Manifesting My Birth Plan

I was interested in birth stories, even the ones that were a bit graphic. I was intrigued to know all the different possibilities that you may encounter when delivering a baby. So much information to educate yourself with. So many decisions.

Getting pregnant made me realize, I soon would have my very own birth story, so I had to get down to business. How would this go for me?
I would stay up at night reading, spending every day educating myself on what to do, and what not to do.
Out in the world, there are thousands of stories on childbirth and what to expect.  A small portion of birth stories include women who enjoy labor and delivery. It seemed there was no way it could even be possible to enjoy giving birth but I had to know more.

Pregnancy; for me, was a dream come true. I felt immediate elation.
I always imagined what it would be like, how I would finally be able to prepare, shop, choose names, and create my own little perfect world that would soon welcome a baby.
I felt happy, full of life, and I had that pregnancy glow. I couldn’t wait to share the news with everyone. I was so excited for our future and the life we would create.

On no particular day, while loving pregnancy life, I realized I started to hate the smell of things around my house. The smell of seafood, meats, actually; anything in my fridge or being cooked made me nauseous.

Morning sickness; despite the name, occurs at any time of day. Who knew. It was awful, to the point where I didn’t think I would ever want to become pregnant again.
However, week fourteen was the turning point and I felt great all the way through to the end after that. I had no aches or pains, I worked out a few times a week (when I had the energy), ate a healthy diet, and tried to look as cute as possible in my new growing wardrobe.

I loved being pregnant, perhaps because I was surrounded by others, telling me pregnancy suits me. Which was the greatest thing to hear when your body is growing larger than ever.
I was extremely ready and confident to bring a baby home. And as ready as I was to become a mother, I was terrified for the labor and delivery portion.

I wish I could tell you I was nervous about the unknown. I was confident about being a mom and always dreamed of it but the thought of birthing a child was my absolute worst fear.
I wanted to have a labor that went so smoothly, such as your water breaking early on and slowly having contractions start. Then to have the whole labor process be quick and as painless as possible.

I was so scared to the point where I felt like no one else understood the fear I had.
It consumed me in the weeks leading to my due date. I couldn’t even enjoy myself, so I knew I had to tap into another level of confidence to transcend my feelings from bad to good about this process.

I owned and read regularly, the book The Secret by Rhonda Bryne. I thought this was a chance to read it and try to manifest the most magical birth story.
These women with blissful stories just seemed too good to be true. There are way more horrifying stories out there, how could I be one of those rare women.
In my last trimester, I read the book slowly and took so much from the resources it was providing, thinking of how I could apply it to labor.

I wanted to have a quick labor, with as little pain as possible.
So, I imagined it.
I pictured myself going through labor every day as I got closer to my due date by using the resources in the book. I wanted so badly to have no complications and to have everything go smoothly.

HERES WHAT HAPPENED

My due date approached, and I was told by my health care provider that I would likely deliver early.
Amazing!
I vigorously tried everything:
spicy foods,
walking long distances,
running,
moving and sitting combos,
sex,
baths,
pineapple (lots of pineapples)

My due date came, and I was fed up. Fed up with my bigger-sized body, the way that I needed a little push out of bed, and the fact that my midwife kept me hopeful I would deliver early.
I had two membrane sweeps by this point, and I continued on with trying everything advised to naturally bring on labor.

BIRTHDAY

On this particular day, four days after my due date, I walked a few kilometers outdoors.
Annoyed when I got home, that my waters still had not broken. I had spicy tacos for dinner, a bath, and bed. I laid in bed thinking how frustrating this was, that my bundle wouldn’t come out. It had been so long.
I hopped back up with a burst of emotion, frustration, and energy . I then did squats and lunges beside my bed until I wasn’t exhausted, which when your full term, is quick quickly.
I went to sleep and had a strange dream which jolted me up from my sleep. My water broke as I sat up. It was 3:00 am and I knew for sure it was happening.
I had been prepared for weeks.
The next hour I spent experiencing my first bit of contractions. They came as quickly as five minutes apart.
I woke my husband, who had heard multiple times in the last couple of weeks that I thought maybe something was happening but never was true. He was nervous and fumbling to pack all the items which had been neatly ready to go at the door for what felt like months.
Driving to the hospital, after laboring with strong contractions (now 3 minutes apart) in the comfort of my own home for six hours was horribly uncomfortable. When I arrived at the hospital, they told me there would be no time for any type of pain medication.

I was told to push right away which ended up taking a couple hours. I had a beautiful, healthy experience, naturally ending with a perfect baby boy.

My midwifery care allowed me to go home a few hours after delivering my bundle. I was home again almost within twelve hours of when my water broke. It was still painful, exhausting, and like nothing could’ve prepared for but it was also one of the best birth stories I had heard of.
I felt so proud and relieved to have pictured and witness such a blissful day. Resulting in, by far, the best day of my life.

WHAT WORKED FOR ME

• frequent movement

• walking long distances

• spicy foods

• pineapple

• squats

• lunges

WHAT I DID THROUGHOUT PREGANCYPREGNANCY

• manifesting my birth plan

• reading The Secret

• healthy diet

• yoga

• drinking lots of water

• walking whenever energized

• exercises

• eating a lot of pineapple & dates

• being patient with body

• resting when needed

To the women like me with fears of labor and delivery, please know how strong you are.

Looking back at me before being a mom I was, dare I say it: weak. The strength of giving birth is indescribable. It transcends you into a euphoric notion where you feel invincible.

The day I met my son, was life-transforming. It feels like a body out-of-body experience because it is such a rush of determination and strength.

Looking back now, I am proud. I created the best outcome for myself. I worked extremely hard and so did my baby during those last two hours before we met. I am so grateful for how I experienced childbirth. Bringing my newborn home was the best feeling in the world.

MY SECRET

What I know for sure, is that the power of the law of attraction and manifesting what you want an outcome to look like, can really take over and become a reality.

The book explains how the law of attraction is positive energy that attracts positive things into your life. Applying this to the way I wanted my labor to go, truly helped me prepare emotionally and made me realize I was capable physically. I got exactly what I wanted. The way that I manifested my birth story was by writing down a birth plan that I wanted, I would write it over and over until it was the only outcome I could think of. Which then took over my mind, making me think it was the only thought that I could have when it came to preparing for the big day. Before this, I had been so fearful of labor, I was dreading it and making myself an emotional wreck, it seemed this was the only thing that I thought would work. I believed in the power of The Secret.

I now believe I am a true test of how the mind can work in your favor, to bring your thoughts to reality. I believed that what I wanted was the only possible outcome for myself and what I could handle. Looking back I am in shock from the thoughts I had previous, to the way my mind transformed into a positive, happy, albeit blissful birth story.

Having this experience makes me want to let other pregnant, fearful women know that it’s okay to be scared but you can change it. Not only that, you can have whatever birth story you want.