BIRTH STORIES

The Birth of Rivi

“why I absolutely love my midwife, we were presented with multiple options. We were never forced into anything and Bryce and I were able to make the choice of how we wanted to move forward. I am still so grateful for this! This is exactly why I wanted a home birth and a midwife. I never felt out of control of my birth experience.” - read the entire birth story and see more beautiful photos shared by this strong mother here: www.jordanpetty.com

The Birth of Ezra

volume on. watch to the end. Where joy, grief, & love collide.

 In her own words

“Our sweet babe arrived earthside under the night sky 🌙. I didn’t necessarily think I would share these intimate photos, but I’ve had some encouragement to do so, so here we are. If you think birth is gross, just keep scrolling (don’t worry, these are the PG ones 🙂). I had a friend who went before me last year to give birth at home, and hearing her story and seeing her powerful photos, along with the many other photos and videos of homebirth I watched throughout my pregnancy, helped give me the determination I needed to remain stable in my decisions. So, I don’t share these for everyone-I share them for the soon-to-be, or already Mama, who has a voice telling her that she wants to birth at home, but who doesn’t have a support system backing her. We received very little support from family, friends, and acquaintances surrounding my choice to give birth at home, and I got a lot of 👀 and “Wait, what?!” responses throughout my pregnancy, but I knew in my heart it is what I wanted to do, and Daniel was 100% supportive. Many people don’t consider this a safe option in this day and age, but the statistics actually tip in favor of the safety of a homebirth in a low-risk pregnancy. Of course, there’s always the risk that not EVERYTHING goes as planned (PSA: it didn’t!), that I may NEED to transfer to a hospital, and I knew that. My birth team and I formed a plan months in advance, should that happen.

My birth team...where can I possibly begin? It’s hard to put into words the care they’ve provided, but even more difficult to put into words how they’ve made me FEEL. They’ve become sweet friends, who, when I think about not seeing regularly anymore, make me want to have another baby immediately! We’ve laughed (a lot) and cried together, they’ve encouraged me and supported me like no tribe of women EVER has, and I can honestly say that I love each of them. It is no doubt that 2019 has been the hardest year of my life, and they know intimate details about it that I chose not to share with most people. Thank you to my main-woman, my Midwife, Dr. Teri Mitchell, Midwife in training and Doula Nikki Carter Knowles, and Birth Assistant Laura Perkins of BundleBorn Midwifery & Pediatrics, my incredible Doula Becky Ahlen Hines of Dallas Birth Doulas and Lawren Snapka of Lawren Rose Photography. I also want to thank Dr. Emily Jenkins Sloan of East Dallas Birth & Wellness and Kathryn Johnson of Kathryn J Birth Stories, who came to support me on the fly as a precaution when my birth team was stuck in Dallas rush hour traffic! 😅 And last but definitely not least, I want to thank Dr. Brianne Katz of Uprise Chiropractic, PLLC (I surely wouldn’t have made it through this pregnancy without you, friend! You are a miracle worker and I love you!) and Emily Guevara of AcupunctureJuncture, PLLC, for being such a sweet and positive light in my weeks and keeping my symptoms to a minimum! 😘😘

There were times I felt unsure about my decision to birth at home. Of course, there was a bit of fear lingering in the background of “what if something DOES go wrong?!” But there was never a time where I felt fear over WHO I had chosen to help me birth our boy. I felt 100% confident in their abilities to keep me and our son safe, their extensive knowledge and education, and their ability to take action if an emergency situation did occur. I trusted them completely with our lives, and that gave me all the confidence I needed. All of these words feel insufficient, still! I love you all! 💙

Again, I share all of this for the Mama who envisions this kind of birth for herself, because I saw a similar post by a friend that spurred me to ask more questions, and without her birth story, I may have chosen a different route. I’m not sure she even knows how much hearing her story impacted my decisions (thank you, Sabrina!). All in all, I had a wonderful birth that was exactly how I had envisioned, and I’m so thankful.

One special story I want to add about my Midwife:
Near the end, when I was struggling and doubting my ability, and throwing a few “I can’t do this!” out, my Midwife, Teri, got up and went into the house. My first thought was, “You’re leaving me NOW?!”, but she came back seconds later with a photo of me and my mom, and stuck it to the window in my line of sight, which you can see in one of the photos. Ezra Forrest was born minutes later. She also lost her mom when she was pregnant with her first child, and understood how hard this was for me, giving birth to my firstborn without my Momma by my side.

If this gesture doesn’t speak volumes about the type of tender care that she has for her Mamas, I don’t know what does. 💕”

warning: ugly cry ahead

Baby Dottie

…because she’s the Dot at the end of their family

Baby Madilyn

Welcomed by her parents & 2 sisters

Baby Abby

home water born baby, caught by her mother.

Lady Elisabella

Cashon

These incredible parents chose their birth team with intention & it paid off.

