The Homebirth of Hendrik: A Hypnobirthing Birth Story
Updated: Sep 27
At 37 weeks pregnant, I was done.
My sister-in-law was 32 and a half weeks pregnant and had been having contractions since 31 weeks. Obviously, that was not something you wanted at 31 weeks, so I wasn’t jealous of her situation at all. But I remember wishing contractions would at least start for me.
Well, I got my wish. Kind of.
Prodromal labour started.
Around this time, my midwife offered me a sweep, which I happily accepted. I really wanted to meet my baby. Especially after having a miscarriage immediately before getting pregnant again, it felt like I had been pregnant for 11 months.
The sweep was followed by bloody show, cramping... and more prodromal labour. At 38 weeks, I had another sweep, and my midwife agreed that I could try castor oil. I waited until 39 weeks to try it.
And it was more of the same. More cramping, more contractions, more prodromal labour.
At 39 and a half weeks, I had another sweep and followed it with another round of castor oil. Then I went to my mom’s house for a free dinner and some distraction. We took a big walk around the area, and I was definitely having contractions, but at this point I was so used to prodromal labour that I was still convinced that was all they were.
We got home kind of late, and I didn’t feel like going to sleep, so I took a bath instead. I wanted to see whether the contractions were real or if they would stop.
They did not stop.
They started getting more intense, and I thought I should probably go to bed and get some rest so I would have enough energy if this really was labour.
Sleep did not come.
At around 1 a.m., I woke up my husband and told him, “This is actually happening tonight.” And even though I knew, I was still second-guessing myself and wondering if this could somehow just be more prodromal labour.
Thankfully, my husband firmly told me to call my midwife and my mom and tell them to come. I called them around 1:30. My mom arrived at 2, and the midwives arrived soon after.
While I was waiting, I took a quick shower just to get my hair wet because I wanted my labour braid in. So when my mom walked through the door, I was standing there trying to braid my hair while having very intense contractions.
She was surprised by how well I was coping and didn’t really know how to support me. Meanwhile, Aiden was running around the house trying to make sure the birth pool would be ready in time.
I was using my hypnobirthing breathing and a birth comb to cope. This labour felt different from my last one. My hips were burning, which hadn’t happened before. I was also shaking and shivering a little. Later, my midwife told me that my body was dilating so quickly that the shaking was one of the ways it was coping.
Around 3 a.m., I got into the birth pool. I was still smiling between contractions. Aiden helped me through one contraction, and then my mom wanted a picture with me during one too.
We got the picture.
And then I felt this HUGE thud inside my pelvis.
I think that was my water breaking, because immediately afterward my body started involuntarily pushing.
And I freaked out.
My hypnobirthing went completely out the window for a moment. Aiden called for the midwives to come into the room, and Meghan helped calm me down and instructed me to keep breathing.
I remember feeling completely out of control, and that scared me. My last birth hadn’t felt that way. This was totally different, and I was scared.
Within about five minutes of pushing—and honestly screaming out in fear—his head was out.
And finally, I surrendered.
I gave one final push, and my baby was born.
Gertrude helped me bring the baby through my legs and up onto my chest, and I immediately shouted, “It’s a boy!”
I was SO surprised. I had wanted my husband to announce the gender, but I saw it myself and could not contain my shock. We had thought he was a girl for most of my pregnancy.
His cord was around his neck, so we slipped it off and stimulated him to try to get a good cry. He really did not want to cry much, so we cut the cord fairly quickly so the midwives could take him and make sure he was breathing well.
He was only away from me for a short time. They got a couple of good cries from him and brought him right back to me.
Soon after, I delivered my placenta. I had chosen physiological management of the third stage and didn’t need oxytocin after the birth. I actually bled the least out of all three of my births.
I really wanted my kids to be there to meet their new sibling, so my mom woke them up and brought them into our room while I was still sitting in the birth pool.
Ezra was absolutely ecstatic. He was SO excited. Ellie was excited too... although maybe a little disappointed that he was a boy. 😂
The kids went back to bed pretty seamlessly, and then it was time for me to get out of the pool. My midwives helped me onto the bed and examined my tears while I latched my little guy for the first time.
He was a great eater right from the beginning, which I was incredibly thankful for.
My tearing wasn’t too bad, but unfortunately there was one tear that was a little too complicated for my midwife to repair safely at home. We didn’t want to risk anything, so we decided to transfer to the hospital so an OB could stitch me up.
That part of my postpartum experience is a whole story of its own, so I think I’ll leave that for another time.
But the birth itself was SO cool.
I had no idea my body could labour that way. After weeks of prodromal labour and constantly wondering whether every contraction was finally the real thing, when actual labour came, it came FAST.
At 1 a.m., I was still wondering if I was really in labour. Around 3 a.m., I got into the birth pool. And only a few minutes later, my baby was in my arms.
My hypnobirthing didn't make the entire experience perfectly calm. There was a point where I was genuinely scared and felt completely out of control. But eventually, I surrendered to what my body was doing.
And my body knew exactly what to do.
Then suddenly, the little baby I had waited so long to meet—especially after our loss before him—was lying on my chest.
Nine pounds, two ounces.
A boy.
And absolutely worth the wait. 🤍
The Birth Affirmations You See in My Photos 🤍
I used birth affirmations as part of preparing my mind and my birth space for labour. They were hanging right behind my birth pool as I laboured and welcomed Hendrik into the world.
I now create printable birth affirmation cards for other moms preparing for their own births, with the hope that they can be a small part of helping you feel encouraged, grounded, and confident as you prepare to meet your baby.
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