August 2009

Here is our beautiful baby girl Mia Rose's birth story. She weighed 7lbs 4 oz and was born at 10.20 pm on Friday 08/07/09.

I had a number of shows up to two weeks before she was born and lost the mucus plug the Sunday before. Had a consultant's appointment on the Tuesday where I had an internal which showed that I was a good 1 cm and was told I was having mild contractions - I had been putting these down to period like cramps and they were same as I'd had on/off for weeks. My bp was also slightly raised so was booked in for a bp series in the hospital on Friday am. On Thursday am I woke up and went to bathroom and was suspicious that I was leaking fluid or just had increased vaginal discharge. Said nothing to DH, sent him off to work and decided to see how things went over the day. I pottered around, listened to hypnobirthing CDs, went to my acupuncture session (she nearly died when I said that I thought things may happen soon!). She put little acupressure magnets in my ears on master pain control points (you can press during labour) and stimulated various labour points.

I rang DH at work that evening and said to him that maybe he should stay a bit late to prepare for possibly not being there for the next 3 weeks - he was really excited so I had to tell him to calm down! When he came home we went for a walk with dogs, organised final bags etc. but still had nothing more than lower back ache/cramping. Went to bed a bit disappointed as we really wanted to have as natural a labor as possible and knew I needed to go into labour myself.

By Friday morning I was still having only on/off cramps. I was going to send my dH into work whilst I went into the hospital for BP series/consultant's appointment. I was hoping if BP was fine and baby was happy even though hind waters were gone that I may be able to convince her to give me another few hours at home. But then after breakfast I got this overwhelming urge that I didn't want to be alone so asked my DH to go to appointment with me.

So we headed to hospital with labour & hospital bag and birthing ball!
BP series showed up borderline raised pressure and I had 1+ protein in urine. We went into consultant and said she was thinking of taking me in although she knew my birth plan was not that. I mentioned that my hind waters had gone and she was like "Ok I'm definitely taking you in! Straight up to delivery suite!". She also said raised bp and protein was probably due to being in early labour and was I not in real pain? (I was 2 cm on exam). It was still only cramps though.

So we arrived on Delivery Suite, straight onto syntocinon drip. This is the only bit where I felt a bit out of control as it was all happening very fast, I didn't feel that I was in "the zone" for labor and on way up to delivery suite kept bumping into people I knew (I work in med profession) which was really distracting!

Once monitors, drip etc was hooked up I put on my gentlebirth CD and tried to relax, closed blinds down and tried to block out noises around me.

I was on max syntocinon drip within an hour and was getting 6 contractions every 10 minutes lasting 50-60 seconds. It was very intense so I put on my TENs machine - which was brilliant and really got me through those first few difficult centimetres. I was standing leaning on bed and using birthing ball for rests. Unfortunately after 4 hours of this I was still 2 -3 cm and I remember thinking oh no they're going to do a section. My consultant and midwife were great though and said we'd give it another couple of hours out of respect for my birth wishes if I was ok with that and could handle things – baby was handling contractions well so I set in my mind a 2 hour target. For the next 2 hours I focused on every contraction, using the hypnobirthing affirmations to calm me and some of the yoga moves I’d been doing in class (rocking pelvis etc.) I made a real conscious effort to relax my pelvic floor. Two hours later I was at 3 cm and asked for gas & air as things were very intense after 6 hours of that rate of contracting! G&A was brilliant – took the edge off and allowed me to sit on my birth ball which rested my legs from standing as had been finding it too sore to sit on ball for the previous couple of hours. I said to my husband that if at my next exam I was still only 3 cm maybe I should get an epidural as this was obviously going to be long and torturous! He was great and encouraging and said we’ll focus on next exam (an hour later). At the next exam I was 5-6 cm and I was delighted.

However 2 hours later I was still only 5-6 cm which was so disappointing. I could see looks being exchanged in the delivery suite and thought to my self “no way am I giving in now!”

