Latest / MyMaine Birth / 147. MyMaine Birth: A Surprise Free Birth, Grace Shares her Second Home Birth Story

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147. MyMaine Birth: A Surprise Free Birth, Grace Shares her Second Home Birth Story · MyMaine Birth

• 0:00
  Grace: When this contraction comes on, I I yell, Alex said my eyes got huge and I yelled, She's coming.
• 0:06
  Grace: And Leah's like, Yeah, yeah, she is coming.
• 0:10
  Grace: And, you know, like referring to the baby and like, yeah, she's gonna be here, you know, in in a little while or whatever.
• 0:16
  Grace: But I so I I grab both Leah and Alex and stand up from the toilet and they look and they're like, Oh yeah, she's coming, like she was crowning.
• 0:26
  Grace: And so like baby was coming right then, complete shock to all of us.
• 0:32
  Grace: I didn't, even though I yelled, she's coming, I didn't, you know, that was just like, you know, that was not um, it was just my instinct, I guess, that I didn't actually think she was coming mentally.
• 0:44
  Grace: And so thankfully they're right there, they hold on to me, help me stand up.
• 0:49
  Grace: And Leah just she was so calm, so collected.
• 0:53
  Grace: And she tells Alex, okay, reach out and grab your baby.
• 0:56
  Grace: And so Alex caught our baby and right there at the toilet.
• 1:02
  Grace: And that was just like like one of the most amazing experiences and so exciting for him.
• 1:09
  Grace: Not not what we had planned or expected, but it was just, you know, one of the best experiences of our lives.
• 1:18
  Angela: I'm Angela, and I'm a certified birth photographer, experienced doula, childbirth educator, and your host here on the My Maine Birth podcast.
• 1:27
  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.
• 1:34
  Angela: From our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated.
• 1:44
  Angela: Whether you're a student-to-be mom, a seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
• 1:52
  Angela: Welcome to episode 147 of My Main Birth.
• 1:58
  Angela: Today's birth story guest is Grace, and she shared her first birth story back in episode 52.
• 2:06
  Angela: So go check that out to hear the first part of her story.
• 2:09
  Angela: And today she is here to share her second birth story, another home birth that she was planning on having attended by a licensed home birth midwife.
• 2:18
  Angela: But her labor flowed so smoothly and swiftly that her daughter was born right into the hands of her husband in the master bath of the brand new house that he had just built for them a few moments before their midwife arrived.
• 2:31
  Angela: This is such a sweet story and a perfect example that when birth flows like a river, usually all is well.
• 2:41
  Angela: All right.
• 2:44
  Angela: Hi Grace, welcome to My Main Birth.
• 2:47
  Angela: Hello, Angela.
• 2:48
  Angela: To get started, you shared your first birth story back in episode 52 of the podcast.
• 2:56
  Angela: So for anyone that wants to hear like your full first birth story, you can go check that out.
• 3:02
  Angela: But for someone that maybe hasn't listened to that episode yet, would you start by sharing a little bit just about you and your family?
• 3:10
  Grace: Sure.
• 3:10
  Angela: Yeah.
• 3:11
  Grace: Well, my name is Grace Spearin, and I live here in the mid-coast of Maine with my husband Alex, and we've been married for four years now, and we have two daughters, a two-year-old and a nine-month-old.
• 3:27
  Grace: And so life is very busy with the two of them, but very sweet.
• 3:32
  Grace: We love having two little girls.
• 3:34
  Grace: And yeah, we just uh my husband works at a tool making company, and I stay at home with our girls, and yeah, we just are really enjoying life right now as a family of four.
• 3:48
  Angela: That's awesome.
• 3:50
  Angela: So, just as a brief recap, would you share just kind of a brief overview of your first birth story just to kind of lead us up to yeah, like where we are starting for the most part today with your second birth story?
• 4:02
  Grace: Yeah.
• 4:02
  Grace: So our first birth with our oldest, Gwendolyn, was really smooth, easy pregnancy and delivery.
• 4:13
  Grace: We were so blessed.
• 4:14
  Grace: And we had decided at the beginning of her pregnancy, we had gone back and forth with all the options as far as where to give birth and what provider to use.
• 4:24
  Grace: And we had a really good hospital option, and then we had also found a good midwife option.
• 4:29
  Grace: And so we really explored both of those, but really felt at peace about doing the home birth and going with the midwife.
• 4:37
  Grace: And we were so glad that we did that, went that route, and um it just the care was amazing.
• 4:45
  Grace: Like, you know, every appointment was an hour, hour and a half long, and she just really helped prepare us, you know, really got to know me and my body and the baby, and just felt like we had amazing care.
• 4:58
  Grace: And then, yeah, birth was really smooth.
• 5:01
  Grace: 13-hour labor went just wonderfully.
• 5:06
  Grace: And then postpartum, I had a little bit of trouble with nursing, and so that was a bit of a challenge.
• 5:13
  Grace: And then around three months, we kind of had a breakthrough with that, and she did amazing nursing from then on, and it was definitely an adjustment.
