The Birth of Eden Rose

Our Hypnobabies Home Birth Story and Video

Yep, I had a hypnobabies home birth in 2020. The year that none of us will ever forget. The year where everyone looked on you with compassion when they saw that you were pregnant, because who in their right mind would bring a baby into this world with all of its current craziness?

As I write this, it’s 2021. She’s 4.5 months old and is one of the happiest little bundles of squish I’ve ever known. And guess what? Things are still crazy. (In fact, I’m betting they’re soon to get even crazier.) So, to quote my mother, who shared some very wise words with us before we even had kids and were considering not having any at all:

“Just because the world’s ending doesn’t mean that we stop living.”

I look around at my 4 beautiful, healthy children, and I’m so grateful that we decided to take my mom’s advice.

Eden’s home birth story is unique for several reasons…

First, her gender.

Before we had our ultrasound, we were pretty sure Yahweh was going to give us another boy. I mean, it just made the most logical sense.

• Our first and third were girls. So our second and fourth had to be boys.
• We already had a boy’s name picked out from when I was pregnant with Haddie and we didn’t know what we were having. If we had a boy this time, I wouldn’t have to think about choosing another girl’s name. And I honestly didn’t want to…
• Having a boy would keep the bedroom situation simple, as Indie and Haddie could share one room, while Kale and his brother shared another.
• Kale had stated on more than one occasion that he wanted a baby brother, so we told him to pray and ask God. Surely God would answer his simple prayers with a resounding YES. (I mean, I struggle to say no to this face everyday…)

But, as is often the case, our Heavenly Abba had other plans … and we believe and trust that His ways are good.

Second, her name.

Eden is honestly not a name I ever thought I would choose. But after we had our ultrasound, I started perusing the Internet for name ideas. My eyes briefly paused as they passed over the name ‘Eden’.

Eden…

Like the garden.

It means paradise. Place of delight.

Something about it stood out to me, and a voice inside my head (Holy Spirit?) said, “yep, that’s her name.”

I casually mentioned the name to Jereme to see what he thought. He didn’t hate it but didn’t seem overly excited about it either. Over the next few days, I must have looked at hundreds of names. But I couldn’t stop thinking that Eden was it.

As the saying goes … when you know, you know. (You know?)

We paid a visit to our chiropractor, Dr. Holly, shortly thereafter, and she asked us if we had picked out a name yet. We jokingly said, “not yet, but we have a few ideas … what do you think her name should be?”

She briefly looked around to “assess” our family. “Hmm… she said. Indie, Kale, Haddie … Eden?”

Jereme and I looked at each other as our jaws nearly hit the floor. Seriously, what are the chances that out of all the names available to us, she’d land on the very same one we were considering? It’s not like Eden is especially common, after all!

Thanks, Yahweh, for the clear confirmation.

Rose was also later suggested by Dr. Holly as a middle name, and at the time, I wasn’t too keen on it, so I kept looking for other ideas. A few weeks passed, and I had completely forgotten about her suggestion. (Placenta brain.) When my eyes passed over the name “Rose” as I was looking at baby name sites online again, it gave me pause. Eden Rose. Suddenly, I loved it. When I mentioned it to Jereme, he reminded me that it had been suggested by Dr. Holly before. (Roses are actually my favorite flower, too.)

Being that she was born in 2020 — a year full of uncertainty, darkness, and for many, fear — “Eden Rose” fits perfectly.  She is a literal piece of paradise — the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. A fruitful garden in the midst of a dark, depleted world. A beautiful, blooming, sweet-smelling flower bringing bright, fresh color to the thorn-covered bush it calls home.

A daily reminder of what a good, good Father we serve.

We didn’t select her name for its meaning. The Lord gave it to us, and later He confirmed it as a perfect choice for the times we are living in…

Third, her hypnobabies home birth.

It was truly the most peaceful birth experience I’ve had yet.

I remember being fearful throughout both of my previous pregnancies with Kale and Haddie. I was virtually fearless in the time leading up to Indie’s birth, because I had never given birth before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But mentally, I had prepared myself for an amazing, peaceful experience. It was all of that and more, but I still felt a lot of pain during labor. So when it came time for Kale’s birth, all I could think about was how much pain I was going to have to endure, again. And with Haddie’s birth, I was even more fearful.

Being that I had had three successful (and relatively peaceful) home births before, I was basically considered a “pro” by the time Eden’s birth came around. But I was still fearful of the pain. And I know that fear causes tension, and tension is ironically what leads to pain or discomfort during labor.

I wanted a painless birth.

