 Our little BOY(!!) arrived on Christmas Eve! His name is James Nihit Lee and we are completely in love :) I wrote out my birth story for you below! I'm so proud of myself and excited I chose to do Hypnobabies. My birthing time was even better than we had hoped for! Thank you so much!!
I had an appt on Dec 23 (my guess date) and at that point the baby was still pretty high and my cervix was completely closed. My doctor shockingly did not mention induction and I was very thankful for that. The next morning, Dec 24, around 6am I started having some mild pressure waves. They continued all morning and afternoon, but were so mild I wasn't sure if this was the real deal. They grew in intensity, but never got unbearable by any means. I slept in between PWs and even fell asleep in the middle of many of them! During each PW I just kept repeating some of the birth affirmations to myself, using the peace cue to help stay relaxed, and praying. I was trying not fight against what my body was trying to accomplish. Eventually Gary suggested I listen to the Easy First Stage track, just in case this was it. I listened to it, but struggled staying in off switch. I had to keep going into center switch and wasn't confident at all that it was working. It didn't feel like my hypnoaneasthesia was working or like I was in deep hypnosis which, at the time, I found disappointing. Looking back, Hypnobabies was DEFINITELY working! That's why the PWs were so manageable! My doctor had said to only come in once I was having PWs 4-5 min apart for an hour. He also said to only come in if the PWs were painful enough that I couldn't talk through them. My PWs never got that close together and never got intense like he said they would. At 3:15pm, I was on the couch half asleep during a PW when my water broke. The water was brownish and I knew that meant the baby was in distress. At this point, fear for my baby's safety set in and I started feeling the PWs much more than before and they were painful (I think because I allowed fear to enter into the picture). Even still they weren't painful like my doctor had warned (I'm not sure why this surprised me) and I was able to call the hospital on the way and talk through the PWs. We got to the hospital at 3:45pm. At that point I was feeling a lot of discomfort and was afraid I'd be like this for hours. I am embarrassed to tell you this, but I got there and on my own asked for an epidural. I thought what I was experiencing was still the early stages of birthing and was scared for when it would get even more intense. I told the nurse I was afraid my cervix was still closed, but she checked and I was fully dilated and ready to go!! I was shocked! I'd gone through the majority of my birthing time at home and even slept through half of it!! I knew I could do it on my own at that point. After 30 min of pushing, James arrived at 4:44pm (59 min after we pulled up to the hospital)! He was 7lbs 9.6oz. He is healthy and passed all his tests with flying colors :) I did end up with 4th degree tearing, but even that has been manageable pain-wise. I've been using my peace cue to manage some of the discomfort and I really think it's helping. Thank you so much, Carrie, for all your encouragement and for teaching us. Gary and I are both so happy and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful birthing experience. I hope you and your family had a great Christmas!
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I love Carrie and I was able to have my successful homebirth come true with her by my side. Carrie was our Hynobabies instructor, I found her on a random google search AND when my midwife also suggested her I knew it was meant to be. During our class time Carrie made my husband and I so comfortable about birth and gave us tools to have a clear vision of what we wanted for our homebirth. Her voice was so relaxing I knew I had to have her as my Doula. She could put me in the best-relaxed state with just her voice alone. I told my husband I had to have her their for our birth. Our homebirth was a breeze because of Carrie. Before Carrie arrived my husband felt very anxious and unsure of what to do, once Carrie got here he felt reassured and knew she was able to help me and give my husband peace of mind knowing that she had been through this multiple times and was experienced. As soon as my contractions got closer together she was called and never left our side until our baby girl was born. She knew exactly what to do and gave me prompts just when I needed them. She was assertive and recognized what I needed to guide me through each contraction. She went above and beyond my expectations and I cannot wait to have her again for my second homebirth. Thank you Carrie for everything that you’ve done for our family. ~
On 5/9/15 at 8am my water broke... It started out as a small trickle with no contractions. I realized by 9 am my contractions were coming in a lot more. I was very calm and collected. I assumed we had more time to finish any baby stuff this weekend, but we didn't so I wanted to make sure we at least went to Babies R Us (so glad I went because we got a brand new pack and play Trinidad Ed. for $189 org. Price $250) and Target to pickup last minute items. While shopping I started to feel contractions every 2 minutes lasting only 25 seconds. I couldn't focus to time exactly my contractions. After we left Babies R Us, at the car I felt a huge gush of water come out. When I got home I knew we had to pack our bags, finish our laundry and shower. This is when I really started using my hypnobabies techniques. I have listened to these tracks for 21 weeks so I started listening to the tracks to ease me. The contractions really only felt like pressure. By 12:30 my contractions started to feel stronger and closer together but totally doable since I had breaks in between. On the way to the hospital I listened to more relaxing affirmations (this takes away the fear of giving birth). I was admitted into the hospital by 12:45 (after we stopped to get cookies for the nurses at Albertsons). By this time I started feeling pushy. My contractions started feeling more intense... But again it was completely bearable!! It felt like a lot of pressure. By 1:30 my pushy feeling continued and the midwife gave me a vaginal exam - I WAS 7 cm and 100% effaced!!!! They were soooooo surprised!! By 2:00 I started to push baby out asking my hubby to put on the hypnosis track of pushing the baby out. I'm not sure how long I was pushing...everything was so fast! 2:30 baby was here. Amazingly enough there was no ring of fire so many women talk about. It was a tingling feeling. A few pushes and baby was out! I think pushing the baby out too fast caused my tears, but my hypnosis still protected me still during this time. Everything was calm and beautiful, and my baby girl was alert and calm! The midwife and nurses just kept saying: you need to teach other women how to do this.