DH was popping remedies from my homeopathic labour kit into my mouth the whole time and said at this stage” I’ve the perfect one!”. So I was sucking away on it and he said it was for late labour (as in to get you into labor when you’re overdue). I looked at him like he was mad and said “I’m in bloody labour!!” Anyway we both cracked up laughing over how ridiculous that was and I was bouncing on birthbball when suddenly my body did the most amazingly strong push downwards all of it’s own accord – I grabbed DH hand and said I’m pushing call the midwife – he was like “What?” But you were just laughing at…” - I interrupted him “Now!!”. Our midwife came on and said “Oh are you having some rectal pressure? That’s normal as baby’s head moves down”. I was trying to say this isn’t pressure, when I had another contraction with that same incredible involuntary pushing – the midwife sprang into action, contacted my consultant (who’d gone for a lie down it turns out as she’d been on 24 hours).

She examined me quickly and sure enough I’d gone from 5-6 cm to fully dilated in less than 30 minutes.

Things calmed down a bit then, I got on all fours on the bed and leaned on the back for each contraction and push. I got rid of G&A as these contractions were totally different and I din’t need it. I worked away at pushing for about 35 mins in that position but my legs were getting tired and a bit numb. My consultant and midwife suggested I turn around to supported sitting at the end of the bed with my DH and it felt right to do that. After lots of hardwork and great guidance from my midwife baby Mia Rose was born after 1 hour 10 mins pushing. I had a small 1st degree tear needing 2 stitches and a superficial graze that my consultant put 1 stitch in.

Mia Rose was a little shocked when born – she had decels during the moulding/crowning of her head but heart rate was bouncing back after each push. That meant we didn’t get to do a delayed cord clamp or prolonged skin to skin straight away. She went to a little warming incubator for half an hour and then up to NICU for blood tests. She had a little canula in her hand for 48 hours in case she needed antibiotics but thankfully she was perfect since. She met me back in my room within an hour and a half of birth, latched on beautifully and basically stayed that way for must of our hospital stay!

We got home on Monday and all going great – we are totally besotted with her!!

Feel so great that even though things started off differently to how I hoped we still managed to get through everything using hypnobirthing TENS and G&A – our consultant and midwife were so supportive of our birth choices- I felt like wonder woman after it all!

July 2009

Hi Tracy,

I attended your Gentlebirth Workshop earlier this year and it was the best thing I ever did!!

I first heard about the Gentlebirth Workshop from the yoga class which I was attending, but dismissed it (and if truth be told I was quite cynical of it) as being something which people who wanted a "drug free" birth attend. However after reading the testimonials online I realised it is for everybody who wants to have a calm and confident birth experience. As a first time mother I both wanted and needed this. The sight of blood was enough to make me feel faint and I was TERRIFIED of having a section if it was neccessary!

I listened to the Gentlebirth cd's as much as possible. If there was ever a time that I began to feel anxious or nervous about labor or becoming a parent, I would switch on my iPod and within seconds of starting listening to the Gentlebirth tracks I was calm. I can remember twice in the last month I woke up in a panicked state, but my subconscious immediately kicked in with the Gentlebirth affirmations and I went back to sleep easily. I found this to be amazing!!

The course taught me how to deal with other people's (not intentional) fear mongering about labor. If I was ever in a situation where people started to talk negatively about labor, I distanced myself from them. "Water off a duck's back!" as I had learned in the workshop!

When my due date came and went I was eventually brought in to be induced. This was disappointing but I went with it. Throughout my pregnancy the Gentlebirth cd's had taught me to picture the drive to the hospital, a sunny day with no traffic but it rained and we were late for the hospital as there was so much traffic!!

Myself and my husband laughed at this and were really relaxed and calm. "We were excited about meeting our baby".

We brought in comedy dvd's with us to the hospital and watched these to keep things lighthearted. In the evening, the midwife said that my husband would need to go home to get some rest for the next day. I smiled and nodded at her, but in my head there was no way he was leaving my side!! Thanks for that bit of advice Tracy, because things started moving along for me quickly after midnight!! I'm not saying I wouldn't have managed without my husband, but having him at my side helped to keep me focused and calm.

