Latest / MyMaine Birth / 164. MyMaine Birth: Emily's positive first birth at Mercy Hospital with midwife support, and the importance of trusting your gut when choosing your birth team

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164. MyMaine Birth: Emily's positive first birth at Mercy Hospital with midwife support, and the importance of trusting your gut when choosing your birth team · MyMaine Birth

0:00
Emily: Towards the end, I started to get really anxious.
0:02
Emily: And it wasn't that I was like consciously aware that I was anxious that a baby was on the way.
0:08
Emily: I just just felt this overall body anxiety.
0:12
Emily: And so during one of my last appointments with the midwives, I mentioned that and they recommended doing things that I loved to do, like things that just brought me and my husband joy to sort of just like release some of that anxiety, which was wonderful advice and worked really well.
0:30
Emily: And I um we did that.
0:33
Emily: We started to like just really focus on spending time together.
0:37
Emily: You know, we went to a sea dogs game, we went and took pictures in a like flower field, we would play cards and and then leading up to my actual birth, I decided to get a prenatal massage, which I recommend to women towards the end of the throughout would be great, but especially towards the end.
0:57
Emily: There's this woman in Brunswick named Brogan Teal, and I saw her for a prenatal massage, and it was incredible.
1:04
Emily: I feel like she moved energy around in a way that I've never experienced before, and she really focused on like hip opening my hips and just yeah, it was really intense.
1:15
Emily: I actually felt kind of like feverish in a way.
1:18
Emily: Like I was like, Am I going into labor?
1:20
Emily: Like during the massage.
1:22
Emily: But then afterwards just felt so, so good.
1:24
Emily: And then the next day, my husband and I went to Popham Beach and just had like a lovely day at the beach, ate pizza and like swam in the ocean.
1:32
Emily: And um, there was like a little river way down to the ocean, and we were just like laying in that and I was floating and it just was like so peaceful.
1:40
Emily: And then the next day I went into labor.
1:43
Emily: So it was like very much a clear, like I just really think the massage plus that trip to Papum Beach like sent me into labor in a very positive way.
1:51
Emily: So even though I was feeling really anxious in the weeks leading up, that moment was that moment was great.
1:57
Emily: And then the other thing that started to happen, two other quick things, is I really started to go inward.
2:02
Emily: Like I said to my husband, I made a comment, I didn't want to like see people.
2:07
Emily: Like usually we have kind of a full social cat like calendar of seeing a lot of friends, and I just really didn't want to schedule anything.
2:15
Emily: And I was like, that's so strange.
2:16
Emily: And he was like, I'm sure you're just you know wanting more internal time.
2:20
Emily: And I think he definitely hit the nail on the head with that.
2:22
Emily: And then I also just because it was this time of year in May last year and then early June, it was like everything just got so vivid, the leaves and the flowers coming out, and that was my first clue that things were definitely starting to come soon.
2:38
Emily: Just seeing the beauty of the earth was so much more vivid than I think I've ever experienced.
2:43
Emily: And I felt so connected to nature in a way I'd never experienced.
2:46
Emily: It was just so vivid.
2:47
Emily: That's the only way I can really put it.
2:49
Emily: So that was a really cool experience, and I think like, yeah, I don't know if all women experience that, but for me it was like clear, very, very, very clear and beautiful.
3:00
Angela: I'm Angela, and I'm a certified birth photographer, experienced duela, childbirth educator, and your host here on the My Main Birth podcast.
3:09
Angela: This is a space where we share the real life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine.
3:16
Angela: From our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated.
3:26
Angela: Whether you're a seem-to-be mom, a seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
3:34
Angela: Hey everyone, welcome to episode 164 of My Main Birth.
3:40
Angela: Today's birth story guest is Emily, and she is here to share her positive experience of birthing her first baby at Mercy Hospital with the support of midwife Caitlin.
3:52
Angela: Emily shares openly and honestly about switching providers twice during her pregnancy, and the importance of listening to that inner voice when something doesn't feel quite right.
4:04
Angela: Because you only get this one opportunity to birth this baby, and finding care that truly feels right to you makes all the difference.
4:13
Angela: To me, Emily's story is such a good reminder that advocating for yourself is powerful, even when it means making changes.
4:23
Angela: If you'd like to connect with me, you can do so through my website, mymainbirth.com, or you can find me over on Instagram at mymainbirth.
4:33
Angela: Our closing song is by Kate Sutherland.
4:35
Angela: Kate's community songs and deep nature connection work can be found over on her website, katesutherland.ca.
4:41
Angela: All right.
4:44
Angela: Hi Emily, welcome to mymainbirth.
4:47
Angela: Hey, how are you doing, Angela?
4:49
Angela: So to get started, would you share a little bit about you and your family?
4:55
Emily: Yeah, so my name's Emily, and my husband and I have a daughter who is just now 11 months, and we live in Maine, of course, in Bodenham.
5:04
Emily: And yeah, we're excited to talk about my birth today.
5:08
Angela: Yeah, jumping into birth now, would you share about how you found out you were pregnant and what your thoughts were in choosing your care?
5:16
Emily: Yeah, so our story to find out we were pregnant is hilarious.
5:19
Emily: We were actually, we had a scheduled trip to Greece uh to celebrate my husband's birthday and also my sister's birthday.
5:26
Emily: So we were gonna be there with my sister and her family.
5:30
Emily: And so on the flight to Greece, I felt absolutely horrible.
5:34
Emily: So on the flight over, I was like, I'm either pregnant or I have the flu, like just completely flipped of a switch, just felt awful.
5:42
Emily: And so I was hoping it was morning sickness, of course.
5:45
Emily: Um, and I did have a pregnancy test with us, and so when we landed, we got to the hotel, and I just felt so so bad.
5:53
Emily: So I was like, okay, I'm just gonna take this pregnancy test.
5:55
Emily: And then it was positive.
5:56
Emily: So we were so happy, and it was such a fun place to find out, and Greece will always be like a special part of our family because of finding out there, and then um it was even more special because we got to share with my sister and her family right away.
6:11
Emily: They were the first people to hear.
6:13
Emily: Um, so all my nieces heard right away, and my sister.
6:16
Emily: So it was just great to just jump right into talking to my sister about all things pregnancy and getting advice from her.
6:23
Emily: Oh my gosh, that's so special.
6:25
Emily: Yeah, it was great.
6:26
Emily: And then I was sick the entire trip, but it was okay.
6:29
Emily: It was for positive reasons.
6:31
Emily: But yeah, it was um a challenging trip for that reason, but always grateful.
6:35
Emily: Like, at least it's not the flu on vacation.
6:38
Emily: Exactly.
6:39
Emily: I was like, it's not COVID, not the flu.
6:40
Emily: I'm pregnant, which is something to of course celebrate.
6:43
Angela: Which you can sometimes feel like the flu in those early days, right?
6:46
Emily: Yeah, yeah, it was so bad.
