Hypnobabies Homebirth with Birthing Way Midwifery in Alpharetta, GA

Hypnobabies Homebirth with Birthing Way Midwifery in Alpharetta, GA

**Warning** Although I generally keep this website super G rated, this birth shows some skin during the birthing process.

I love it when the mom writes the blog post for me 🙂 It’s her birth, so I feel it should be her story to tell, from her own perspective. I’d like to add that Indra is 5’2 and baby Ian was 9lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. You can birth a big baby!

“Finally we have time to sit down and write the birth story of our son Ian …  so many things to share as we reflect on our journey.

To share with you a little background, we have a 3 year old daughter Amelie, who was born at Dekalb Medical

We had a beautiful water birth, 17 hours in labor and Seth and I had prepared for this with Stephanie Banguilian… our amazing Doula. She happened to have another birth that same day, but she helped us prepare emotionally and mentally with her amazing Hypnobabies classes that Seth and I attended for 6 weeks. And yes! We did it! Just like we wanted, after 30 weeks of being with a very traditional OB practice, Seth and I decided to switch practices to one more supportive of our birth preferences. Thanks to Stephanie!

The day Amelie was born, Seth said to me, “We could have done this from home”….and in my mind I remember thinking (mmm I don’t think so…) 

Three years went by and here we were, 34 weeks pregnant and joining our  One day Birth Preparation class with Stephanie and the topic of Home Birth came up again as an option. I remember feeling uncertain, a little scared, but definitely curious. We didn’t want any interventions and we had space in our new home this time around.

Stephanie helped us understand how our bodies are made for birth, and seeing Seth so supportive and confident made me re-think about it. But it was not until our 36 week Doula visit from Stephanie when I took action. I remember her saying… “If you are thinking about it, at least reach out to a midwife to see if they are available and if you are a candidate, and see how you feel, worse case if you don’t feel comfortable, you’ll have your water birth at AMC hospital. That way you won’t regret not considering it.”

She recommended Maegan Hall for photography and Birthing Way Midwifery. I called Maegan immediately the day after and it was love at first call…I had found our photographer. Maegan helped me reach out to several midwives in the area and the only midwifery with availability in September were Beth & Rachel from Birthing Way Midwifery. Still with a bit of skepticism I scheduled my consultation with Beth… and we clicked! With her 30 years of experience and her radiant and chill out personality, I felt sooo confident about having a home birth that as soon as I left her office, I texted Seth and told him…¨We’re doing a home birth”

From that day on, Seth and I we started to prepare. Seth focused on preparing the house, I focused on reading Ina May’s book, following Instagram home birth stories, chiropractic, listening to my hypnobabies affirmations and tracks and surrounding myself with positive vibes and thoughts about home births (in my bubble of peace). Not an easy task when everybody around us thought we were literally crazy by considering a home birth.  So…we decided to share our decision only with a handful of friends and family and for the rest of the world, we were going to Atlanta Medical Center.  

Sunday September 22 – Week 40, Day 3 @ 10:30 PM

Seth and I started joking, what if it’s tonight? Are we really really ready? By now, the Birth Pool was inflated, Seth had tested the water hose, all the supplies were at home; liners under the bed. We were ready!

I told Seth that night, “I doubt it will be tonight, I don’t feel anything different.”

Monday September 23  @ 2:17 AM

Coming back to bed from my regular night pee break, I laid down and I felt like a kick that sounded like a “pop” in my belly. My water broke, I had no doubt!!

I woke up Seth and immediately got out of the bed to check, the liquid was clear and no smell. My heart started pounding with excitement and a bit nervous, this is it! This is Ian’s Birth Day.

2:30 AM

I called Beth and she suggested to go back to sleep, “you have to rest, if you have a 20 hr labor you’re going to be exhausted.” So we hang up. In my mind I thought… I can’t go back to sleep, I was wired and the pressure waves (contractions) started pretty much right away.

Seth called Stephanie, she suggested as well to rest but to call her when we get contraction frequency.

I called Maegan, and she packed her things and come right away to our house. She was the first one to arrive.

3:00 AM

In the mean while, our 3yr old daughter woke up and started sensing something is going on. We had explain to her many times Ian was going to be born at home. We had arranged with our dearests friends that she would go with them whenever the time came. I remember having so many mixed feelings when I hugged her good bye in the middle of the night, I knew when she came back from school she would be a big sister and many changes  were coming her way. She grabbed her things for her sleepover, hugged me for the last time as our only daughter, and our friend came to the house and picked her up around 3:30 AM. She was very relaxed and happy, that gave Seth and I the peace of mind we needed for the journey ahead of us.

I started to track the pressure waves, Seth started preparing the hose, while I listened to hypnobabies relaxation music, lights were low, lavender smell, I changed clothes, and here we were… in the comfort of our own home, getting closer to meet Ian. 

3:30 AM

Maegan arrived to our house, with a beautiful smile and her vibrant energy and immediately started to prep the lightning, the candles and offered to make my hair between contractions. They were only 2-3 min apart from each other, I kept breathing and breathing and listening to the music. She made beautiful braids for me… while I could still talk. 

4:00 AM

Soon after, Seth called Stephanie again and she arrived soon after the call. As soon as she got home she gave me a huge hug (hugs are her specialty) and reminded me to stay relaxed, breath, let go…. I remember her saying, “Don’t hold on to the pressure, just let them go like sea waves.” She gave me peppermint to smell, I was feeling a bit nausea. 

I did not want to get off the birth ball at this time, it just felt right and good to bounce and breathe. Stephanie offered me a blanket. Seth stayed by my side, holding my shoulders and just being there for me, for anything I needed.

