Colby

Bob and I are doing great... And very much enjoying life with our new little boy, Colby! He's 7 weeks old already...

On the morning of 40 weeks, I had a doctor appointment, and they basically told me that labour did not seem close…. the next day I decided to do some natural labour inducing techniques….At about 10pm that night I realized that I was indeed having regular contractions and that I was beginning labour. I was excited!

So I started my hypnobirthing techniques, and it was going great, except….[for] my back, not a good sign….All this time I was using the hypnobirthing breathing and trying to maintain a relaxed state. The doula gave me a tip to change position to help turn the baby, as it seemed I was having back labour. It worked immediately!...then basically right away the contractions sped up!

My water broke at about 2:30 or so, and at about 2:45am the doula suggested we head to the hospital….I was still feeling pretty good and in between contractions/[surges] I was very calm… When we got to the hospital Bob asked if I wanted to be dropped off at the front door or come park with him, and I said I was fine to park with him. We really weren't rushing!

We headed up to the labour unit and were checked in at about 3:15am. Since it was my first baby, and I looked fairly calm, the nurses in triage seemed in no rush either….Anyways, as soon as they took a look they realized I was fully dialated (!!) and having the baby right away! So they rushed my into the delivery room. ...Bob showed them our birth plan, bless him!

The nurse kept telling me to push but I was stubbornly just using my j breath through the contractions … Bob... asked them if it was 'medically necessary’ [to change birthing technique] ...Luckily I only had to push through 2 contractions with the vacuum and then out slid Colby (with cord wrapped around neck, hence heart rate).

So, we had arrived at the hospital at 3:15am and Colby arrived at 4:15...He was healthy and latched right away, and the hospital staff allowed us a good 30 minutes to snuggle skin to skin ...all in all it was a really good experience…. I was glad that we stayed at home so that I could be relaxed and comfortable for as long as possible.

The doula did make it, just in time. I truly think the hypnobirthing techniques helped make the labour so comfortable that we didn't feel the urge to go to the hospital earlier! So thank you so much for your course. I practised all throughout my pregnancy, which also helped me stay relaxed, focused and I slept great.

Take care,

Rachel

Mya

First off we did not end up having a [completely] natural hypnobirth…[However], everything went smoothly, I pushed [breathed] out Mya without aid and I wouldn't changed a thing, we had an amazing experience at the hospital.

Second we are so glad we took the course and have no regrets!! You helped me get through pregnancy relaxed and with confidence. We knew what to expect throughout the birth and how to approach things calmly.

I've already recommended your class... We've been blessed with an incredibly easy baby whose already had lots of sleepovers at grandma's and puts herself to sleep. As a result baby number 2 is on the way...

Again thank you so much for everything, we couldn't have done it without you.

Cheers,

Miranda

Maya

Ryan & I are thrilled to have our beautiful baby Maya. I'm happy to tell you that the hypno birthing method helped ease me through the birthing experience. Contractions started Wednesday evening, they were on average 10 min apart for about 16 hours then stopped on Thursday afternoon. I ate and rested for a short time before they started again on Thursday evening. Ryan rested because he and our doula had been up with me the night before, I woke Ryan at 3 am to run me a bath & time my contractions because they felt very close together. They were 45 seconds, 5 min apart so he called the midwife.

The midwife arrived, observed one of my contractions and told me that if I was in real labour I would be making more noise and would be in more pain then I appeared to be in. She said she would not even check me because she thought I would only be 3 cm dilated. By 6:30 am I had Ryan call the doula who came, and called the midwife back within the hour because I had contractions 2 min apart for 45 seconds. The midwife again said I didn't appear to be in labour, she checked me & I was 8 cm dilated. The midwives broke my water at 2 pm to accelerate my labour. Maya was born on our couch at 4:20 pm.

I was very happy with my birth experience & I would recommend hypno birthing to all pregnant ladies.

Thank you Monica.

Ashley

Ava

Initially, we planned on having a [elective] Caesarian section for the birth of our daughter. We felt it was safer and more predictable than a natural birth. The Hypnobirthing class, [which welcomes those with different birth plans] was recommended by my doctor; it helped us change our minds. It was through this course where I realized a natural birth is not only possible, but would truly be better for my baby.

