Documentation of my hypnobirthing experience

Yippee! I am damn proud to say that we DID it! I delivered a healthy adorable baby boy 100% natural without any pain relief, gas nor any assistance! Arayfas arrived on 19 Jun at 1030 in the morning and he is 3.23kg and is 51cm long. I had a 3cm natural tear. The birth experience was absolutely positive and memorable. I remember finishing the hypnobirthing book and my hypnobirthing class materials just 2 weeks before and I was wondering if I will be able to perfect my breathing techniques and if I will remember all the different birthing positions. I was also wondering if my birth companion aka my Hubby will know what to do. It was like suddenly there were so many things to do. Luckily, everything turned out well and fine.

18 jun 4am birth show

6am SMS my boss to take off and pack my hospital bag. It was as though I could sense something brewing, and yes, my bag is not packed yet!

9am called my Gynae to change my apt to morning instead. By then was feeling cramps but did not realize they are surges

10am Gynae confirmed that I am 2cm dilated. To admit hospital when I feel 8cm apart surges.

12pm called my boss to inform him i will be taking off as labor has started. had lunch at thomson and ya kun tea after that

2pm went back home to get some rest

8pm surges are 8cm apart, went hospital, still 2 cm dilated. Decided to go home 1st. I was still mobile n cld talk n smile.

11pm surges are 2min apart n by then I can't talk nor smile anymore. Went back to hospital. 3cm dilated! My god! So long to dilate 1cm. We were given option to admit or go home. Decided to stay. Good choice. Nurse saw that I was coping well with my hypnobirthing techniques, so arranged for me to be transferred to ward to rest, reason is other mummies are screaming away and will affect my breathing. Was at ward until I feel I was ready to labor

2am went back to delivery room, nurse checked n I was 4 cm dilated. My god, this is really taking Long. My hubby and I were saying Huh!! Only 4 cm? The nurse was so encouraging and she said no. this progress very good already...TMC nurses are good!

6am Midwife came in to check and good news is I'm 9cm dilated. Finally some progress and I started feeling urge to push baby down. I tried all positions that I know, the birthing stool, the gym ball, n all fours, standing and dancing, and my fav is the birthing stool as I could lean against JQ and that felt very comfortable. I also like the standing one where JQ will hug me and rock me. You may not believe it, but you really can sleep in between surges, even when standing.

8am Still not able to get baby out. Midwife suggested I lie down and push. Can see she is a bit kan cheong already cos all the other babies in the other rooms are out. I can hear the wails and cries from other rooms. Mine is really taking a long time. Since I still was not able to breathe my baby out, we decided to try the traditional way and we did make some progess. At 8plus, can see a bit of crowning and Gynae came in. I huffed and puffed and pushed all the way till 1030am before Arayfas is finally born! The last 30min was like a cheering session, midwife, Gynae and Hubby was cheering me on. The 1 hr skin to skin contact and bonding was amazing.

Summary
30hrs of labor in total
Almost 12 hrs of intense labor pain
2hours of pushing and panting away. Think that was the most calorie burning exercise in my whole entire life!
TMC is a good choice to deliver. Will come back again
Dr Paul Tseng - Fantastic choice to switch then. If I had stuck to Gleneagles, there would have been intervention already. And Dr Paul Tseng is really good! He is very experienced and very assuring. Will go to him again. ;)
Most importantly, JQ was a fantastic birth companion. He was supportive the whole time and did all the right things to comfort me. Wouldn't have managed to go through this without him.