Meet Halle Bird, born on Jan 6th 2016 at a whopping 9lb 3oz!
I am still buzzing over the birth of our gorgeous Halle the other night. We had planned the whole year for this birth which was to be a home hypno birth in a pool and it went absolutely brilliantly.
Sam was 1 day away from 42 weeks (2 weeks over what they 'like' to 'leave' you to go over) and it came with a lot of scare mongering from the professionals. Needless to say, Sam and I had done our research, and weighed up every possible risk imagineable, which meant we perservered in order to wait for spontaneous labour to begin, and how glad I am that we did! A few hours after monitoring her heart rate to check everything was still ok, we sat down to eat our curry take away and Sam started with really low pressure. Thats when I filled that pool up and got the candles, music and prompt sheets at the ready. I blue tacked some reminder sheets on the wall on how I can provide positive support for Sam which helped to keep her comfortable and relaxed throughout the whole thing.
The hypnobirth side of things really educated me and Sam on how the female body and mind are designed for natural and generally problem free labour. We listened to affirmations every night which re-trained our psyche into losing the fear usually associated with birthing. This helped no end. When it came to bite the bullet, everything that we had learned just folded into place. Sam took to all fours in the pool, where she listened to the music and concentrated on her breathing. I gave her light touch massage on her back whilst whispering to her asking her trust her body, to 'fill the bubble and let go', and other positive prompts which helped her through each surge,
Halle took 45 minutes to an hour to finally arrive safe and well into the world. She was caught by her Mummy who clasped her in her arms as she weeped with happiness, the oxytocin rushing through both their bodies as they connected on the outside for the first time. I was so proud. My wife is so strong. My baby is so beautiful.
I recommend hypnobirthing to anyone wanting to take control of their birth in every aspect. Jean Anderson was our mentor, she is such a kind and loving woman with immense skill. Here is her link www.hypnobirthinglancashireandcumbria.co.uk
Buddy, Cameron and Halle - I am one proud father
JB