Ee Ling's Gentle WaterBirthing Story, Pantai Kuala Lumpur
Ziyin is our first baby and she has been termed a blessed baby because she came at the time when I was having difficulties at my previous volatile sales job and I was still able to change employment to another company despite being 4 months pregnant. The new job is office based with a higher fixed income, 6km away from home and most excitingly, has excellent maternity benefits! This benefit has even enabled me to plan for my gentle water birthing as cost is no longer a big factor. A really positive start to a new journey of motherhood! I also have a fairly easy and enjoyable pregnancy and actively do yoga and also swimming till the last week .
As I have heard of gentle and HypnoBirthing (The Mongan Methiod) and very intrigued by its proclaimed benefits, under a friend’s recommendation, we decided to attend Bee Ting’s classes. I am so glad we did as it has paved the way to a positive birthing experience!
My estimated due date was 28th May 2016. But this was just an estimation based on the scan done when I was suggested to be 7 weeks pregnant because I did not remember my last period date. However, I have always told baby to come on the 2nd of June 2016 so that I can work until the end of May and then start maternity leave, have a day of rest and then be ready for her arrival.
As I have heard of gentle and HypnoBirthing (The Mongan Methiod) and very intrigued by its proclaimed benefits, under a friend’s recommendation, we decided to attend Bee Ting’s classes. I am so glad we did as it has paved the way to a positive birthing experience!
My estimated due date was 28th May 2016. But this was just an estimation based on the scan done when I was suggested to be 7 weeks pregnant because I did not remember my last period date. However, I have always told baby to come on the 2nd of June 2016 so that I can work until the end of May and then start maternity leave, have a day of rest and then be ready for her arrival.
30th May 2016 9 am
2 days past EDD. Scheduled appointment with gynae, Dr Paul in the morning with hubby. Regular check up and everything was in place and looked good and ready. However when Dr Paul enquired about baby’s movements, I answered getting lesser. He further asked if it’s less than 20 per hour and I nonchalantly said, yeah perhaps. This had resulted in him being worried and started suggesting possibility of induction as less movements means less than ideal news and since baby looked ready, induction would help to kickstart birth. Truth was, I did not actually actively count the movements, just noting that baby was less active comparatively which was most probably because she was already engaged. When I did count afterwards, it was definitely more than 20.
Anyway, Dr Paul performed a VE and mentioned I was 2 cm dilated and this signaled that labour is starting and near. Due to worry of less movement, he suggested to perform a CTG monitoring in the labour ward.
11 am
Did CTG, everything looked fine. Started to record some mild surges but I felt nothing much. After the CTG, I had blood show when I went to the restroom. I wasn’t sure if it was caused by the earlier VE as that was painful! Or a real blood show. I declined induction and requested more time to wait for surges to build up naturally and was allowed home but requested to be back at night around 9pm for another round of CTG monitoring. I went back and worked from home and at the same time, actively observed baby’s movements.
9pm
Hospital called and I missed the call. I was contemplating whether to go back for CTG as I was worried to be coerced into another round of induction. I still didn’t feel strong surges. Just very mild ones and decided that I wasn’t ready and tired hence I went to sleep, still actively making sure baby’s movements were fine. By this time, I was talking to baby, instead of 2nd June, since the gynae was worried, mommy hoped that you could come out slightly earlier, 1st of June is also a good date 1.6.16
2 days past EDD. Scheduled appointment with gynae, Dr Paul in the morning with hubby. Regular check up and everything was in place and looked good and ready. However when Dr Paul enquired about baby’s movements, I answered getting lesser. He further asked if it’s less than 20 per hour and I nonchalantly said, yeah perhaps. This had resulted in him being worried and started suggesting possibility of induction as less movements means less than ideal news and since baby looked ready, induction would help to kickstart birth. Truth was, I did not actually actively count the movements, just noting that baby was less active comparatively which was most probably because she was already engaged. When I did count afterwards, it was definitely more than 20.
Anyway, Dr Paul performed a VE and mentioned I was 2 cm dilated and this signaled that labour is starting and near. Due to worry of less movement, he suggested to perform a CTG monitoring in the labour ward.
11 am
Did CTG, everything looked fine. Started to record some mild surges but I felt nothing much. After the CTG, I had blood show when I went to the restroom. I wasn’t sure if it was caused by the earlier VE as that was painful! Or a real blood show. I declined induction and requested more time to wait for surges to build up naturally and was allowed home but requested to be back at night around 9pm for another round of CTG monitoring. I went back and worked from home and at the same time, actively observed baby’s movements.