Thanks to the exercises I learned during the course, my labour went so well. What a beautiful, sacred and meaningful experience. Through the breathing and relaxation exercises learned in class, I was able to get to 7cm before the [walking] epidural (which I knew I wanted before I left home). Even after the injection, I [was able to still feel and move] and relied heavily on my hypnobirthing skills right up to [and through] the birth. I was able to remain calm and focused throughout labour an delivery.

Thank you again for your wonderful course. Our baby, Ava, was 6lb 10oz and 19.5 inches long. She's perfect. We thank God over and over again for her.



Kind Regards,

Kristina and Dave

Charles-Louis

Our son, Charles-Louis, came over the weekend, born on Nov 7th at 6:55 pm at 7 lb, 11 oz. It was one amazing experience and the self-hypnosis worked like a charm -very calm, peaceful and relaxed throughout the whole thing! My day started at 7:30 when I felt what I thought was practice labour while dozing in bed. Half asleep, I practiced my surge breathing. This went on for an hour, at which point, Antoine told me to get up and try changing my activity to see if it would change the frequency of the surges. At this point, my water broke and I knew baby was on his way! We let our doula and midwives know and then we went about our normal Saturday morning when I was in early onset of labour; we walked the dogs and went out to get breakfast. With each surge, I would just breathe and visualize and Antoine began giving me verbal hypnotic suggestions through each surge. Eventually things starts to pick up and I had a bath at home while Antoine let the midwives and doula know that we were moving up to the birthing centre. Once at the centre, the midwives checked my progress and were positively shocked to see how advanced I was. They had told me that based on how I was acting/talking/staying so calm they figured I was only 2cm along but it turned out I was 8cm!

Overall, it was a 6 hour labour and birth, only 45 minutes of breathing the baby down. Antoine did the verbal suggestions and I did imaginary through the whole process and these were very effective. Between birth breaths, I would smile and feel my son's head and maybe make a little joke or laugh. I did end up pushing three times right at the very end, mostly because I got impatient wanting to meet our little guy but it turned out to be no more effective than birth breathing, but Antoine let me know that it was my final birth breathes that finally birthed our son. It was such an amazing experience and I can honestly say I didn't feel pain. I was super pleased that the midwives let me do my own thing and didn't tell me to push at any time. I had no complications at all. The midwives also commented that they were super impressed that the baby's heart rate never once increased during the labour or birth, a testament to how well the self-hypnosis works!

I want to personally thank you so much for giving Antoine and I the knowledge we needed to experience the birth of our son in such a peaceful and wonderful way. Not only did you teach us the techniques for hypnosis but in addition, you empowered us to advocate for our preferences. I can't thank you enough :).

Thanks Monica!!

Anna

Anna

First of all I want to thank you, Anna's birthing experience was amazing - her experience was very much like what we saw in videos and read about, calm, serene and complication free. She literally made it seem like it's really not that bad.....almost the first words she said afterward was just that: \"Wow, it really wasn't that bad, not sure what all the fuss is about.

She credits it 100% to the hypno birthing

Prior to labour, Anna and I would practice the depthometer, Lavender, etc..and these were great, especially for \"helping to bring her down\"....Ultimately, [in labor] I ended up spending about 15 minutes helping her enter relaxation, then several hours just feeding suggestions….[and] improvising...  it was an amazing experience... thanks again!

Antoine, 1st time Dad

Austin

I just wanted to share our birth news. We welcomed Austin Everest Avery, 8lbs 6ozs 19.5 inches on August 11th at 5:06 am.

I was very overdue and escaped an induction (…At the hospital I refused Cervadel)….I used acupuncture to induce my labour….and had contractions 10 minutes after the appointment was over as I was driving home.

Once the labour started, I progressed very quickly and laboured at home for 5 hours using the hypno birthing techniques. We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 with contractions 2-3minutes apart lasting for over a minute. The hospital staff kept remarking at how fast I was progressing for a first time momma. I ended up getting an epidural [near] the end ...

They let me do body directed pushing/[breathing]...my epidural only numbed my stomach. I had pins and needles in my legs but had full mobility to squat and walk if I needed to. Over all, south health campus staff were amazing! Happy mother and fatherhood!

