got up into bed trying to support my back some more, but the contractions were so close together and so long I was finding it difficult to relax as well in between them.  By 7:30 I asked the nurse to check me and I was at an 8.  I also asked if there was any options for pain at this point.  She explained I didn't really have any, but that a natural birth usually goes quickly by this point and I likely only had a half hour left.  I knew I could handle that.  

Now, this is where my timing of events gets a little hazy. :)  I say that this was the point of labor where things got "intense".  Thats the best word for it.  I still don't describe it as pain, but the pressure was strong and my body was taking over.  My doctor showed up around this point and asked if he could break my water.  He broke my water, I was dilated to a 9, and had my first real urge to push.  I have always heard women say there is no controlling that and now I  understand.  In the middle of a contraction I felt my body just start to push.  I let the doctor know and thats when things really got intense.  They checked me and the baby was crowning.  I lost my focus completely at this point (I know what to prepare and do better next time now) but I was still able to be calm and listen to the directions being given by my nurse and doctor.  I kept thinking, where is my CD player???  I need to be on the "pushing baby out" track, but I had no idea where it was in the bed.  I was also not breathing as deeply so my hands were going numb and that was really concerning me.  :)  I started pushing around 7:45 and she was born at 8:01.  I am so grateful I have never had to push for long.  Even taking things slowly it was a quick time.  

And, as always, the first few moments after your baby comes out are just amazing.  It never ceases to amaze me when a perfect, complete, little human being comes out.  She was very alert and I got lots of time skin to skin with her the first couple hours.  I loved it.  I was shaking pretty good after delivery (I guess its a little taxing on your body to have a baby) but it was amazing how having Kinsley there helped my body to relax.

I remember looking at Ryan and saying, "I did it!"  I was proud of myself and amazed at how not horrible it was.  So many people talk about birth as such a painful and impossible task without drugs.  However, I am now a firm believer that if you get rid of that fear that has been instilled in us because of society or whatever, and prepare yourself for the process it really is quite doable and might I dare say, enjoyable?  I loved the fact that I had no IV in.  No pitocin afterwards, no waiting to be able to walk, and they didn't even come in and push on my tummy as much.  In fact, everyone pretty much just left me alone.  My doc came in the next morning and said I could leave whenever I wanted.  It was awesome.  We only stayed 24 hours and I was so glad to be home.  

Looking back I feel that it was a pretty ordinary experience.  But, the reaction I got from my doctor and nurses still amazes me.  As I said I felt I had lost my focus, but my doctor said that if all deliveries were as calm as mine they would always promote natural birth.  He again, the next morning, pointed out that I had created a great experience for myself and I should be proud of how it went.  The nurses were all amazed when they found out that I had done it natural.  I just didn't think it was that uncommon for some reason, but I guess it is.  I feel blessed to have learned so much about birth this time around and am so glad to have found Hypnobabies.  It was the perfect thing for me.  I truly believe that because it helped me to think about birth in a calm way that I expected it to be just that.  I still have a calm feeling about me when I think of it.

Getting some more skin to skin time

Love those cheeks!

Her first bath

This picture isn't the best, but you can tell just how excited they were to meet their sister.

All ready to go home!