I listened to the gentlebirth cd's constantly for the next few hours. Its difficult to explain, but when the surges started I didn't realise that I was in labour. I had no concept of how strong they were or how frequently they were occurring. When my husband told the nurse that the surges were 3 minutes apart I really thought he was after getting it all wrong and was confused. But he was right and I was 5cm dilated.

I was moved to the labor ward, my waters broke when I arrived there and at this stage I asked and got an epidural. I continued to listen to my cd's. Unfortunately for me, things began to slow down. My consultant explained to me that even though I was 8/9cm dilated I was not going any further. The baby's head wasn't turning and was stuck, so at this stage I was to have a section. Briefly I was scared, but I kept repeating to myself "that I was calm, confident and in control" and later met my healthy 9lb 4oz baby girl!!!

It was not the birth which I had imagined I would have had or wanted, but I have positive memories of the whole experience. I would do the whole thing again tomorrow and if everything was the exact same second time around I would still be happy. I really do not believe that I would have had such a calm birth experience and positive memories if I had not attended the Gentlebirth workshop.

Before myself and my husband went to the course on the first day, I said to him that if this was a load of hippie crap, we'll make our excuses and leave. Ha, ha!! I'm so glad we stayed. I can not recommend this course highly enough to impending parents!!

Thanks for everything Tracy!

Marie

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June 2009

Hi Tracy,

This is our birth story.

My husband and I were expecting our first baby later on this summer. I was 36 weeks. When I went to the toilet I saw what I thought it might be a bit of show... a jelly like mucous with a blood thread running through it.... but it was so small that I did not pass any remark.

Later on that evening I went to work (I'm a fitness instructor) and taught my usual step and aerobics classes.... I'm a strong believer in exercising in pregnancy and i believe the outcome of my experience has a lot to do with how fit I was. On Tuesday morning, I had the same sort of show, followed by very gentle period-like cramps.

My husband insisted I went to my gp to get it checked, so just to keep him happy I went. GP checked me, and decided to send me to the hospital (where I was suppose to have my baby) for more check ups.... as i was only 36 weeks.

I got strapped to the monitor, which more or less said my contractions or tightenings had started but I could not feel any of that, so I told myself the monitor wasn't working properly!! A doctor did an internal and confirmed that my cervix was ready, so i could go into labour any minute, but it could as well be a false alarm. I was advised not to exercise that evening... and for the first time in my life i missed my classes (I'm a bit of a workaholic! :)) I spent that evening at home, not doing much, apart from planning my classes for the following day!

On Tuesday night at 11:30 i decided to load the washing machine... i went downstairs, squatted down put all the clothes in... and went I stood up.... SURPRISE... my waters broke! I called my husband down who very calmly said: ok, the little one is coming... he doesn't do waiting around, just like his daddy!!... and how right was he!!.. we rang the hospital and they told us to come in straight away... even though my waters were clear, the fact that i was pre term by only 5 days it meant going in and staying in.

We left the house with nothing, not as much as a change of clothes, or my mp3 with the cd's ...nothing. On arrival they examined me and I was 2 cm dilated. My husband then went home and packed my hospital bag to the best of his knowledge and brought my mp3.

Contractions got more and more intense, so i used the TENS machine which i found great. I listened to my affirmations cd and I was able to sleep in between surges. At 8 am wed morning i had another internal and at that stage I was 8 cm, so it was almost time to start pushing.

I was brought to the delivery room, and met the new midwives (shift change). They were excellent, young, caring, and a good laugh. It also helped that they had trained in the Midwife Led Unit, so they expected me not being happy about the transfer, but to be honest I didn't mind, as long as I had a say in making decisions. I told them about letting the cord pulsating, and having the placenta delivered naturally... and they agreed they would do their best to respect my choices. And so they did.