• 5:22
  Grace: You know, it didn't that postpartum didn't necessarily feel terrible in the moment, but then looking back, you know, in in hindsight, it was like, oh wow, it was hard adjusting to life with a baby, as wonderful as it was.
• 5:36
  Grace: It was just, you know, we we had no idea what we were doing, and so you know, just a lot of trial and error and figuring figuring out what worked for us, but it was it was really sweet, and we were just so thankful for how well everything went overall.
• 5:53
  Angela: Awesome.
• 5:54
  Angela: So now leading up to your second birth story, would you share like about how you found out you were pregnant for the second time?
• 6:04
  Angela: And yeah, like what were your thoughts in choosing your care?
• 6:07
  Grace: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:08
  Grace: So we um let's see, we found out we were expecting our second um just a couple of weeks after our first daughter's birthday, first birthday.
• 6:20
  Grace: So yeah, right about a year after she was born.
• 6:23
  Grace: We I let's see, my cycle hadn't really come back um normally yet because I had been nursing our first, and so it had kind of come back, and so we kind of knew um that there's a possibility that you know we could get pregnant again and have another baby, but there was just no like tracking any of that because nothing was normal again yet.
• 6:45
  Grace: And we really wanted to have a second right away, so that our first had, you know, a little sibling, and you know, we wanted to have two right off the bat.
• 6:55
  Grace: And so, you know, we were just praying that whatever the Lord's plan would be, you know, that that would go the way he wanted it.
• 7:02
  Grace: And um, we're just kind of, you know, we weren't trying, but we weren't not trying, we were just gonna see what would happen.
• 7:08
  Grace: So, yeah, right after our our oldest's first birthday, I started feeling a little bit nauseous for a couple of days in a row and kind of having some food aversion.
• 7:19
  Grace: So we were like, hmm, let's take a test.
• 7:21
  Grace: And I'm telling Alex, oh, it's you know, it's probably not gonna be positive, but we'll just take a test anyway.
• 7:27
  Grace: And took the test and it was positive.
• 7:30
  Grace: And we were a little bit in shock, you know, it kind of felt pretty soon after having our first.
• 7:37
  Grace: And um, we were also in the middle of building a house, and we were living with my husband's parents while we were doing that, and so we didn't have our own home, and it was it was all a bit chaotic, felt a bit chaotic, but we were so excited to just know we had a second one on the way and a little sibling for our oldest.
• 7:58
  Grace: And we were, you know, there were a lot of emotions, but it was overall just excitement, and we just yeah, couldn't wait to have another one.
• 8:06
  Grace: And yeah, finding care for our second pregnancy that was a little bit overwhelming for me because, like I said, we had a home birth with our oldest, and our midwife that we used with her, her name's Leslie Walters, and she was just wonderful.
• 8:24
  Grace: I we absolutely loved her, and I really wanted to use her again.
• 8:29
  Grace: But we, like I said, we had moved in with my husband's parents while we were building a home, and that was a half hour north of where we had been living when our oldest was born, and so we were out of the radius of Leslie's care.
• 8:44
  Grace: So we knew we couldn't use her with this second birth.
• 8:48
  Grace: And I was I was trying not to get you know too upset about that, but I was really sad because I just couldn't imagine using anyone else.
• 8:55
  Grace: But I of course started looking for other options.
• 8:59
  Grace: We knew we wanted to have a home birth again if possible, because we just loved the experience with our first.
• 9:05
  Grace: So I started looking for midwives and found several in the area.
• 9:10
  Angela: Um, what area was this, if you don't mind sharing?
• 9:13
  Grace: Just like approximately, yeah, the mid coast.
• 9:15
  Grace: So near Rockland and Thomaston, kind of that area.
• 9:18
  Angela: So you just moved up the coast more than yes, okay, got it.
• 9:22
  Grace: Yeah.
• 9:23
  Grace: So um, yeah, just started looking and researching and um narrowed it down to two midwives and then ended, and they were both great options, and then ended up going with Holly Murphy with Birch Moon Midwifery.
• 9:38
  Grace: And a friend had told us that they had used her and she was amazing.
• 9:43
  Grace: And so I after our initial consultation with her, I just felt really at ease and just at peace about making that decision to use her, and she was really amazing from the get-go.
• 9:56
  Grace: Just I loved her calm demeanor, and she's just so knowledgeable and very, very laid back, but also very, you know, vigilant to check in with you and make sure that you're doing well, the baby's doing well.
• 10:10
  Grace: So just really loved her from the get-go.
• 10:12
  Grace: And so that's who we ended up choosing for our pregnancy, and we're very glad that we did.
• 10:19
  Grace: So, how are you feeling throughout this pregnancy?
• 10:23
  Grace: It thankfully I felt really good.
• 10:26
  Grace: Um, with my first, I had very little nausea and morning sickness and all of that.
• 10:33
  Grace: Um, I had some, but not too much.