Hypnobabies Home Birth Story Inspiration

I had heard stories about women who had given birth naturally — vaginally, drug-free, and pain-free — and it had always intrigued me. So I started researching it more, and that’s when I found the Hypnobabies childbirth education course.

I was a little apprehensive at first…

“Hypnobabies … sounds pretty new-age. Does that mean that you’re … hypnotized? Is it mind-altering? Will I be out of control? Is this opening a door to a dark spiritual realm that is not in line with what our Heavenly Father intends for birth, or for life at all?”

These were all questions I started to ask myself. But then I learned how Hypnobabies® defines “hypnosis”, and I realized that the course name itself is somewhat deceiving. I won’t get into it here, except to say that it’s not some crazy new-age witchcraft that puts you into an altered state or opens the door to demonic spiritual forces (at least not in my experience). You are 100% in control and aware of everything that is going on around you. If you’re interested in learning more about what hypnosis actually is, here’s an article that explains it well: “Christianity and Hypnobabies“.

In a nutshell, the course is designed to help you train your mind to view birth as “normal, natural, healthy and safe.” And birth is all of those things. Our incredible Creator designed it that way!

I needed to remind myself of that so I wouldn’t approach Eden’s entrance into this world with the same fears I had prior.

Hypnobabies® accomplishes this goal by changing the negative language that often surrounds birth to reframe it as a positive, comfortable process. For example, instead of using words like:

• “labor”
• “contractions”
• “transition” and
• “ring of fire”

to describe the sensations we feel or the stages we’re in, we say:

• “birthing time”
• “pressure waves”
• “transformation” and
• “powerful stretching”

Words are meaningful. Our Creator literally spoke the world into being. (“And God said …”)  The connotations surrounding the first set of words can conjure up negative perceptions of the birthing experience often created by the false depictions we see on TV and in movies — creating thoughts and fears that lead to tension, and ultimately pain. Having majored in English and studying the impact of language on our perception of reality, this made a lot of sense to me.

The Hypnobabies® language is used throughout the five-week course, which was conducted via Zoom calls with a certified instructor in 3-hour, once-a-week sessions. It was also used throughout the series of recorded tracks that we were given to listen to on a daily basis in order to practice getting into a relaxed state of hypnosis.

I was so relaxed while listening to my Hypnobabies® tracks that I fell asleep almost every single time. In fact, I was concerned that when it came time to give birth, the training wouldn’t work because I did not absorb most of the content on a conscious level, due to having fallen asleep so many times while listening. However, as we were taught in the course, “your subconscious mind is always listening.”

The mind is a very powerful thing. I believe that’s why we’re taught to meditate on His Word. Scripture confirms for us time and time again that our thoughts have the power to transform our reality:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

(Click here for a long list of Bible verses related to thoughts and the mind.)

I knew this going in because of the painful effect that my fearful thoughts had had on my previous two births. (And because of other life experiences where my negative thoughts have impacted my reality in painful ways.)

When my birthing time came, it was apparent that my subconscious mind had indeed been listening very, very well. The entire home birth experience was gentle, peaceful, and virtually pain-free, thanks to hypnobabies! I was able to relax and breathe deeply through my pressure waves, so that all I truly felt was a deep sensation of pressure. I maintained a calm, steady state of hypnosis almost the whole way through, and felt so much peace, even with my young children periodically coming in and out of the room. I was originally concerned about them being awake when my birthing time started, but I was so relaxed, it didn’t bother me at all that they were there … Our youngest was even awake long enough to be able meet her baby sister after she was born at 10:23 pm!

And that short, intense period right before pushing, otherwise known as “transition” (called “transformation” in Hypnobabies), was so easy that I didn’t even realize I was in it. I had a long pressure wave, and suddenly, almost out of nowhere, felt the urge to push.

I’ll admit that when I started pushing her out, fear began to have its way. I had trouble getting into a comfortable position in my tub, so my body tensed up and I became afraid of those “powerful stretching” sensations I knew were coming. While this phase of her birth was not completely pain-free, it lasted only 25 minutes with a few seconds of mild discomfort, and then she was out.

And, as in my previous three home birth stories, I experienced no tearing (even though they weren’t hypnobabies births).

As soon as she came out, my midwife’s assistant said she was in the caul … an amazing revelation considering I had visualized her being born in the sac while listening to one of my Hypnobabies® tracks just a few weeks prior.

The mind really is a powerful thing!

Hypnobabies Home Birth Video

I’m so grateful that my doula was able to take some videos while I steadily maintained my hypnosis. In case you’re into visual inspiration, here’s a video I put together with the footage she captured.