Kaisa’s HypnoBirth

Since I have a few readers now I am going to try to be better about posting!  I wanted to share Kaisa’s birth story on here as well, even though it happened almost 2 years ago!  Wow, time flies!  (I wrote this as if I was writing to Kaisa, so I left out one part…after getting my membranes stripped the second time, Nathan and I went home and had sex and I think that really helped get labor going).

On Tuesday, April 10th, I was 5 days overdue and VERY anxious for you to come!  (That’s probably the biggest understatement of the century!)  I had my membranes stripped the Tuesday before, and nothing had happened.  My next appointment was originally scheduled for Thursday, but the day before I had called the clinic to change my appointment to Tuesday and have my membranes stripped again.  I was desperate to get labor started!  Part of it was because I would need to have lots of tests done on Wednesday and Thursday since you would be a week overdue, but mostly I just wanted to hold you in my arms and tell you I loved you and finally see what you look like!

I went into the clinic at 8:30 AM.  Melissa saw me (she had also seen me the Tuesday before) and to my disappointment told me that I hadn’t dilated any more…I was still only 1cm.  However, I had gone from 70% effaced to about 85%!  There was still a glimmer of hope!  She stripped my membranes again, and I was on my way.  I picked dad up from school and we came home, and then he went to work.  I had felt some cramping on the way home, and decided to wait and see if any contractions would come before I went to work.  Sure enough, by 10 AM I was having mild contractions!  By noon, the contractions were coming pretty regularly, so I decided to time them.  I couldn’t believe it when I realized they were 5 to 6 minutes apart!  I called dad, my mom, dad’s mom, and aunt Kerynne to let them know I was having contractions.  Then I called the midwife on call, Claudia Killebrew.  She told me it may still be a false alarm since I had had my membranes stripped, and to call back when the contractions were 2 to 3 minutes apart.  So, I continued to walk around the house, cleaning and organizing things in between contractions while I waited.  I started using some of my HypnoBirthing® techniques, but I was too excited to focus on that for long.  I was so ready for you to come!

By around 5 PM the contractions were 3 minutes apart, lasting 30 to 45 seconds.  They were intense enough that I had to stop and breathe/moan my way through them.  I called dad and told him to come home and bring some dinner.  Then I called Claudia, and she told me that I could come up to the clinic so she could check my progress.  Since the clinic was right next to American Fork Hospital where we were having you, I wanted to finish packing and bring everything in the car.  By the time dad got home, we ate dinner, and got the car packed, Claudia had to leave the clinic and go over to the hospital for another delivery.  So…we had to go to labor and delivery to get checked.  I was still not quite to 2cm dilated!  However, I was 90% effaced, so the contractions were doing something!  They monitored your heartbeat for an hour, and then gave me some morphine and told me to go home and get some sleep.  That was so nice!  I slept for about three hours and woke up around 11 PM feeling intense contractions again.  I moaned through each one and tried to relax as much as I could.  Dad drew me a hot bath and that helped for a little while.  My mom (your grandma Wendy) flew in from Arizona and got here about 1:30 AM.  She was getting ready for bed, but could hear how intense my contractions sounded and suggested to dad that we go back to the hospital, which we did.  We arrived around 3 AM.  How excited we were to find out that I was now 4cm dilated and could be admitted!  They gave us a beautiful room, one of the largest on the floor.  Dad and grandma helped me get settled in, and we were so excited to finally meet you!

The next hours until you were born were a blur for me, but I remember being very tired in between each contraction, and just moaning through the pain when each surge came.  I tried to use hypnobirthing, and the relaxation did help me get through what would otherwise have been extremely difficult and painful!  I wanted to ask for drugs a few times, but dad and grandma helped me through those hard times so I was able to bring you into the world without any possibly harmful effects.  Dad helped with the pain by putting pressure on my hips while I sat on a big ball.  I got in the tub for a while, then out again.  Claudia checked me around 5:30 or 6 AM and I was at 7cm…almost there!  I got in the tub again and while I enjoyed the warm water and jet blowers, I started to feel the urge to push you out!  During one intense contraction, I heard and felt a loud POP and realized my water had broken!  Dad and Claudia helped me out of the tub, and Claudia checked me again.  I was almost fully dilated…just a small lip of the cervix remained.  On the next contraction, Claudia pushed it out of the way, and I was ready to push you out!  I pushed for about 20 minutes…the hardest 20 minutes of my life!!  Dad and Claudia kept saying “she’s almost here” and it seemed to take forever!  Dad helped me a lot and Claudia told him what to do to help you come out.  It was so neat when we could finally see your head coming out!  Dad was crying, he was so happy!  I was so relieved when you were born and they placed you on my chest.  I felt overwhelmed with happiness and joy!  There you were, my perfect daughter I had carried for almost 10 months!  You were 8 lbs. 3 oz and 21 inches long.  You had a sweet little voice that whined at first and then cried a little.  But because I hadn’t taken any drugs, you were very alert and calm and looked up at me with big, beautiful eyes.  Dad and I hugged and kissed each other and you and we were so very happy!  We are still happy that you are ours and we love you very, very much!