• 10:35
  Grace: And then I had even less with this second pregnancy, and um, which was such a blessing because I was taking care of a toddler too.
• 10:44
  Grace: So, you know, I definitely had to take naps and you know, had some nausea and definitely had food aversions and stuff, but overall it was not bad.
• 10:54
  Grace: Um, I felt pretty good and yeah, was able to keep up with the toddler, which is what I'd been worried about.
• 11:00
  Grace: So that was really nice.
• 11:02
  Grace: And yeah, just just nothing, nothing major came up during the pregnancy.
• 11:08
  Grace: Pretty, you know, pretty uneventful pregnancy, which was a huge blessing.
• 11:13
  Grace: And it felt like it went by very fast because we had the toddler.
• 11:17
  Grace: And then kind of the I guess the difficult component of this pregnancy with our second baby was our home build.
• 11:26
  Grace: And like I said, we were living with my husband's family while we were getting that finished up.
• 11:31
  Grace: And when we first got pregnant, we thought, oh, we'll be in our new home by the second trimester.
• 11:37
  Grace: And so I'm thinking, okay, we'll have like, you know, a major part of the pregnancy to settle in and you know, get ready for baby in our new home.
• 11:46
  Grace: But as home builds go, a lot of times things got pushed off and pushed off, and we weren't able to get into our home nearly as quickly as we thought.
• 11:57
  Grace: And so that was definitely a challenge.
• 12:00
  Grace: And we had to try to not stress about it and just trust the Lord's timing with it.
• 12:05
  Grace: And getting down to the end, it was like, okay, are we gonna have a home, you know, by the time she's here or not?
• 12:11
  Grace: Um, thankfully we did, we were able to move in by January 1st.
• 12:16
  Grace: And and I don't think I mentioned the the due date was March 3rd of 2025.
• 12:22
  Grace: I'm sorry, March 7th of 2025.
• 12:24
  Grace: And so we were found out in July of 2024, and then we had, you know, between then and March 7th of um of 25 to get things done.
• 12:35
  Grace: And yeah, thankfully we were able to move into the house by January 1st.
• 12:39
  Grace: But that was kind of the thankfully the pregnancy was so uneventful and easy because we had all of this other craziness going on in our lives too.
• 12:48
  Angela: So wow, well, that's amazing.
• 12:52
  Angela: You made it just in time, right?
• 12:54
  Angela: So you're nesting and settling in that whole last month.
• 12:59
  Angela: How was that last month or so looking leading up to when your yeah, birth started?
• 13:03
  Grace: Yeah, that was that was wonderful.
• 13:05
  Grace: That was so sweet because we were finally in our home and there was there was still a fair amount that was unfinished, but it was you know very livable.
• 13:14
  Grace: So we, you know, settled in as much as we could.
• 13:17
  Grace: I was getting all the you know baby clothes washed, all the baby stuff out, prepped, ready to go.
• 13:22
  Grace: And um my husband's finishing up, you know, work projects and everything, and they're they're trying to get the last things done that they could before she was born.
• 13:34
  Grace: So yeah, those last couple months were just really sweet.
• 13:36
  Grace: That was also like January and February, so right in the middle of winter.
• 13:42
  Grace: And that was one of the challenges I found with being pregnant in that time frame, like July to March, was in the third trimester, you're big and pregnant and not as mobile, and then you're trying to get out up here in Maine, you know, you're trying to get out in the ice and the snow with a toddler and try not to fall.
• 14:04
  Grace: And that was really that was challenging.
• 14:06
  Grace: That was one thing I didn't like as much about being pregnant, you know, big and pregnant in the winter that I hadn't experienced with our first.
• 14:14
  Grace: But but of course, we made it and it was fine, and it's a good time to be tucked in and tucked away and not getting out as much.
• 14:22
  Angela: Good time for a home birth, right?
• 14:24
  Angela: Yes, it is.
• 14:26
  Angela: Yeah.
• 14:27
  Angela: So how was like those last final like weeks and then days leading up to when your labor started looking?
• 14:34
  Grace: Yeah.
• 14:35
  Grace: Of course, I was like, you know, watching for signs of, you know, is she is, you know, is she gonna come anytime soon?
• 14:43
  Grace: Um, I could feel her, I could definitely tell that she dropped like at least six weeks before she came, I think, um, four to six weeks.
• 14:52
  Grace: And so, you know, just I felt very ready by the time her due date was approaching.
• 14:58
  Grace: And again, with a toddler and with a house that we're still trying to finish up, it was it was really fun because we were very uh very done with building and the house projects, but we had committed to you know keeping keeping up with those projects until she was born.
• 15:16
  Grace: And then as soon as she was born, we were gonna take a big break.
• 15:19
  Grace: So it was always exciting, like, okay, we're gonna knock out this project and we'll see if we can get through it before baby comes, you know.
• 15:26
  Grace: So it was it was really fun and exciting.
• 15:28
  Grace: And yeah, by the time she came, I just felt really ready.
• 15:32
  Grace: And yeah, like I said, I was watching for any signs that she would be coming.
