Hypnobabies

[susla]

I'm due in early April with #2 and just started the Hypnobabies home study course last week. (Didn't use it with #1). I thought it would be nice to have a thread here for anyone who's doing the course too, for sharing questions, suggestions, experiences, etc.

Anyone interested?

[Jenica]

I'm interested! I just started it last week too. I'm due mid-April with my first.

So far I really like it. I knew pretty early on that I wanted to do natural childbirth so I've been pretty careful to not listen/read/watch any negative birth stories/births so my outlook has been pretty positive. That said, I think Hypnobabies is making me feel even more positive about birthing, to the point that I'm actually looking forward to it. I forget which script I was listening to the other day but I felt so happy and excited about birthing afterwards. I'm a pretty easy subject though because I've used hypnosis before so I'm really open to it.

One thing that surprised me is how active my baby gets when I'm listening to the scripts. She just bounces around in there. Does yours do that?

How do you like it so far?

[Oztok5]

I would be interested in a thread! I'm due at the very end of April, and I plan on ordering the course tonight. I'm really looking forward to starting.

[susla]

Jenica-
Yes! My baby is also really active while I'm listening. Although I almost always have been listening right before bedtime, and I'm obviously lying really still, so I'm not sure whether it's the scripts or just the quiet time at the end of the day. It's fun to think that he/she is affected by it, though.

I have only listened to the first 3 scripts so far, and most of the time, I find that I fall asleep within the first 10 min and then wake up right as it ends. Although maybe that's what they refer to as hypnotic amnesia? Either way, it's definitely relaxing me and helping me fall asleep more easily at night.

I had a natural birth with my first and didn't really use any sort of "program" or approach. It was a great, positive experience, but I was really freaked out the whole time-even though I was very focused, I was also scared and I found that I had the thought "I can't do this" running through my head the whole time, even though I was actually doing it. So I am thinking that this will really help to make me more relaxed, less scared and in a more positive frame of mind this time around...

[smeisnotapirate]

Look at all of us April moms!

I've been doing them since we confirmed our pregnancy (bought the home study course with our last pg, which ended in a miscarriage), and I love them! I attribute it single-handedly to me being so Zen.

[ivymae]

I could use some zen. I have a friend who is due... two weeks ago... and when she finally has that baby (soon!) I will ask if I can buy her kit from her.

[smeisnotapirate]

Originally Posted by ivymae

I could use some zen. I have a friend who is due... two weeks ago... and when she finally has that baby (soon!) I will ask if I can buy her kit from her.

Yeah, I think she needs the Zen more than you right now.

[Jenica]

Hehe us April moms are running with this thread. Probably because we are all realizing that there's not much time left!

Susla, I feel like I fall asleep during mine too but I think it is the hypnotic amnesia because I wake up right as it ends too. Sometimes I'll zone in and out and all of a sudden I notice her voice and I'm actively listening again but when I try to figure out what I was thinking/dreaming etc right before I notice her voice, it's blank. So amnesia makes sense.

My best friend had a natural birth and she thought it was a positive experience but she had the same feeling you had where she just kept saying, "I can't do this" as she was doing it. She didn't prepare for it at all because she fully intended on getting an epidural but her labor went so fast she didn't have the time.

I'm pretty sure I won't be as lucky as her with the fast labor because my mom was 16 hrs with my db and 14 with me. I figured that if I wanted to stick with the natural labor it wouldn't hurt to have some help. My midwife was the one who convinced me to do hypnobabies. I asked her what she thought of it and she said the moms that do it just amaze her with their relaxation and calmness.

[bubbamummy]

Another April mom here Ive been doing it since Christmastime and really like it, like someone else said, I seem to fall asleep withinabout 10 minutes and wake up at the end, but it says that's OK

Im not very diligent though, sometimes Im just too tired at the end of the day I try and do it daily and I know you're supposed to, I have done it the last 5 nights so, lately im on a roll!!

[cocoanib]

I'm a Marchie and doing hypnobabies. Man, I've been slacking big time though!

[tngirl11]

Just wanted to say used hypnobabies for my last birth and thought it worked really well. I used Bradley for my first birth (my twins), and it was very educational, but hypnobabies was a little better for learning some great techniques for relaxing. My second labor was much quicker and more intense, and I really think the fact that I had learned to be totally relaxed helped me tons. It's pretty cool, because in all of the photos of me in labor, I look like I'm asleep (and definitely was NOT) : ) Good luck everyone!

[lovebug]

i hope you all dont mind if i take ? i will be quite and i swear i wount derail the thread

[AustinMom]

We are due in September. We did bradley last labor (27 hr, contractions about 1 min 5 min apart or so) and ended up with cesarean due to acynclitic and not turning baby.

I can honestly say I was able to "relax". The midwife at one point said "I can't tell if she is even contracting." Yeah, wasn't the thing to say at the 20 hr mark....but, I got really focus, and drew within, and visualized the baby opening my cervix. I only got from 4 to 6 that whole time, and I don't really remember anything being "painful". Maybe when I was all alone, and felt abandoned, but that's due to lack of support emotionally.