Baby Boy

We welcomed to the world our little bundle of joy… early on Sunday morning, 7.7 pounds and 22 inches. After close to 48 hours of my water breaking we decided to go to the hospital to get an induction which ended up being a good thing given some serious complications.

We couldn’t have pictured a more different birth but given all the circumstances, we were very lucky to all be home and healthy. Our midwife was the best thing that happened to us!

...All is good now and we’re settling quite nicely. All in all, it’s been a very beautiful and peaceful birth and we have no regrets for some tough decisions that had to be made along the way….

Hypnobirthing certainly helped me go through the 53 hours of labour from my water breaking to finally meeting our little guy and I know will help me for so many other things…

Baby Girl

I came to Monica after having a difficult practice labour that left me intimidated and in need of a new outlook.

Her consultation, words of wisdom, and visualization techniques completely transformed my way of looking at the birth.

One week later, I gave birth to our baby girl, and the experience was peaceful, painless and empowering. It was exactly what I had hoped for.

I can't thank Monica enough for contributing her skill and wisdom. It truly made all the difference.

1st time mom

Thorin

…I am sure you guessed we had our baby! Our son Thorin Victor was born on Dec 3 at 11 days over due at 7 lbs 7 oz!

It did not go as planned but was incredibly empowering:). We ended up in the hospital because of a few concerns the midwives had and it turns out we made the right decision to go because there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. They did induce by rupturing my membranes which wasn't ideal but the better option than medical induction.

My labor was 1 hr and 48 mins with about 3 pushes and we met our son! Since it was so fast we didn't get to use all of the hypno birthing techniques we wanted but I know that without the course I wouldn't not have had the confidence in my body and the relaxation to birth the way I wanted. It was another incredible experience for us and we are so grateful to have learned everything from your class!

…We would love to have you come and meet our little man!

Baby

We had a very eventful birth … Hypnobirthing was literally the only thing that saved me!

30 hours of natural labour (hypnobirthing was awesome for this.). Followed by 8 hours of pitocin induced labour (after 2 hours ..[it] was much too much, had to get epidural.).

First epidural failed and it took them an hour to believe me. I used the hypnobirthing techniques throughout that hour and it did help, but more for keeping me calm…

Second epidural worked, got to 10 centimeters and pushed for 3 hours. Due to all that reduced mobility though we couldn't get baby into the right position.

Eventually heart rate started to drop and they had to do an emergency c-section. Going into the operating room, and during the c-section I used the hypnobirthing techniques again to stay calm, and it made all the difference in the world.

Of all our plans and preparations nothing was even close to as dependable and useful as the hypnobirthing techniques we learned and practiced.

Your class was the best thing we did, thank you so much!....

Very Happy Hypnobirthing Students & New Mom & Dad

Grace

Grace was born 12 days past her due date. On the 12th day we decided to induce with a castor oil concoction given by the midwives, which was actually pretty effective. There were slight surges as a result, which seem to have dissipated. However, when the midwives came to check on the baby's status the surges were apparently quite strong, I simply could only feel my abdomen getting tight from the outside, but nothing internal. Pretty awesome!

In my view the labour lasted 3 hours which included 10 minutes of breathing down; the breathing down was pretty intense but bearable. I was oddly conscious the entire time and could hear and process everything...this was the first time with all three births that I felt so present...Grace was 9 lbs 3oz ...Everything went really smoothly. [My husband] couldn't believe how effortless it seemed. Although I must say, I felt there was effort on my part. He said it was a relief that everything went so well and so quickly. I also found Colin putting his hand on my shoulder during surges ( i.e. the shoulder anchor you taught in class) really helped me relax. It was quite something!

Baby is now 7 days old and both of us are doing great. She is sleeping really well, but of course the two year old likes to get up at 5:30 am so she cancels out Grace's excellent sleep patterns, lol. Thank God for HypnoMothering that's all I have to say. Thank you so much Monica for sharing your gift with us; the experience proved itself invaluable!!!