• 15:38
  Grace: I didn't have any Braxton Hicks, um, any, you know, really any signs that she would be coming anytime soon, which was the same way my pregnancy was with our first.
• 15:49
  Grace: I didn't really have any signs ahead of time that she was coming.
• 15:53
  Grace: So I just, yeah, I was just kind of waiting.
• 15:56
  Grace: And, you know, it was my our oldest was born on her due date.
• 16:01
  Grace: So, you know, I'm like, okay, I just felt like it could go either way, you know, she could come late or maybe she'd end up coming early, you know, just had no idea um what to expect.
• 16:12
  Grace: And of course, that last like uh two weeks before the due date, and then knowing, you know, they could still not be here until two weeks after the due date, you know, that's like a month-long span that you're just guessing, you know, just just waiting on the edge of your seat, wondering when the baby's gonna arrive.
• 16:30
  Grace: So, and I'm not very patient with that type of thing.
• 16:33
  Grace: And my husband isn't either.
• 16:34
  Grace: We're like so ready for the baby to get here.
• 16:36
  Grace: So um, we were trying to be patient and just enjoy, you know, enjoy the the process and the time.
• 16:44
  Grace: And I feel like we were able to do that, which was really nice.
• 16:48
  Angela: Amazing.
• 16:49
  Angela: So how how did things get going?
• 16:54
  Grace: Yeah, so I forgot to mention that we did find out at the 20-week ultrasound that we were having a girl.
• 17:01
  Grace: So we didn't know we were having a girl, and she and so on March 3rd, the morning of March 3rd, that was a Monday.
• 17:09
  Grace: I just woke up around seven in the morning.
• 17:12
  Grace: And when I got out of bed, just felt a little crampy, you know, kind of like a little, little bit of a contraction, but you know, not not anything major.
• 17:22
  Grace: So I immediately was like, okay, don't get your hopes up.
• 17:25
  Grace: You know, I didn't, I don't think I even told my husband.
• 17:27
  Grace: He was heading out to work, and I don't, I don't think I told him because I'm just like, it's gonna go away.
• 17:32
  Grace: It's this isn't the real thing.
• 17:34
  Grace: And so then as the day, the next couple hours kept going by, I kept having, you know, a little bit more, a little, a few more contractions.
• 17:44
  Grace: And um, again, they're just like very slight, you know, they weren't building or getting more intense.
• 17:50
  Grace: And so I think around nine o'clock that morning, I texted my husband and just told him, Well, I'm having a little bit of cramping, but you know, nothing, nothing major.
• 17:59
  Grace: I don't think it's anything right now.
• 18:01
  Grace: And so he's like, Okay, keep me posted.
• 18:04
  Grace: And we yeah, I just tried to keep going about my day as usual and you know, try to keep my mind off of it as much as possible.
• 18:14
  Grace: And it was, I forget how far apart they were, like maybe 15 minutes apart or something.
• 18:21
  Grace: So yeah, so just very minor.
• 18:24
  Grace: And then um, I think our toddler went down for a nap around 10 or 11 in that morning, and so I thought, okay, well, if I am gonna go into labor, I wanna be rested.
• 18:34
  Grace: And so I went down for a nap when she napped, and that was wonderful.
• 18:39
  Grace: I was so glad that I got a nap, like just a half hour, but it was great.
• 18:44
  Grace: And then I remember when I tried to get out of bed, uh, I didn't have any contractions while I was napping, you know, or anything, you know, I was just able to sleep.
• 18:51
  Grace: And then when I tried to get out of bed, I had this really, you know, major cramp, and I thought, oh, that's kind of weird.
• 18:59
  Grace: And then I after that passed, I got out of bed, and then I just felt normal out of that after that.
• 19:05
  Grace: And again, they were just like 15 minutes apart.
• 19:09
  Grace: And and the thing was, if I'd like to sit down, I wouldn't have any.
• 19:13
  Grace: Like it was it was very like movement related.
• 19:16
  Grace: So if I was up and about, they would happen, but if I was sitting down, they wouldn't happen.
• 19:20
  Grace: So I asked my mom about it.
• 19:22
  Grace: Like, like I texted her, I'm like, this is what I'm feeling.
• 19:24
  Grace: What do you think?
• 19:25
  Grace: And she's like, Well, it sounds a lot like Braxton Hicks, so you know, I don't I don't know if it's the real thing or not.
• 19:32
  Grace: And I'm like, Yeah, that's kind of what I'm thinking.
• 19:35
  Grace: And and so all day I was kind of discouraged because I'm thinking, well, I'm feeling this, and it's kind of like, you know, it's getting to me mentally, and I'm I'm uh it feels a little bit intense, but I don't think it's the real thing.
• 19:50
  Grace: So all day I'm thinking, I'm just such a wimp, and like why am I doing a home birth again?
• 19:56
  Grace: Like, because I I can't even handle these Braxton hicks, you know, as as minor as they are.