Anywho, I'm studying to be a Doula so I feel VERY informed, and prepared, and am considering Hypnoababies, but it's really expensive. Our insurance doesn't cover HB, and we are buying a pool as well, and I'm paying for my Doula training this month, and there are other bills of course.

Is it worth it? Is there any way I can find a cheaper one? Is it really worth it? Do I really need it?

[Jenica]

I got mine for $122 w/ shipping because there was a promotion on it last month. I'm not sure if it's still going on but you can search for promotional codes and see. Also someone on one of these forums mentioned that they got there's used from Hypnobabies. I think the used home study courses are around $85 if you buy them from Hypnobabies. I'm not sure if you can order the used ones on the website, you may have to call them.

I don't know if you "need" it since you didn't have pain last time but it is different from being informed. It's educational but there is definitely a major subconscious factor there. I would encourage you to get it more since you are training to be a doula than for your own birth. You may have clients who want to use it and it would be valuable to be able to share your own personal experience with them. Since I'm only in week two of the program I don't know what the end scripts entail but I do think they are supposed to encourage correct positioning of the baby.

[GuavaGirl]

Austinmom: If you call and ask for a used one, it's $85. ...and my guess is that you may be able sell it back. Not sure though. ...but they have to get the used ones from somewhere. They also sell them on ebay. Seller name is Hypnobabies.


I'm due the end of February. I've totally been slacking. I don't really look forward to them, but know I should do it. I'd just rather be doing something else with my awake time, usually. I only do mine about 3 times a week and then move on to the next section...and I don't practice like you're supposed to either. ...and I haven't been able to stay awake yet for the week 4 track. I think I'm doing the hypnotic amnesia thing too, but I worry that I'm missing some technique that I need to be consciously learning. ....and I'm worried that my labor won't be as good because I'm not putting in the time.

[AustinMom]

If I can't get it for $85 from them, would anyone be willing to sell me theirs?

[jsh7809]

Hmm, I am due 4/5 and thought it was too late to start. Maybe not! Sounds like April is representing all up in this here thread
I am definitely going to check it out, although the expense is a concern for me too... Still, I think self hypnosis to avoid that "I can't do this" negative self talk would be the perfect thing for me.

[jecombs]

I'm due the first part of May. I just ordered my Hypnobabies kit last week and I really hope it comes this week! I got a used kit for $85 from Hypnobabies. All I had to do was email them and say I wanted a used kit. They replied to my message immediately and sent me a phone number to call. The kit is supposed to come with used CDs that the company guarantees will work, in addition to new written materials. I can't wait to get started!

We used Bradley with our first DD. I thought the education about pregnancy, labor, and birth was wonderful, but didn't give me enough tools to cope with the sensations of labor and birth. I pretty much white-knuckled my was through DD's birth. This time around, I am hoping for a much more peaceful, positive, and in-control experience.

[susla]

Maybe check around in your neighborhood/community and see if you can either buy a used set for cheap, or better yet, see if you can find someone who would lend it to you to copy?

I say this because I borrowed the materials from a friend who was going to sell hers, and just burned the CDs onto my iTunes and photocopied the parts of the workbook that I thought I would use...there are definitely some sections in the workbook that I didn't really think I needed so I skipped those (the parts on nutrition, breastfeeding, etc.) Anyway, it worked out really well because now I have the materials for free and she still has the set to sell it.

I wish I could listen to the scripts when I'm commuting to work on the subway in the morning. This morning I got really dizzy all of a sudden on the train, (this has been happening to me every now and then during this pregnancy), and even after the dizziness passed, I felt totally shaky and anxious for the rest of the morning. I'm at work now and finally starting to feel better, but I was wishing I could just close my eyes and zone out to one of the tracks-I'm sure it would have made me feel better right away. Has anyone found a good time/place to listen other than in bed or on the couch at night?

[Jenica]

Originally Posted by susla

Maybe check around in your neighborhood/community and see if you can either buy a used set for cheap, or better yet, see if you can find someone who would lend it to you to copy?

I say this because I borrowed the materials from a friend who was going to sell hers, and just burned the CDs onto my iTunes and photocopied the parts of the workbook that I thought I would use...there are definitely some sections in the workbook that I didn't really think I needed so I skipped those (the parts on nutrition, breastfeeding, etc.) Anyway, it worked out really well because now I have the materials for free and she still has the set to sell it.

I wish I could listen to the scripts when I'm commuting to work on the subway in the morning. This morning I got really dizzy all of a sudden on the train, (this has been happening to me every now and then during this pregnancy), and even after the dizziness passed, I felt totally shaky and anxious for the rest of the morning. I'm at work now and finally starting to feel better, but I was wishing I could just close my eyes and zone out to one of the tracks-I'm sure it would have made me feel better right away. Has anyone found a good time/place to listen other than in bed or on the couch at night?

Susla, is there a unused conference room or something at your work? Maybe you could use part of your lunch break to listen to a script? I usually just listen to my scripts if I have time during the day but if not at night before bed. I woke up in the middle of the night last night to pee and couldn't fall back asleep and I thought about listening to a script then.

Also have you had your blood pressure and sugar levels checked recently? I think feeling dizzy/shaky/anxious could be due to low blood sugar or low blood pressure.