So I just found out last week I’m pregnant with baby #2. I’ve never properly shared my son’s birth story but I wanted to give a positive story to those women looking to have an unmedicated birth ❤️

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My pregnancy was normal and healthy. I gained 40 pounds but I knew I had a big baby and the women in my family carry a lot of water. I was GBS positive. I planned on giving birth at a birth center with a midwife.

Normally my midwife didn’t do cervical checks or sweeps before 41 weeks. I went in for my 40 week checkup and I just had a feeling that I needed to be checked. She was hesitant but “mama knows best!”. Turns out I was 3 cm dilated, 70% effaced with bulging waters. She asked me if I wanted to do a cervix sweep. She didn’t think it would work but I knew it would 😊

I had tons of pressure the rest of the day and was pretty uncomfortable but it faded. I slept just fine. I woke up at 10AM to a very small lower back ache. I went to the bathroom and lost my mucous plug. Everything I was told said that was not an indicator labor was coming soon so I went on with my day. But the lower back ache continued. It was not painful at all but it was weird and different so my attention kept going back to it. I told my mom and she was convinced I was in early labor. My sisters, husband and I all thought she was crazy. Again, mama knows best!

My mom came over and we spent all day together just hanging out and walking. By the end of the night even though I didn’t necessarily notice anything, my mom said I was acting different, pacing, swaying, etc.

It was 10PM when I decided I needed to sleep. I was convinced nothing was happening. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the timing of the waves in my back and I honestly didn’t think this was it. My mom was still convinced it was.

PSA - Rest and eat plenty at the end because you NEVER know when labor will happen.

I went to bed and the moment I relaxed my water broke with a huge gush and (here comes the fun part!) I was THROWN into active labor. When my water broke my son’s big ole head smashed into my cervix. I was laughing but also in soooo much pain immediately.

We went to the birthing center to get checked. I was 4cm and got my antibiotics for GBS. My midwife, convinced it would be a while because my contractions weren’t so bad anymore, asked if I wanted to go home and labor there. I reluctantly said yes. As we were leaving I had two contractions that brought me to my knees. In the car on the way home I got the urge to push. I’m not sure if it was just the position I was in the car or my body telling me “go back”!

When we got back to the birthing center the contractions got much worse. I labored in different positions for a bit but I got so tired and really wanted to be in the tub (which was already filled). My midwife had been up for 48 hours from different births so everyone was looking forward to a break. I didn’t feel the first few contractions and I thought “yay, a break!” but no. 😅 My contractions came back with a vengeance. I stayed calm and worked through them but by the end all I wanted was OUT of that tub. I had hit a wall where I was saying “I can’t do this anymore” to my sister and husband. Little did I know that my pain was about to be over! (This stage is called transition, by the way. It’s the most painful but it’s the shortest stage and happens right before pushing starts!)

This is my favorite part of what I remember from the birth. We were trying to get me out of the tub and onto the bed but my contractions were on top of each other. My body was telling me I needed to be on my side on the bed. So basically in my own head I said to myself “the pain isn’t going anywhere so either step out of the tub or stay here. Don’t be a b*tch!” And I did! I held onto my nurse’s hands and got out and onto the bed. I was so relieved!

I went through a few more contractions and threw up twice (another sign of transition!) and all of the sudden I couldn’t feel pain anymore. I said “I feel his head coming down. That’s his head. I need to push.” My midwife checked me and I was 10 cm and ready to push! Let me tell you that pushing felt amazing. After being in so much pain and not feeling ANY pain anymore I was so happy but I was also determined and empowered because I now had a JOB to do!

I pushed ineffectively for a bit but once I got the hang of it my son slowly descended. I ended up on my back and my son’s head was out. All of the sudden everyone was screaming “he’s almost here, chin to chest!” But in my crazy dream state I didn’t really understand what they were saying. My husband pushed my head to my chest and with one more push my son was born!

I didn’t tear at all which was crazy but I ended up pushing for almost an hour and I think the slow progress helped with that.

In total my active labor and pushing together was only 4.5 hours (10PM to when he was born at 2:30AM). The pushing phase (being between 45 minutes to an hour) means I went from 3 cm to 10 in just 3.5 hours.

It was an intense experience but it was also insanely empowering. I got emotional during the transition phase but during the rest of my labor I breathed through the contractions and growled/hummed when I felt the need to vocalize. Afterword my nurse said something that I will never forget. “You did incredible. I’ll be channeling you as my birth goddess when I give birth some day.” Nothing has ever made me so proud of myself!

* I have lots more birth photos and some from his head coming out so add and message me if you want to see them!!

All birth is valid and beautiful but I know from my experience that a lot of people didn’t think I could do this. I was told I was crazy. But I proved everyone wrong and now I’ve helped empower many family and friends to have their own unmedicated births. Some worked out and some didn’t but that’s not the point. The point is every mom should feel powerful, safe and happy in her decisions. You have so many options! Things can go wrong of course. But never think for a second that you aren’t strong enough to give birth in any way.

And at the end of the day, whether unmedicated, lightly medicated, natural with pitocin, epidural or c-section, you are BADASS and deserve to have a birth story that makes you feel empowered.