*This birth story is written from the point of view of the mother’s sister*
I was lying in bed, having just turned out the reading lamp. The house was quiet—Colter and Greta were asleep, and Brent was in Leavenworth on a stakeout. Even though I was tired, I was excited. Reagan’s water had broken sometime earlier, and that meant my nephew would most likely come soon. I tried to sleep, knowing I would need all my energy to devote to helping Reagan get through labor and deliver the precious baby we had all anticipated for a long time.
But sleep did not find me that night. Jere called me at 1:00, just a few minutes after I had turned off the light. His voice was calm, but filled with excitement. Reagan was having regular contractions, and they were going to meet the midwife, who was driving in from Lawrence, at the birth center at 2:00. That meant I had an hour to pack up Colter and drop him off at my dad and stepmom’s house, and join Reagan and Jere at their house.
November 3, 2008 at 1:30am I was up late as usual trying to get to sleep, when I felt this thump and a little bit of fluid come out. At first I was like “dang, my water just broke.” But, at the same time I was in denial. After having to make two trips to the restroom I yelled for Steven to call the local hospital and ask them if I could come in to get checked. We called a friend to come and sit with the boys while we went to the hospital in town.
When we there they couldn’t find the Nitrazine strips to test the fluid to see if it was amniotic or urine. So she put me on a monitor, and did an internal I was 2cm and and confirmed that my water did break. She called to Fargo to let them know what was going on and they said to go ahead and send me. We went back by the apartment to let the friend know that we were going to go to Fargo and kiss Steven III and Jordan and get last minute stuff.
From 34 weeks on I had bouts of contractions strong enough to make me think it was the real thing, I tried everything to get them to quit, and just when I was thinking I should go to the hospital, they would quit. I was having twice weekly appointments after spending a few hours in L&D with some painful contractions at 36 weeks. I was dilated to 2 cm at 35 weeks, and progressed a little more each week before I actually went in to real labor to 4 cm. Every appointment my doc would make our game plan for if I went in to labor before the next appointment.
I was so miserable with all night long contractions that I was getting desperate. Monday July 20th I was 38 weeks and had a 9 am appointment, I asked my doc to strip my membranes, then went to the park with D, my husband, to do some serious walking. We spent 2 hours there, but got nothing but a sore back and lots of contractions. I gave up. I tried my best to remember that he would come when he was ready.
Our first child, Thomas James, was born on Monday, October 12th at 2:02am at Long Beach Memorial Hospital in Long Beach, California after approximately 11 hours of labor.
At my 37 1/2 week OB appointment Friday morning I learned that the baby was positioned perfectly and I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. I knew I could remain 2cm for another few weeks, or I could go into labor immediately, I was still excited to know I only had 8 more centimeters to go. I had been fighting a cold all week and wondered if my cough could cause me to go into labor a little early. My OB said it was a small possibility and made sure I had a copy of my medical records, just in case.
I woke up Sunday morning with some very light menstrual-type cramps. They were very weak but something I hadn’t felt at all during the course of my pregnancy. I did my best to ignore them for the morning and most of the afternoon.
Here is the story of my second daughter’s birth. I like to say that Haven made me a mother, which was about as earth shattering as you could get, but Lyric’s birth made me a doula and aspiring midwife.
Following a miscarriage in September of 07, my previous OB told me it was my fault because I was still breast-feeding. I had already decided I wanted a water birth with the second and wanted to switch providers but this really sealed the deal. I went looking for an affordable and more sympathetic (and less myth-based) approach.
Meeting the midwives at the Mountain Midwifery Birth Center I realized everything the midwifery model of care could offer. They actually seemed like the LIKED their jobs and talking to moms about their pregnancy and whatever else was going on in their lives, unlike my OB.
So, I’m not quite sure where to begin! It seems like getting to the point of finally meeting our babies was such a looong road! I ended up in the hospital an hour and a half away from where we live at 32 weeks gestational age, because I leaked some fluid and was contracting. This is the only hospital in Vermont with a NICU, so I had to go there because the twins would have been in the NICU for a week or two if born at that time. I was 2 centimeters dilated, 80% effaced the day I got transferred there. By the time I got there, I was 3 centimeters dilated. I was given steroid shots to help develop the twin’s lungs quicker, and given meds in the meantime to slow down my labor to allow the steroid shots to get in and do their job.