I believe the key is to just go with the contractions and not being afraid of it. I had my husband and doula remind me to relax. The room was quiet. The nurses were awesome and NEVER pushed me to do anything I didn't want to do. Hypnobabies didn't just prepare me for birth but it kept me calm and focused the entire pregnancy. I slept very well all the way through my pregnancy and didn't let the negative horror birth stories of other people affect me. Remember ladies, our bodies are made for this. Don't be afraid and embrace it all!!  Carrie supported my family and I through my second child birthing experience. I wasn't satisfied with my first child birthing experience in the hospital two years ago, so I decided to educate myself more deeply and have a natural birth experience. First, we took Carrie's Hypnobabies class and then we asked Carrie to be our Doula for our big day! The classes were great. It was a few hours once a week that allowed us to educate ourselves, practice techniques, create our birth plan (super helpful for hospital births and doulas) and did I mention RELAX! Carrie was always available to us via e-mail or phone outside of class. As our doula she visited our home to get to know us and understand our birth plan. Carrie was all about giving me and my family the tools and information to plan the birth that we wanted, never forcing her own preferences on us. Carrie is truly on a mission to give every family the birth they want and imagine, and boy, did we get that! I had such a wonderful birth! I was on the fence about a water birth and had communicated in advance that I was open to it, if it felt right when the time came. Carrie suggested it during my birthing experience to help relax me more during the later stage of my birthing when I was fully dilated and I am SO GLAD she did. Being in the tub made such a difference for me! My baby was born in the tub about 30-40 minutes later!"
Of all the choices to have our first child, our wisest was asking Carrie to be our Doula. She was our trusted partner, our mentor, our coach, and our friend through the trials and tribulations to meet our son. Her knowledge and experience guided us through peeks of birthing, and her patience and warmth grounded us during the valleys in-between. While our journey wasn't exactly to plan, the experience was beyond expectations- and Carrie was there every step of the way. Our son is wonderful and the memory of his arrival will always include you.
If you're looking for someone to help you get through birth, Carrie is not for you. But I would never choose anyone else to be there on the day we welcome our baby into the world.
I found Carrie when I was looking for Hypnobabies classes in my area. I was pretty sure I wanted a Hypnobabies birth in my home, but I thought I did not want a doula. My concern was it would minimize my husbands role as my support. Eventually I changed my mind, deciding I would like to have a woman present to reassure me that things were normal and safe. This ended up being one of the best decisions. Carrie was the instructor for my Hypnobabies class. The class was amazing. Beyond being a powerful tool for birth, it was also a couple hours to be relaxed and get excited about giving birth! Carrie was an awesome instructor AND host. It was always cozy with lots of pillows and tasty, healthy snacks. It felt so much like visiting family, especially when I got to know the other two awesome couples. (I almost chose private classes, but I'm so so glad I did a group class!) About Carrie as a doula: I saw an ob and a midwife during my pregnancy. At my 40 week appointment, my ob wanted to schedule my induction for the following week. I had no indicators that the baby was in any distress. I wanted to have my baby at home and I had learned in my Hypnobabies class that spontaneous birth of first babies doesn't typically happen at, or before, 41 weeks. I wanted to give my baby a fair chance at picking her own birthday. So when my ob insisted we schedule an induction, I panicked. I started texting Carrie who helped me tremendously. She urged me to call her and we talked about other options and she provided me with several resources. Most importantly, she helped me refocus and find calm. This would become a reoccurring theme in our relationship. On June 29, I started feeling pressure waves consistently. I text Carrie and she took it completely seriously, as she did the 2-3 previous times I text her saying "I don't know, but this might be it". She never made me feel silly about "first time mother" questions. Things picked up and I text her again the following day and she came over. When things stalled out, she had lots of tools for getting things moving again. No matter how spaced out things got, Carrie did not leave. That evening, things really picked up, and would continue to be pretty intense for the next two days. Carries hypnosis scripts carried me through. She was there by the bathtub, by the bed, playing the Hypnobabies tracks, helping my husband, and always focused on my needs. When I got discouraged, she was there for support. When I was feeling strong, she was my biggest cheerleader. Her presence was always warm and calm even when hours became days. During the last six hours of my birthing time, everyone was exhausted , but her and my husband took shifts by the pool. My husband could not have done this alone. This was also the most magical time of my birth. If you're wondering HYPNOBABIES WORKS. I was in a beautiful hypnosis and in this time all I needed was quiet, the scent of lavender, and water. And that's exactly what was provided. Shortly thereafter the midwife came, Carrie tied back my hair and started a camera, I pushed, and horray! In the afternoon of July 1, there was my beautiful 9 pound, 3 ounce baby girl! Carrie stayed for several more hours, helping with post partum recovery. In fact, at one point, while she was tidying up I had to insist she go home and rest. So, if you're pregnant and reading this wondering will Carrie help you "get through" birth? No. She will be there, experiencing it with you. She's there for the marathon, not the finish line. And what an awesome marathon it will be! We couldn’t have asked for a more passionate and enthusiastic birth educator and doula! Carrie was such a great support to us not only during the birth but also during the pregnancy and those first few trying days after birth, she really is the total package and why we choose her.
