Dear Melissa,

We wanted to let you know about the birth of our beautiful baby girl; Ella Grace born on Friday 24^th February, and to also thank you from the very bottom of our hearts for ‘being there’ with us and giving us the gifts of Hypnobirthing to have a completely natural, primal and rewarding birth experience.

Slight surges started at 7 pm on Thursday night, and got increasingly stronger during the night. We managed to stay home for 12 hours and got to the birth centre when I was already 8 cm dilated. We used many of the Hypnobirthing tools while we were at home, most of all your Hypnosis CD. The Affirmations and Surge Of The Sea tracks were amazing for me in riding each surge and keeping my mind clear, focused and positive. Joel was amazing and used a lot of acupressure and moxibustion to help with each surge and to keep my body strong. It really helps having a partner who is an acupuncturist!!!.  (Note from Melissa: See http://www.paddingtonclinic.com.au/ for Joel’s details)

Once we got to the birth centre (at the RBH), which can I just say was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, Joel dimmed the lights, put on the Comfort Zone music, burned some aromatherapy oils and the whole atmosphere was incredibly peaceful. The midwives were absolutely amazing and left me to do my thing. (I think they were very thrilled to be involved in a HypnoBirth – later the midwife at the birth said she and the other midwifes assigned to me were each secretly hoping they would be the midwife on call at the time of my labour because they had a feeling it would be a beautiful experience – one that they got into midwifery in the first place for!)

I hopped straight in the bath, and 3 hours later I birthed a little water-baby. It was definitely no piece of cake, and during the end stages there were times I so desperately wanted to give up (in my mind at one stage I remember thinking Why???…WHY is this the way babies have to come into the world? That’s it, give me a ceaser, I want it out!). I knew I was in transition, so all I just kept trying to do was to “surrender to the sensations of your body” (great affirmation!), which I must have done because this intense, ferocious, primal energy took over me where I felt like I turned into some almightly wild lioness- noises came out of me that I never would have expected, and I actually even bit Joel on the thigh without knowing it at one point (luckily he had the sense to not complain about it!). The Hypnobirthing had really prepared me for this stage, and without the mental strength and relaxation ability I had developed from months of Hypnobirthing training, I don’t think I would have had the birth experience I had wanted.

For this, Melissa, I cannot thank you enough. The strength and support of your voice in your CD, the positivity that flooded me every time I thought about you during the birth, and the excitement you would have when I finally told you that I had my baby in my arms helped more than I could ever say.

Ella is so content and so easy. She hardly ever cries and I am even getting reasonable amounts of sleep already! We love her to bits.

After the birth, I noticed a quote on my midwife’s bag which very much sums up my experience:

“We have a secret in our culture and it’s not that childbirth is painful, it’s that women are strong.”

Women are strong.

All our love,

Rachel, Joel and Baby Ella.