3/15/2005 ~ I woke up this morning feeling normal. I had to be to work at Capn' Morgans at 10 so I got in the shower. While in the shower, I felt some tightenings in my belly. I had not felt any pre-labor warm ups ("Braxton-Hicks) at all through out this pregnancy, so this tightening sensation I was feeling made me wonder if this is what the surges ("contractions") would feel like. They were not uncomfortable, just strange. When I was done with the shower, I called Deb, my wonderful midwife just because I wanted to describe what I was feeling and get her thoughts. She explained that it could be the start of the birthing process, but what nothing to be alarmed at since they were not regular. She said that it was perfectly safe to go about my day. So, I got dressed and went to work. I was a waitress/bartender during the lunch time at the restaurant. We were so busy that day, I didn't have time to stop and think about the fact that I was still having surges. They certainly were not close together and I could walk and carry on like normal while I was experiencing them. I told Denise, my boss, that I was having surges, but I was fine and felt as though I was going to be able to finish out the shift. She was a little alarmed, but I told her that I trusted my body and that it would be fine. There were only a few times when I actually had to stop and breathe, luckily I wasn't at a table with customers when this happened. My biggest fear at this point was that my membranes were going to release ("water break") either in the kitchen or behind the bar or while at a table! I didn't think that would be very sanitary!
I made it through the shift and went home to relax. Once I was home, and sitting, the surges stopped. "Most not have been the real thing", I thought. At about 9pm, I went up to take my nightly soak in a Lavender bath and intended to go to bed after that. Around 11, I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I wiped I saw some birth show ("bloody show")....I knew that I would be meeting my baby boy soon and would have to get some rest tonight.
I went back to my bedroom, and turned on my "Rainbow Relaxation" HypnoBirthing CD and went into my zone. My surges were starting and were about 11-15 minutes apart. I remember thinking about how this was happening at night, and I was so tired from working that day and that I needed to pay less attention to how close the surges were and more attention on resting and relaxing. So that is what I did. I fell asleep.
I woke up at about 1 and felt a lot of pressure in my back, so I decided to take a bath. I ended up on all 4's with the shower head blasting down on my back. It felt great! The surges were starting to become a tad bit more intense and closer together, so I decided to get out and see how close they were. 7 minutes. Still had some time to rest. Back to sleep I went.
At 3:45, I woke up again. This time the pressure in my back was worse. So, I called Deb. She asked how close my surges were, and I told her that I had no idea, that about 2 hours before that they were about 7 min. apart. She told me to try the bath/shower again and to call her back when the surges were 5 minutes apart consistently. So, back to the bath/shower I went. It was in there for about another hour or so, and decided I wanted to try sleep one more time. I laid down, and the surges were close. So, I timed a few. 5 minutes, 5 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 of them total. So, the phone call to Deb was made. This was at 5:00. She told me to start getting things around and that she would meet me at the hospital.
I chose to birth with September Hill midwives at Schuyler Hospital in Montour Falls, NY. They were recommended to me by a cousin who was a L & D nurse there at that time. She knew that I wanted a natural, intervention free birth, and that Deb and Kay (the other midwife at that time) were very accepting, and actually pushed for the most natural births possible. And they were both HypnoBirthing Practitioners, so they knew how to support me in having the most calm, peaceful birth imaginable. My mom was my Birth Companion, and a great one! She was my biggest advocate when it came to birthing without drugs and breastfeeding. She had always talked about her drug-fee births and how she loved breastfeeding her babies. I knew that was the best for me and my baby, as well.
I woke up mom and told her that it was time to start getting around to go to the hospital. She was so excited to meet her little grandson, her first. When we got in the car, I called Maria. Maria taught me HypnoBirthing and I wanted her to be at my birth. She played to role of my doula, my other support. I was to be supported by 3 of the best women possible. My mom, my midwife, and my HypnoBirthing Practitioner. I could not have asked for better support. When arrived at the hospital at around 6am. Deb wanted to check my cervix to to get an idea where I was at. She said "A solid 6 centimeters!". I was very pleased at that. For the next couple of hours, I was in several different positions, including all 4's, sitting on the birth ball, laying over the birth ball, and sitting straight up...all while my "Rainbow Relaxation" played in the back round. I started to feel the intense shift in my birthing (which is what the medical field would call "transition") and knew that I needed to really focus on my relaxation and to become one with my baby. At this point, I knew that if I didn't breathe and relax, I was going to lose it. My favorite part of the CD came on, and that was a great sign. I remember the nurse coming in at some point wanting to check the babe's heart rate and not wanting to disturb me because she thought I was sleeping. I am told that at this point, I had been sitting straight up on the end of the bed almost snoring because I was so relaxed. And that this had been going on for quite some time. I heard the nurse and everyone whispering around me but did not want to open my eyes and acknowledge it. But, I did, I knew the nurse wanted to check the heart rate and thought that I would let her and then get right back into that relaxed state. I was still dealing with major pressure in my back, so I decided to get back into the birthing tub to see if it would help. I really wanted to have him in the water. Water has many benefits for the birthing mom and the baby. I could not get comfortable. At all. I was also getting the urge to bear down. So I got on the bed, and Deb decided to check and see what my cervix was at. 9, with a little lip of cervix in the way...almost 10! I needed to bear down, so with the next surge, that is what I did. I was following the lead of my body, it knew what to do. I took another breath, and bore down again. He was coming! There are a couple of things I remember in this short moment. I remember telling my mom that I couldn't do this anymore, and both she and Deb telling me that I WAS doing it, and I remember Deb telling me to stop bearing down for a moment, to slow down, and I told her I couldn't. Seconds later, I hear "Bethany, reach down here and get your baby!" And that is what I did! It was one of the greatest moment of my life. He was here, and I had done it! I had birthed my baby boy! He was born 3/16/2005 at 10:35 an. He latched right on to my breast for his first feeding. It was magical! 
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