The Birth Of Wilder Fox.
Ever since I was a little girl I have been completely fascinated by pregnancy and birth. I am one of five, and every time my mom was pregnant I was so involved. I wanted to know everything about being pregnant. I loved sitting and holding my hand on my mom’s belly and feeling the baby move. At the young age of eight, I got to watch my baby sister be born. This was a gift my mother gave to me and my older brother and it was the most beautiful and amazing experience I had ever had. I always wanted children of my own and I always wanted to just give birth to them naturally. It just seemed like that was the way God intended it to be, so I always felt birthing naturally was something I knew I could achieve. When I became pregnant with Wilder, my second pregnancy, I knew I had to better educate myself on the fact that this was my body and my birth and I would be able to fully achieve a natural birth this time around. The very first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant was hire a doula/midwife, something I regret not doing with my first. I had a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy. Fast forward to the day I went into labor: I woke up around 5:30am just feeling uncomfortable. I knew I had been walking around at 4cm for at least a week, so I didn’t think much of it. I was having light contractions that whole day, but nothing consistent and they were short. I rested all day, drank lots of water, and ate what sounded good to me. At 5:40pm, I started to track my contractions because they were getting uncomfortable. I could still talk through them though, so I didn't think too much about it. My contractions stayed pretty inconsistent, so again I didn't take them very seriously. I texted my doula/midwife and she said it sounded like I was in the early stages of labor and to eat something and just rest. My husband went to make me some food, in the midst of that I had two pretty strong contractions that lasted about 2 minutes and were 8 minutes apart. By the time my husband brought me food, I looked at him and said, “I can't eat that right now,” and within 20 minutes, my contractions started to piggyback off of each other and wouldn't stop. I was in extreme discomfort and feeling a ton of pressure. I texted my doula/midwife and she called me. Being able to hear that I was now in active labor, she coached me on my breathing and also coached my husband in techniques to help me relax. At this moment, my husband told our midwife that we needed to get to hospital and soon! We got to the hospital and the nurse wanted to check my cervix which caused my water to break. She told me that I was already 10cm and she could feel my baby's head! By the grace of God they got me into a delivery room. I laid on the bed and my body voluntary just started to push my baby out. My husband was sitting on the bed with me and I was able to hold onto his arms and lay my head in his lap and my body just pushed when it felt like it needed to. At one point, I was told my baby's head was right there and I was able to reach down and feel his head. That was a very surreal moment for me and still really emotional as I write this. I pushed five times and my baby boy was out! The instant relief of discomfort and pain was extraordinary, and all I could think about was that I did it! I actually did it! And I was okay. I was more than okay! I was amazing, and my baby was amazing, because my baby and I worked together to bring him into this world the way God intended it to be. Unless an emergency were to arise, this was the way God intended for it to be. This birth experience has made me excited to birth again. I felt so much love and empowerment for myself and my body. My husband and doula were the best support system and gave me so much strength throughout my whole journey. Telling myself that my body and baby will work together and we can do this, along with repeating over and over again that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... those were my two favorite affirmations to keep repeating to myself. Birth is amazing and powerful. I truly believe that with the right education and support system, all women who want to achieve this can! Know your options and know that your voice has power. Claim your baby, your body, your birth.