Seth called Beth again to let her know our status. My pressure waves were getting stronger. I went to the bathroom and Stephanie and Seth stayed with me every step of the way. They kept pressure in my lower back to help relieve pressure. 

Standing up, the pressure was more intense and amazingly I could feel my cervix opening, with every contraction. I remember thinking “My body will show me the way.” Stephanie kept reminding me to relax my shoulders and gave me relaxation cues. 

Seth started to fill the pool with water. He was dialed in, he was on it!

Maegan, with her camera like a fly on the wall.

4:30 AM

I got in the pool and it just felt right!! Warm water, dimmed lights, Stephanie and Seth by my side. The pressure was strong and a push-like feeling came with every contraction, but this time around I know it was not time to push yet. Stephanie suggested to “ignore it while I can” and so I did….

After reading Ina May’s book, I learned about the connection between mind-body and how this affects the labor. Somehow I came up with a set of words that resonated with my body to help my cervix open. I constantly repeated quietly while taking deep breaths, “It is just pressure…Open, release and let go” I also moved my hands doing an opening move, while Stephanie poured water on my back and Seth held my hand.

It is difficult to describe the intense sensations I was feeling, but it was definitely not pain! 

It felt calm and peaceful. 

5:30 AM

Beth arrived, I remember feeling relaxed, the water helped me rest for a while. 

The first thing Beth did was to check Ian’s heart beat with her dopler and after a few min she offered me to check my cervix. I didn’t want to know a “number” just wanted to know if I could get back in the water or if I should stay out for a while. 

I moved from the pool to the bed, Stephanie brought me some fruits and Beth checked my cervix and smiled. She said, “You’re pretty much there, you can get in the pool whenever you want. There is a bag of water between the opening and the baby’s head, until that water breaks his head won’t come down. if you want to speed up the process and help the water break, I suggest walking”

It was calm, dark, quiet… even romantic…

Soon after, the sun started to rise the sky was getting brighter… ironically as I wished for, Ian was going to be born with day light. 

6:00 AM

I stared walking, it seemed every step was harder and harder to make, the pressure was getting more and more intense and Seth would have to constantly keep applying pressure to my lower back. He never left my side.

7:00 AM

Erika, Beth’s student arrived. I remember being in the other side of the hall way thinking, ‘I don’t want to get too far from the pool, I want to make sure I’m back for the pushing phase.’
They made the room quiet for me to come back in… we did one step at a time… climbing Everest, knowing the top was not far away. 

Before getting back in the pool, Beth checked the Ian’s heart beat one more time.

8:00 AM

I got in the pool for the second time… knowing I was not ready to push, but feeling it could be closer. I remember calling for Maegan to stay close. Beth took a nap on the floor of the room, Erika was in the room as well. Stephanie and Seth by my side.

I continued resting while I could, the contractions were getting far apart again. It was like a resting time, it was like my body was getting some energy before the pushing phase. 

I remember squatting, moving my hips to the sides, and touching the water like if my hands were waves. 

8:50 AM

Beth woke up and checked the heartbeat of the baby. She gave me options and said “We can break the membrane to release the bag of water or just wait….”

I asked Stephanie how would they break it. I did not like the idea of having any tool stripping or breaking the membrane. 

I asked her… “Will the baby come on its own?” She calmly she said… “Yes, he will come when he’s ready.” Those were the words I needed to hear to wait patiently. 

9:15 AM

….Suddenly, shortly after all this conversation, I heard another “pop” and felt the head drop very fast and literally the top of Ian’s head was coming out. I could feel his hair!!! Everybody was surprised how fast it happened. 

Beth asked Seth if he wanted to catch the baby. He didn’t, neither did I, the sensation was too intense, almost like a burning type feeling and a lot of pressure. 

Beth immediately came to my back, and asked me to change my position and lean forward. She told me “you missed your second push, now with the next one you have to help to push the baby out” His head was literally being squished. I kept pushing until the next contraction came. Everything happened so fast!

9:17 AM

Beth assisted with her hands to move his shoulder and helped him turn to come out, Beth caught him and once he was out she helped him take his first breath and gave him to me. I asked her “Is he ok” and very calmly she responds, “He’s ok.”

It is so hard to describe this moment. We did it! He was in my arms! Seth and I laughed, cried, looked at him and we just couldn’t believe what had happened. 

It is by far the MOST empowering moment I have ever felt in my entire life and I will always remember this feeling. 

We were on the top of our Mount Everest! Breathing that unique air. Ian was born, in our bedroom, surrounded by so much love and affection.

After we had him in our arms, Ian and I stayed in water for about 15 min and then came out of the birth pool to birth the placenta. Once the cord was not pulsing anymore, Seth cut the cord and we moved into the bed to check me and Ian. 

It was the most gentle baby check we’ve seen or imagined. Ian did not cry once. He was weighed, measured and all the typical new born checks and foot prints.  

There is no other way we would have wanted this to happen.  

It takes a village… choosing the right birth team and having the right support in place was very important for us. We feel this allowed us to focus on each other and Ian throughout the birthing process staying calm and relaxed during our whole journey. We can’t thank Stephanie, Beth, Maegan and Erica enough for supporting this wonderful and surreal experience. 

We hope our story may inspire you and gives you confidence for your birthing experience. Its important to understand all the options available and know that you can make the choice that best supports your body, your baby and your family.”

With Love

Indra & Seth 

Have questions about home birth, Hypnobabies and/or hiring an Atlanta birth photographer? Use the contact form above and contact me! I only take 1-3 clients a month and book up quickly.