9pm
Hospital called and I missed the call. I was contemplating whether to go back for CTG as I was worried to be coerced into another round of induction. I still didn’t feel strong surges. Just very mild ones and decided that I wasn’t ready and tired hence I went to sleep, still actively making sure baby’s movements were fine. By this time, I was talking to baby, instead of 2nd June, since the gynae was worried, mommy hoped that you could come out slightly earlier, 1st of June is also a good date 1.6.16
31st May 2016 6am
I did not exactly had a good rest as I was observing baby’s movement periodically but I was glad that I still had the chance to rest at home. At 6am, it seemed like baby moved lesser and we straight away went back to hospital, at the same time praying that she would be fine as Dr’s worries initially got into us and we were worried as well. I continued talking to baby and asked her to move.
7am
CTG in hospital. Everything looked good. Still mild surges. Midwife and Dr Paul came to consult and we had a sounding for not coming back to hospital for monitoring the night before, being reminded again that monitoring is important since I mentioned less movements. Though I defended I was probably wrong about my statement the day before about less movements, looking into the fact that I was already pass due date, I still required close monitoring. We mentioned we would be cooperative in the future and requested to wait since everything was still fine. Advised to be back for CTG at noon. Went for big breakfast, went home and did final round of work and emails with automatic replies set. I started to mentally prepared for real labour. Surges were still mild and not prominent.
2pm
Missed lunch as we had heavy breakfast, and planned to have late lunch after hospital visit. CTG still looked fine. Towards the end of CTG, I felt a ‘pop’ during one of the surge and my water broke. I could feel small stream of liquid coming out periodically. Surges were still okay and I was still feeling pretty normal and practiced surge breathing as preparation. I was advised to be admitted. We said okay but we requested to be out for a meal and come back afterwards. In the end, decided to just eat Hot & Roll in the hospital and got necessities down from the car and into the labour suite. I was happy as this moment we have been waiting for has finally come. Surges didn’t bother me at all!
I did not exactly had a good rest as I was observing baby’s movement periodically but I was glad that I still had the chance to rest at home. At 6am, it seemed like baby moved lesser and we straight away went back to hospital, at the same time praying that she would be fine as Dr’s worries initially got into us and we were worried as well. I continued talking to baby and asked her to move.
7am
CTG in hospital. Everything looked good. Still mild surges. Midwife and Dr Paul came to consult and we had a sounding for not coming back to hospital for monitoring the night before, being reminded again that monitoring is important since I mentioned less movements. Though I defended I was probably wrong about my statement the day before about less movements, looking into the fact that I was already pass due date, I still required close monitoring. We mentioned we would be cooperative in the future and requested to wait since everything was still fine. Advised to be back for CTG at noon. Went for big breakfast, went home and did final round of work and emails with automatic replies set. I started to mentally prepared for real labour. Surges were still mild and not prominent.
2pm
Missed lunch as we had heavy breakfast, and planned to have late lunch after hospital visit. CTG still looked fine. Towards the end of CTG, I felt a ‘pop’ during one of the surge and my water broke. I could feel small stream of liquid coming out periodically. Surges were still okay and I was still feeling pretty normal and practiced surge breathing as preparation. I was advised to be admitted. We said okay but we requested to be out for a meal and come back afterwards. In the end, decided to just eat Hot & Roll in the hospital and got necessities down from the car and into the labour suite. I was happy as this moment we have been waiting for has finally come. Surges didn’t bother me at all!
4pm
Checked into the waterbirth labour suite. Got comfortable. Light dimmed, rainbow relaxation CD playing. VE done and was at 3cm. VE felt much more painful than surges! Surges were bearable. Surges every 3-5 minutes and each surge lasted about a minute. Practised surge breathing, laid out yoga mat and practiced different positions and surge breathing all the way. Labour kickstarted without induction. Yay!
6pm
Dinner was served but surges started intensifying a little more and not much appetite. Ate bananas and raisins instead. CTG done. Everything looked well. Got a dose of intravenous antibiotic as was tested Strep B positive during week 35 of pregnancy.
8pm
Surges continued to intensify and I had to concentrate on my breathing and tuned into own body while listening to rainbow relaxation. Imagined the surges as balls of energy sent by baby to me to get ready to come to the world. Had a warm shower and it felt so good.. I was only able to go into the water at 5cm dilation and VE had to be performed prior to entering the bath tub. As VE was painful and dreaded, I tried to delay until I felt really strong surges.
Checked into the waterbirth labour suite. Got comfortable. Light dimmed, rainbow relaxation CD playing. VE done and was at 3cm. VE felt much more painful than surges! Surges were bearable. Surges every 3-5 minutes and each surge lasted about a minute. Practised surge breathing, laid out yoga mat and practiced different positions and surge breathing all the way. Labour kickstarted without induction. Yay!
6pm
Dinner was served but surges started intensifying a little more and not much appetite. Ate bananas and raisins instead. CTG done. Everything looked well. Got a dose of intravenous antibiotic as was tested Strep B positive during week 35 of pregnancy.
