The Birth Story Series - Amy’s Story
Welcome to the Birth Story Series! Sharing birth stories helps normalize birth and takes some of the fear of the unknown out of the equation. I am excited to share this space to honor birth stories from women in our community. Birth is transformative, beautiful, and profound no matter how it happens!
If you'd like to share your birth story send us an email by filling out our contact form here. All birth experiences and stories are welcome here; epidural, unmedicated, c-section, loss, home birth, however birth looked for you, this is a safe space to share!
My husband and I found out we were pregnant with our sweet baby, Jack, in October 2020. We had been working with the fertility center at Gundersen and had just started talking about pursuing IVF, so finally receiving a positive pregnancy test was such a relief.
I spent a lot of time during my pregnancy preparing for an unmedicated water birth, including hiring a doula (who happened to my best friend and sister @l.stucrew) and creating a detailed birth plan with my husband. We knew anything could happen in labor and wanted to be ready for whatever came our way. I also did prenatal yoga with @themotherhoodcollectivelax, meditated, and dabbled in hypnobirthing.
I was due June 12, but Jack decided he was ready to meet us a few days early. Contractions started about 11 p.m. June 8 and were about 12 minutes apart. I believed things would take a while to progress since I was a first-time mom. Not true.
By midnight June 9, I was too uncomfortable to lay in bed anymore. I got up to finish packing my hospital bag and take a shower. It was 1 a.m. when I finished, and intense contractions were coming about every 5 minutes. They were strong enough that I was doubled over and couldn’t talk through them.
I called my sister around 2 a.m. and, still convinced I wasn’t in “real” labor, told her I think we’d be going to the hospital in the morning. I said I’d check in with her around 6 or 7 a.m. After I hung up, contractions got even more intense. Ten minutes later, I texted her and asked her to come over, realizing that I was in active labor at that point.
On her way, my husband called her to let her know that contractions were now about 2-3 minutes apart and asked her to hurry. She arrived about 3 a.m. and the three of us left for the hospital shortly after that. I remember it was so hot and humid outside as we got into the car and my husband drove the 30 minutes to the hospital way too fast.
When we got to Gundersen, a midwife checked me and said I was 6 cm dilated and my body was “working really hard.” Thankfully, we were given a water birth suite. I was able to get in the tub right away, where I labored for a couple hours. Around 7 a.m. I got out and labored around the hospital room, sitting on the toilet, leaning on the bed and kneeling on the floor.
The sensations got extremely intense at that point, somewhere around 8 a.m., and I was struggling with back labor and extreme tailbone discomfort. I wasn’t sure I could continue without medication. My sister was an angel in this moment and recommended we reassess in 10 minutes as I asked for medication (and dropped a few uncharacteristic f-bombs in the process).
My midwife thought Jack might have been “sunny side up” since my back labor was so intense. She asked me to get on my left side on the bed and put a peanut ball between my legs to help rotate him. She also checked me again at this point. I thought I heard her say “we’re making some progress” and felt so discouraged, thinking she meant maybe I was now 7 or 8 cm dilated.
I stayed on my side as the waves kept coming. After what felt like a long time but must have been just minutes, my sister told me I was complete. I’d misheard the midwife after all and immediately forgot about wanting medication! At some point, my nurse had started to fill the tub back up, and my team helped me back into the water. This was around 9 a.m.
Once in the water, my midwife told me I could push. With my husband and sister by my side, I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. After about 20 minutes, I felt a small pop inside and told my midwife that my water had finally broken.
After about an hour of pushing, I felt the ring of fire and knew I was close. Jack was born at 10:07 a.m. He was immediately brought to my chest. I’ve never felt more JOY in my entire life.
Jack’s birth was so special—and made even more so by my incredible support team: My husband, my sister, my midwife and my nurse. Everyone was so amazing and respectful of my birth wants and wishes. Anything can happen in labor, but the stars aligned for mine and I’m so grateful to have had the birth of my dreams.
I love you baby Jack!
