“Words cannot describe the love I felt in that moment.”
Maizy Rose’s Birth Story:
Around 3am I woke up from a dream where I was feeling a lot of pelvic floor pressure. Almost like I had to go to the bathroom. I realized I was having pressure waves (contractions) so I started timing them. I had three all about ten minutes apart.
Today was the day! I texted my midwives to let them know what was going on. We decided it would be best to try to get some rest so I laid in bed and listened to hypnobabies tracks until five am. My pressure waves started feeling a little more intense so I decided to get up and take a relaxing warm bath. It felt so great to be in the water. During early birthing time I tried to nap again but it felt better to stand and use counter pressure on my lower back during pressure waves.
We set up our living room and watched The Office, Parks and Rec. and Hamilton. I walked up and down the stairs, did lunges, and bounced on my birthing ball. All morning and afternoon it was nice to be in my home to eat and drink freely, have all my own stuff at hand, my own bathroom. Seriously, the environment was just so peaceful.
Sinda gave counter pressures on my hips and back it gave some relief. Breathing and keeping my face and pelvic floor relaxed was challenging. I wanted to give up (which meant I was close) And despite all these challenges I wouldn’t have changed ANYTHING. Sinda was my angel. She encouraged me to breathe. Told me I was strong, that I was a warrior. I’m so grateful to have had her. When the tub was ready I had fully transitioned and the hardest part was over. As soon as I got in that tub Christina (midwife) arrived as well as Tana, our birth photographer. It was 6pm. My first pressure wave in the water I could feel Maizy as my perineum unfolded.
Staying calm and allowing my body to push Maizy down was so empowering. IT DID NOT HURT. It felt amazing as I breathed Maizy down. Haden (husband) was able to feel Maizy’s head during this process of about 4 pressure waves. Cristina was checking the heart which sounded great and sweet. Sinda held me and cheered me on. She kept reciting my mantra, ”I am comfortable and confident in my birthing body, I am strong, I am doing this.” FINALLY she was birthed, so gently. I sat back and Maizy rested on my chest and took her first breath. Tiny baby Maizy was here.
Words cannot describe the love I felt in that moment. I imagine it is THE closest to the pure love of Christ I will ever get. I was so in love with this dark haired 5lb baby. I kept saying she’s so tiny and is she breathing?! She didn’t cry so I thought something was wrong. Cristina reassured me she was breathing and that she wasn’t crying because it was such a gentle birth into this world.
Maria (the other midwife) showed up right as Maizy was born and helped make sure she was healthy. After about 15 minutes cuddling and loving on my baby in the tub I got out and relaxed on the couch. My placenta was kind of stuck right about to come out and we decided to try to go pee which totally worked. I birthed my placenta right into the toilet! After I went and relaxed on the couch while my midwives checked for tears. I had one tiny tear that they super glued and I felt great.
While everyone was cleaning up I was standing, chatting, and eating; feeling like a million bucks and Cristina told me to sit down because i just a baby and I needed rest!
This experience was the greatest most spiritual beautiful time of my life. I am eternally grateful for all involved.
~Moriah Langston (submitted 03/2022)
Chanel and Kevin’s Car Birth
“To make a long story short, I gave birth in the car at a stoplight!“
Sinda played an incredible role on our birth team! This was our third baby, but the first one we had really prepared for. My first was c-section for breech, and my second was a VBAC, but slowly induced and with an early epidural.
We were looking for a Hypnobirthing instructor that would work with our busy work lives and possibly be available after our children were asleep. We were able to meet with Sinda late in the evening via Zoom (as we were in different time zones). This set-up was great for us!
To make a long story short, I gave birth in the car at a stoplight, ha! I was in the backseat with my mom, my husband was driving. During one of my more intense surges my husband looked back as the head popped out, next push the rest of the baby came out! My husband caught the baby with one hand, the other on the steering wheel and guided the baby to my mom. I reached back into the trunk space and pulled out a blanket from our hospital bag to wrap the baby in. My mom held the baby the last few minutes to the hospital where I delivered the placenta.
Everything worked out fine for both me and baby, this was definitely the best birth experience and recovery of my three, and I attribute this more so to the preparation we did this time around. While the actual birth happened very quickly, the preparation beforehand was what I think made the experience so calm amongst the chaos.
