Samuel David Is Here!

I woke up at 2:20AM with some discomfort that was different from all of the “practice” tightening that I had been experiencing for the past moth or so. I got up, walked around and realized that this might be it! I started writing down how often the surges were coming (about 8 minutes apart) & at 3:15 decided to wake up my husband. We got up and worked on getting things ready for the hospital. By 4:30 I couldn’t really help any more as the surges were stronger and coming more often. We called our doula, Gina, and after listening to a few surges over the phone, she decided to make her way to our home. By 5:15AM, when Gina arrived, I was in the tub and breathing*** through each surge. I moved out of the tub around 6:30AM and the surges picked up in intensity. At this point we called Cheryl, our midwife, and had her listen to a few surges. She suggested we not stay at home too much longer, but to do what we felt was right. After 2 more surges we decided it was time to go. Our 30 minute drive to the hospital was intense to say the least. When we got into our room at the hospital around 8:00AM the nurse checked me. She said that she “wanted to make sure she was feeling what she thought she was feeling”, so she actually checked again… I was dilated to 10cm and fully effaced!!! I think I started crying I was so happy! My water still hadn’t broken so we went through a few more surges attempting to let things happen as naturally as possible. Once the midwife on call arrived, Renee, she said that if we let her break my waters that the baby would come quickly. We agreed, and 3 surges later, at 8:34AM, we welcomed Samuel into the world!

It all went just as we had wanted… laboring at home, no interventions & a completely natural VBAC delivery! My wonderful husband, Matt, and our awesome doula, Gina, couldn’t have been more supportive. Their kind hands and encouraging words truly made the experience everything we had hoped for!

I sincerely believe that the gentle care & unrelenting belief and encouragement provided to us by of our midwife, Cheryl, helped set us on the path to this amazing birth experience. Her complete support during our pregnancy played a huge role in making Samuel’s birth a truly wonderful experience. Being treated as a woman going through one of the greatest, most memorable experiences of a lifetime, (instead of as a patient with a medical condition) made a remarkable difference in the confidence my husband had in me and that I had in my body. I know this confidence is the reason we had the completely natural, VBAC experience we so deeply wanted.

I also believe that the wonderful people we met and the teachings we received through the Blooma yoga studio during our pregnancy had a significant impact on how our birth played out. From Childbirth Collective meetings, birthing classes, chiropractic care & the relaxation of yoga, to all of the encouraging thoughts & words and wonderful advice from staff & other members, Blooma was a wonderful asset to have on our team!

To EVERYONE that helped us along the way... Thank you, Thank you, Thank you :-)