Cleo’s birth story begins in the middle of a February heatwave. My husband and I had escaped our 3 children (then aged 7, 4, and 2) for a rare date night, and during dinner he leans over the table and with a cheeky grin says “So, should we have another baby?” I laugh, because we both know that the answer…
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Dorian’s Birth Story
Dominika shares the beautifully moving story of her son Dorian’s birth. Dorian’s due date was on September 17th, so I decided to start my maternity leave a little earlier to give myself some downtime. My last day of work was on Friday, September 5th. Little did I know that Dorian would be taking his sweet time! The days passed, and…
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All’s Well That Ends Well: A Surprise Breech Birth
After a smooth and complication-free pregnancy, I expected my birth to be no different. I had chosen a free-standing birth center and a team of midwives for my care providers, took Bradley Method classes, and felt ready to have a pretty run of the mill, unmedicated, intervention-free birth. Little did we know what was in store for us… I went…
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The Powerful Experience of One Woman’s Homebirth
With the birth of my first daughter in 2013 I thought I knew everything needed to have a natural birth. I hired a midwife, read books, researched, and read more books. None of that prepared me for labor or for my new role as a mother. Little did I know that while my midwife yessed me at every appointment and…
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The Births of Henry & Thea Part 2: Stubborn and Taking Her Time!
(Editor’s note: click here to read Part 1 aka Henry’s birth.) I stood in the birthing suite holding Henry, and saw that it had been ten minutes since he came. I was eagerly hoping that Thea would join us soon. My dad took Oliver so we could continue to labor. I handed Henry to William and stripped down so I…
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Riding the Waves – The Birth Story of Hailey Faith Part 2
To read Part One of Hailey Faith’s birth story, click here. All of the sudden my body began pushing and I could hear myself sounding much more deep and guttural than before, almost angry. I remarked to the room that it felt like throwing up and it was the weirdest sensation ever. It’s so odd that during a contraction, it…
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Riding the Waves – The Birth Story of Hailey Faith Part 1
*It will be helpful to know that Amelia was born via unplanned c-section 22 months before I had Hailey. Amelia’s birth was traumatic to me for many reasons including copious unnecessary medical interventions and complications with anesthesia during my surgery. Hailey’s birth was a planned VBAC, vaginal birth after c-section. I woke up at 3:30am, nine days past my due…
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The Birth Story of Violet Marie – Part 2
*This is the second part of Violet Marie’s birth story. To read Part One, click here. The Birth! Neil came into the bathroom to check me at 3:00pm and sat beside me while I had five back to back contractions then transitioned and puked all over myself and lost my mucous plug. They got me out of the tub and…
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One Woman’s Successful Frank Breech Vaginal Hospital Birth
Let me rewind a little bit…At 37 weeks, we found out via ultrasound that Everett was frank breech. We tried everything we could to turn him. Everything was totally unsuccessful in turning him. He was stubborn and comfortable in his breech position. Typically, a breech baby these days means a c-section. But I was being told by my midwives that I…