Baby Sister

My daughter loves to hear stories at bedtime. Recently she’s been asking for stories/recaps of recent events. I was surprised and delighted when she recently began asking me to tell her the story of when her baby sister was born; a birth she witnessed. She smiles as I recount the events that lead up to the birth, when she discovered she had a little sister (we decided not to find out ahead of time). She adores her baby sister, as does her little brother. She loves hearing the story; we both love it, so I thought I’d share it with you, albeit a longer version but also a fuller one. Take some time, sit down, relax and hopefully enjoy reading the birth as much as I enjoyed experiencing it. Mahalo!

Once upon a time…I sat on our couch with my mother and husband when I began to feel my first twinge. I had acupuncture that night, not to induce but to get my body ready. I smiled at the sensation and shared the news. I didn’t yet chalk it up to labor as my body had begun warming up for weeks. Around 12 a.m I felt some more twinges; I decided to head to bed. I would need the rest, especially if this birth was as long as my first two (23-27 hours). Around 2 a.m. I could no longer sleep and walked around the house, tidying, breathing and then finally waking my husband a couple hours later to let him know I was fairly certain this was the beginning of our birth journey.

Around 6 a.m. I felt the surges increasing in strength and length. I played my HypnoBirthing tracks, woke my mom up to let her know and started the bath. She was ready to head back to bed, figuring it was still early, until she heard the water running. We chatted about this birth progressing, her feeling it was early, but me feeling I was farther along, much farther, sooner, than my other two births. My husband and mother timed the surges to see if they were getting closer together, to confirm what I knew, I was indeed in real labor. My mother lovingly stayed by me, doing hip compressions as I had a bit of back labor/sore back. I slipped into the tub, had my hypnosis tracks, ocean waves and birth music played. My husband stayed near the tub, doing a few hypnotic suggestions here and there as I laid back and breathed with the surges and relaxed in between. I had given myself hypnotic suggestions during my labor about relaxing as labor progressed and indeed I did! In between the intensity of the surges I would be utterly and completely relaxed. It helped to float in the water and watch the full moon from the window near my tub. In between surges I relaxed, chatted, stayed hydrated and smiled. This was it, my baby was coming soon!

We called the midwife, who felt it was still early after talking to me, but agreed to slowly make her way over. By the time she came I was already 6 cm dilated, less then 2 hours later I began to feel my body work on releasing the baby. I watched the full moon go from being embraced by the dark, to welcoming the light and soon, my baby. With the light, my body released the water that held my baby; very soon after, I began to really breath down my baby. There was no pain, just focus, sensation and intensity. My 2nd baby’s birthing stage was very quick so after awhile of birth breathing the midwife checked and discovered there was still 1 cm left to dilate. No wonder I thought, as I had expected to already meet my baby.

My flash of frustration turned to focus as I took some arnica, changed position and breathed through the birth surges, allowing that last cm to dilate before bearing down once more. After a couple surges, I felt my baby would arrive soon; I called my daughter back in the room (she was there when the baby began to descend but had left for a bit). After a surge, I explained to her what mommy was doing and how the sounds mommy made helped bring baby down (low vocalizing can help with moving baby…this is a instinctual, releasing vs yelling/screaming). My birth music played and I smiled.

Then the room quieted, right before the baby made her entrance. I felt her move down me, felt her body, felt her head, felt life coming through me. I was excited and happy, yet focused, I would meet my baby soon! A few birth breaths later, my baby emerged into the water. My husband received her and she was quickly put on my chest. Upon announcing it was a girl, my daughter squealed with delight, ‘I have a baby sister!’….She had her sister and I had my 2nd baby girl and 2nd beautiful water birth. Her little brother came in the room shortly after, excited, albeit perhaps a little disappointed it wasn’t a baby boy.

In the end, the birth was a family celebration, a celebration of life.….What a blessing, a beautiful birthright, to be able to bring life into this world, with my family around me. I loved my birth; it wasn’t necessarily because it was quick (9 hours), and fairly smooth, but because it was peaceful and beautiful and relaxing and intense, and wonderful. I get teary eyed at times thinking of it all, how grateful and thankful I am and what a privilege I feel it is to have shared this experience with my daughter, for her to see how beautiful, natural and wonderful birth is. If I am blessed down the road to have a 4th, I look forward to the birth with joy, to add what I learned from this birth and to implement even more of the wonderful techniques HypnoBirthing and hypnosis has to offer.