That was a Friday, and by Sunday, they moved me out of the labor and delivery unit and down on the postpartum floor since I wasn’t in active labor, but they said that the risks to me and the twins of stopping labor were greater than the risks of letting labor continue if it started on it’s own again, so if it started again on it’s own, they were going to let me go and deliver.
I woke up around 4:00am on April 19th with mild contractions and more bloody show. I went and warmed up my two herbal rice packs in the microwave and tried to go back to bed. I laid there for a good two hours having regular contractions and just couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to just get up eat breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher and just straighten up the house. When all that was done I sat watching the news on TV.
All of a sudden I feel the baby move and there was a lot of pressure and then I felt/heard a pop. I immediately jumped up and ran to the guest bathroom where it was clear my water had broke. It was 6:45 am. I got Jeremy up and told him to call the midwife just to let her know where I was at (I had called her around 6am to tell her I was having regular contractions). I called my mom and told her what was going on (she was to watch Elizabeth during the birth) but I also told her no need to rush because I was sure it would be a while before the baby was here.
It all started on Friday, March 30th. I woke up around 4am that morning having contractions. I headed to the bathroom and noticed there was bloody show. I went back to bed not wanting to alert Jeremy just yet,but at the same time thinking this baby will be here soon. The contractions lasted most of the day, but they never got really strong or too close together. I called the hospital and my doctors office and they both assured me this was just the beginning and to stay off my feet and relax. I called in to work to tell them I wouldn’t be finishing out my two days. I stayed home and relaxed. The next day Saturday was a normal day. I had no contractions. I still stayed home and relaxed.
Round two of this story starts in the early am hours of April 1st. My first thought on my contractions starting was I cannot have this baby on April Fools day and second thought was Dr. Terryberry is out of town until the second, I have to wait until tomorrow.
I was 37 weeks pregnant with my second child, a girl, when I started having contractions the afternoon of Wednesday, August 12th. It was hot and muggy and I was miserable, so I went and took a swim with my 3 year old son. After doing some laps, my contractions started getting closer together, but then when I stopped they would stop too. I figured it was just a false alarm, and disappointed, I went about the rest of my evening.
That night in bed I started having contractions again, and I tried to get as much sleep as I could. By the time the sun was coming up they were too strong to sleep through. I made breakfast, cleaned the house up, and packed my bags. I called my mother and put her on stand by because she had to drive 2 hours to be there for the birth. I called my doula and she told me to call her when we were headed to the hospital. I called my OB and she told me to get there as soon as possible, because I’d tested positive for Group B Strep and I would need IV antibiotics.
It all started on Monday night. When I first started feeling contractions, we went out for Thai food because everyone had told us that I should try to eat as much as possible to maintain strength and energy. In retrospect, it was really nice that we did it just to have one last night out with just the two of us!
When we got home, the contractions were not strong or very regular, but were happening every 10 minutes or so for a couple of hours, so I called my midwife and told her that we would probably be calling later that night. At around 11 the contractions got stronger and were about 10 minutes apart. I was too excited to sleep so I just stayed up and messed around with all the baby things. By morning, though, the contractions were slowing down. Dorie, the baby I was nannying, came over around 7 and I told her mom that I might call later in the day, but that I could keep her for then. Philip stayed home and helped, but I wasn’t having many contractions at all by that point.
About this website
Birth is inspiring, amazing, and empowering. This website shares a collection of real natural birth experiences from you, the readers. Births the way nature intended. No pitocin. No epidural. Just the beauty (and intensity!) of the human body at work. Whether you've had one natural birth, five natural births, or are considering natural birth in the future, our hope is you will find courage and joy in these stories. Enjoy.
Recommended Reading:
 Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation |  HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method: A natural approach to a safe, easier, more comfortable birthing |