As I had never experienced much of labor before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. My surges started in the night, maybe 4 an hour, but not so intense that I couldn’t get back to sleep in between. In the morning my husband and two kids and I went on a 2-mile walk on a trail near our house. We came home and I ate some lunch, played some video games, took a shower, and all the while having surges, but not enough yet to be typically termed active labor. My surges were never a minute long and were still quite variable. I didn’t consider anything that intense (looking back, I was well prepared to breathe, find a calm place in my mind, and felt reassured as I felt confident I could do this).
We had practiced various relaxing techniques with Sinda and my husband was a lot more prepared this time and basically coached and helped me through the entire process from initial surges to catching the baby, ha. We were also in contact with our wonderful doula throughout the night and throughout the day via text and phone calls. My surges were so variable and I was able to stay so relaxed that we even thought I might be having prodromal labor. Our doula suggested that if we felt up for it we start doing the mile circuit. Part way through doing this my water broke. Soon after that my surges became intense, they were now so close together and so strong that that was all I could focus on. My husband helped me change into my gown, get down the stairs, and into the car. We only live about 10 minutes away from the hospital but as I said, we didn’t make it there in time for delivery.
It was about 35 minutes after my water broke that I had the baby around 3:10pm. For me labor went something like, super easy, water breaking, super intense, 2 pushes, boom baby. The doctor termed it precipitous labor.
I think the most helpful for me was building my confidence around giving birth, having my husband learn several massage techniques, and feeling a lot more aware of what childbirth was and could be like.
Sinda helped us with so many different aspects of labor, from understanding my body, to relaxation techniques, to dietary information, both physical and mental preparation, and helped me learn more about myself and my body personally. Sinda was always calm, fun, and very encouraging. We absolutely love Sinda!
~Chanel Johnstun (submitted 9/2022)
S.B’s Birth
At 35 weeks pregnant with my second child, I started thinking about my previous birth experience and all of the unnecessary interventions that defined it for me. Realizing I was setting myself up for a repeat situation, I made a last-minute switch from my gynecologist to a midwife, and then started researching doulas. After interviewing other doulas, but not finding the connection I hoped for, I reached out to Sinda.
From the first phone call, Sinda had a calming effect on me. I had been doubtful that I could have the physiological birth I wanted at a hospital, but I wasn’t ready to make the jump to a home birth. Sinda helped me unpack my previous birth experience, and walked me through the logistics of a physiological hospital birth. Feeling very encouraged, I hired Sinda on the spot!
In the short time we had left of my pregnancy, Sinda went into overdrive and met with us at our house three times! She taught us about physiological birth, hypnobirthing, nutrition, and showed us positions and techniques to assist with the different stages of labor. She also helped us put together our birth preferences, which made me feel like our little team had a solid game plan heading into the hospital.
I called Sinda at 4 AM on a Thursday morning, after about six hours of breathing through surges. Sinda came right over, and began helping me ride the waves. She was incredible at finding ways for my husband to comfort me, and she stayed in communication with me without taking me out of my zone.
Around 6 AM, I felt ready to head to the hospital. When we arrived, my surges were powerful enough that I found it hard to speak, and Sinda and my husband communicated with the nurses for me, keeping our birth preferences at the forefront of the conversation. The room we requested happened to be the furthest room from the check-in point. It took us about 20 minutes to walk to the room, with me stopping every few feet to ride a wave. I will never forget how much Sinda’s soft touch and encouraging words helped me down that hallway.
When we arrived in the room, the nurse asked me to get into the bed, but I was most comfortable standing. Sinda advocated for me as a large surge overtook me. My husband stood facing me and I held his arms for stability as the surge died down and my water broke. Sinda asked me if it would be okay for the nurse to check my dilation and I agreed. She told the nurse that I still didn’t want to lie down, but I would put one foot up on the bed to create enough space for the nurse. I leaned hard on Sinda as the nurse checked me, and found that my baby was crowning! She called in an emergency delivery team, and within minutes, my beautiful baby girl was born while I stood supported by my husband and Sinda.
Meeting Sinda completely changed the trajectory of my birth experience. Armed with the knowledge our meetings provided, I felt capable of and excited for a physiological birth. I have since had such peace, knowing I trusted my body and my baby. I will forever be grateful to Sinda for the part she played in bringing our baby girl safely into our arms.
~S.B.
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