Heath - February 2012
Heath born Feb 11th, at 18:53. 8 pounds 15 ounces. No drugs or medical interventions used. Great birth and we can't thank you enough for your help.
Mark and Teri
Mark and Teri
Henry - February 2012
Mom feels great after having a short and natural birth.
Alexander - January 2012
So, my birthing story...
On January 21st, Alexander was born at 4:06am at 9lbs 1oz.
For a few days prior to the 21st I was having random mild contractions and they started to pick up in intensity around 4:00pm on January 20th. My mom came over just in case and we started to time them. They were coming in every 5 minutes and lasting for about one minute with varied intensity. It never really got that uncomfortable but when they came I would take a moment and breathe through them. I called my midwife and she told me to get in the tub and if they were not real they would go away. I had a bath and after I got out the were still happening, just less frequently and when they came they were really intense. I decided to lay down and get some rest (it was 9:00pm this time). I tried to relax and breathe through the contractions but they were so intense the only thing I could do was rock through them. I had rented a tens machine so at this point I put it on. Through the rest of the evening my contractions increased to 1 minute apart lasting for 30 seconds so we called the midwife (around 1:30am) and we both decided it would be best to go to the hospital. My husband and I got to the hospital and into the room around 3:00am when the midwife checked me and told me the baby wasn't far as I was 8cm dilated. For the last hour I was on my knees on the bed rocking and breathing and trying to relax but it was REALLY difficult - I think due to back labour. When baby was descending I wanted to be on my side then on my back. Although I could not relax and get into the zone, I did not fear my labor and what was happening even though it was damn hard. I was thinking positive thoughts about bringing this baby into the world and "opening" for it. I also listened to my body and was telling others what I needed rather than having them tell me. After the baby was born it had felt like it was a team effort - we did it!
Thank you for the coaching and sessions. Although I wasn't able to get into the 'zone' this birth was all that I could have asked for and was a positive experience.
Sincerely,
Kelly
On January 21st, Alexander was born at 4:06am at 9lbs 1oz.
For a few days prior to the 21st I was having random mild contractions and they started to pick up in intensity around 4:00pm on January 20th. My mom came over just in case and we started to time them. They were coming in every 5 minutes and lasting for about one minute with varied intensity. It never really got that uncomfortable but when they came I would take a moment and breathe through them. I called my midwife and she told me to get in the tub and if they were not real they would go away. I had a bath and after I got out the were still happening, just less frequently and when they came they were really intense. I decided to lay down and get some rest (it was 9:00pm this time). I tried to relax and breathe through the contractions but they were so intense the only thing I could do was rock through them. I had rented a tens machine so at this point I put it on. Through the rest of the evening my contractions increased to 1 minute apart lasting for 30 seconds so we called the midwife (around 1:30am) and we both decided it would be best to go to the hospital. My husband and I got to the hospital and into the room around 3:00am when the midwife checked me and told me the baby wasn't far as I was 8cm dilated. For the last hour I was on my knees on the bed rocking and breathing and trying to relax but it was REALLY difficult - I think due to back labour. When baby was descending I wanted to be on my side then on my back. Although I could not relax and get into the zone, I did not fear my labor and what was happening even though it was damn hard. I was thinking positive thoughts about bringing this baby into the world and "opening" for it. I also listened to my body and was telling others what I needed rather than having them tell me. After the baby was born it had felt like it was a team effort - we did it!
Thank you for the coaching and sessions. Although I wasn't able to get into the 'zone' this birth was all that I could have asked for and was a positive experience.
Sincerely,
Kelly
Marigold - September 2011
Hi Tracy,
Des here. I have been meaning to mail you for a long time! I just wanted to give you the low down on our labor and delivery.
It started on Monday the 26th of September at 1230 am... I have to say that I wasn't sure if it was the real deal so I waited it out without telling Dylan for about an hour and a half. But as I was tracking them on my iPhone app I could see that they were lasting longer and getting closer, so I knew it was really happening!I tried to sleep in between but they got pretty intense fast... just like I hoped... so I jumped into the tub and it was nice, but I felt best on all fours. That was pretty much the only way I could manage as I later realized that this was called back labor! Hahahaha.. it actually wasn't that bad. I can't believe that it wasn't that bad.... anyway, we decided to go to the hospital at 7 am. I was buckled in the the passenger seat, but after a few blocks, I decided to get in the back into my fave position for the remainder of the trip to St. Albert.