6:48
Angela: Oh no.
6:49
Angela: So had you guys been trying before that?
6:52
Emily: Yes, yeah, we had been trying for about six months, so it was um really happiness for us.
6:56
Emily: And yeah, and then to answer your other question about, you know, our prenatal care, I went into pregnancy really wanting to have a home birth.
7:05
Emily: That was my goal.
7:06
Emily: Um, because of a medical complication, I could not have a home birth, and I knew that really early on in pregnancy.
7:12
Emily: And so I was really disappointed.
7:14
Emily: I started with Midcoast Hospital with the OBs there and really didn't feel that click.
7:21
Emily: Like that just wasn't the place.
7:22
Emily: I knew pretty early on that that wasn't the place I wanted to give birth.
7:26
Emily: So I switched to Mercy Hospital and um started with the OBs there, and then ultimately, just in like the last like four weeks of my pregnancy, switched to the midwives because things were really good medically for me.
7:41
Emily: And so I could switch to the midwives and uh yeah, it was great.
7:44
Emily: Oh my gosh, that's amazing.
7:46
Angela: So, to back it up just a little bit, what were some of your like stories that you might have heard about birth growing up that might have led you to have that mindset going into your pregnancy that you wanted to have a home birth?
7:58
Emily: Yeah, great question.
7:59
Emily: Um, well, a couple of things.
8:01
Emily: I was born um at a birthing center, and so not a home birth, but a you know, not outside of hospital birth.
8:07
Emily: And my mom speaks very, very highly of my of her birth with me.
8:11
Emily: So it was just really always in my mind that I didn't want to have a hospital birth, particularly.
8:16
Emily: So I either wanted a birthing center or a home birth.
8:19
Emily: Um, and then my sister had three really wonderful, beautiful home births, and so I just always had that shining example of how wonderful they can be.
8:28
Emily: And I was actually at her first daughter's birth as acting as her doula.
8:33
Emily: Um, so I got a sense of just the power of a home birth and the beauty of that all that comes along with that.
8:42
Emily: And so yeah, I just I just also, of course, had a lot of fears around a hospital birth with all of the interventions that can happen.
8:49
Emily: Um, I didn't quite trust that that system, and I still don't at certain hospitals.
8:54
Emily: I think um you have to have protections in place to really protect yourself from some of the ways that a hospital birth can go.
9:01
Emily: I think mercy is different, and we can get into that in a little bit.
9:04
Emily: But um, yeah, yeah.
9:06
Emily: And uh I think I would have never actually gone to Mercy if it wasn't for an interview with a doula here in Maine, who I didn't ultimately select to be my doula, but she was wonderful, and she said mercy is like the closest you're gonna get to a home birth in her experience.
9:21
Emily: And so yeah, I was really grateful that she told me that because it changed the course of my whole, you know, birthing experience.
9:29
Angela: Yeah, definitely.
9:31
Angela: So now what was like the beginning of your pregnancy like going into it with that sort of mindset?
9:38
Angela: Like, how did that like kind of unfold in the beginning after you got back from this amazing but like kind of sickly trip to Greece?
9:45
Emily: Yes.
9:45
Emily: Um I was I had pretty significant morning sickness and just sickness and like I said, a health condition that uh you know surfaced during first trimester.
9:55
Emily: So I just had a lot of things that I was juggling as far as like medication and just trying to figure a whole lot out during those first few months.
10:03
Emily: Um, so it wasn't particularly fun, but it wasn't a fun time.
10:06
Emily: I don't look back super fondly on that first trimester.
10:10
Emily: Um, but then second trimester things started to turn and get a lot better.
10:13
Emily: And I of course felt a lot better as a lot of um, you know, expecting moms do.
10:18
Emily: And then um, yeah, just sort of like really navigating the care I wanted.
10:25
Emily: I was very strategic about the the care I wanted around me.
10:28
Emily: So, like I said, hiring a doula pretty early on in the pregnancy, which was great to have that sort of support.
10:35
Emily: And then once I landed at Mercy, it it was great, even with the OBs there, just to have that care, that consistent care.
10:42
Emily: Because I was kind of bouncing around a lot between different care.
10:46
Emily: Yeah.
10:46
Angela: Well, I think that's so important.
10:48
Angela: Like to if you're not resonating with someone, then like if you switch and you're still not resonating, switch again, you know, because you are never gonna get this experience again.
10:57
Emily: Yes, that's exactly what my my mindset.
10:59
Emily: And I really trusted my intuition, like along the way with different doulas and different providers, both.
11:04
Emily: Like I just was like, I'm gonna fully trust that gut feeling.
11:08
Emily: And ultimately, the person who was at my birth, the midwife at my birth, was the perfect person for me.
11:13
Emily: And so I really feel like I got led down a wonderful path by trusting that intuition.
11:18
Emily: So I would definitely recommend that for other expecting parents to, you know, yeah, just switch as many times as you need till you find the right care.
11:27
Emily: Yeah.
11:27
Emily: Yeah, definitely.
11:29
Angela: Now, what were some of the things like as you were shifting and like finding the care that was right for you?
11:36
Angela: Like, what were some of the things like when you went to the first hospital that were like you're like, uh, like that caused you to switch again?
11:42
Emily: Yeah, no, great question.
11:43
Emily: I think a big part was I ask a lot of questions and I'm very involved in my medical journey.
11:51
Emily: And so just sort of feeling like I wanted a provider who, of course, really listened, just somebody I could really trust, um, but also who didn't really push a lot for things that just didn't feel right for me.
12:05
Emily: And yeah, I don't know, I don't know if I can really put my finger on what it was about Midcoast that didn't feel right, but and it was just so long ago now, but it really just didn't feel like that loving, warm place that I knew I wanted if I was gonna have a hospital birth.
12:19
Emily: If that was sort of the only option for me.
12:22
Emily: But I will say what I loved about Mercy midwives is they would take so much time during with appointments, and so that was a big difference between Midcoast and Mercy.
12:32
Emily: They, you know, some appointments could go for like 30, 40 minutes and they didn't seem rushed, they were just taking their time, having really lengthy conversations and talking more about like me as just a whole being, as opposed to like just the pregnancy, which I really appreciated.
12:47
Emily: That's so important.
12:49
Angela: Yeah, it was great.
12:50
Angela: They were lovely.
12:51
Angela: Amazing.
12:53
Angela: So how far along were you when you switched to Mercy?
12:56
Emily: Yeah, I think I was I think I might have even been like I wanna say it was at like the six-month mark, maybe.
13:07
Emily: But then I switched to the midwives from the OBs to the midwives pretty late, like like eight months.
13:15
Emily: Like I think I only had like four appointments, you know, it's about it's like kind of when you're getting to like or it might have been seven months, but yeah.
13:21
Emily: There there's four midwives, or at least there was when I was with Mercy, um, four midwives, and I met all four of them, but just under the wire.
13:31
Emily: Literally the day before I went into labor, I met the last midwife that was like potentially could have been my uh my midwife.
