Ella's Birth Story

I became pregnant with Ella when Eva was only 3 months old. I went to see my same dr. and went back into the high-risk prenatal routine I was used to. At about 20 weeks I told him that I didn’t want to do the same tests that he had had me do with Eva. He told me that was too bad and that I had to do them because I was considered high risk. I had had no problems with Eva so I thought, “that’s what you think, man.” I had been doing research on becoming a midwife through apprenticeship and found one who lived right next to me, thanks to a friend’s referral.

Her approach was so much better. It was holistic care, focused on nutrition and letting my body do what it was designed to do. I elected for a water birth. At about 36 weeks I was dilated to three cm. And I just kept on dilating. I was dilated to 6 cm when my husband left for work at 8:30 on May 28th. I had felt nauseated that morning and was having the same old contractions I’d become accustomed to in the previous month. At 8:45 I had a really long one and it hurt! Then I had another one that felt really weird and I knew I was in labor. I called my midwife, Tiffany, who lives four houses down from me and let her know. Then I called my husband who had just gotten to work and asked him to come home. My brother came and got Isaac and my mom came and helped put Eva down for a nap. I was very blessed that my body had been getting ready for so long. I got into my birth tub after a while and the warm water helped so much. I tried to surrender completely to what was happening and went into a different consciousness where I would moan in a low tone during a contraction and relax as much as possible in between. I got to ten cm very quickly. I began pushing around 11:05. Ella was born at 11:10, right as Eva woke from her nap. It was the most amazing experience ever. I am so glad that I trusted my body and had her in the comfort of my own home, at my own pace. I now have three perfect children and am looking forward to having our 4th at home as well.