At about 8 am I was assessed and I was already 4 cm! We were so surprised! Dylan made a joke about having a baby by lunch ( as our "work day baby" plan) and the nurse was so negative! She said "oh no no no! Don't think that's going to happen... this is your first... blah blah". I knew in the back of my mind it was very possible and I was excited. '
Now I'm not sure how much time passed untill I was in the labor tub or how long l was in there either- which was also cool..sticking close to our practice that I wouldn't be able to tell. The surges were getting pretty strong and I could tell Pam was sorta surprised or confused by these long/doubled up surges...but then I started to have the "transition panic". I didn't know that thats what it was though. All it consisted was of a tear or two and I said shaking my head a few times " I don't know... I don't know" . Pam reassured me that I could do this and that this is what my body was made to do. The next thing I knew- there was a head in my crotch! hahahaha...That's that only way I can describe it, but the baby was coming!
So they put me on the bed ( again on all fours ) and then my water broke, which felt great- I might add! The nurse check me and I was 9 cm but had a "lip" on my cervix. Pam was right on it- she asked her which side it was on and then they turned me on that side to get it to open evenly. Those surges were nasty! Only three of them passed and I was ready to push. So back into the all fours... I could hear this young intern asking " is she ok like that???" He sounded sorta freaked out! The Doc told him "what ever she feels good in- is fine for us". I have to admit that at that point the hypno birthing wore off... I did a bit a screaming... I couldnt help it! The ring of fire is just that! No way around that one... At one point Pam asked me if I wanted to reach down and I shouted at her " are you F'ing crazy?!!!" I guess every one who wasn't in labor had a good laugh!
After only 18 mins of pushing ( 11:58 am- just in time for lunch!!! hahaha) our little baby Marigold was born!!! It was amazing! And it was honestly not that bad. I could do it again no prob! I am So glad that we took your course. I think it helped more that I know.
Dylan was great- it was like once it was all really happening, he dropped the eww gross attitude and cut the cord even. I was so happy that he was able to do it all with me.
So, add this mega success to your list!
Thank you,
Des and Dylan and Marigold
P.S. My biggest fear of tearing didn't come true either! Yay
Hey Tracy!!
I want to let you know I had my baby. His name is Roick (RO-ick comes from the word heroic) He was born October 13th at 5:34 pm he was 9 pounds. He is a wonderful little guy with dark hair and his eyes are still trying to decide what color they want to be. The birthing process was only 2 1/2 hours and very gentle. My surges were still the crampies and I did find them very distracting but the hypnobirthing really helped me be confident and calm. I was able to breath Roick out (with no tearing). I got in the tub and was in there for maybe 30 min (Justin tells me this because the time distortion worked well for the surge part of our birth) and then my water broke and with 2 or 3 breaths Roick was born into my arms. I did it all by myself too just like I wanted. Justin was with Kaeb, and Barb was doing something somewhere in the house lol I'm not sure what she was up too, but i called Justin told him to get Barb when my water broke and by the time she got to the room Roick was already out. Barb says it was only a minute between my water breaking and him being born. It was amazing and I am so proud of myself and him. It truly was a beautiful birth. Also Barb was amazing for the whole birthing process, I was really impressed with her and everything she did for us. Time has gone by so fast he is almost 3 weeks old already. Thank you for everything!!!! I loved my Hypnobirth!!
Big Hugs
Tania
Ella - September 2011 I want to let you know I had my baby. His name is Roick (RO-ick comes from the word heroic) He was born October 13th at 5:34 pm he was 9 pounds. He is a wonderful little guy with dark hair and his eyes are still trying to decide what color they want to be. The birthing process was only 2 1/2 hours and very gentle. My surges were still the crampies and I did find them very distracting but the hypnobirthing really helped me be confident and calm. I was able to breath Roick out (with no tearing). I got in the tub and was in there for maybe 30 min (Justin tells me this because the time distortion worked well for the surge part of our birth) and then my water broke and with 2 or 3 breaths Roick was born into my arms. I did it all by myself too just like I wanted. Justin was with Kaeb, and Barb was doing something somewhere in the house lol I'm not sure what she was up too, but i called Justin told him to get Barb when my water broke and by the time she got to the room Roick was already out. Barb says it was only a minute between my water breaking and him being born. It was amazing and I am so proud of myself and him. It truly was a beautiful birth. Also Barb was amazing for the whole birthing process, I was really impressed with her and everything she did for us. Time has gone by so fast he is almost 3 weeks old already. Thank you for everything!!!! I loved my Hypnobirth!!
Big Hugs
Tania
We had Ella at 11:48 last night. She is 6 pounds 4 ounces. My surges started at around 8:00 pm and we got to the hospital around 9ish. It was fast. I was not induced, my labour started naturally!
The hypnobirthing was very helpful. I was able to stay focused during most of the surges and was listening to the rainbow cd for the entire duration. I did not need any pain medication or epidural. Also I only have a first degree tear, with my first baby it was a second degree tear. When Ella came out she was calm and was able to start nursing right away. It was just at the end with the pushing that I could not focus anymore and just wanted to push as hard as possible to get her out.
