ethan, born at buderim hospital on 17 june 2016

I started noticing light surges in the early hours of Friday 17 June. I didn't really bother to look at the clock as all I wanted to do was start relaxing. I didn't wake my partner Kenny -  just started my breathing techniques. Kenny woke up at around 7:30 am and I let him know I was having surges. Kenny looked surprised by how relaxed I was. By about 10 am the surges were about 4 and a half minutes apart. We made our way to Buderim Private Hospital about 12:30 pm. From about 10 am to 6 pm I barely spoke to Kenny because I was in such a zone but I knew he was there for me the entire way. He was so fantastic communicating to the hospital staff, keeping me relaxed and hydrated.
 
Apparently we were in our hospital room for about an hour (I thought we'd been in there 10 minutes!) and then we were taken into the birthing suite. At around 2 pm I hopped straight into the water bath and remained in there until Ethan was born 4 hours later. The whole experience was quite amazing - once I was in that water bath I felt like I was in a cave.

All the breathing and relaxation techniques, and the yoga and affirmations really got me through my labour and birth so well. The Midwives were amazing - they spoke softly and only used hypnobirthing language. I found all the Midwives we met were very supportive of the hypnobirthing style. They did not do any vaginal exams at all - they just relied on other natural signs and because everything progressed so smoothly they were not worried. The only monitoring the Midwife continued was checking Ethan's heart rate during birthing. I didn't even realise my obstetrician was in the room. It was only when I opened my eyes for a moment that I saw Kylie leaning against the wall patiently just observing.
 
I recall feeling like I was going to vomit at one point and realised I had got to transition which made me very happy! I had got this far without even thinking about pain medication. I was in a long sitting position with my back against the bath while my body completed the opening and thinning phase then I birthed him in a semi-squat position. The crowning/head coming through was the only part of my labour that took a little longer. I was so happy that my obstetrician (Dr Kylie Isaacs) was patient and allowed me to take my time through this slightly slower period. The Midwife later told me that a lot of other obstetricians would have wanted to move to an episiotomy to speed up the process. Ethan's heart rate remained within normal limits throughout the entire process and the Midwife kept commenting he must be a very happy baby.
 
Kenny was the first to receive Ethan when he birthed and to see our baby boy for the first time was one of the most amazing moments of our lives! He was very calm when he came out and is still a very calm baby 2 weeks later.

I cannot thank Carrie enough for all the phenomenal guidance and knowledge she provided us leading up to this massive life event. I wish everyone knew about and engaged with hypnobirthing (and yoga) as for us the benefits were obvious and all the preparation beforehand so worth it!
 
Jen 
 
Hi, my name is Kenny Spring, a first time dad and huge advocate of the hypnobirthing approach.  During my partner's pregnancy I watched her grow more confident with the concept of giving birth, her confidence in her own body's ability, and most importantly her mental focus and general well being.  The hypnobirthing classes I attended were well structured for a first time dad and provided me with information to feel confident of the hypnobirthing terminology, my role towards the midwives and using of a variety of calming techniques for my partner during labour.  On the day of our son's birth, my partner was very calm and confident throughout the labour.  

While Jen was breathing through the early surges, I went and walked the dog, pack the car and notify the hospital.  During the surges, we (myself and the dog) were simply sitting on the couch and talking about our boy's arrival.  The midwives were very easy to work with, and understood that information would be passed through me, to Jen.  On the day, the " full term " app that Carrie suggested was very useful when it came to providing accurate information to the hospital.  We will certainly utilise hypnobirthing and yoga for our second pregnancy. 

​A massive thank you to Carrie for all your help and for making dad's feel like they can play a major role on such an important day.