13:37
Emily: So um yeah, it was very much the last right at the finish line.
13:43
Angela: Oh my goodness.
13:44
Angela: So do you want to share anything else about switching like from the OBs to the midwives and like what that felt like for you?
13:51
Emily: Yeah, yeah.
13:51
Emily: I think for me, I think I would have, I think having the OBs would have been great.
13:56
Emily: I think the midwives aligned much better with my birth plan and what I was hoping for.
14:01
Emily: Um, I really wanted minimal intervention, even to the point that like I really didn't want people touching me, like I really wanted just a lot of autonomy in that space.
14:10
Emily: I wanted it to feel like I was in my home and just people happened to be kind of coming in to when I was ready to birth the baby.
14:17
Emily: And so that was like my mindset going into it.
14:20
Emily: And I think that worked really well with the the midwives.
14:24
Emily: And um, I also didn't want anything, really anyone to bring up anything that I wouldn't want.
14:30
Emily: Um, I really wanted to have an unmedicated birth, and so I didn't want anyone even bringing up medications as like an option, and so um I think the OB's would have also respected that, but I really trusted the midwives to to fully support that and trust that.
14:45
Emily: Yeah.
14:46
Angela: Amazing, yeah.
14:48
Angela: So how are you doing like emotionally as your pregnancy progressed?
14:54
Emily: Yeah, well, towards the end, I started to get really anxious, and it wasn't that I was like consciously aware that I was anxious that a baby was on the way.
15:04
Emily: I just felt this overall body anxiety.
15:07
Emily: And so during one of my last appointments with the midwives, I mentioned that and they recommended doing things that I loved to do, like things that just brought me and my husband joy to to sort of just like release some of that anxiety, which was wonderful advice and worked really well.
15:25
Emily: And I um we did that.
15:28
Emily: We started to like just really focus on spending time together.
15:32
Emily: You know, we went to a sea dogs game, we went and took pictures in a uh like flower field, we would play cards and and then leading up to like my actual birth, I decided to get a prenatal massage, which I recommend to women towards the end of the throughout would be great, but especially towards the end.
15:54
Emily: There's this woman in Brunswick named Brogan Thiel, and I saw her for a prenatal massage, and it was incredible.
16:01
Emily: I feel like she moved energy around in a way that I've never experienced before, and she really focused on like hip opening my hips and just yeah, it was really intense.
16:12
Emily: I actually felt kind of like feverish in a way.
16:15
Emily: Like I was like, Am I going into labor?
16:17
Emily: Like during the massage, but then afterwards just felt so, so good.
16:21
Emily: And then the next day, my husband and I went to Popum Beach and just had like a lovely day at the beach, ate pizza and like swam in the ocean.
16:29
Emily: And um, there was like a little river way down to the ocean.
16:32
Emily: We were just like laying in that and I was floating and it just was like so peaceful.
16:37
Emily: And then the next day I went into labor.
16:40
Emily: So it was like very much a clear, like I just really think the massage plus that trip to Pau Pom Beach like sent me into labor in a very positive way.
16:48
Emily: So even though I was feeling really anxious in the weeks leading up, that moment was that moment was great.
16:54
Emily: And then the other thing that started to happen, two other quick things, is I really started to go inward.
16:59
Emily: Like I said to my husband, I made a comment, I didn't want to like see people.
17:04
Emily: Like usually we have a kind of a full social calendar of seeing a lot of friends, and I just really didn't want to schedule anything.
17:11
Emily: And I was like, that's so strange.
17:13
Emily: And he was like, I'm sure you're just you know wanting more internal time.
17:16
Emily: And I think he definitely hit the nail on the head with that.
17:19
Emily: And then I also just because it was this time of year in May last year and then early June, it was like everything just got so vivid, the leaves and the flowers coming out, and that was my first clue that things were definitely starting to come soon.
17:34
Emily: Just seeing the beauty of the earth was so much more vivid than I think I've ever experienced.
17:40
Emily: And I felt so connected to nature in a way I'd never experienced.
17:43
Emily: It was just so vivid.
17:44
Emily: That's the only way I can really put it.
17:46
Emily: So that was a really cool experience.
17:47
Emily: And I think, like, yeah, I don't know if all women experience that, but for me, it was like clear, very, very, very clear and beautiful.
17:55
Angela: That is so beautiful.
17:57
Angela: I love hearing that.
17:58
Angela: Yeah, it's like that.
17:59
Angela: I mean, birth is an altered state, you know, and your brain waves are slowing down and changing as you go into like the birth space, and yeah, it's just that all of that is is so amazing.
18:11
Angela: Yeah.
18:11
Angela: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:13
Angela: It was spectacular.
18:14
Angela: Wow.
18:16
Angela: So now how did things go like that night?
18:19
Angela: Did you notice things?
18:20
Angela: Or like how how did what happened next?
18:23
Emily: Yeah.
18:23
Emily: So I got up at um on the 14th on a Saturday, I got up around like 2 a.m.
18:29
Emily: and just felt like the slightest ping of a cramp.
18:33
Emily: And I remember thinking, like, huh, I wonder if this is labor.
18:36
Emily: Because you know, as a first-time mom, you really don't know.
18:38
Emily: It just felt like the slightest little like menstrual cramp.
18:41
Emily: So I woke my husband up and I, which in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea.
18:45
Emily: I probably should have just gone back to bed, but it's like the one advice a lot of the duel is recommended is like go back to sleep, like don't get too excited.
18:54
Angela: But I'm going on vacation.
18:56
Emily: Yeah, I couldn't help it.
18:57
Emily: I was just too excited.
18:58
Emily: So I did wake him up, and then um I felt like things were progressing really quickly.
19:04
Emily: Again, I feel like a lot of first-time moms might do this, but I went into labor thinking I was gonna have a very quick labor, like you know, six hours.
19:12
Emily: Um, my mom and sister both had relatively quick labors.
19:16
Emily: So um we live about 45 minutes north of Mercy.
19:19
Emily: So I was very like, okay, we gotta stay on top of this.
19:22
Emily: We got to plan exactly when we're gonna leave.
19:23
Emily: So that way I'm not giving birth in the car.
19:26
Emily: Or just like really uncomfortable at the end of labor driving 45 minutes.
19:31
Emily: So yeah, we labored, I labored at home for a little bit and then around 8 a.m.
19:36
Emily: decided to drive down to Portland, which again in hindsight probably wasn't the best choice.
19:41
Emily: We should have stayed at home longer, but um, that's what we did.
19:45
Emily: And then we were they wanted to do a cervical check at Mercy, and I didn't feel ready for that.
19:51
Emily: I just was like just not ready.
19:54
Emily: And so they were like, well, we can't really admit you.
19:56
Emily: Like they just didn't think I was far enough along, but didn't really want to say that without doing the cervical check.
20:01
Emily: So we ended up hanging out in Portland, like grabbing a smoothie and like getting some lunch and just hanging out.