I started pushing at 9 am... and at 10:14 baby Colm was born, healthy, with a head full of hair and weighting 6.10lb , which is a very healthy weight considering he was 4 weeks early!! cord was left to pulsate, placenta was delivered naturally, and baby and me were in good health.

We were allowed home 2 days later. Colm is now 5 days old and I already cannot remember how my life was before him... He is the happiest, most calm baby ever... doesn't cry, only eats, smiles and sings!!.

If I was to wish for anything to have gone differently I would be lying... it was the perfect birth.

I hope everyone in this group can have such a positive experience.

regards,

Lorraine

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Feb 2009

Hi Tracy

Hope all is well with you.

Just wanted to let you know that we had a 2nd baby in February - a little boy called Iwan (like Ewan, but the Welsh spelling). All is going well.

I listened to my CD as much as I could beforehand (not so easy with a toddler around the place), and we tried to prepare ourselves by reminders from the book - but definitely didn't do as much preparation as 1st time around. However, as my first experience had been really positive and Tara had literally popped out within minutes of arriving at the hospital, I was quite relaxed anyway, and looking forward to another quick and not-too-painful birth.

And things went well again this time thankfully. We were already in the hospital as my waters had broken, so when the contractions started to get tougher, I asked them to check my dilation. I was only 2cm - and very disheartened to hear it - but within an hour I had reached 10cm just breathing through the contractions, and then baby literally propelled himself out. I don't actually remember doing any pushing at all, he just pushed himself out if that makes sense, it was as if I couldn't control it even if I had wanted to.

So everything went well and we are getting on fine with Iwan, and he is settling in well. So, again, it was another good birth for us. And we are busy now with the two of them, but enjoying it all the same.

Take care.

Grainne & Rob

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February 2009

Tracy,

I'm emailing here with one hand.I just wanted to thank you again for the enormous role you played in the natual birth of my son. Im going to put my story up on rollercoaster and on yahoo groups. I can whole heartily say that if it wasnt for Gentlebirth I would definetly have had ended with a section. i was lucky to have had a supportive mid wife who stuck her neck on the line for me because after one and a half hours pushing her superior kept checking her watch and insisting the doctor be called to intervene. The labour lasted 30 hours during which time i had to turn the baby from a posterior position. i was continuelly told not to be a martyr. I was very lucky that Marguerite turned up when she did because after 14 hours remaining at 3 centimetres it was difficult to hold my resolve.

Eoghan is very alert and has gained more than his birth weight in under a week. I met another hypno birth mother who is due in two weeks and i assured her of how it really does work. By the end of my stay in hospital so many midwives had come to congratulate me on the natural birth with the majority of them saying ' you're that girl.....'

Love

Sharon

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January 2009

Hi Tracy,

I hope this finds you well. Jestin and I have exciting news to share. We welcomed our second baby girl into the world on November 25th. Elizabeth was 9 lbs 1 oz, 22 inches long and I am happy to report was born at home. Although it has been 9 weeks, I couldn't wait to sit down and finally fill you in on our own positive birth story.

After taking your GentleBirth course in September I really put all of your advice and guidance into practice. I began listening to the birth affirmations and relaxation CD on a daily basis, I filled the house with printed copies of the affirmations, I read and reread the GentleBirth book and I began to picture my positive homebirth as much as possible. I really set about relaxing to ensure I didn't become too anxious before the baby's arrival, something I know affected my last labour. On Monday morning, November 24th, at 10 days overdue, I went into CUMH for an ultrasound and tracing of the baby's heartbeat and thankfully all was well. I agreed to a sweep, as my consultant suggested, to hopefully bring on a natural labour and avoid a hospital induction on the following Friday. I was delighted to find out I was already 2 cm dilated and seemed to be somewhat on my way. It was fairly inevasive and I went home with the thought that I would hopefully not be back in the following day for another ultrasound and trace. When I got home I decided to take a brisk walk and stopped into our local church on the way home to pray for a safe and positive labour and delivery. At this point I was feeling some cramping, which I had been feeling on and off for a few weeks, but I knew it felt somewhat more productive. At dinnertime, I felt my first surge, but then nothing for the rest of the evening. I was very relaxed and comfortable.

