I feel incredibly blessed to have had the birthing experience of my dreams. From the moment we did a tour at Willow, I knew it was the place. Being at Willow felt like being at home. It was so comfortable, beautiful and serene. For our first child, we gave birth with a midwife team and doula at a hospital, which was a good experience, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t use the nitrous while in the tub; this time, I wanted something different. I wanted the entire birthing team to support the Hypnobabies birth philosophy, because we had done Hypnobabies classes for our first and knew this was what we wanted to do again. I also wanted dim lights, a beautiful setting, and no sterile hospital feel. I didn’t want to be woken up by doctors and nurses every few hours to do tests and to check on us. I wanted to experience a water birth with nitrous oxide, and at Willow I knew we could have all of this and more.
The night before Mari’s birth day, I had cramps most of the night and didn’t get much sleep, but I woke up feeling great. I got ready for the day and headed to an appointment with Candace at Willow. I told her I felt some waves but nothing intense or consistent, and she recommended I go home and rest, eat good food, and hydrate. After a nap, I felt more waves but still nothing consistent or really that strong, and I was reminded after talking to our doula, Anne, that these could subside and go away or pick up. And that sometimes they pick up very quickly, especially for a second baby.
Still, I told myself that this could be a lengthy process. I even remember sharing with my husband, “Honey, I don’t know if we’re having a baby today or not, but regardless, I really think it’s going to happen in the next few days.” He smiled and agreed. (Our guess date was November 25th, but it was only the 21st.)
Starting at around noon, I had turned on the Hypnobabies tracks to get mentally prepared in case today was the day, and at around 2:30pm, the waves started to pick up in intensity. By 3:30pm, they were getting stronger and closer together.
This time I trusted my body more. I moved and walked around the house between contractions. I used the birthing ball by getting on my knees and leaning over it, pushing gently down on my belly. I truly followed my intuition and my body’s cues. (It’s incredible that our bodies really know what to do!) The waves felt more intense than last time and more centralized in my uterus; I really had to stay focused on my breathing, and on staying calm and taking one wave at a time.
My husband called Willow around 4pm and talked to Cheryl. She spoke calmly and encouraged us to come in when I was having contractions five minutes apart, lasting for one minute. At the time we talked, they were not consistent and sometimes six or seven minutes apart, sometimes less, so we didn’t think we were that close. Within five minutes of talking to her though, the contractions picked up and grew closer to just four minutes apart. We quickly got in the car and headed to Willow. I laid in the backseat with my headphones, listening to the Hypnobabies tracks, and I had an eye mask on to help me ignore traffic.
We arrived at Willow just before 5pm and were greeted by Olivia. It felt so good once we arrived in the birthing room … my nerves eased, and I knew we were in good hands. I didn’t want to get checked for dilation, because I knew it didn’t really matter how quickly baby would arrive. I asked for nitrous right as we arrived and got it soon after. It was such a relief once I had it! I felt so at ease. I used the birthing ball like I had at home by leaning over it on my hands and knees and gently pushing down on my belly, and the room was filled with an essential oil mix I’d been using at home while doing hypnosis preparation. Everything from the dim lights to the smell of the essential oils was just as I had pictured.
Within half an hour, Ari suggested I get in the tub if I wanted to have a water birth, and I was shocked she suggested it so soon! But the moment I got in the tub, it felt so good; the warm water eased the intensity and I’m convinced it helped speed up the process. Anne, our doula, sprayed water down my back which also helped me stay calm.
Minutes before Mari was born, I started to feel the urge to push, like my body was ready to have a baby. (This hadn’t been as recognizable a feeling with our first.) At 6:02pm, I had an extra long wave, and this was where having a doula really helped. Her words of encouragement were just what I needed. “Good job, Michelle, you’ve got this,” she said. “Peace…peace…follow your body. Open. Open. Just take it nice and slow, follow your body, there is no rush. Ease this baby out slowly.” (I am tearing up as I recall these details.) Ari said calmly that my water had just broken and that things would start to pick up soon. Throughout these moments, Anne was taking pictures of me, and looking back at myself waiting for the next wave I just looked so relaxed and comfortable! During the next contraction, I listened to my body, gave a powerful push, and all at once our baby appeared in the water.
I love watching our birth video and listening to what I said right after she was born: “Oh my baby! Michael, we did it! Oh my baby! Is the baby breathing? Oh my gosh! Oh we did it! Oh my gosh! What are you? We don’t know if you’re a boy or a girl. You’re a girl! Oh sweetheart. Oh Michael. I did it. Are you sure it’s a girl? It’s a girl! Oh sweetheart. I love you. I did the water birth. I can’t believe it. That happened so quick! I’m really proud of myself.” (And the tears are flowing down my face as I write this while listening to the video, dictating my words.)
My husband was such an incredible part of the birthing experience. He was so calm and collected, which helped me feel more confident. Also our birth team at Willow, and Anne: They will forever be in our hearts because they helped bring our sweet daughter Mari into this world.
It’s incredible looking back, how I went from thinking, “This could be the day!" in the morning, to holding her in our arms that evening. I can confidently say Mari’s birth was better than I envisioned. We are so blessed!
Michelle and her husband Michael are blessed with a vibrant three-year-old and happy-go-lucky three-month-old, both daughters. She’s from Wisconsin and married a Canadian. She’s excited that someday their girls will be dual citizens. She enjoys cooking, traveling, her Norwegian heritage, golf, and tennis.