[notjustmamie]

For quite a while I'd been planning to try Hypnobabies for my second birth. I was on their website the other day again looking at how much it cost and what not and I found the free "Relax Me" script. I've listened to it twice and I can't seem to get into it. Her voice keeps telling me I'm more and more relaxed, but I keep arguing back, "No, I'm not."

I've read that anyone who can follow directions will do fine with hypnosis. I'm beginning to think that's my problem. I'm lousy at following directions. I can hardly follow a recipe or a crochet pattern without changing something to suit me better.

I don't want to spend the money on a program that isn't going to suit me, but I'm pretty sure the problem is me. Has anybody else had similar issues? If so, were you able to overcome them and successfully use your hypnosis skills during birth or not?

 

[Veritaserum]

Hypnosis is all about choice. If you find yourself arguing with the suggestions coming in, you can choose to make a game out of following the directions or listening to each word as it comes in. If you still find that to be difficult, you can choose to occupy your conscious mind with making your grocery list or thinking about what you need to do later/tomorrow. That way your subconscious is still getting the messages and you're not fighting it.

You could also choose to listen when you're really tired so that you fall asleep. I found that the best time to listen for me was often in the middle of the night after using the bathroom.

 

[Barefoot~Baker]

I'm doing the program, and at first I had those moments too, where she says that I feel comfortable when I just kept itching, but as the pp said, it helps to choose to do it. I don't have trouble at all anymore, I love the course and find it so relaxing. It has actually helped me to deal with pain that I suffer from outside of pregnancy

 

[~Sarah~]

I had the itching and RLS at first, too, and was worried that I couldn't do it, but then I found that I could get through the scripts if I envisioned each word as it was being said, as if it was on a computer screen or something, instead of actually listening to what it was saying. I just concentrated on seeing big blue words pop up on a black background, and played with their size and duration a little bit. I didn't pay attention to what was being said. Then, I got to the point where I created my "center switch" and now it's totally easy because I know I have the option to move if I need to without starting all over again.

 

[notjustmamie]

Well, it's definitely good to know I'm not the only one. I tried it lying down this last time and that did help. I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to move. Maybe that's part of my problem; I need to lie still and get comfortable before I start the script.

Thanks for the advice. Feel free to add more if anybody else has thoughts!

 

[wombatclay]

When I was first using the program I'd listen to the script once or twice and then I'd put it on my mp3 player and fall asleep with it on "auto loop".

It worked fine at the birth.

I agree that a lot of hypnosis is creating an association (hear/feel this = selected response). It's not so much about following the directions in order to get a certain response but to simply choose to listen and spend the time. Just like those silly experiments they do on all the first year psych students... you know, the Pavlovian conditioning where the professor asks the class to make a "slurp" sound every time he shows them a picture of a lemon. A TA blows a whistle every time the image comes up. Before long, the class "slurps" when the TA blows the whistle... picture not required. The students choose to "play along" at the beginning but eventually it's an unconscious response to stimuli.

 

[heatherh]

Part of what I like about Hypnobabies so far is that it's pretty flexible. You can modify stuff to work better for you. One good example for me is the idea that your cervix is a gold ring. For me, that visualization doesn't work because gold rings are HARD - so I think of a flower opening up instead. I don't feel like I have to follow everything *exactly* - I can just pull out the parts that work best for me. I am glad we opted to do the actual class instead of self study so I can ask my instructor lots of questions about these things

 

[~Sarah~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heatherh I am glad we opted to do the actual class instead of self study so I can ask my instructor lots of questions about these things

For those who don't have the live class option, there's an awesome Yahoo group with tons of helpful and supportive ladies, and even Kerry herself will sometimes join in and answer questions. I believe the majority of Hypnobabies mamas use the self-study. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hypnobabies/

 

[mommy2thegang]

Where do I find the relax me script online ? I can't find it .

 

[Harmony08]

I did the homestudy religiously. I did everything you were supposed to do. I was so into it. I was positive, confident, relaxed. My labor was 40 hours long. I think it helped to relax me in the beginning but after awhile I was really done with her annoying calm voice. Now, I can't bear the sound of her voice or the mooshy music. Now I associate it with the excruciating, unbearable, pain that I wasn't supposed to be feeling.

I liked the affirmations. Especially relaxing on long walks and for falling asleep to. Doing the cd for the day always got me to take a little rest when I may not have but other than that it was a waste of time and money for me. Maybe I can't follow directions, maybe it works better if your labor is under ten hours. Ick, I'm getting chills just thinking about that voice....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[notjustmamie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommy2thegang Where do I find the relax me script online ? I can't find it .

It took me a while to find it again too! The link is on the bottom of the FAQ page: http://www.enjoybirth.com/Free-Hypnobabies-Tracks.html

 

[mommy2thegang]

Thanks!