Toby’s Birth

"M and I welcomed the arrival of beautiful Toby in the early hours of Wednesday morning. He is simply gorgeous and we are totally smitten. The hypnobirthing was A-MAZING.

Our story was totally different this time and I really put this down to the hypnobirthing way. We stayed at home for as long as possible in early labour, but when I wasn't able to concentrate on watching Netflix anymore I knew it was time to head into hospital.

We arrived at 11.30pm, our obstetrician broke my waters at midnight, and Toby was born at 1.49am. Needless to say, it was absolutely intense, but also exhilarating. The breathing techniques totally saw us through.

I don't even think I took in everything in class, but the breathing and the positive mindset was absolutely amazing.

M helped me stay calm by encouraging me and telling me to breathe and doing light touch massage. When things felt really intense, I knew it was the transition.

I told myself that I was going to make it, and M reminded me that Toby was close, and I told myself that I was in Rotorua where everyone delivers without an epidural.😊

It was amazing to be told that the baby was ready to come out. The obstetrician and the midwife said several times that it was the "best birth" they'd seen in years.

They were amazed at how calm we both were, and how we just breathed through each surge. The midwife said she didn't say anything because M was saying everything to me that she would have.

The Obstetrician said it was a textbook perfect delivery. Toby was calm as well and when he arrived, he cried for about half a minute, then was totally calm.

At the end, they wanted to know what course we'd done, and when we told them it was hypnobirthing they said we'd absolutely 'nailed it'. I didn't even need gas!

I didn't even need panadol! A long hot shower, and breathing and imagining Toby coming down seemed to be enough for me.

Can't believe how different it was this time, trusting my body to know what to do. Thank you so much Claire, for teaching us so well over the past few weeks. I am amazed at the difference hypnobirthing has made.

We feel like this birth has really become a very special part of our family story. The obstetrician said he wanted to tell you that this was the best birth he's seen in a long time.

We will be recommending hypnobirthing to everyone."