20:08
Emily: And then after a lot of conversations with Ardula over the phone, we did decide to go back home.
20:14
Emily: And so I labored at home for quite a few hours.
20:16
Emily: Like at this point, I took like a nice long nap, got some more food, and just we were just kind of in this like limbo space.
20:25
Emily: But then things did start to pick back up in the evening, and then I even still pushed to stay at home longer because I didn't want to have to go back again.
20:34
Emily: Like I wanted to really be truly, truly in labor at that point.
20:38
Emily: So yeah, yeah, that's sort of like the early phases of labor.
20:42
Angela: Yeah.
20:42
Angela: Oh my goodness, it's so hard to like, especially your first time to be like, when do I go?
20:47
Angela: Like, am I going too soon?
20:49
Angela: Am I gonna go too late?
20:50
Angela: Like, all of that.
20:51
Angela: Yeah, it can be so hard.
20:52
Angela: Yeah.
20:52
Emily: I know the timing was if that's like the only thing about my labor that I was a little bit like, this isn't particularly fun.
20:59
Emily: The like back and forth and the the that decision was I didn't love that.
21:05
Emily: So I think that, you know, living 45 minutes from where you're gonna be giving birth is a challenge, but it was worth it.
21:11
Angela: Because almost like thinking about it is like what slows things down, right?
21:15
Angela: Like, did you feel that exactly?
21:17
Emily: Yes, yes, exactly.
21:18
Emily: And a part of the story too is the day before I went into labor, we met with the last midwife, Caitlin Sloan, and we loved her, she's amazing.
21:28
Emily: And she was telling us that, you know, she was gonna be on call and then off and then on call, and then she was gonna be going on a family vacation for two weeks.
21:37
Emily: So we were really disappointed because I didn't think I would have her because I was just as like assuming my labor was gonna happen, you know, in a couple weeks still.
21:46
Emily: So the Saturday morning she was on call, but then it was then she was going off call at like seven.
21:54
Emily: So then we got a per diem midwife, and I think my body kind of Just knew instinctually or just just didn't really want to give birth with anyone other than Caitlin.
22:07
Emily: So I think that's why things stalled.
22:10
Emily: I did, I had a 33-hour-long labor altogether.
22:13
Emily: And to your point, like the back and forth decision making.
22:16
Emily: And then that paired with knowing that I didn't have somebody I knew as the provider at the hospital.
22:22
Emily: So I held out till she was back on call on Sunday.
22:26
Emily: And that's, you know, when I ultimately did give birth, which is a little bit jumping ahead.
22:30
Emily: But yeah.
22:31
Angela: No, yeah.
22:31
Angela: There's definitely something to that for sure.
22:34
Angela: I think.
22:34
Angela: Yeah.
22:35
Emily: Yeah.
22:35
Emily: Like the person you trust, definitely.
22:37
Emily: Yeah.
22:38
Emily: Yeah.
22:39
Angela: Awesome.
22:40
Angela: So how did things go?
22:42
Angela: Like sort of the rest of that night?
22:44
Angela: Like when did you actually decide to?
22:46
Angela: You said it was Sunday morning.
22:47
Angela: So you made it through the Saturday night.
22:50
Emily: Yeah.
22:50
Emily: So we were at home, like laboring at home, trying to like watch shows, movies, like distraction.
22:56
Emily: Um, my husband was doing a lot of, you know, like counterpressure that he had learned, but it was definitely like heating up and the pain was getting more intense.
23:06
Emily: So around like 1 a.m., we did decide to leave to go back to the hospital.
23:10
Emily: So we got there around 2 a.m.
23:12
Emily: and our doula walked in the door like right when we got there.
23:15
Emily: So it was perfect timing there.
23:16
Emily: And they did do a cervical check.
23:18
Emily: And I just asked to not know how far along I was.
23:22
Emily: I didn't want to get that in my head, but I was enough to admit me.
23:27
Emily: And so that was great.
23:28
Emily: I was really happy because I was like, okay, once we were settled in the room, things really changed.
23:32
Emily: So that was, of course, really early Sunday morning.
23:36
Emily: And yeah, once we were in the room, things, like I said, progressed really quickly.
23:40
Emily: Our doula was amazing, and I really leaned on her for the comforts.
23:46
Emily: They had me doing different positions for like a really long time, which I remember being so uncomfortable, but I think that's what helped progress because at home I just wanted to like move around.
23:57
Emily: I was just like distracting myself, doing this, but like getting a position and holding it for like the length of a contraction, doing that for like three contractions, the same position, I think really helped looking back, even though I did not want to do it in the moment.
24:11
Emily: And then I ultimately got into the shower on a stool, and my husband took the shower head and you know, put that the heat on my back.
24:20
Emily: Because it was my back was like the worst part, and I think that's true for a lot of birthing mothers.
24:25
Emily: And so, yeah, doing that on my back, and then all I wanted to do was get into the tub, like so bad they have a birthing time at Mercy.
24:32
Emily: And so I don't know exactly what time I got into the tub, but I think it was early.
24:37
Emily: I want to say probably like 4 a.m.
24:39
Emily: I got into the tub, and then things really picked up very quickly.
24:45
Emily: And then at 7 a.m., Caitlin, our midwife who did deliver our daughter, was back on call and we all were like cheering my husband and Jola.
24:54
Emily: And I'm like, Yay, Caitlin! We were so happy.
24:57
Emily: She walked in, we're like, woo.
24:58
Emily: So yeah, that uh that was a fun memory to look back on, just how happy we were that she was back.
25:04
Emily: Yeah.
25:05
Angela: Yeah, amazing.
25:06
Angela: So did that just help you like relax, like at the next level?
25:10
Angela: Like when you're like, okay, Caitlin's here, like things are progressing.
25:13
Angela: Like, how did that make you feel?
25:14
Angela: Like, yeah, right after she was there.
25:17
Emily: Yes, that helped so much.
25:19
Emily: Knowing she was there, knowing like you know, I was settled in the tub.
25:22
Emily: Things just moved so quick in the water.
25:25
Emily: And so once she was there, we were also really lucky.
25:28
Emily: I don't think there was any other birthing mothers in at least that I knew at that time on the birthing floor.
25:35
Emily: And so Caitlin was in the room with us like pretty much that whole time.
25:39
Emily: So I not only had Ardula, but Caitlin and then also a really wonderful nurse.
25:43
Emily: So just an amazing sport system, and my husband.
25:46
Emily: But what was really funny, and I think this was my kind of transition period, is Caitlin said to my husband, hey, have you eaten?
25:54
Emily: Like, because I had a really long labor, like you should, you know, go get some food.
25:58
Emily: Like, baby could be coming, so like you should probably take now as a good chance, which I think was really good advice.
26:03
Emily: And then I got it in my head, like I was like, this guy has got to go get some food.
26:08
Emily: So it was like my life's mission.
26:10
Emily: Like, I didn't even care about my labor at that point.
