“Be a limp noodle!”

“When I got to the hospital it was 12 pm, I was 2 cm dialated, they monitered me for 45 minutes, my water had not broken, then I walked around the hospital to see if my contractions got stronger. Well they did. I went back 30 minutes later, I was 3 inches dilated, but my midwife thought that it was the castor oil and that my contractions would stop, so I was discharged, but she said stick around because of my family’s history of quick labor. So we went to a little pizza place about 5 minutes away and before we’d gone into the car to go there I was going into serious contractions where I had to stop and bend over, we still went to the pizza place and about 1 hour had gone by we were back at the hospital because I knew I was having the baby. This time they admitted me and it was a little after 3 pm, I was 4 cm dilated. I went to the laboring room, but it was hard walking over there. My sister was a great help to me, the contractions were super painful in my lower back and she did this thing with her hands that caused friction and was a great distraction.

…”I had lots of distractions, I had massage tools, heat packs and ice packs, and these spikey plastic balls that I would grab onto and the birthing ball was great. I also had a visual which was this holographic picture of a bird on a tree limb over the ocean at sunset. And I had music as well. My sister hung a twisted sheet on the back of the hospital door and shut it so I could swing on it and pull down with my body weight, which oddly as it sounds, was one of the best distractions I had.  The doula was there and she was helpful, but the most helpful tool was your class, seriously, I knew everything that was going on each step of the way, and I had no apprehension about what was going on with my body and that allowed me to focus on what I had to do, which was relax and get through the contractions. You went over everything so much so that i had it memorized and felt totally confident in the process.  And when a contraction came i just kept hearing your voice in my head, “be a limp noodle!” and I forced my body to relax. The most helpful thing I finally found was towards the end when they got so bad, I breathed into them, and just thought that my body absorb them and that it wasn’t painful, just a sensation, I pushed for 30 minutes…and ended up giving birth on top on the bed, leaning over the birth ball so I couldn’t see anything….Everything went really well, and completely natural.  He is so healthy and is just a joy….I look at the size of that baby and I can’t believe I gave birth to him, birth is a miracle!

Thank you for providing the tools to get through it, your class was priceless, really, and I wanted to share with you how it all played out in the end.”  Laura G.

Here are some other birth articles and stories we know you’ll love.

Meet Katie Griffin

I’m a registered nurse, Lamaze certified childbirth educator, and the mother of 7. I help women realize their dream of a natural, intimate, and empowering hospital birth.

You may also like

“When I got to the hospital it was 12 pm, I was 2 cm dialated, they monitered me for 45 minutes, my water had not broken, then I walked around the hospital