The Birth of Kehlani Promise

and just as important: the birth of her parents.

Catie

An intimate Christmas season birth.

Who knew birth could look so sensual?!

When a client who has already established care then finds out she’s having twins, there are many possibilities.

This time, all those possibilities turned into magic.

Do you know that women are strong & capable?

She can take a walk around her neighborhood while in labor & find comfort in ways that don’t involve sedatives or anesthetic.

Do you know that older children can find joy and purpose in being present during birth?

That they are not destined to be traumatized.

Do you know that birth can safely occur in the comfort of your own home?

Without the need to frantically drive to the hospital or birthing center.

Do you know that your provider can be a loving part of your family?

Instead of someone you need to fight in order to make your own choices.

Photography by Lawren Snapka of Lawren Rose Photography

"Why the video? The day my baby is born is a special day, a special event. It's not just something to get through (the way I felt with my first two), but a life event I am looking forward to celebrating and that’s why I decided that hiring the most amazing photographer I can find was going to reframe the feelings surrounding the event into a celebration that’s meant to be enjoyed and remembered fondly."

"Why the homebirth? Having had 2 hospital births (and one in between at a birthing center), I knew that I wanted something completely different this time. Birth can, and I dare say *should*, be a beautiful experience that’s exactly what YOU want it to be since it’s YOUR experience. #youdoyou The hospital experiences I had were very triggering for my panic disorder and ptsd; even just the security doors that clicked and locked behind me on the maternity floor made me instantly feel trapped and claustrophobic. The IVs and monitors in the hospital have that same tethered feeling for me of being tied down and trapped. One of the only natural reliefs I have found to be helpful for myself is to be outside breathing the fresh air and that feeling of freedom to help bring down the feeling of panic when it starts to rise.

Having had some complications in the past, I knew I was going to need the Dream Team of all birth teams. I feel so incredibly blessed to have found Dr Teri Mitchell, a doctor, and a midwife who does homebirths! Teri is like a medical unicorn - someone who really, really knows her stuff, but also trusts women to know their bodies. She’s the perfect balance of professional expertise and heart. I cannot recommend her enough. And Lawren Snapka, she is one who takes photography to a whole other level than I’ve ever seen before. I love the mini movie she created to remember the day and the photojournalistic style of photographs she captured. Lawren is truly an artist. Teri has an awesome student midwife who already has lots of experience as a doula and she was able to step up at the last minute to be my person that really helped me to be in the moment and keep calm and collected; I love you forever Nikki Carter Knowles. The knowledge and harmony that Laura Perkins brought as assistant to Teri was perfect for this; thank you for your peaceful presence and guidance Laura, you are a gift. And to my sweet Laura who couldn’t be there that day, you were wonderful for the months leading up to the day, and we’ll just have to do this again. 😉😚 
I thank God for you ladies.

So here’s how it happened: I was still 10 days from my due date, but my blood pressure was starting to creep up, not crazy yet, but headed that way, which would have turned this into a hospital birth in a hot second if we weren’t proactive about this. I’m grateful that Teri keeps a vigilant eye on her patients, and also on what the goals are and how to manage both. Together we decided that a slow, gentle induction at home while my BP was still just elevated was the best option for my homebirth goal than to wait for the inevitable scary high BP that would negate the homebirth option for me again. Even though I was scared, anxious, and didn’t feel ready, I’m so glad that I trusted her and together we did it! Once labor contractions actually started it was only 5 hours from start to finish (not counting an hour of sporadic contractions before that when I was walking all over Collin Creek mall like a crazy person - I kinda wonder what people thought who saw me walking laps and going up and down the stairs at a bouncing jog pace 🤣). Knowing myself and my need for freedom, we decided to set up the birth pool outside and prepared to have a backyard birth...I mean if you’re going to do it your way, then really do it your way, amiright?? The August weather in Texas is....hot. Like really, absurdly hot. On August 5, we had unusually cooler weather (think highs in the upper 90s instead of 110!), and due to the timing of the contractions starting so late in the afternoon, we were able to get the perfect outside temperatures (it was like 79° 🙌), golden hour lighting, and then I got to birth and catch my own baby on a perfectly clear evening under the stars with no mosquitos. It was beautiful to be empowered and surrounded and supported 100% of the experience by my dream team. The sun went down at about 9, and she was born at 10:14pm, weighing 7lb 4oz, and 19 inches long. Hank (10) was so helpful keeping Rex (3) and Ash (1) inside the house; he fixed them dinner, got them in their pjs, and watched The Rugrats movie with them to keep them entertained. Ash fell asleep first, but Rex and Hank were both awake and came outside moments before Opal was born and got to be there as their sister arrived and took her first breath.

TL;DR: I did a thing and had my baby outside, on purpose."

words by Lawren Rose Photography:

Not a Dry Eye for this blessing. 

(get your tissues out now!)