26:12
Emily: I was like, you have got to go get food.
26:14
Emily: Because it dawned on me just how much he had been supporting me, and I really wanted him to take even just a breather, even if he didn't get go food get food, just like go get some fresh air.
26:23
Emily: So I like really forced him out of the room.
26:26
Emily: And then then I actually did transition.
26:28
Emily: Like I remember it clear as day.
26:30
Emily: Like he left and I turned to my doula because I just had no one else to like, you know, I was really turning towards him before.
26:36
Emily: So I turned to my doula and just that female energy in the room, having all females in the room, just like locked in with her and was just like crying.
26:44
Emily: Like, how do people do this?
26:47
Emily: Like, not only like the pushing, the physical be like pushing her at my baby out, but like also how do I know that she's gonna be okay?
26:55
Emily: That was like a big fear of mine.
26:57
Emily: Like, I think I needed to like process that before I could transition into the pushing.
27:01
Emily: And so um, you know, I don't remember what she said, but she said wonderful things that really helped me um to just sort of process like that it was gonna be okay, like the care team was there and just everything I needed to hear.
27:15
Emily: Um, so yeah, I just always laugh.
27:17
Emily: Like, I don't know if that I needed the male energy out of the room or what it was, but it it's what needed to happen in order for me to transition there.
27:26
Angela: That's so special.
27:27
Angela: I feel like sometimes when I'm at birth where it's just all females, like there is something to that energy, like even if the dad's there, but like if there's if it's all female providers, like there's there's something like a different energy, like to that, like nothing against some of the male OBs that are amazing, but like, yeah, like just there's something to like uh like female energy for sure.
27:46
Angela: I feel it too.
27:47
Emily: Yes, oh exactly, yes.
27:49
Emily: No, that's exactly how it was.
27:50
Emily: And I trusted these three females so much, like just yeah, they all were incredible and were saying such amazing things, and so it it was great.
28:00
Emily: And then he did come back.
28:01
Emily: He came back, and at that point, you know, things were really moving along.
28:06
Emily: It's not like he like was close to missing the birth or anything, he was gone for maybe five minutes, but um I'm sure he was like running to get like something from the bending machine, and like, okay, I probably didn't even eat it and like ran back.
28:16
Angela: Yeah, exactly.
28:17
Angela: Yeah, you didn't eat.
28:18
Emily: Um, he's like, okay, he just he really only left because I really forced him to.
28:22
Angela: Um, and then sometimes you need that just like reset in a birth too.
28:27
Angela: Like it's almost like you know, you just like refresh the energy.
28:30
Emily: Like, yeah, yeah.
28:32
Emily: Yeah, I wonder actually, it's a good point.
28:34
Emily: That kind of seemed like what it was.
28:35
Emily: It was like a fresh breath of air in the room, so I could just like take a beat and just come back to to the whole thing.
28:42
Angela: And so you just like you know, good cry with your dulo and no one's looking.
28:45
Emily: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:47
Emily: So bro, yeah.
28:48
Emily: And it's funny, in the moment, I think I even realized like, okay, I'm transitioning.
28:52
Emily: Like I knew because I'd seen my sister do that during her first birth when I was at that labor and just how significant that period is, and just that yeah, just clear as day, at least for me.
29:03
Emily: It was just like, okay, now and so I knew afterwards that it was gonna be time for me to push.
29:09
Emily: Like I felt that, and you know, I felt the urge to push.
29:11
Emily: So of course I said that, and they could tell by my vocalizations.
29:14
Emily: And so my midwife did want to do a cervical check because it was my first birth.
29:18
Emily: She didn't want me to just start pushing in case I wasn't a full 10 centimeters, but she did it very quickly and then, you know, said yes, of course.
29:26
Emily: And so we were all really happy.
29:28
Emily: Um, but at this point, it had been so such a long labor.
29:31
Emily: I was exhausted.
29:33
Emily: Um, and I had no plans to give birth in the tub.
29:37
Emily: That wasn't what I planned for, but I also wasn't against it.
29:40
Emily: Um, so I of course just stayed in the tub.
29:42
Emily: No one was gonna get me out of that water.
29:44
Emily: It just felt so good.
29:45
Emily: It's like, yeah.
29:47
Emily: So Caitlin was really great at just like directing different positions and helping me get into a comfortable position to be able to push optimally.
29:57
Emily: And yeah, I think I pushed for about an hour and a half, which she said was quick.
30:00
Emily: It felt forever for me.
30:02
Emily: Like I didn't that didn't, I don't know.
30:04
Emily: I don't think I realized just how long women push for sometimes and um in all of all the other women who've pushed babies out because man, it was yeah, very, very, very intense.
30:16
Emily: But yeah, but I legitimately would fall asleep between contractions at that point.
30:22
Emily: Like I was asleep, and then I would wake up with a contraction and just you know, give it my all and then go back to sleep.
30:29
Emily: Um, and it was really great.
30:31
Emily: One of the things I loved about Mercy and the midwives in particular and the nurse is they just set that tone where they were quiet when I was asleep.
30:39
Emily: Between contractions, I didn't hear a peep, and so I could sleep, and my husband followed their lead, like no talking, no interacting with me, maybe like you know, wiping sweat or whatever.
30:49
Emily: But that was super important to me, and I was really grateful that I didn't hear like little chat or like hospital talk in the background.
30:56
Angela: Yeah, that's great.
30:57
Angela: I was literally just gonna say, like, that's amazing that you had a team that supported you in doing that because it's not always like that in the hospital.
31:05
Angela: But yeah, I just heard so many amazing stories from Mercy or like, yeah, they're just it's more support for sure.
31:10
Angela: They're so understanding birth almost, like you know, like I don't know, but yeah, like yeah, understand what you're going through.
31:19
Emily: Yeah, no, they're they're wonderful with that.
31:21
Emily: And then when I was pushing, Caitlin would be in the background, like a little angel voice, and Jessica, my midwife, or sorry, my doula, my doula, Jessica and Caitlin, the midwife, would be in the background, just giving these beautiful sentiments of encouragement, like you've got this.
31:37
Emily: And Caitlin would say a lot of like you are safe, kind of over and over and over again.
31:41
Emily: And I really needed to hear that.
31:42
Emily: And I think she knew I needed to hear that.
31:44
Emily: Like, you're in a safe space, like the baby's safe, you're safe.
31:47
Emily: And they they were they would do um, you know, of course I'm in the water, so they'd do intermittent fetal monitoring with the external thing.
31:55
Emily: And um, that always made me nervous every time they brought that out.
31:58
Emily: Because of course you're like, okay, is my baby okay?
32:01
Emily: But they gave me a lot of encouragement that she was.
32:03
Emily: I think maybe one contraction made them a little nervous, but then she was fine.
32:07
Emily: The next our baby was fine, the next contraction.
32:09
Emily: We actually didn't know her sex until she was born, but now, of course, looking back, I can't say she, but at the time, yeah, we didn't know.