The classes really helped, I was able to breath and visualize through surges, and went into labour all on my own.
Thanks very much,
Roni
The hypnobirthing was very helpful. I was able to stay focused during most of the surges and was listening to the rainbow cd for the entire duration. I did not need any pain medication or epidural. Also I only have a first degree tear, with my first baby it was a second degree tear. When Ella came out she was calm and was able to start nursing right away. It was just at the end with the pushing that I could not focus anymore and just wanted to push as hard as possible to get her out.
The classes really helped, I was able to breath and visualize through surges, and went into labour all on my own.
Thanks very much,
Roni
Emily - July 2011
Emily joined us July 29th at 6:04 am. We weren't able to get the exact birth we were hoping for but the important parts were there, such as Scott being present. He flew home on the last day of his shift and I picked him up and we went right to the hospital as the day before I had a tiny amount of fluid discharge and we needed to check and see if it was that my water was broken, as I ended up testing positive for group B strep. It turns out that it was a really small slow leak and since it was over 24 hours since it had started they wanted to induce the labour. Scott and I talked about it and decided that even though it would make things harder we wanted to make sure that Emily was safe so we went ahead with it and also received the necessary antibiotics to protect her from contracting the bacteria. In the end labour was 3 hours and 10 minutes. No epidural or other pain medications, yay!! As a result she is a very alert and happy baby.So thank you very much for your part in our being able to achieve this.Rylan - July 2011
The Classes- We absolutely loved the class and you!! We feel so empowered and excited for the birth; we definitely left wanting more and would have liked to even have another few sessions (not that we didn't feel everything was covered, just had such a great time with the hypnosis and learning).
We will definitely send you updates and a picture of our little angel once he arrives earthside.
The Birth - 1.5 years waiting to be picked by an angel, 41.5 weeks for him to grow, & on Tuesday, July 26th our son Rylan took his first breath. Our hearts will forever walk outside our bodies now, we're so in love!!
Laboured all weekend with help of just Ryan & hypnobirthing (62hours to be exact) then on the Monday evening, went into the hospital, had a much needed rest after an epidural, had a few scares with baby, 2.5hours of pushing, and then we became the proud parents of such a gorgeous little man.while up with our champion eater, lol).
As Ryan only has 5 days now with Rylan, we're going to spend as much time as possible getting to know our little angel.
Here's a few photos of our little man, only 22 hours old, on his way home:)
Laboured all weekend with help of just Ryan & hypnobirthing (62hours to be exact) then on the Monday evening, went into the hospital, had a much needed rest after an epidural, had a few scares with baby, 2.5hours of pushing, and then we became the proud parents of such a gorgeous little man.while up with our champion eater, lol).
As Ryan only has 5 days now with Rylan, we're going to spend as much time as possible getting to know our little angel.
Here's a few photos of our little man, only 22 hours old, on his way home:)
Gracie - February 2011
May Grace - May 2011
Grayson - April 2011
So, the birth was great. I went into labour at about 11:30 in the morning on April 11th. Things progressed fairly slowly until about 4:00 or so, then hard labour until 10:30 p.m. I stayed home with our doula until about 9 - and we barely made it into St. Albert in time to get me upstairs. I was so lucky that my doctor happened to be there finishing up another birth! The only bad part was transitioning in the car (I could have done without this). Anyway, I pushed for about 20 minutes and Grayson was born! What was so special about his birth, was that my grandfather was with me from about 1:00 p.m. on. Then my grandmother joined, then my mother. I thought it would be too many people, but there ended up being a ton to do, so it worked out. My grandfather took notes the whole time and wrote a little birth story for Grayson! Something special to put in his baby box to be read when he's older. The support of my family felt really good; I felt unstoppable.
As far as the hypnobirthing side of things, the benefits were great for me. I had a hard time keeping focus, and couldn't stand the noise of anyone speaking, so mostly it was just me on all fours vocalizing for hours upon end. What I believe hypnobirthing did for me was got rid of the fear entirely. Grayson was 9 days early, and I had just been told that he'd turned posterior - this would have normally sent me for an over-the-top freak out! Instead, I spoke to the baby, and was filled with trust that absolutely everything was going to be okay. I never once went into fear despite the pain - incredible! Thank you so much for your support and time through the weeks as we learned about the hypnobirthing process. You made us feel like no question was stupid, and gave us the confidence to delve into it.
