It was a Friday and I was 41 weeks pregnant with my second child. I had an appointment with the PPC (Prolonged Pregnancy Clinic) to monitor the baby and myself and discuss options. I had been feeling pains on and off at this point for nearly two weeks and was very much ready for my baby to arrive. When we…
-
-
A Fast, Natural Birth Hospital Story
I was blessed to have a very easy and healthy pregnancy. Praise the LORD for that! It was truly one of my favorite seasons of life. I felt great for the majority of the time, was able to remain very active, and even got relief from my horrible allergies for many months. I had taken two pregnancy tests that confirmed…
-
A 45 Minute Home Water Birth
I had four hospital births, all with an epidural. That’s what I thought you were supposed to do when you had a baby – get an epidural and escape from the pain. No one likes pain, so why not skip that part? My first birth was at 41 weeks and three days after my water broke. The second birth was…
-
A Healing Home Birth After a Fourth Degree Tear: Part Two
If you haven’t read Part One of this story, please start here. The choice for me to have a homebirth was easy. I was emotionally and physically healed from my 4th degree tear, and BOTH are necessary to deliver vaginally again, which I call a VBAST (vaginal birth after a severe tear). For others who have had a 4th…
-
The Story of Aurora
This story is hard for me to write, because while it ends with a glorious rainbow baby, it begins with an intensely bad storm. February 5, 2014, Chris and I learned that we were expecting our second child. We were surprised, but glad. I called my parents that night at Barnes Jewish Hospital, where my dad was a patient, and…
-
A Baby Who Cried: Birthing Without a Plan
All three of my births were far from empowering experiences. I never felt like some sort of superhero. I never felt strong. In fact, after my daughter’s birth, I think I just barely showed up for the others. I checked myself out, terrified of the pain and what was going to happen in the hospital. I mentally stepped out of…
-
The Birth of Luna Pearl: A VBAC Story from Home to Hospital
For three years I’ve wanted to send in the birth story from my first daughter, born in 2012. She was a planned homebirth, with a transfer to hospital for a cesarean section. She was posterior and asynclitic, and super stuck. I planned my second homebirth this past summer. This time a VBAC and I never felt more ready. I love…
-
Our Home Birth, Turned Hospital
We were having an amazing homebirth with our midwife team. I had reached 9 1/2 cm, and my body was ready to push. What we didn’t know was that Emma-Leigh had turned “sunny side up” and her head was creating a lip on my cervix that was swelling with each contraction. I swelled all the way down to 6cm, but…
-
Dear Raegan, A Birth Story Letter
Dear Raegan, You are beautiful, and I love you to the ends of the earth. I had so much fear upon learning we were pregnant again. Between finances, balancing life, and figuring out how I was bringing you into the world, I was nervous. You were not planned, but you were loved from the minute we found out you existed.…