32:15
Emily: But yeah.
32:17
Angela: Oh my goodness.
32:19
Angela: Yeah.
32:19
Angela: So how, like, yeah, what like what happened next?
32:23
Angela: This is amazing.
32:23
Angela: Such an incredible story.
32:25
Emily: Yeah.
32:25
Emily: So then, um, you know, I'm in the tub, I'm pushing.
32:28
Emily: Like I said, I was falling asleep, then waking up, contraction.
32:31
Emily: Um, I was getting really frustrated because my daughter's head would come out and you know, and I didn't know that that was sort of what I should expect, or at least for me, that would happen.
32:40
Emily: She kind of rocked in, she rocked out, she rocked in, she rocked out.
32:43
Emily: And that was really frustrating.
32:44
Emily: But Caitlin, of course, encouraged, like reassured me that like she's not gonna come back up, like you're good, like she's gonna make her way out.
32:52
Emily: Um, so yeah, then of course the the pushing her out, the ring of fire was next level pain.
33:00
Emily: Like I know, you know, I did a lot of meditations during prenatal about like it's not pain.
33:05
Emily: It's like, you know, not using the word pain, but like I joke now, like I a hundred percent would call it pain.
33:10
Emily: And I would never tell another birthing mother, like, like it's pain, but I am fortunate enough where I look back and it's like I don't like I don't associate with that pain as a painful experience, but like in the time when it was happening, like very much painful, even in a water birth.
33:27
Emily: Um, yeah, definitely.
33:28
Emily: But then it's like you forget.
33:30
Emily: So then she like I did the very classic to my husband, like we we are never having another baby, like this is the last time.
33:39
Emily: This is in just wildly painful.
33:43
Emily: Um I can't believe you did this to me.
33:46
Emily: Yeah, exactly.
33:47
Emily: But then as soon as she was on my chest, I you know, you forget all of it exactly.
33:51
Emily: So it's like in that moment, like literally, right?
33:54
Emily: Yes, in that exact moment.
33:56
Emily: Like you're like, wait, what just happened?
33:57
Emily: So, yeah, so you know, she come, I birthed her out, um, her head comes out, and then it was like her shoulders just sort of slipped right out too.
34:05
Emily: Like that was not an extra push or contraction or anything.
34:08
Emily: Um, she supposedly had her cord around her neck, but our you know, Caitlin just very quickly moved it out of the way.
34:13
Emily: It wasn't a big deal.
34:14
Emily: Um, and then they put her on my chest and she was still in the water.
34:19
Emily: Yeah, still in the water.
34:20
Emily: Yep, yep.
34:21
Emily: She took a minute to cry, but they just like rubbed her feet and she was crying.
34:25
Emily: And then um we didn't know her sex, as I said, and so like and we were so caught up.
34:31
Emily: My husband and I were so caught up in the moment of just, you know, so excited to to have her here.
34:36
Emily: But then our you know, team was all we were all like, what's this, what's the sex?
34:40
Emily: What's the sex?
34:41
Emily: And so yeah, and of course he was like, girl, and yeah, it was just so exciting.
34:45
Emily: And we were shocked because for several reasons.
34:48
Emily: We thought for sure we were having a boy, so we were very surprised by the girl, and then we thought for sure it would be a quick labor, as I mentioned, and it was 33 hours, and then yeah, just we thought we were gonna have this huge baby, and she was seven pounds, six ounces.
35:03
Emily: So just like it was just so funny the things that you go into a pregnancy being like, this is what it's gonna look like, here's how it's gonna work, and then everything kind of can get flipped on its head.
35:12
Angela: But um for each pregnancy, like that'll always happen.
35:17
Emily: I feel like I know it can be so different.
35:19
Emily: I remember telling the midwives, like, oh, I'm gonna have a really short labor.
35:22
Emily: I'm gonna probably and I think they were kind of like, okay, like we'll see.
35:26
Emily: Like you can't predict that stuff.
35:27
Emily: Like, I was like, my sister had a short labor, and they're like, Okay, you know, they didn't say that, they were very kind about it, but it was just funny to look back on.
35:35
Emily: They were probably like, we'll see.
35:37
Emily: Like, you just don't know what a birth, how birth's gonna go.
35:40
Emily: Yeah, yeah.
35:41
Emily: But then so after she was born, we um, you know, within maybe a minute or two, they helped me get from the tub to the bed.
35:49
Emily: So I could birth the placenta.
35:51
Emily: It's a good thing they did because you know, our daughter was on my chest, my husband cord.
35:56
Emily: I birthed the placenta, which I did not expect to be as like intense and painful as it was.
36:02
Emily: I don't know if it is for everybody, but that was a very different experience even than birthing her, just because I think I don't know, I just didn't maybe go into it expecting that.
36:13
Angela: They cut the cord in the water or on the bed?
36:15
Emily: On the bed.
36:16
Emily: And then yeah, I just I mean, I don't know maybe if it was as painful for me to birth a placenta for this reason, but I did bleed a lot.
36:22
Emily: Like I technically had a hemorrhage, I think, for medical terms.
36:26
Emily: Um, so they very quickly gave me pitocin in one leg and then another shot of something in the other leg.
36:32
Emily: I never actually caught what that was, but it's not like they asked my permission, they just were like boom, boom, like within like 30 seconds they put those in.
36:39
Emily: And so um it was very much like yeah, it all happened so quickly.
36:45
Emily: And of course I'm in like La La Land, so I wasn't quite like catching everything, but definitely I bled enough where they had to take that action.
36:52
Emily: Yeah, but no, I don't know.
36:54
Emily: I mean, I don't I actually haven't really talked to many other birthing mothers about if it is painful to birth the placenta, but for me it just felt intense, I would say.
37:03
Angela: Yeah, yeah, I feel like the placenta can definitely be really intense for some moms, and then some moms are just like, oh, it just slid right out.
37:10
Angela: I actually enjoyed the placenta coming out, but some moms are just like, oh, that was the worst thing ever.
37:14
Angela: Like I had to put birth something else after I just birthed the baby.
37:18
Angela: Like, this is awful.
37:19
Angela: What is going on?
37:20
Angela: Like, yeah.
37:20
Emily: Yeah, maybe that's what it was for me.
37:22
Emily: I was just like, wait, what the heck?
37:23
Emily: I just birthed this seven pound thing, and now I have to, yeah, birth again.
37:28
Emily: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
37:31
Angela: So you did your placenta come out okay?
37:33
Angela: Like, was it like were there any issues with that, or did it just kind of there's a little bit of bleeding and then they were able to get your placenta out?
37:39
Angela: Was it whole when it came out?
37:40
Emily: Yeah, it was whole, it was healthy, everything was fine there.
37:42
Emily: Just just the bleeding, um, which of course then after they gave me the pitocin and um, you know, whatever that other shot was, it was totally fine, no problems.