Breanna - March 2011 We were blessed with a baby girl, Breanna Mar. 29th 11pm 8lbs 8oz. Home water birth and it was everything that I had hoped it would be. The hypnobirthing helped a ton, listened to the recorded cd and was able to nap through contractions for 1 1/2 hrs in the afternoon. Had the other Cd going during the breathing my baby down, the midwives were very impressed as well as an MD who was there just observing the water birth as she wants to get a tub into the Rimbey hospital. I would listen to the cds every night and sometimes during the day if I needed to relax. I read the whole book as well. Will definitely be recommending your course to all my pregnant patients,thanks again Tracy.
Alexander October 2010
Hi Tracy,
As you know, Alexander was born on Oct 15, 2010 at 17:17hrs. Labour was very quick and rather scary especially since this was our first child. We had a difficult time convincing the staff at the hospital that Yolanda was, in fact, in labour since she was very relaxed, relying on her deep breathing exercises to manage each surge. Apparently, if you don't swear and shout at the top of your lungs, you're not taken seriously.
Yolanda and I are firmly convinced that the hypnobirthing techniques you taught us helped both mum and dad stay focused and calm despite the difficult delivery. The situation would have been far worse if mum and dad were distressed. It could have easily escalated to a Cesarean delivery if either one of us were not focused on the situation. Most impressively, Yolanda was able to deliver Alex without any medication. The first medication she received was when she was being stitched up after they had cut her, used forceps and delivered the baby! She was amazing and I'm so very proud of her. Incidentally, our nurse was rather excited to have a hypnobirthing couple and intended to brag that Yolanda delivered our baby without the use of any medication.
The hypnobirthing enabled me to coach Yolanda by getting her to focus, relax, release fears and stay calm. Combined with our deep trust, we were armed to deal with a complicated birth. Hypnobirthing helped us both to be prepared.
Alexander had a very difficult birth, yet he recovered quickly and was alert and responsive by the time he reached dad's arms for the first time. Safe to say that we credit that with the drug-free birth.
Thanks so much for your help. We'll carry these lessons forward as we enter the scary and exciting world of parenthood.
Adam, Yolanda & Alexander.
Jaxon - September 2010
"You already had the opportunity to hear the birth story, but I just wanted to reiterate how great of an experience it was. All of the suggestions we had "installed" really did work when labor began (I sound surprised here for some reason ha!). Even though Evan did not put me under, I used my surge breathing and visualizations in a way that seemed to be almost subconscious. We will definitely use hypnobirthing again in the future! And for next time I will know for sure when I am in labour! You have been a great instructor, thank you!!
."
"Another 100% natural birth, with total labour lasting only 6 hours, three of those at the hospital. Mom is convinced that the labour went quickly and smoothly because she was so relaxed and focused."
Jackson - September 2010
(no photo available)
Massimo - August 2010
"Just writing to let you know our little boy Jackson arrived 3 1/2 weeks early on Sept. 22, at 7 lbs 3 oz! He's a gorgeous, quiet little guy.
Regarding the labour: I did visualize blue ribbons and flowers opening! And tried to relax and let my body do its thing despite the pain and fatigue. I dilated from 1 to 10 cm in about 6 hours and once at 10, he was out in about 20 minutes with no tearing (yay! I was worried about that!). So I think the relaxation helped with the speed and ease of delivery.
I know you wanted an update, so there you go! Thanks for your help and guidance, I really think it helped make things go as well as they did and hopefully for baby number 2 I can use more of the techniques."
Massimo - August 2010 "Tracy thanks for everything. I have nothing but rave reviews about you and your class."
Eleanor - July 2010
Mom had a 100% natural unmedicated birth
"The HypnoBirthing was a great way to structure the relaxation techniques and preparation for labour and delivery. The psychological
preparation is excellent, and she laboured well with the techniques and with doula support. The Slow/Surge Breathing really helped during early and active labour. She didn't really even realize that she was having surges initially...it was more of a cramping sensation. She was so relaxed. Anyway, we are big advocates of the HypnoBirthing techniques, and will tell everyone we know about it. Hopefully we can help spread the word."
Liam June 2010
"Thanks so much for all of your good work with us during the Hypnobirthing course. We really got a lot out of the course. We would love to pass on your name to our pregnant friends. Thanks again!"
"Regarding the birth - The birth was not as ideal as I had pictured it to be, but I was calm through out the labour and birth. Transition did last about 3 hours. We were told that we were the loveliest couple,... and very easy going of all the couples on the floor. There were 26 women in labour that day.
Most important, baby remained calm through the 34 hour labour and was born with no cord wrapped around her little neck (This was a fear).In February, an ultrasound showed that the cord was wrapped twice around her neck and when I asked if it would unwind, my OB-GYN told me no.I attribute her calmness and the change in the cord to our sessions with you.
Thank you so much for all you did for us!"
Breeya - December 2009
Ayden - November 2009
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Nialle - October 2009
(No photo available)
Madelyn - November 2008
