Birth Story Of BExley Edith

This birth was my 6th time bringing a little one earthside. All of my other births were in a hospital. This was my first one planned for home. My first two births were with an amazing midwife and then my next two were with a doctor. I had an epidural with one. I had one water birth. I was a little all over the spectrum as far as my birth experiences had gone. My last 3 births were traumatic to me - in the way of trusting my body and feeling pressured by my medical team. So, going into this pregnancy I was feeling super hesitant and fearful. Good thing we found the perfect midwife to work us through the trauma and into an amazing birth. 🥰

Fast forward to the night she was born…. At 1 am I woke up and wasn't sure if my stomach was just irritated or if I was having contractions. So I woke up my husband and told him that my stomach was bothering me. He just wrapped me in his arms and told me to relax and to try to go back to sleep. I decided to message my midwife to let her know what was going on. I told her that I was going to get into the shower to see if I could make the pain go away. The shower did make them painless, but provided a ton of pressure, in its place! So I got out and let Emily know. She was on her way. My husband ran around like a mad-man trying to get everything ready while I sat on the ball in our living room. He came in to check on me. He was sweating because he was running everywhere. I asked him to slow down and to just sit with me. He asked if I wanted to move and go to the couch….

I was so afraid of the labor progressing without my midwife being there, so I wasn't moving off that ball until she got to the house. She arrived a little after 2:30 am and I could not have been more relieved. Emily asked if I wanted to move off the ball. I told her “Not really.” She kindly said these words, “You can either lean into the intensity and meet your baby soon - or we can sit still and draw this out and meet your baby later.” For some odd reason that impacted me more on a personal level and has helped me… not just in that moment, but even after the delivery with some of my personal stuff going on.. It helped me realize that leaning into the pain and forcing myself to feel the pain, acknowledge it, and know that good is just on the other side of that hard work… There are no short cuts to your feelings….. You have to feel them and process them and you choose if you want to draw them out or deal with it and move on.

She checked me. I was 7 cm, but our little one was still really high, completely unengaged, and not centered over my pelvis at all yet. We made the decision to break my water to help bring her down safely to progress the labor. To all of our surprise, I had a ton of meconium stained water. Our little one had already had a bowel movement. The water was a dark, thick, murky brown. I could see the concern on my husband's face, but our midwife did a wonderful job of saying, “Okay, let's keep progressing so we can meet the baby.” She listened to the baby a lot and was reassured by her great heart tones. She helped do some abdominal lifts to help her come sooner than later. These felt amazing and took so much of the pain away. My midwife also did an amazing job of helping to redirect my thoughts, making sure that I was letting go - and relaxing. She reminded to release my tense muscles and let the contractions wash over me.

While this was happening , the tub was filling up. As soon as it was ready, I got in. I was expecting instant relief… but instead, I felt instant urges to push! I wanted to slow down so I could mentally catch up to my body - and its willingness to get this process over with. I remember that I finally got this little break in the pain - and then all of a sudden - our daughter decided enough is enough and she started to come out!

Something was different this time though. I pushed twice and then realized something was very wrong. She wasn't progressing anymore. She was only out to her nose and wouldn’t budge. After trying to release her in the water, Emily calmly said that she needed some help - and that I just needed to stand up so she could help her out better. I didn't think I could. My body just felt stuck. I remember my husband becoming a little more agressive in asking me to please stand up. I did.

The next part became a bit of a blur as I worked seamlessly, moving my body intuitively with my baby and my midwife…. like a dance, to free her shoulder. The next thing I knew, I was I was reaching between my legs…. and there she was! Perfection!

The feeling of relief. INSTANTLY! I was holding her, just overwhelmed with the feeling of “It’s done!” Holding her and getting a kiss from my husband was everything I could have wanted in that moment and more. The comfort of being able to climb into my own bed after delivery and cuddle with my baby and my husband was just perfect. Then the kids coming in after she was born to see and meet their little sister… was just pure joy. The kids had gone to bed with no baby, and me not even in labor. Then, they woke up to get ready for school - and there was a new baby in our arms - and everything was already cleaned up. My 6 year old was looking at pictures later and asked, “Mommy, when did you have a pool in your room?”

My midwife Emily and her assistant were beyond amazing at my delivery. I could not imagine my birth story without them and our photographer Timothy Clopp. He captured moments that I never even knew happened. Here we are, 5 weeks later, still watching the slide show he made…. Still in tears.

Did my birth go according to my exact plans? No. But, our birth story was everything I could have wanted and more!!!

This mom is a compassionate, skilled, and incredible doula in the Greenville area!

Like and Follow their family’s AMAZING journey of their son beating cancer here!

Timothy Clopp was the photographer. Emily highly recommends that you hire him! He is amazing. 10/10! You will even get a discount from Emily if you hire him. Find more info here.