allison’s birth story

Allison and Caleb were wonderful clients. The type of clients who you really hope will have more babies soon so you can work together again! This birth was special for lots of reasons. Read for yourself!

On September 10th around 8:00pm I was 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I was getting a massage from my mom and had two mild contractions about 10 minutes apart. I was trying to be inconspicuous because I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, including mine. About 5 minutes after my last one I got hit with a very intense contraction. I JUMPED off the massage table as fast as a very pregnant woman can, I was extremely uncomfortable. As soon as that passed I went into the bathroom where my husband was in the shower, I said “don’t get excited but you should get dressed just incase” and let him know what had just happened. About 4 minutes later I had another one. By the time it passed Caleb was dressed and we walked back out into my house where my mom was. I tried to play it off like nothing happened and my mom looks at me and goes “I saw you timing them”. She let us know that she was going to run to the store and left shortly after.

I got on all fours on the couch (what seemed to be the most comfortable) and called Sarah, I let her know what was going on and together we came up with a plan as to when to go to the hospital. Within 30 minutes of my first contraction we decided it was time to go. My mom got back to our house about the time we were heading out the door. Caleb called Sarah and let her know we were headed to the hospital and I called L & D and let them know we were coming. This whole time I was having very intense contractions about 4 minutes apart.

Somehow we made it to the hospital within like 12 minutes, normally a longer drive than that. By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were so strong that I was having a hard time breathing through them and relaxing. In triage they had me go to the bathroom before they checked me to collect a urine sample. In the bathroom I could barely get enough pee to fill the bottom of the cup. Caleb told me I should get on the scale… I got frustrated and told him to quit messing around. Looking back I wish I would have so I could’ve seen the difference in weight before and after the baby came. After getting back to the room (and forgetting my pee cup in the bathroom) I got admitted to the hospital at 9:00pm at 6 cm dilated, 90% effaced and station 0. The nurse walked me to my room and got me everything I needed.

Sarah got to the hospital at about 9:30 pm. She supported me while Caleb got the bath going and the room set up. They helped me get into the tub and supported me through every contraction, letting me know that I am capable and reminding me to try and relax and rest between contractions. At about 11:00pm I stated that I didn’t think I could go longer without an epidural. Every time I asked, Sarah would remind me that she would grab the anesthesiologist whenever I was ready, she just needed me to say my code word so she would know I was serious. At about 12:00 am I said my codeword “ epidural, epidural, epidural!!”. Sarah let them know and the Nurse came in to start IV fluids.

About 30 minutes later my fluids were done, Sarah and Caleb helped me get out of the tub, dressed and over to the bed. The anesthesiologist came in and had me get on the side of the bed and Caleb sat in the chair in front of me. He had me put my feet on the chair and curl over my belly. Right when he stuck the needle in my back to numb the area a contraction started and I jumped forward, pulling the needle out of my back. The nurse stated that I needed to try and be as still as possible… I shushed her… and the doctor continued on and got the epidural finished up. As soon as it started to kick in I made sure to apologize to my nurse for being rude.

After I was able to relax my nurse checked me again and I was at 7cm, she then started my paperwork and I let Caleb know he should get some rest. After we finished the paperwork I tried to take a nap but because I was so excited I couldn’t sleep more than 30 minutes. Thankfully Sarah stayed up and talked with me.

My nurse came back a couple hours later and I was at 9 cm with just a sliver of my cervix still in the way, 100% effaced and baby was really low. Every time I was checked the nurse would make a comment about how my waters were “bulging and will break anytime now”.

My nurse came back at about 5:00 am and let me know that she had called my doctor and that he would like to come in to break my water. I agreed and at about 5:30 am my doctor arrived. He checked me and I was completely dilated, he broke my water NOTHING came out!! He left while I “labored down” about an hour later he came back and joked that “it was time to push because he was bored and ready to have this baby” mind you my whole pregnancy, him and I would make “bad doctor jokes” because of bad past experiences I had with doctors. He stated that he was kidding and he had some concerns with the baby on the monitor.

I started some "practice pushes" and when I got the hang of it Sarah had put the squat bar up and tied the rebozo around the bar so I could push in a better position for my body rather than just the go-to on your back position. They also moved the mirror down so I could be more motivated by seeing what was happening.. It was amazing. There was a shift change so the nurse that had been with us the whole time was leaving and two other nurses came in (one in training). They were a little more hands off so I got the opportunity to push with only Caleb and Sarah, so I was able to have a much more intimate experience.

Once things actually started happening they called my doctor back in. As the baby started to come out the cord was around his neck so my doctor unwrapped the cord once he was far enough out to do so. As soon as the baby's shoulders came out, baby shot out followed by all of the fluid with tons of meconium in it. They put our baby on my chest and Caleb looked at me and said “it’s a boy!”.

Because of the meconium we had a couple bumps in the road but I am thankful for our healthy baby boy. 

Having Sarah by my side as our doula was an absolute blessing. Not only is she a support person during labor, but someone who advocates for you in one the most intimate moments on this earth. She is also an excellent comforting resource to lean on during the whole pregnancy. I can't tell you how many times I would send her late night texts about my fears and worries about childbirth, hospital procedures, and things that were happening to my body in the weeks leading up to our son's birth. Everytime, she would call or text me affirmations, reminding me how strong I am and what I am capable of. She lifted me up and helped to ease my worry. As well as sending me good resources regarding information I inquired about. 

I look forward to my next pregnancy and having such a wonderful friend by my side.