Yesterday was part one of our 2-day birthing class.  We spent the whole day with six other pregnant ladies, their birthing partners, and our midwife, Jenny, who is also the instructor.

Five of seven pregnant ladies are planning home births: Jenny is midwife to three of us; and two women are working with another midwife.  Two of the seven pregnant ladies are planning hospital births (and one of those women works in the hospital).

As you might expect, this wasn’t your average birthing class.  This was a HypnoBirthing® Class.  Hmmm…have I mentioned that we’re planning to use HypnoBirthing® methods to birth our baby?  Well, we are.  And after yesterday’s class, we are more confident in our choice than ever.  In fact, we are both amazed that more people don’t chose this method because it is amazingly simple and highly effective.  (That’s right, we’re birthing our baby at home, in the water, using HypnoBirthing methods:  I guess that is a home/water/hypnobirth.)

So what exactly is HypnoBirthing® all about?  Here is the definition of HypnoBirthing® as provided in our class materials:

HypnoBirthing is as much a philosophy as it is a technique.  It is a rewarding, relaxing, stress-free method of birthing that is based on the belief that when a mother is properly prepared for birthing physically, mentally, and spiritually, she can experience the joy of birthing her baby in an easier, more comfortable, and often even pain free, manner.  HypnoBirthing returns to women the art of birthing in a way that allows her to summon her natural birthing instincts.  Hypnobirthing is based on the belief that severe discomfort does not need to be a natural accompaniment of labor.

Sign me up!  If you’re interested in more information on Hypnobirthing® — including birth stories, statistics, and books — then check out this website: http://www.hypnobirthing.com/default.htm

Shortly after we got home, Aaron said, “It just makes so much sense.  Why doesn’t everyone do this?”  Good question.  Of course, we’ll be able to tell you more about it sometime in October.  I’ll provide some additional information here, in coming posts.  For now, we are even more excited about our plan and are very much looking forward to the birth of our baby!