We are so thrilled to share that E.K. made her debut this morning!

Six days past my due date, my water broke at 10:45 Thursday night. We called the midwives to just check-in. She said things should progress over the next 12-24 hours. We then called my doula K (who is also my wonderful sister-in-law). We told her we’d call her if things progressed, but her intuition was much better than ours. She came over around midnight to spend the night- thank goodness she did!

Contractions started about 6-8 minutes apart around midnight- I tried to lay down and get some sleep but realized that was not going to be an option. I woke my husband around 1:30 and he helped me through some contractions and around 2:30 we woke K up. Contractions progressed and we did alot of breathing, back rubs, squats, leaning on the edge of the bed, and the hip pressure learned in Labor with Love. (Listen up mamas: run don’t walk to sign up for Michelle’s next session!)

Around 3 am S called the midwives and said that contractions were about 4 minutes apart and a minute in duration. The midwives said I certainly qualified to come in but if I was only 2-4 centimeters dilated they would send me home. That thought terrified me and I wanted to labor at home as long as I could to make sure everything progressed. At 4:30 contractions had gotten to be 3 minutes apart and 1 minute in duration and so intense that I made the decision it was time to go to the hospital.  K and I crawled into the backseat of the car and I was on all fours trying to breath and low open mouth moan through the contractions as my husband drove as quickly as possible.

Once we arrived in the room at GW around 5:30, I was 10 centimeters dilated and ready to start pushing! I did more squats, more leaning over the bed, and more leaning on my partner (all Labor with Love moves). Around 7 am I was exhausted and ready for baby to come out- labor was hard! There were multiple times I said I couldn’t do it- but in the end I did it!  She made her debut at 7:30 am about 9 hours after my water broke.

I am so incredibly grateful for my yoga practice throughout my pregnancy. My unmedicated childbirth would not have been possible without it- the breathing, the physical stamina, and the knowledge of how that could all come together to support me through the most difficult parts of labor made all the difference. The wisdom of the midwives and my doula was inspiring and comforting- I highly encourage doulas (S and I couldn’t have done it on our own).

Thank you so much Michelle for being such an enlightening part of our birth story. You have a special place in our hearts.

Love

G, S & E