37:50
Emily: Um, they were careful with me, of course, like just checking bleeding afterwards, which I'm sure they do with everybody, but um, yeah, and like getting up to go to the bathroom, just making sure I didn't lose too much blood and everything.
38:01
Emily: Yeah.
38:03
Angela: So how was that first hour for you?
38:05
Angela: That first like golden hour of like, okay, we got all that stuff sorted out, placenta's out, like, yeah, how are you feeling like after that?
38:13
Emily: Yeah, oh my gosh, what a rush of everything.
38:16
Emily: It was just such an incredible couple hours.
38:19
Emily: Um, it was so she was born at 11 a.m.
38:21
Emily: So we had like a beautiful sunny day out our window, and just yeah, like I feel like there was, I'm trying to remember back, like, I feel like there's a big rush of a lot of people coming into the room, like the pediatrician and just like, you know, checking on our daughter and nurses coming to check on me, and then like getting stitched up.
38:38
Emily: I had like a tiny, tiny, tiny kind of just nick.
38:42
Emily: So getting that stitched up, just sort of a lot of excitement.
38:45
Emily: And then when things settled down, that's when really things were just so peaceful.
38:49
Emily: And I will give a shout out to our nurse at um, our postpartum nurse at Mercy.
38:54
Emily: Her name's Lily, and she was just such an angel, like so, so sweet.
38:59
Emily: I just like loved her so much, and I'm so grateful for the women who women and men who do that job of postpartum care.
39:07
Emily: It's just such a tender and special time to be there for somebody and you know, putting ice together ice packs for me and yeah, just like holding and getting like teaching us how to swaddle our daughter.
39:19
Emily: Like this, and like, you know, diapers, like all that stuff is just very sweet.
39:24
Emily: And you know, we had my daughter on my chest for as long as we possibly could, you know, and then even after that, just keeping her on my chest and then nursing went great right away.
39:33
Emily: Breastfeeding was great, and then all of the nurses there too were really helpful with nursing, like giving tips on breastfeeding that they learned.
39:42
Emily: So yeah, it was really special.
39:44
Emily: I I love all those moments to look back on.
39:47
Angela: Amazing.
39:48
Angela: Yeah, that is so special.
39:49
Angela: Like you really have to have a lot of compassion, you know, and tenderness, like in that job of like even just LD nurse or postpartum nurse, because these are people's peak life experiences.
40:00
Angela: And you know, now here we are, like a year later, you're forgetting the details, but you don't forget her name, you know, like who supported you, like that nurse in there.
40:08
Angela: And it's just, you know, such an important job that yeah.
40:12
Angela: Yeah, yeah.
40:13
Emily: Oh, 100%.
40:13
Emily: And I actually heard later that Lily, it was her first birth she'd been at that had been a water birth.
40:19
Emily: So I felt really special.
40:20
Emily: Like that was really, really cool to be sort of her first experience seeing that um and being able to provide that care.
40:26
Emily: And she did great on both sides of the labor and then also postpartum.
40:30
Emily: Yeah.
40:31
Emily: Amazing.
40:31
Emily: Yeah, it's so special.
40:33
Angela: Yeah.
40:34
Angela: So how were you feeling?
40:36
Angela: When did you or when did you get a chance to yeah, like go home and like how was like settling in at home for you?
40:41
Emily: Yeah.
40:41
Emily: So we were at the hospital, I think, for two days.
40:44
Emily: Um we it's funny, we were like, we're gonna want to be out as quickly as possible.
40:49
Emily: But then once after she was born, we were super happy to stay and get um, you know, have the extra help and everything.
40:56
Emily: But yeah, settling in at home went great.
40:58
Emily: We have two dogs who are kind of can be quite rambunctious, but they settled in great as well.
41:04
Emily: We were really lucky because my mom spent the summer with us last summer after she was born to help out.
41:10
Emily: So it was a really nice help to have that like really sweet postpartum support.
41:16
Emily: And yeah, we just like settled right in.
41:19
Emily: I pretty much I didn't leave like our bedroom and my bed for a really long time, just like soaking up all the snuggles.
41:26
Emily: And then we had our wonderful community bringing us food, which I highly recommend to other moms and parents if they're able to have that.
41:33
Emily: It was just great to have the food was like so great.
41:37
Emily: And some of the food people brought, oh my gosh, it was just like absolutely delicious.
41:40
Emily: Like it's like everything tastes so good when you're postpartum.
41:44
Emily: And if especially if you're nursing, it's like food is like, oh, tastes delicious.
41:48
Emily: So yeah.
41:49
Angela: Oh, that's so good.
41:50
Angela: Did you have a meal train?
41:52
Angela: Did you create one ahead of time?
41:53
Emily: Yes, we did, yeah, yeah, yeah.
41:55
Emily: Yeah, so it was great, like, especially that to like know what to expect.
41:58
Emily: And then my husband also prepped a lot of food um before we gave birth to her.
42:03
Emily: So we had like yummy breakfast burritos and just lots of things to eat while we were freshly postpartum.
42:09
Emily: Amazing.
42:10
Emily: Yeah, it's so important for both of you guys.
42:12
Emily: Yeah, yeah.
42:14
Emily: No, it made things easier for him, and then it also just yeah, it was so good.
42:17
Emily: And it was great because it was summer, so like our garden was doing well.
42:21
Emily: We actually had fresh strawberries, which was so delicious.
42:24
Emily: Um yeah, I was very happy to have given birth in June because it's you know, then you're leading to this beautiful season.
42:32
Emily: Yeah.
42:33
Angela: Our like eight weeks of warmth here in March.
42:37
Emily: Exactly.
42:37
Emily: I know, before that's over in a flash.
42:39
Emily: Yeah, it's so true.
42:41
Emily: Yeah, definitely so nice.
42:43
Angela: Yeah.
42:44
Emily: Yeah.
42:44
Emily: And then, you know, nursing went great.
42:46
Emily: And our doula um came back to visit with us postpartum, just like one time to check in.
42:52
Emily: And she would also send texts like almost every day during that first week just to see how things were going, which really meant a lot to us.
42:59
Emily: And yeah, yeah, it was just nice to get to see her again and like kind of relive the birth a little bit and talk about just how how wonderful it all went and how happy we were.
43:10
Angela: Yeah, I feel like that part too is important, you know, that like debrief, you almost like someone that was there can be so nice to just have like a week or two after, and and like before you've gone to your like whatever six-week like appointment back in with your doctor, yeah.
43:24
Angela: To just go like what just happened.
43:27
Emily: Yeah, yeah.
43:28
Emily: No, it's so true.
43:29
Emily: The debrief, exactly.
43:30
Angela: Yeah.
43:31
Angela: So how have so she's almost one year old coming up on her birthday?
43:36
Angela: Yes.
43:37
Angela: Yes, yep.
43:38
Angela: Just a few weeks away.
43:39
Angela: Yep.
43:40
Angela: So how does that feel?
43:41
Angela: How has this like first year been for you?
