My Natural Birth Story

It all started April 1st, 2018, Easter Sunday.  I was 39 weeks pregnant. I had what felt like menstrual cramps  starting in the afternoon during Easter brunch at my parent’s house around 2pm. I had experienced the cramps for many weeks prior to that day , however,  they were happening more often than normal.

Around 7pm my husband Ryan and I went to my mother-in-law’s house to visit. We chatted on the couch with her and her friend  when the cramps stopped and then came a pain that felt a lot different. My first inkling was that they were contractions and I knew it couldn’t be anything else. I felt as though I could plot them on a graph as the pain slowly got increasingly more intense and then the pain would slowly decrease after a peak.  I timed them quietly while everyone chatted but they were inconsistent. I went to the restroom several times to pee. The last time I went to pee, I returned to my husband glaring wide eyed at me as he said, " Are you having contractions?"

We left her house shortly after. Ryan panicked a bit when we got home as I was thinking this could possibly be labor. He started talking really fast and didn’t know the first thing to do so I made him eat and calm down. I texted Carissa, my doula,  and told her to be on standby around 9:12pm. She said she was coming over. When she got here 30 minutes later , Ryan played some worship music. The song “It is well” came on and I felt the Lord in the room with me so powerfully. I felt through my entire pregnancy that I was called to give birth to my baby natually. It was instant praise and surrendering of my body and birth to His will. I started using the bathroom a lot more and having bloody mucus when I wiped . I was hungry so I ate Chipotle leftovers and a marble cake slice but later threw it all up. I threw up 3-4 times. I also pooped 8-9 times. My body was clearing house. Ryan and Carissa encouraged me to drink water and eat a bit more to replenish all of the losses. Carissa put Vick’s vapor rub on my nose. The very worst was throwing up while pooping on the toilet and having contractions. I don't know if I have ever felt so much happening in my body simultaneously. 

The contractions started getting closer together and some did not give me any rest at all. I found sitting on a birth ball helpful. Ryan and I danced a bit too but it wasn’t that great for me. I started falling asleep between contractions I was so tired but laying in the bed felt the worst! Carissa called the midwife around 10:30pm to give a heads up. Somehow, time just flew by, before I knew it it was 2am and Carissa called the midwife who felt I should continue to labor at home for another hour since I was a first time mother. I labored on the birth ball and Carissa helped me channel the power by lightly  pushing my hands from my thighs to my knees as if I were redirecting energy. I was continuing to run back and forth from the birth ball to the bathroom. Ryan ran as fast as he could to get to me when I was getting ready to vomit again. Contractions started coming more intense and Carissa coached me to moan with low, deep tones. I remember repeating “ooooo” “ooooo” as low as I could through the duration of the contraction. Carissa asked me often to rate the level of contractions and I felt like I was losing my sense of gauge. She knew it was getting more intense as my “ooooo"s turned into “OOOOO”’s . Carissa called The midwife on call again and they said to give them 30 minutes to get ready. Carissa asked Ryan to warm up the car at the same time my most intense contraction hit. I told her I was ready to go. I continued my sounds the whole car ride.

We arrived at the birthing center around 3:30am. Ryan wheelchaired me in and we met Jeni, the midwife, at the door. She had the candles ready, lights dim, essential oils diffusing, and tub water flowing just like my birth plan outlined. I immediately started taking off my clothes and labored a bit while waiting for the hot tub water to cool  but I didn’t wait very long. I sat on the toilet and then Jeni was ready to do a cervical check. She asked me if I wanted to know my dilation and I said yes! She said I was 7cm dilated! 

I got in the tub and squatted a bit and got on all fours at some points. The hot water felt so good. I tried to focus on prayer and the encouraging words of my birthing team. I continued the deep moaning sounds. 

Next thing I know, I get extremely uncomfortable and I want out of the tub immediately. That was the point I felt like it got extremely hard , transition! I got on the toilet and told Jeni I felt like I had to poop. I was feeling a strong need to push. She put a squatty potty down for me. It was almost like my body would take over and push for me because there was so much power in the pushes and I couldn’t help but to submit because it felt best. I remember grunting loudly. I pushed a few times and saw my water break on the floor, this was 4:21am. I pushed a few times more. Jeni yelled for a nurse because the baby’s head was on the way out, quickly. Ryan caught the baby! Charlotte Evangeline  was born at 4:25am on Monday April 2nd, 2018.  We were discharged with our new baby girl by 2pm that day.