• 20:01
  Grace: So all day I'm just thinking, uh, you know, like it was just really messing with my head, but again, just trying to like keep as calm and as as normal as possible, just get things done.
• 20:12
  Grace: And so I oh yeah, I made a shepherd's pie going into that afternoon.
• 20:17
  Grace: I was like, I'm just gonna just gonna knock out a shepherd's pie.
• 20:21
  Grace: It was gonna be a freezer meal to have tucked away in the freezer.
• 20:24
  Grace: So yeah, I that afternoon I was I decided I'm gonna make make a freezer meal.
• 20:30
  Grace: So I'm working on making a shepherd's pie.
• 20:33
  Grace: I think I turned on a show for our toddler so she would just be occupied.
• 20:37
  Grace: And as I'm this is like between the one o'clock and three o'clock hour in the afternoon, and I'm working on it, and I realized towards the end, like I'm having to stop and like hold on to the counter to get through a contraction, and then I can keep going.
• 20:55
  Grace: And so I was like, okay, this actually is kind of getting more intense, and something's happening here.
• 21:02
  Grace: And then I think I had I did I went to the bathroom and I had um I could tell my mucus plug was coming a little bit, so that was you know a tip off that okay, this is labor, but again, it wasn't, you know, it was they were getting intense enough that I knew something's happening, but it wasn't, you know, labor, labor, or at least I thought it wasn't.
• 21:24
  Grace: And so I got through making that the meal and got that put away.
• 21:29
  Grace: And then I was like, okay, yeah, this is this is going somewhere.
• 21:34
  Grace: So I think it was three o'clock, and I called my husband.
• 21:37
  Grace: He normally gets off work at 3 30, but I called him at three, and I'm like, hey, I think you should maybe come home.
• 21:44
  Grace: You know, it's getting a little bit more intense, you know, just so you're, you know, close and I want to get you on your way home.
• 21:51
  Grace: So he left at three o'clock and started heading home.
• 21:56
  Grace: And by the time he got home, about three.
• 21:59
  Grace: 30, it was like, okay, yeah, it's you know, they're they're getting more intense at this point.
• 22:04
  Grace: It was really picking up.
• 22:06
  Grace: And so our toddler was still around, and the plan was for her to go up to my husband's parents.
• 22:13
  Grace: They live right near us, so they were gonna come grab her.
• 22:16
  Grace: And so about I think about um 4 30, I was like, okay, I I need to have her out of the way so we can just focus on getting through contractions and getting everything ready.
• 22:29
  Grace: So my in-laws came down and picked her up, and and I remember that being really emotional, like saying goodbye to her and knowing the next time I see her she's gonna be a big sister.
• 22:40
  Grace: And but it was good to just, you know, she went and had fun with Grammy and Grandpa, and we could focus and zone in on what was happening.
• 22:49
  Grace: And so right after she, right after our toddler left, I yeah, I went to the bathroom maybe about 4 45 and my water broke while I was on the toilet.
• 23:03
  Grace: And my husband could hear it from the other room, and he comes running in and he's like, Is that what I thought?
• 23:07
  Grace: And I'm like, Yeah, my water broke.
• 23:10
  Grace: And so I'm like, Okay, it's gonna get more intense.
• 23:12
  Grace: And he's like, Okay, yep.
• 23:13
  Grace: And he, you know, he remembered that from last time.
• 23:16
  Grace: And yeah, he was just so supportive right there the whole time, you know, making sure that I had everything I did.
• 23:22
  Grace: Um, I think it was at that point that that the water broke that we told our midwife to start heading.
• 23:29
  Grace: I had been updating her throughout the day at on where things were at, and then when they, you know, things started picking up, I let her know that, but told her, you know, I don't think you need to head yet, because you know, it was seemed very early on.
• 23:42
  Grace: And I'm comparing, I was comparing this labor to labor with my our first baby, and that was a 13-hour labor.
• 23:51
  Grace: And so, you know, I'm kind of gauging it, you know, what I'm experiencing to where things would have been at with yeah, our first labor.
• 23:59
  Grace: And so I'm thinking, oh, we still have like, you know, six or seven hours left of this.
• 24:04
  Grace: Um, and so we're like, yeah, just hang on, you know, we don't need you here yet.
• 24:09
  Grace: And the and so then when my water broke, we were like, okay, let's have her head here, because she lives about an hour away from us.
• 24:18
  Grace: So she started heading and she called the assistant midwife, who was Leah Kohlstrom, and she started heading our way too.
• 24:27
  Grace: And and so, yeah, my water had broken.
• 24:30
  Grace: That was at like 445.
• 24:32
  Grace: So we just, you know, started.
• 24:34
  Grace: My husband kept getting things ready for, you know, we were we were gonna do a water birth.
• 24:40
  Grace: We were at least gonna have the pool set up so that that was available because with our first, we had the pool set up, and I didn't give birth in the water, but it was just such a pain reliever and just uh, you know, you know, relaxing thing to have and to labor in.
• 24:55
  Grace: So um we had decided to have that available for this, our second birth.