During the hipnobabies training Carrie really teaches you the tools you need to stay calm and relaxed, she also will help guide you with all the millions of questions a new soon to be mom has. Our daughter flipped breech and after a lot of efforts to get her turned naturally it just didn’t happen. Carrie was with me step by step when I had an inversion preformed. She helped me to stay calm and relaxed and we successfully got the baby back in to place. Carries support, knowledge and encouragement was so helpful during this process. The birth of our daughter didn’t go as planned as I’m sure most don’t, but Carrie was so supportive and flexible to meet our needs through the process. Carrie is not afraid to dive in and help where she’s needed, even in those most difficult moments that most would shy away from. We feel very luck to have had Carrie be apart of this special and life changing moment and we consider her a forever friend. My Husband and I were looking to have a natural birth for our first child. We wanted to find an instructor who had used Hypnobabies and that we could relate to. We were planning to have a water birth and Carrie was our Hypnobabies Instructor and our Doula. I was nervous as most first time moms are about the pregnancy and birth, and Carrie was so warm, caring, professional, and informative. She gave me the tools to be confident and proactive about my birth experience. I learned so much from her and her Hypnobabies class.
Initially, I was debating if I really needed a Doula for my birth. I figured that having my husband there was enough. Boy was I wrong! Thank goodness I decided to ask Carrie to be my Doula. I had several false alarms (braxton hicks) at all hours of the day and night and Carrie was there every time with me and my husband at the birthing center offering support and guidance. When I finally went into my birthing time, having Carrie there to help me use my Hypnobabies and also to help my husband so that he could have a break was great. I couldn't have asked for a better Doula and having Carrie there was the best thing I could have done for my birthing time. From my experience, it's best to have the same person for both as an instrucor and as a Doula, because you have already established a rapport with each other. I highly recommend Carrie as a Hypnobabies Instructor and a Doula! Thanks to Carrie, I had a wonderful birthing experience. On July 30, 2014, my life was forever changed. I gave birth to my sweet baby boy. I had an amazing experience using Hypnobabies and am so thankful that I was able to have a natural delivery without any pain medication. My husband and I hired Carrie as our doula and she was awesome. I don't know how I could have done it without her. Birthing my baby was the most powerful and hardest thing that I've ever done. With Hypnobabies and Carrie, my birthing waves were not painful. Even my doctor was surprised at how well I was doing. Carrie was professional, caring and really kept me focused. She cheered me on, guided me though the Hypnobabies scripts, helped with dealing with the doctor and helped keep me in positions that were comfortable. My husband and I were less stressed having Carrie there. I will be forever thankful to Carrie for helping me to have the beautiful birth experience that I had hoped for.
Joshua and I were extremely pleased with your Doula services! We were especially thankful for the successful natural birth of our son Henry Wilde Smith! You grasiously guided us through our Hypnobabies birth and you were there for us every step of the way.
We were up against a lot of odds with my previous birth resulting in a c-section and we definitely had our concerns. You put all of that rest however, by offering us the reassurance that child-birthing is a natural experience that can be enjoyed by any woman, even one with my history. I can't express enough how much your support and knowledge meant to us. You were that voice of reason and glimmer of hope that we needed to pull through. Your professionalism and reliability was always present. We are so thankful for your doula services and expertise with Hypnobabies and beyond throughout our pregnancy. Our only regret is that we didn't hire you sooner! We would gladly recommend your services to any couple or single mother that is considering a natural birth. We look forward to growing our relationship with you and we would absolutely hire you if we are ever pregnant again. You helped us achieve a joyous and beautiful birthing experience. Kristin and Joshua Smith |
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