When my husband and I found out we were pregnant we knew right away that we wanted an all natural water birth. We had heard amazing things about water births and how they could ease the birthing process for both mother and child. I also wanted to be in a birthing center rather than a hospital. I felt it would give me a more personal and calm experience and fits more in line with my more holistic way of dealing with my body. It was important to me that my baby not come out affected by drugs and that I be 100% engaged in the experience of her birth and the time right after. I checked my health insurance and there was one birth center in the local area that they covered - the Baby Love Birth Center.

We fell in love with the people at BLBC! Every check-up felt like a meeting with friends (very knowledgeable friends!) and they provided care that was the perfect blend of holistic and traditional. I was prescribed vitamins, probiotics and chiropractic care for my problems while getting to hear my baby's heartbeat and still getting all the necessary medical tests. It was a bit of a drive for us at 45 minutes but well worth it for the phenomenal care we received.

In November we took the mandatory birthing class (and really, why wouldn't you want to take one?) at BLBC for a style of birthing called "Hypnobirthing". We had never heard of it before but quickly became fascinated by it. Basically it's a method that combines three breathing exercises for use depending on what part of your labor you are in and self hypnosis that allows you to potentially have a pain free birth. And yes, that is possible. We have met several people that have done it successfully. They don't deny that it's an intense experience - just not the uber painful one that people would have you convinced it has to be.

Jump ahead to January 16th, 2012:

I had been suffering from insomnia for the past few nights. This is not an uncommon occurrence for me. A few times every year ever since high school I will go for several days only getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night. Well, this had been going on for several days and I was sick of it so I decided that I would forgo my usual catnap in the afternoon in an effort to exhaust myself so that I would fall asleep at a decent hour that night. So instead I went out to lunch with a friend and then I went shopping. At 4pm, when my husband got off work, I met up with him and we spent the next couple of hours doing some more shopping. Around 6:30pm I started having very irregular contractions. Sometimes they were 10 minutes apart and then I wouldn't feel another for an hour. Forget going to sleep early! These contractions were annoying.

Midnight rolls around and those irregular Braxton Hicks contractions turn into very consistent actual labor contractions that are in my back. I was doing my breathing exercises but due to the contractions being in my back rather than up front I couldn't apply the breathing technique exactly as I had been taught so I couldn't breathe them away entirely as I had been shown to in the Hypnobirthing class but it did make it so the contractions just felt like a bad set of period cramps. Laying down was uncomfortable so I paced the house. The movement helped relax me and significantly reduced the intensity of the contractions.

About 4:45am I felt like I needed to have a bowel movement that turned out to be my water breaking like an overfilled water balloon! It was pretty hilarious actually. Soon after I decided it was time to go to the birth center. My contractions were coming at approximately 5 minutes apart but I didn't feel like waiting for that magical 5 minutes apart, a minute long for 1 hour thing since I had progressed from 20 minute contractions at midnight to 6 minute ones at 5am. I didn't think I had an hour to wait with our 45 minute drive ahead of us! I was almost right.

The car ride to the center might have been my least favorite part of the whole experience. With my inability to pace or stretch the contractions felt far more intense in the car. I put on my hypnosis recording while we drove to BLBC but I think I had waited a bit too long before trying to put myself into that deeply relaxed state because the frequent surges (the name hypnobirthing prefers you call contractions) and the discomfort I felt from being in the car kept breaking my focus. My own fault really.

We arrived at BLBC about 15 or so minutes before the midwife. This being my first child I had no idea how close I was or was not to giving birth but I felt like it was going to happen soon so I sort of freaked out that I was going to end up having this baby in the parking lot. The number one rule of hypnobirthing is to stay calm and relaxed but while in the parking lot I was not doing that. Of course the midwife did show up and we got inside before the baby was born.

I think Samantha (the midwife) was a bit skeptical at first when she unlocked the door around 6:30am and I practically ran inside. She said that wasn't the walk of a woman in labor. Well it was the walk this woman has when she's in labor especially when she needs to pee! Mike carried our stuff into the Ocean room where we had chosen to birth while Samantha checked me. I was 9.5cm dialated but our daughter appeared to be sunny side up (which, I've been told, might be why I was having back labor). Samantha filled the tub and helped me through a few surges. Around 6:50am Mike and I were able to get into the tub and I started pushing.

Ah. . . pushing. In hypnobirthing they advise against pushing and tell you to just follow your body's lead but my body was telling me to PUSH. I, however, was exhausted (approximately 7-9 hrs of sleep over the past 3 days) so pushing was hard to do because my muscles didn't want to respond and I was scared to death of tearing so any time it hurt I wanted to make sure I let it stretch for a bit before I pushed again.

At 7:25am Guinevere's head had emerged in the correct direction (she must have turned as she was headed down the canal) and Mike was able to help Samantha pull Guinevere the rest of the way out with no drugs, cuts or tears. I got to hold my baby skin to skin immediately after she was pulled from the water. I have never known anything more powerful in my life.

My labor was an intense and exhausting 7.5 hour experience but I fully intend on waterbirthing my next baby too. Now knowing what to expect I feel better prepared for next time so that it will be a calmer experience. Rule number one for next time? Don't deny myself any sleep!