• 25:00
  Grace: And so my husband is working on setting that up.
• 25:03
  Grace: He had gotten it all set up, but he hadn't gotten it filled yet, thankfully, because so he's setting that up.
• 25:12
  Grace: I'm laboring, he's like helping me, you know, coming over, helping me through contractions, and then he's going back setting up the pool some more.
• 25:18
  Grace: He was amazing.
• 25:19
  Grace: He had it all under control, and and those you could see, you know, even though I was kind of in labor land, I could see those fatherly instincts kicking in, and he's like, he's you know, making sure everything's safe, everything's warm and ready for you know, for the baby to come.
• 25:36
  Grace: So that was really sweet.
• 25:38
  Grace: And then let's see, at uh probably 545-ish, 545, 550.
• 25:46
  Grace: I headed back in.
• 25:48
  Grace: I was laboring like in the living room on our birth ball, um, which I really like to labor on.
• 25:54
  Grace: And then I would go to the bathroom, labor on the toilet a little bit, and I was going back and forth.
• 25:59
  Grace: So about 5:45, I went in and sat on the toilet, and then Leah Kohlstrom, our the assistant midwife, arrived, and she comes in and she's just like this really sweet, laid back, just very reassuring person.
• 26:17
  Grace: And she's just like, Hey, you know, how are you doing?
• 26:20
  Grace: And she's checking in on me.
• 26:22
  Grace: And she just walked in, and her and Alex are there, you know, checking in on me.
• 26:28
  Grace: And all of a sudden, I feel this huge contraction coming on.
• 26:34
  Grace: And and my first thought, like, still, I'm still thinking we're hours from baby arriving.
• 26:43
  Grace: I still think I'm in the middle of labor.
• 26:45
  Grace: And again, I'm getting discouraged because I'm like, this is really hard, and I'm gonna be doing this for hours more.
• 26:52
  Grace: I don't think I can do this any longer.
• 26:54
  Grace: And so this big contraction starts hitting me.
• 26:59
  Grace: And Alex and Leah are right standing right there, or our um Holly, the actual midwife, she hadn't arrived yet.
• 27:08
  Grace: She was still like five or 10 minutes out.
• 27:10
  Grace: And um, when this contraction comes on, I I yell, Alex said, my eyes got huge, and I yelled, She's coming.
• 27:18
  Grace: And Leah's like, Yeah, yeah, she is coming.
• 27:22
  Grace: And you know, like referring to the baby and like, yeah, she's gonna be here, you know, in in a little while or whatever.
• 27:29
  Grace: But so I I grab both Leah and Alex and stand up from the toilet, and they look and they're like, Oh yeah, she's coming, like she was crowning.
• 27:39
  Grace: And so like baby was coming right then, complete shock to all of us.
• 27:44
  Grace: I didn't, even though I yelled, she's coming, I didn't, you know, that was just like, you know, that was not um, it was just my instinct, I guess, that I didn't actually think she was coming mentally.
• 27:56
  Grace: And so thankfully they're right there, they hold on to me, help me stand up.
• 28:02
  Grace: And Leah just she was so calm, so collected, and she tells Alex, okay, reach out and grab your baby.
• 28:08
  Grace: And so Alex caught our baby and right there at the toilet, and that was just like like one of the most amazing experiences and so exciting for him.
• 28:22
  Grace: Not not what we had planned or expected, but um, it was just you know, one of the best experiences of our lives.
• 28:29
  Grace: So that was incredible.
• 28:31
  Grace: And again, for me, like I was in complete shock because I was still thinking I had hours left of this, and all of a sudden she's here.
• 28:39
  Grace: My husband's holding her, he hands her to me, and Leah's like, okay, you know, she's making sure everything's good, everything's fine.
• 28:47
  Grace: And and of course, Leah, her first thing was like, Okay, let's sit you down on the bathroom floor, assess, make sure everyone's okay.
• 28:55
  Grace: And because we're in our master bathroom, and I can see our master bed from where I'm standing, holding Addy, holding our baby.
• 29:06
  Grace: And um, I'm like, no, I'm not getting on the floor.
• 29:09
  Grace: I can walk to that bed.
• 29:11
  Grace: I I just gave birth.
• 29:13
  Grace: I want to get in the bed.
• 29:14
  Grace: And so they were like, okay, we'll help you there.
• 29:17
  Grace: And so I was I felt fine, and I was able to walk to the bed and um and made it there.
• 29:22
  Grace: And we just they helped get me down, got baby on my chest, and they just wrapped us in blankets, and it was, yeah, it was just like so unexpected, you know, like not at all what we planned, but was just incredible.
• 29:38
  Grace: And and it was obvious, like she cried right away.
• 29:41
  Grace: The baby cried right away, and so you know, it was just obvious.
• 29:45
  Grace: I I was fine, you know, it was just very obvious that everything had gone so well.
• 29:49
  Grace: It was just she came so quickly because everything was going so smoothly, and so it was just, you know, it wasn't intimidating or scary at all.