43:44
Emily: Oh my gosh.
43:45
Emily: Well, so fast, first of all.
43:47
Emily: I know people say that, but like they're not kidding.
43:49
Emily: It goes by so fast.
43:51
Emily: Um, you know, we had ups and downs, and like she's just such a great baby and such a great just person, you can already tell, just like such a Wonderful personality.
44:01
Emily: She's like a great sense of humor already, which is so fun.
44:05
Emily: And I just look at her every day and I'm like so grateful to be her mom.
44:09
Emily: And she, yeah, like those early days, especially.
44:12
Emily: I would always say, like, just how like those early days were like the best days of my entire life.
44:18
Emily: Like every day with her was the best day of my entire life.
44:21
Emily: Still, but you know, I don't say that as much now, but definitely, you know, just every day with her.
44:27
Emily: I'm just so grateful um to have her here.
44:30
Emily: Yeah.
44:30
Emily: Sorry.
44:31
Angela: Oh no, you're fine.
44:32
Angela: Like, I'm gonna start crying too.
44:34
Angela: I feel I feel the same way with my daughter, you know.
44:36
Angela: Like it's just like, yeah, yeah, I get that feeling.
44:39
Angela: It's yeah, so relatable.
44:41
Angela: So relatable.
44:42
Angela: Yeah, special.
44:43
Angela: It's such a big thing, you know.
44:45
Angela: You're adding a human to this world, like a lot.
44:49
Emily: And then like coming up on a year, it's just like wild to see all the changes she's gone through.
44:56
Emily: And um all that we've gone through, my husband and I like becoming parents, and then now just you know, moving more into like the toddler age is gonna be very interesting and fun.
45:06
Emily: Like just to see her like getting into things and pulling up and like you know, soon to be walking soon, it's just like yeah, it's just wild.
45:14
Emily: This is such a trip.
45:16
Angela: Yeah.
45:16
Angela: Oh my goodness, it really is.
45:20
Angela: Yeah.
45:21
Angela: Now, as a final question, if you were to give advice to someone who's expecting or even new parents, what's one of like the biggest things that you'd want to share with them?
45:31
Emily: I think I would share two.
45:32
Emily: I think one we've already touched on about the don't be afraid to switch providers, really make sure that you feel like 100% comfortable with the provider that you have for your birth.
45:42
Emily: And then second, I wish someone had said this to me, and it's so simple, and maybe I maybe wouldn't have been as happy about hearing this last year, but just as you are leading up to your like you really don't have to be afraid.
45:57
Emily: Like, I think I there's just so much unknown.
46:00
Emily: And I think if I could go back and tell myself then what I know now is just like it's gonna be beautiful and it's gonna be great, and you won't be able to control it, you just sort of have to let let it happen and it's gonna be wonderful, both um the first year and the birth and everything.
46:17
Emily: So like prepare, of course, and like learn and educate yourself, but you don't have to um be worried.
46:24
Emily: There's nothing to be worried about because it's such a beautiful experience.
46:28
Angela: Yeah, that's amazing and such a good point to make, I really think, because it is uh, you know, to to not be afraid of the unknown is like a big deal, you know.
46:39
Angela: Like it's really easy to be like, I don't know what's gonna happen, and like to have some fears, you know, naturally like around all of that, and yeah, to just like trust in the process and to trust in your team, which really leads back to your first part of like make sure you have the right team.
46:54
Angela: Very, very important.
46:56
Emily: Yeah.
46:56
Emily: Yes, it's so true.
46:58
Emily: Yeah.
46:59
Emily: And the other thing, real quick, I do have a third one I just thought of.
47:02
Emily: If you do go into labor having a very specific, you know, idea in mind of the kind of labor you want, whatever it may be, might not look like mine or other people's, but whatever you might to be, try to find stories and examples of other women who have had those kind of birth experiences because they're out there, and positive ones, because I think to your point when we first started this conversation, it's not always we're not always hearing positive um birth stories.
47:28
Emily: And so in whatever capacity birth that people want, I I recommend that because I really tried to like set that boundary early in my pregnancy.
47:38
Emily: Like, I'm only gonna consume positive birth stories in whatever way they are, and then um just like if someone started to tell me a birth story that was negative, even in person, I would just tell them, like, look, I really can't take this in right now.
47:52
Emily: Like, I was just very careful about that, and same with like podcasts and all of that.
47:56
Emily: And towards the end of my labor, I really I was listening to this podcast because I wanted to hear stories particularly in Maine and also really positive birth stories.
48:05
Emily: So it was great to be able to consume them.
48:07
Emily: So thank you for making this podcast because it's great for people to be able to uh to hear those stories.
48:13
Angela: Yeah, well, thank you so much for joining in on this community.
48:18
Angela: Yeah, Maine mom sharing their birth stories.
48:20
Angela: It wouldn't be possible without you and everybody else that's that's been willing to share.
48:24
Angela: So thank you so much for for joining me today and taking the time to share your story.
48:29
Angela: It was such a pleasure chatting with you.
48:31
Angela: Yeah, no, thank you so much.
48:33
Angela: Yeah.
48:39
Kate Sutherland: Follow the walk of the wild ones into the woods and the darkness.
48:44
Kate Sutherland: Rebirth the waves of the ancient ones whose tracks were washed away in blood.
48:49
Kate Sutherland: It falls to us now to open up and taste beyond what we've been fed.
48:55
Kate Sutherland: Take up the Phoenix, fire cleansing, change to life at the dead.
49:00
Kate Sutherland: Follow the walk of the wild ones, into the woods and the darkness.
49:05
Kate Sutherland: Revert the ways of the ancient ones, whose tracks were washed away.
49:10
Kate Sutherland: It falls to us now to open up and taste beyond what we've had.
49:16
Kate Sutherland: Take up the phoenix, our cleansing, change to like the past dead.
49:21
Kate Sutherland: Step by step through the unknown, I'll be our line and you'll be mine.
49:26
Kate Sutherland: In darkness, let love like the way to feed the soil of changing times.
49:32
Kate Sutherland: Step by step through the unknown, I'll be our light and you'll be mine.
49:37
Kate Sutherland: In darkness, let love like the way to feed the soil of changing times.
49:42
Kate Sutherland: Follow the walk of the wild ones, into the woods and the darkness.
49:47
Kate Sutherland: Rebirth the weight of the ancient ones, whose tracks were washed away in blood.
49:53
Kate Sutherland: It falls to us now to open up and takes beyond what we pretend.
49:58
Kate Sutherland: Take up the phoenix, fire cleansing, change to light at the stead.
50:03
Kate Sutherland: Step by step through the unknown, I'll be online and you'll be blind.
50:09
Kate Sutherland: In darkness, let love light the way to feed the soil of changing times.
50:14
Kate Sutherland: Step by step through the unknown, I'll be online and you'll be blind.
50:19
Kate Sutherland: In darkness, let love light the way to feed the soil of changing times.