8pm
Surges continued to intensify and I had to concentrate on my breathing and tuned into own body while listening to rainbow relaxation. Imagined the surges as balls of energy sent by baby to me to get ready to come to the world. Had a warm shower and it felt so good.. I was only able to go into the water at 5cm dilation and VE had to be performed prior to entering the bath tub. As VE was painful and dreaded, I tried to delay until I felt really strong surges.
10pm
Surges got really strong, did the hip circling with surge breathing. That really helped! Hubby was also helping to read some hypnobirthing scripts and held me in different squatting positions. VE was performed and I was 5cm dilated. Green light to enter the bath tub after another round of CTG. Yay!
11pm
Bath tub was ready and when I entered the water, I felt a sense of relief. The warm water felt so good on the skin. The midwife was accompanying me and showered me with water all the time. Hubby made sure I was well fed and hydrated in the bath tub. In the pool, I lost sense of time and just continued concentrating on surge breathing, tuning in with help of rainbow relaxation, moving and floating my body in the pool, experimenting with different positions.
1/6/16 1am
I was 10cm dilated at this time and ready to get baby out. As the surges felt were very intense and I felt tired and out of energy, I wanted to deliver baby out as soon as possible, which resulted in me pushing instead of breathing baby out. I tried breathing but the breath was powerless in my attempt to get baby out. Hence, under Dr Paul and midwife’s instructions and cues, I tried the pushing method. Baby came in and out quite a few times and I was really exhausted at this point of time. However, with the motivation given, I tried with all my might and finally managed to push baby out and felt the ring of fire. No episiotomy. Natural 2nd degree tear with stitches. My lesson here was to eat more next time to have the energy to wait until the right time to breathe the baby out instead of pushing to complete it fast.
Surges got really strong, did the hip circling with surge breathing. That really helped! Hubby was also helping to read some hypnobirthing scripts and held me in different squatting positions. VE was performed and I was 5cm dilated. Green light to enter the bath tub after another round of CTG. Yay!
11pm
Bath tub was ready and when I entered the water, I felt a sense of relief. The warm water felt so good on the skin. The midwife was accompanying me and showered me with water all the time. Hubby made sure I was well fed and hydrated in the bath tub. In the pool, I lost sense of time and just continued concentrating on surge breathing, tuning in with help of rainbow relaxation, moving and floating my body in the pool, experimenting with different positions.
1/6/16 1am
I was 10cm dilated at this time and ready to get baby out. As the surges felt were very intense and I felt tired and out of energy, I wanted to deliver baby out as soon as possible, which resulted in me pushing instead of breathing baby out. I tried breathing but the breath was powerless in my attempt to get baby out. Hence, under Dr Paul and midwife’s instructions and cues, I tried the pushing method. Baby came in and out quite a few times and I was really exhausted at this point of time. However, with the motivation given, I tried with all my might and finally managed to push baby out and felt the ring of fire. No episiotomy. Natural 2nd degree tear with stitches. My lesson here was to eat more next time to have the energy to wait until the right time to breathe the baby out instead of pushing to complete it fast.
1.50am
Welcome baby Ziyin to the world She did listen to mommy and came to the world on this date! 1.6.16. She was very alert and only had short cries. Immediate skin to skin and were transferred to bed. There, she did assisted breastcrawl and managed to latch at breast right away! I was amazed by such reflex. It was a really wonderful moment
This is my first experience and being equipped with the knowledge gained from Bee Ting’s classes, I was confident and had no fear facing the birth. However, the process was indeed exhausting and required lots of concentration and more challenging than I thought. Haha! No doubt the sensations were intense at times but with breathing and positive mind, they can be conquered. I have the birth according to my birth plan with no unwanted medical interventions and anaesthetics, apart from periodic monitoring to ensure baby’s safety. I am one proud mama!
At home, Ziyin is a calm and easy baby to take care of and not fussy. We are doing great with breastfeeding too! I believe a gentle and positive birth may have helped in her nice demeanour and our success with breastfeeding so far. Thanks Bee Ting and HypnoBirthing method!
Welcome baby Ziyin to the world She did listen to mommy and came to the world on this date! 1.6.16. She was very alert and only had short cries. Immediate skin to skin and were transferred to bed. There, she did assisted breastcrawl and managed to latch at breast right away! I was amazed by such reflex. It was a really wonderful moment
This is my first experience and being equipped with the knowledge gained from Bee Ting’s classes, I was confident and had no fear facing the birth. However, the process was indeed exhausting and required lots of concentration and more challenging than I thought. Haha! No doubt the sensations were intense at times but with breathing and positive mind, they can be conquered. I have the birth according to my birth plan with no unwanted medical interventions and anaesthetics, apart from periodic monitoring to ensure baby’s safety. I am one proud mama!
At home, Ziyin is a calm and easy baby to take care of and not fussy. We are doing great with breastfeeding too! I believe a gentle and positive birth may have helped in her nice demeanour and our success with breastfeeding so far. Thanks Bee Ting and HypnoBirthing method!