I decided to take a bath with lavendar and clary sage to help to relax even more and listened to the relaxation track and affirmations while in the bath. It wasn't until I got into bed at around 10pm that I knew my labour was beginning. My surges started pretty much as soon as I laid down and at around midnight I knew I could not continue to lay down while breathing through each surge. When I got up I had a birth show in the bathroom and really did smile to myself, thinking the baby was really on its way. I decided to move into our spare bedroom and I put on my MP3 player and sit in our glider chair. Although the surges were pretty regular, I was comfortable and did not feel the need to call the midwife just yet. I ended up sitting in the chair listening to the birth affirmations, the rainbow relaxation and the birth music for about 5 hours and I really did not mind being the only one up in the house. I remember thinking that at least by Wednesday I would have my baby in my arms and that was a comforting feeling. My surges were strong, but I was so relaxed I could imagine them working up my stomach and then back down again, almost in a rolling motion. At about 5am, I asked Jestin to pour a bath and we lit candles and I continued to listen to the CDs. Surprisingly, I remained in the bath until around 7.30am with Jestin only once coming in to add hot water to the bath. I really felt very comfortable. Once I got out of the bath, I was in contact with my midwife several times and she decided she would come around 9.30am to see how I was doing. I decided to remain upstairs with the curtains drawn and alternated between sitting on my birthing ball or standing rocking my hips while holding on to my daughter's cot. I also put on the TENs machine at this point, and kept it on until after the baby was born.

At 9.50am, my midwife arrived and did an internal and without telling me how far I was dilated just said I was well on the way and she would be sticking around. That was extremely comforting as I knew that if she was staying I must be fairly far along. She set up all her gear around me and then left me alone to continue breathing and focusing. I found it very comfortable on my own and didn't feel any of the pressure "to perform" as I did during my last labour. Still feeling good, I put on my earphones again and went on all fours on the bed leaning against a couple of rolled up duvets. I remained in this position resting until around 12.30pm and although the surges were fairly regular, I still felt like I had a ways to go. My midwife checked in on me and suggested I put in some work in order to ensure the baby arrived in the near future, rather than go into the night and miss another night's sleep. I told her I definitely felt that the surges were stronger while I was standing and rocking, so we both decided it would be a good idea to get me up and in that position. I asked my mom to bring my 16 month old daughter up to me, so I could nurse her to sleep for her nap and as soon as she latched on I had the first of 3 very strong surges that were fairly hard to breath through. As soon as she was asleep, I stood up and began rocking my hips while leaning on Jestin or the bed for support. I began to talk to the baby and let he/she know that it was safe to arrive. Fairly soon after, my surges became very regular and were almost on top of one another.

