Melissa, Matt, & Bennett's HypnoBirth

"Contractions started about 1240 in the afternoon on November 8. At that time I wasn't sure that they were contractions,  they weren't all that painful. Once it started progressing around 4 o'clock I just took some walks with the dog which pretty much got things moving along. Once my husband got home from work he ate and took a shower and went to the gym. And I just stayed on my exercise ball and moved around. Laboring at home was best for me. Around 7 o'clock I called my doctor because I noticed that the contractions were less than five minutes apart, they were lasting at least a minute, and that was going on for more than an hour. She told me to come on in and check into triage. Once we arrived at Beaumont, I was only between 3 and 4 cm. The nurses were great, they gave me some lavender that I had forgotten at home. My husband and I eventually got up and around and started walking to move everything along. During contractions he would use counter pressure on my hips, which was a savior for back labor! He did just great.

But then I noticed things felt different, things are a little tingly and a little more dull. But just breathing through everything I told my husband that we need to go back to triage to get checked again.  At that point I was about six or 7 cm. So they decided to check me into my room. Although I was not able to go to Karmanos because his heart rate dropped every time I had a contraction. So they needed to keep an eye on him on the monitor. Which was fine, that wasn't on my birth plan, but most importantly I just needed to stay calm and breathe through everything. We were checked into the room and before you knew it I was dilated to 10 and ready to push. Unfortunately the baby was just not comfortable and his heart rate kept dropping. I would have to move on my left side than my right side, then my hands and knees, then back to my left side. My midwife was unbelievable! She kept massaging my four head on my shoulders and is telling me to relax and breathe. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.  I tried breathing him down about four times but he wasn't tolerating it the way that he should. He was stuck, there was no way they could get him out. So instead of using suction for too long, she used it twice, then she ordered an emergency C-section. Staying as calm as I could I just remembered that I would see my baby soon. So I got a C-section. 
Everything went great. And I look at my son, Bennett, and know that staying calm and working through everything was the best for him and for me. He was born at 12:36 AM November 9. Thank you so much. It's was tough, but HypnoBirthing was wonderful and the way it prepped matt is unbelievable. New little man is perfect!" 

-Melissa & Matt, HypnoBirthing Students, 2016