Birth Story Time

Three weeks ago on February 17th I woke up feeling totally normal. My parents had just arrived home from Europe the night before so my whole pregnancy we kept saying that this baby couldn’t come until the 17th. A little after 10 I noticed some cramping but attributed it to having my midwife check my cervix the day before. I started to panic a little thinking of everything I still needed to get done since, being only 38 weeks, I thought I still had time to prepare. After 11:30 I started wondering if I was actually
starting labor. I let my family and doula know about the cramping and that I would keep them updated.

The cramping began to get more intense and I was having to stop to get through them. Around 1 I let my doula know that I was pretty sure I was in labor but was still able to carry on conversation and my contractions were only lasting about 40 seconds but coming every few minutes. For the next hour I tried to get things ready to go to the hospital. My contractions continued to come every few minutes and I would get down on all fours and breathe through them. I knew I wanted to do all of my laboring at home and had told my midwife that I wanted to arrive at the hospital ready to push. I had imagined laboring in the tub, using candles, music, and counter pressure but everything was happening so fast and I felt it was time to go to the hospital. Around 2 I finally told my husband we needed to go. Through one contraction I held his arm and said, “it hurts” but was happy with how calm I was able to handle the contractions. We took a few pictures with our 2 year old and headed to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 2:40 and headed straight to a room. I changed into a gown because I forgot my hastily packed hospital bag. I went to the bathroom and knew I was getting close. The nurse checked me as I was on all fours right outside of the bathroom and said she couldn’t feel any cervix just my bulging bag of waters. My husband was finally able to use some of the counter pressure that our wonderful doula Liz Tomco Warren taught us and it provided SO MUCH relief.

I then started to feel a lot of pressure like I needed to have a bowel movement so I got back on the toilet. The nurse explained that she would call the midwife, she would break my water, and I would have a baby. I told her that I didn’t want my water broken to which she obviously disagreed but said that it was my choice. A few seconds later my water broke and they hurried me to the bed.

I ended up on the bed in my favorite position on all fours
. My husband gloved up so he could catch the baby and the midwife finally arrived. The next five minutes were intense but the most incredible experience. I was able to follow my body’s lead and push wen and how I felt like I should. It was such a peaceful time focused on my sweet baby and bringing him into the world. It was amazing to watch his head emerge a little more with every push. Towards the end I moved onto my knees with my hand on my husband’s shoulder. At 3:11 our sweet Ezekiel was born into the hands of his daddy then placed on my chest. My parents who were going to take pictures and video walked in 10 seconds later. Thankfully one of the nurses captured some wonderful pictures on my phone.

You can learn more about Liz Tomco Warren by visiting her profile.