I still remained calm and was able to focus on my breathing. At around 1.50pm my little girl woke unexpectedly from her nap and my husband took her downstairs and my mom decided to take her for a short walk. At the same time, I felt a shift in the baby's position, almost as if it had dropped down and the pressure was incredible. I called out to my midwife and she came and sat by my side through the next few surges and at the same time rang her backup midwife to come. She said she would check my dilation if possible, but said if I felt like bearing down to just do what felt right for me. I couldn't believe how quickly things went from me thinking the birth of the baby would take all day to feeling like it could happen any moment. I really had to focus on my breathing and I started almost breathing while clenching my teeth. Just as the second midwife arrived my midwife scrapped the idea of doing an internal and instead laid out large plastic bags and absorbant sheets on the bedroom floor. My midwife explained that as soon as my waters went, the baby would probably arrive straight away. At about 2.25pm I thought I would really like to sit on the toilet as the pressure was getting so strong and my husband moved into the ensuite with me and I just had the urge to bear down and I gave one loud grunt and I heard a pop and my waters released. My midwife quickly came in and said to move off the toilet as soon as I was able and when I got back to the bedroom she asked where I wanted to be and I asked to sit down and she quickly placed a birthing stool under me. With the next surge I started to really yell (surprised even myself as I had been so quiet) and I felt the baby's head emerge. While just it's head was out I heard this tiny cry, which I didn't expect, and thought maybe the baby was out already and both midwifes said just one more push to deliver the shoulders and sure enough with one more long push the baby was fully delivered onto the bedroom floor at 2.37pm. It was absolutely incredible. They moved the birthing stool away and I went onto my knees and the baby was slid under me. The cord was very short, so I couldn't actually hold her, but was able to discover her sex myself. How exciting it was to have a second little girl. Just at that moment, my mom returned from the walk with my first daughter and my mom was able to run up the stairs to meet her 6th grandchild with the umbilical cord still attached. After the cord stopped pulsating, Jestin made the cut and wrapped the baby in a heated towel, while I went on my knees again to deliver the placenta. Soon after I was up on my own bed and nursing my little girl. It was so magical. I kept saying over and over again how wonderful it was to be at home and to have the baby in my arms in such a short amount of time. Once I was cleaned up and the baby was clothed, my husband brought my first daughter upstairs and a big wrapped present along with her new sister were waiting in the cosleeper by the bed. Everything happened just as I had hoped and even better than I could have imagined.

I have been so happy about sharing my birth story with anyone I meet. No longer do I have to talk about my first labour of 51 hours as now I can talk about how preparing yourself for a calm and positive birth and visualising your labour and delivery really can make all the difference. I wouldn't say my labour was painfree, but completely manageable and much quicker. The painful part only last a few hours and I was able to relax and allow the birth to happen and every step was so positive and my recovery has been so quick. It was all just so natural; no timing surges or unnecessary internals, we just relaxed and let nature run its course.

I am still nursing both of my little girls and so far my eldest gives loads of kisses and cuddles and doesn't take too much notice of the new addition to our family. I really credit your course and the homebirth scheme in Ireland for helping me achieve a birth I am so extremely proud of. I have been on cloud 9 since.

Thanks again Tracy for all your wonderful advice and for the great course we attended. Jestin and I have so much to be thankful for.

God Bless,

Erin

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November 2008.

The workshop was the best thing that I did during my entire pregnancy. I feel so good every time I do the c.d. and in such a short time have developed such a positive attitude toward the labour. I have even dreamed about a calm birth where I am smiling.

Thanks again,

Maire

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3 - 10cm in one hour !

Hi girls, here's my birth story (bit long).... Thank you all for the well wishes and congrats to everyone who has had their little bundles and loads of 'baby birthing dust' to anyone still waiting:)

So I was feeling great Thursday Jan 1st, I felt so energetic and good that day, the best I'd felt for months. We got home after a day of sightseeing with my Mum who had arrived 2 days previously, had a lovely meal (even some wine) and then later on that evening I lost the plug - no mistaking what it was. Then early hours of Friday morning Jan 2nd I woke up to feel my waters trickling, got out of bed and 'gush'.. So I woke Stef (Dh), I took a quick shower, we finished packing my hospital bag, and headed off at about 9am. I felt so excited on the way to hospital coz I knew this was it - that I would soon be meeting my Luca - it was snowing quite heavily, Paris was white and very pretty.

Arrived at hospital and was installed in one of the labour & delivery rooms - they wanted things to get moving quickly as I had lost my waters and was Strep B positive. I was having contractions which the midwife felt needed to be boosted with a gel suppository as I'd been having contractions for weeks and she was worried that my body just wasn't going to automatically kick start into full blast labor, so I agreed to the gel. About an hour after inserting the gel she examines me - I'm 3cm dilated, so things are moving slowly. It's nearly 2pm and Stef says to her that he thinks baby will be here before 4pm, she looked at him and said that it's lovely that he's being optimistic and all, but I'll be lucky to give birth before the end of her shift at 10pm Anyway she leaves us to it : me listening to hypnobirthing and Stef nice and chilled with his feet up reading a book. She leaves the room saying to shout if we need her.