• 29:58
  Grace: It was just like, oh, this is incredible, you know, better than we could have expected.
• 30:02
  Grace: And then um, five minutes after she was born, Holly, the actual midwife, arrived.
• 30:09
  Grace: And um, she was, you know, like she didn't know, you know, no one had any time to call her and tell her that the baby had arrived yet.
• 30:16
  Grace: And she's like, oh she's like, wow, sorry I missed it.
• 30:20
  Grace: And um, so it was just it was really funny and just really exciting.
• 30:26
  Angela: Wow.
• 30:27
  Angela: Oh my gosh, Chris, that is an amazing story.
• 30:31
  Angela: I that's just that's incredible that your husband was able to catch her and just be right there with you, that you just had such calm energy around you, you know, that you had that intuition to just like have that movement between like the bathroom and the birth ball, like while you were in that early labor, the whole thing.
• 30:50
  Angela: Like, what what a beautiful story.
• 30:51
  Angela: Oh my gosh.
• 30:53
  Grace: Thank you.
• 30:54
  Grace: Yeah, it was I was so so thankful.
• 30:56
  Grace: And I asked my midwife afterwards um what the like if that was fetal ejection reflex, because um uh I I had heard of that.
• 31:08
  Grace: I had heard of that listening to other birth podcasts and stuff, and in the research I'd done, and she said, Yep, that was definitely fetal ejection reflex.
• 31:17
  Grace: So that was pretty cool.
• 31:18
  Grace: It was not ever something I expected to experience, but um definitely did with this one.
• 31:24
  Grace: So that was pretty cool.
• 31:28
  Angela: Oh my goodness, that is amazing.
• 31:30
  Angela: So, how was your placenta birth then?
• 31:33
  Angela: I'm assuming it was still in when you got into bed, like yes, it was.
• 31:37
  Grace: Yeah, so that um that was a component of the birth that I was a little bit um nervous about because with our first when she was born, my placenta took at least a half hour, about a half hour before it was delivered.
• 31:53
  Grace: And um, and I had a little bit of trouble delivering it, no hemorrhaging or anything, but just um my midwife and assistant midwife really had to, really had to help.
• 32:04
  Grace: So our plan with with this birth this time around was to um, because my midwife, of course, knew the history with um our first birth.
• 32:14
  Grace: And so she was like, okay, how about we give you a shot of Pitocin, like as the baby's being born, like right when the baby's born, to help kickstart things and you know, make sure that you don't have a long period of time that you're waiting and you know, wondering about how things are gonna go with the placenta.
• 32:30
  Grace: So that was uh that sounded like a good plan to my husband and I.
• 32:33
  Grace: That's part of the birth plan that we had.
• 32:35
  Grace: But of course, with her being born really quickly, unexpectedly, we weren't able to do that.
• 32:42
  Grace: So I'm laying on the bed, we're just you know, bonding, you know, my husband's there, we're just soaking in that those first few moments in the baby.
• 32:52
  Grace: And and Holly was just like, okay, we're not gonna, we're not gonna stress about it, just you know, you know, just relax.
• 32:58
  Grace: And if you feel any contractions or urges to push, you know, use those, but we're not, we're just gonna take our time.
• 33:05
  Grace: And so that was that was really reassuring.
• 33:08
  Grace: But of course, at the back of my mind, I'm like, oh, I, you know, got this next big hurdle to get through and didn't go as we had planned, you know, as with trying to make that happen um more quickly this time.
• 33:20
  Grace: And it was it was about a half hour again, I think, before I was able to push the placenta out.
• 33:27
  Grace: And so, so it was, you know, a longer period of time, but there weren't any, you know, issues.
• 33:34
  Grace: I was just able had a couple, you know, contractions and was able to just push him, push it out.
• 33:40
  Grace: And um, so I was very thankful that everything went smoothly.
• 33:44
  Grace: There wasn't much bleeding at all.
• 33:45
  Grace: So uh that was something, you know, the thing that I was most nervous about with this birth, but thankfully it it um did go smoothly.
• 33:54
  Grace: And I, you know, so far it just seems like my body takes a little bit longer to deliver the placenta after birth.
• 34:01
  Grace: And so that's that's been interesting to kind of learn about.
• 34:05
  Grace: But thankfully it was, you know, very uneventful when it did happen and very little bleeding.
• 34:11
  Angela: So half an hour isn't like that long, I feel like no, I don't think it's too concerning, but yeah.
• 34:18
  Angela: So you didn't have the pitocin then this time for that?
• 34:21
  Grace: No, no Pitocin this time.
• 34:22
  Grace: So yeah, yeah.
• 34:24
  Grace: So that was nice to just be able to do the whole thing naturally, even though that's not what we planned.
• 34:29
  Grace: So thank you.
• 34:30
  Angela: Oh my gosh, that's incredible.
• 34:32
  Angela: So, how has your postpartum been going?
• 34:35
  Grace: It's been it's been amazing this time around.
