This is my journey.
I’m a mother of two boys (Oaklee + Atlas) and felt a strong connection to birthwork after my first son’s birth. My own experiences with labor & postpartum shifted my life and fueled me with such passion for this work. You need someone in your corner, reminding you of how capable and strong you are. To hold a space for you. To empower and educate you. As the older sister, I have always had a strong maternal instinct, and love for helping others. This is your birth story, I'm here to support you through it.
My Second Birth Story
After being induced into labor for my first son's birth, I really had no idea what spontaneous early labor felt like. The weeks pass by so fast when you have a toddler, and I was creeping up to the 40-week mark. I was feeling more and more pressure in my pelvic area while I was walking, and contractions when I laid down for the night. I laid awake for several nights before going into labor, counting contractions, exhausting myself and getting frustrated. At 37 weeks and 6 days I was up on and off all night AGAIN. I knew something was going on, but I was so sleepy from the weekend with my toddler that I decided to just try to sleep through the contractions. That morning I was just planning on continuing my day and spending time with my family. The Henry County Fair was going on -- all the amazing food and cute animals! Perfect distraction! So, my mom and I took my son. We would walk for a couple minutes, then I would have a contraction. I knew this was real. We continued to look at the horses, go on rides, and get some yummy treats. I would brace myself on the horse stall, or wherever I was standing, and take deep breaths, listening to my body and what it needed at the time. Once I got home, I knew that things were progressing from all of our walking. I told my husband to get ready to leave for the hospital. We got to Toledo Promedica around 4 pm that day, and I went right for the birth ball. I was doing so many movements to get the baby in the right place, - I wanted to be more involved with this birth versus Oaklee’s. My husband did back counterpressure and was so loving through the contractions. They did a cervical exam and I was 6 cm dilated during this time. I continued to move and do what I needed to do to cope.
In the early hours of the morning I asked for an epidural. I knew at the time that it was something I wanted, and I advocated for myself to get it when I felt it was right. The team was super great and timely, but my body was on top of these contractions and wanted to do other things. I got the epidural placed, and then needed to wait for the medication to kick in. I NEEDED to move -- my body was telling me to get up and move with the pain. I was in an uncomfortable position lying on my side, so much that I couldn’t stay still, and my epidural catheter actually fell out. I was telling the team that something wet was on my back, and after a while they realized it was the medication actually dripping onto the bed. I was able to sit still for as long as possible to get the epidural replaced, and given a bolus of medication. It was then that I felt the urge to push, the medication worked right in time.
Pushing this time was so much quicker and easier than with Oaklee. I had an amazing OB, Dr. Apoian, who was so gentle with her words and how she treated me. We had music playing our entire time at the hospital from a curated playlist, and I had a specific birth song I wanted for his entrance into the world -- Hummingbird by Maren Morris. I softly whispered “this is the song” to myself, and I will never forget the doctor saying “make it this song” and after one big push, Atlas was born. Very quickly the team stepped in to give him some extra support, as his breathing wasn't great. He needed some help from the neonatal team using PPV (positive pressure ventilation). For a little while, I was incredibly concerned and wanted to be by his side. My husband was with him while the doctor held my hand and talked about what was happening. After 30 minutes, he was finally able to do skin to skin with his mama. This little boy was a natural at breastfeeding, and wanted to latch on quickly. After Oaklee not wanting to nurse (and me being less educated about breastfeeding) this made my mama heart so full. Finally this sweet boy was here with me, earth-side.