So everything speeds up here - my contractions go from being 10 minutes apart to being literally on top of each other. I'm like this for about 45minutes or so. The pain is tough, but I'm breathing through it and just about managing - I'm using all the hypnobirthing techniques and it really kept me focused. The key was really to go with the pain, as soon as I tensed up it was more painful, whereas if I let my body relax and breathed deeply through the intense contractions I felt a lot better. Stef can see that it's intense and reminds me that if the pain is like this right now when I'm only 3cm dilated how will I cope for another few hours while I'm getting to 10cm. He wants to call the midwife to get some sort of pain relief. Anyway, before we decide on anything my midwife comes back in, she takes one look at me and says 'ooops you've lost that lovely smile'. This was a code between us, she'd already said that when I became really serious she would know that my labour was really painful.

She does a quick internal, yep 10cm !!! It is now 3pm, so in 1 hour I've dilated to 10cm. She calls the nurse to get things set up for baby's delivery. I'm in Shock !! Can't believe it's happened this quick !! Myself and Dh just look at each other - this is it, we are finally going to meet our Luca !!

Before delivery she wants to turn baby's head to correct position as it's face up - she was absolutely FANTASTIC, she guides me through every contraction - we worked through it together. It was painful, but I was focused and very positive and every push brought me closer to Luca.

So after 25minutes of pushing Dh says 'he is crowning, I see his dark hair, just a bit more and we'll have him in our arms, come on my love, one more push'.

I could feel Luca's head, I gave another push and he came out like a mini rocket. He was immediately placed on my chest and I just couldn't believe it - absolute magic - every part of it : the birth, the baby, the happiness. Luca was born in under 3 hours.

Myself and Stef agreed that the birth was perfect - I never expected a pain free birth, I think that would be asking a bit too much. But what I wanted was a stress free and positive birth - I got the birth I wanted after having a tough one with Dd !! I actually feel free - like a big hang up or fear has been put to rest!

Luca is lying next to me in his moses basket as I type this up - I can't stop looking at him, he's just gorgeous, can't believe that big bundle of love was in me only a few days ago - my God no wonder I had heartburn, pressure, backache etc.but he was worth every ache and pain, the love is unreal and I know that this little man has changed my life forever.

Thanks again for the months of support and all the helpful tips & info we've shared.

Emma X

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January 2009 Workshop Attendee.

Just for anyone interested.

I did a Gentlebirthing workshop at the weekend and I have to say it was fantastic. This is my second baby and I was quite nervous of how I would cope with the labour and delivery. While I wouldn't say my first was a bad experience I felt there has to be a better way and I want more options.

Already I feel so calm and know that I'm well able to have a natural birth.

When I look back at my first labour and delivery it's amazing how I told myself what was going to happen. I told myself, all be it subconciously that it was going to be long, that I would be able for the first stage but would need pain relief for the second, that my waters would go at home, that I wouldn't be confortable walking around and that's exactly what happened.

The weekend has put my mind in the right place and I'm really looking forward to the labour and delivery now. My DH also feels more in control.

I would reccomend it for anyone who is nervous about how they will cope and for anyone who likes the idea of a natural birth but afraid of what it involves.

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Turning Breech Babies.

Just to let you know that I listened to your Breech CD from Saturday to Tuesday and when I went for a scan yesterday consultant confirmed that baby had turned!! yippee !!, was thrilled to bits with that news, had a fair idea myself that baby had turned , felt quite a lot of movement at the wend as you said I would, and then obviously could feel kicks much higher up, which feels so much more natural

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Sleeping Like a Baby.

Hi Tracy,

I'm was finding it so difficult to sleep at night and the CDs are working wonders as I'm so relaxed. To be honest from just listening to the CD twice but my attitude has changed already and Im no longer afraid of the labour, I actually cant belive how quickly my mind has changed its way of thinking.. thanks again and i hope to get further in the CD's in the coming nights and weeks.

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