I feel like this birth story has to start with some perspective from my first labor and birth 21m ago. That pregnancy was for the most part super easy! I was in the best shape of my life wihle trying to get pregnant and continued to exercise heavily throughout for stability purposes. I was with a midwife and when we were about 35wks pregnant she tried to do some mobility testing with me and I was rigid like a rock. At 39wks pregnant we found out baby was full breech, so we had the External Cephalic Version done and luckily it was successful! At 41w5d, my natural labor started. It was an exciting and active 30 plus hr labor. I had to transfer to the hospital for the epidural and they luckily let me push her out despite the fact that i had been pushing for at least 3hrs. She was born vaginally but sunny side up and I experienced significant perineal trauma. It was rough and perfect! And though I wouldn’t change it for the world I longed for a “redemption birth.”

I chose Greenville Midwifery Care for this one because it was a hybrid practice, kind of like me! Holistic and natural but medically ready. This pregnancy was so much harder. Major nausea and vomiting and reflux throughout. And running around with a toddler plus some daily walks and a 20min minimal exercise routine, that’s all the working out I was able to get in. But with my job, I was able to preserve my abdominal wall and pelvic floor relatively well. I thought this baby was going to come early. I yearned for that because I thought the only other option was a very late baby like my first. Well my due date came and passed on the second to last day of work. That Friday, I crossed all my T’s and dotted all my I’s as I walked out for my maternity leave… still pregnant. Saturday was a normal day. Sunday was also a normal day…until it wasn’t.

We went to church that morning still very pregnant, picked up some pizza, and then I crashed HARD for a good hour. The night before my toddler had woken me up so I was extra tired that day and though I was thankful that I napped, I needed just one more night of sleep on Unisom! In fact, I was determined to get it. Later that afternoon, the hubby and I had some sexy time and then my mom and I took our toddler to the park around 3pm. On my way up the hill, I noticed some increased pelvic and low back pressure and some mild Braxton Hicks, so I stopped at the picnic table to sit and rest while my mom and toddler finished a lap. At the park, my toddler had me practically running up and down a very large hill just twice but I was wiped. The third time she went down the hill, a nice neighbor kept her from going into the street while my mom and I walked down with stroller because I was not carrying her back up again. Done.

Everything seemed to quiet down as we went into bedtime routine. I took a nice long shower and washed my hair. As I showered I looked at my belly and spoke to it like I had throughout the pregnancy. But this time I asked, “Is this the last shower I’ll take with you in my belly, little one?” Something just felt different in the universe but again, determined to get that last night of sleep. I got out of the shower and served myself a huge piece of tiramisu and ice cream and sat down to watch some Sunday Night Football. I forget who was playing. I was starting to have some “regular” Braxton Hicks but nothing notable. Just more frequent than usual. When my husband sat down, that’s what I told him and he got an excited look in his eye. I went to bed around 10:30pm after doing the opening sequence of exercises I had been doing the last 5wks. When I laid down, the Braxton Hicks became more intense, but I switched sides to quiet them down. It must have worked because I woke up an hour and half later (12am). Finally, I realized I was having contractions and not Braxton Hicks anymore because I couldn’t turn them off. I went to the bathroom and had a large bowel movement but I just thought it was a sign of early labor. I went to the living room and laid down in my favorite position and listened to my Blissborn track #1 on repeat 2ish times (1am).

I knew I was laboring at this point, but my husband had just gone to bed and had to work in the morning, plus I was getting ready for the long-haul labor I had had before. So I started my early labor routine I had planned out which began with a lavender bath. I was in the bath with my Blissborn track still on repeat and I just remember homing in on the word “trust”. I also remember noticing that the worst of the contractions only lasted about 10 seconds. So between the word trust and me counting to 10 in my head I was able to experience the contractions only in my uterus. That allowed my shoulders, neck and hips to relax through them and made them feel less intense.

There was one that reeeaally got me though. I was thinking, “if they’re going to be like this for the next 12hrs I can’t do this alone”. I also threw up (that should have been a sign, but I’m still thinking it’s only the beginning). But I did start to track them. Turned out they were pretty close together so I called my doula. She heard me go through one and told me to start waking up David and that she would meet us at our house since we still didn’t have our bag packed. Rookie mistake.

2:25am: I get out of the bath and get my toiletries ready and go try to wake up David. He was out like a log. I turned on the light and a contraction hit. I had to get down on my knees and breathe pretty loudly through my 10sec. David woke up.

2:35am: We started scrambling between getting things together and contractions and the pelvic pressure was getting intense. I made my way to our living room for my watch charger and a big one hit.

2:45am: I tried laying on the couch and that was excruciating so I slid down onto my knees. Davids running around the house getting my list together. The next few were incredibly powerful and the pelvic pressure…geezum. Finally, there was one that felt like I needed to push, but I thought it was my water or mucus plug (I’m pretty sure my water broke when I was throwing up that one time in the bath). So I pushed and when I did, I didn’t feel a mucous plug, I felt a head! I cried out to David that she was coming, correction: she was crowning! I delegated him to put down the puppy pads. As I waited for the world to get ready around us, I palpated her head and the perineal area around my vulva to soften the sensation and gently bring it over her face. I felt another rush come on and I just hoped David was in position because I couldn’t fight it. I let out a cry and pushed! And out she slid! Right into Dr. Daddy’s hands, like a football. 2:50am. Or earlier. We don’t really know.

The doula wasn’t able to make it so it was just me, our new baby, my husband and mother sitting in our living room. The house was dimmed and quiet, my toddler sleeping through it all and the Blissborn tracks still playing in the bathroom. It all happened so quickly and harmoniously with nature and our small world surrounding us. The whole pregnancy I prayed for a swift and slippery birth. And, very much jokingly, a homebirth. I just didn’t want the chaos of the transport to the hospital. The car ride was so jarring for me last time.

I’ve told this to everyone I’ve shared our little story with: I’m a pelvic floor physical therapist. It’s literally my job to know the body can do this. But I also have anxiety and a bunch of medical training that educated me on all the many things that can go wrong! I NEVER thought I’d ALLOW myself to experience a birth so natural. So I’m so grateful for the mental skill that Blissborn taught me and the fact that my body and my baby did everything they were supposed to do! My postpartum recovery has been so much calmer. I had minimal perineal trauma with no need for stitches! I’m just in awe of the ability of the body. This experience has helped solidify to me that we are truly capable of birthing our babies without medical intervention. And I hope to carry this experience with me in my practice to help continue to guide women to have as natural of births as they desire.

Thank you to Julie and my class for supporting me and my family through the Blissborn class as well as all of the other physical and emotional work needed to birth my baby.