• 34:39
  Grace: Um, like I said, with our first, it, you know, it didn't feel incredibly hard in the moment, but then looking back, it was like, oh wow, yeah, we had no idea what we were doing and we weren't getting much sleep and she wasn't eating well, and you know, all of that.
• 34:53
  Grace: So coming into our second birth, my husband and I spent a lot of time during the pregnancy talking about how to make this postpartum easier and um, you know, learning from our first, you know, what what's helpful, what's not, what's gonna work.
• 35:10
  Grace: And so we we just spent a lot of time prepping for that and getting on the same page about that.
• 35:16
  Grace: And that was incredible.
• 35:17
  Grace: We really needed that, and that really that really paid off when she was born because it was an incredible postpartum.
• 35:25
  Grace: We had um that first week after she was born, he was off work and um it was pretty much just us, the four of us, just bonding our uh our toddler, you know, she was a little apprehensive about having a a little baby that's crying, you know, in uh living in her house now, but she definitely, you know, adjusted and warmed up to the baby quickly, and it was just so special to have that time together as a family.
• 35:52
  Grace: My husband was just amazing, you know, to taking care of us.
• 35:56
  Grace: And and my in-laws, like I said, they live right nearby.
• 35:59
  Grace: So they would take our toddler and um, you know, give us some time, you know, just the two of us to sleep and take care of the baby and all of that.
• 36:07
  Grace: And I'm very close to my family too.
• 36:10
  Grace: Um, but they live three hours away and they were sick at the time that she was born.
• 36:16
  Grace: And so they weren't able to come right away and see her.
• 36:20
  Grace: And so um, we did lots of FaceTime and stuff, but it it really did end up being the four of us a lot that first week, and that was so special.
• 36:28
  Grace: And just I spent most of the time in bed, and it was just you know, no, you're we were up through the night, of course, with the baby, but she slept good in between feedings and during the day she'd sleep, and she was just a very content baby, and she didn't have any nursing issues this time.
• 36:46
  Grace: She latched right away and just did amazing um with all of that.
• 36:51
  Grace: So just and and my husband and I knew better how to how to take care of a baby the second time around, thankfully.
• 36:58
  Grace: So it just it just was so much smoother, and um yeah, she's she gained weight really quickly.
• 37:06
  Grace: So yeah, it was just it's been a really wonderful postpartum.
• 37:11
  Grace: Yeah, I was able to feel like I got back to my usual self, you know, pretty quickly.
• 37:17
  Grace: I think the second time around, I I gained more weight than I did, actually double the weight that I did with my first baby.
• 37:24
  Grace: And so I just uh and being pregnant in the winter during that third trimester, you know, I couldn't get out and about as much.
• 37:32
  Grace: And so I I feel like I lost a lot of um my strength and kind of mobility um because of that.
• 37:38
  Grace: And so really tried to just get some good movement in once I was feeling up to it and kind of get my strength back.
• 37:45
  Grace: And thankfully I was able to do that, you know, pretty quickly after she was born, you know, in the you know, a few months after she was born, was able to get out, you know, as the weather got nice and started being able to go for walks and felt like I was gaining my strength back.
• 38:01
  Grace: So that was amazing and um yeah, just very thankful.
• 38:06
  Grace: You know, the I think zero to one was harder than going from one kid to two kids.
• 38:12
  Grace: Um, so it, you know, we learned a lot the first time around and tried to implement implement that the second time around.
• 38:21
  Angela: So yeah, yeah, it's definitely a learning curve for sure.
• 38:25
  Angela: Oh yeah.
• 38:27
  Angela: So now as a final question, if you were to give advice to someone who's expecting or even new parents at this point in your journey, like what's one of the biggest things that you'd want to share?
• 38:41
  Grace: Well, I guess kind of what I shared a minute ago, like putting a lot of prep into postpartum.
• 38:50
  Angela: Yes, don't forget about postpartum.
• 38:52
  Angela: It can be so easy to overlook because obviously birth is the main event.
• 38:57
  Angela: But yeah, really taking the time to plan ahead for postpartum is so, so good.
• 39:02
  Angela: Grace, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today.
• 39:07
  Grace: Thank you so much for having me back on.
• 39:10
  Grace: I've really enjoyed getting to talk with you again, and I love your podcast.
• 39:16
  Angela: Before you go, I just want to remind you, I have a ton of resources for pregnancy and birth.
• 39:21
  Angela: If you're pregnant, whether you're a first-time mom or if this is your fifth baby, I want you to check out the show notes because I have some free trainings and free downloads that you can sign up for, as well as the link to access MyLibroflow, a comprehensive, self-paced, online childbirth education course.
• 39:39
  Angela: I created this course specifically for those who don't want to be told what to do, regardless of where you're birthing or who you're birthing with.
• 39:47
  Angela: And I'd honestly love to teach you everything that I know so that you can prepare for an autonomous birth experience and prepare to step into your role as the leader of your birth journey.
• 39:59
  Angela: So click to the show notes, check out all of those links, and if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at my mainbirth over on Instagram.