Lane’s Birth Story

It’s hard to tell Lane’s birth story without sharing a little of the background story too! All of this is hard to put into words because it was such a personal experience, but my hope in telling this story is to share my positive birth experience and hopefully encourage other women to choose faith over fear when it comes to conception, pregnancy, and motherhood… and just in everyday life for that matter! 😉 Even if you’re not pregnant or planning to have a baby, I hope this story leaves you feeling encouraged and inspired.

The Background Story:

I learned a lot after delivering Weston three and a half years ago. To make a long story short, I had a less than ideal experience when it came to the care I received at the hospital. I knew I never wanted to feel that way again, and if I’m honest, that experience instilled a fear in me surrounding pregnancy and childbirth that prevented me from wanting another child. 

I hoped and prayed that that feeling would diminish with time, but it didn’t. Three years later, I still found myself full of fear over another possible bad birth experience and tough postpartum. I also knew I didn’t want to allow fear to take root in my heart, so I started to make changes to turn my fear into faith. I talked with some close family and friends about my fears and they prayed with me as I relied on the Lord to change my heart. 

With lots of prayer and a commitment to my daily devotions, God renewed my anxious, fearful spirit to be one of peace and hope. I find it amazing that when we surrender our strongholds, God is faithful to give us the grace to endure and overcome them. For me, letting go of fear and choosing faith has become a daily habit that has led to abundant joy and peace in my life.

Shortly after this, I got pregnant with our second baby boy, Lane! From day one I made a list of prayers that I prayed every single day during my pregnancy. I prayed over everything from my pregnancy and the baby, to the provider, delivery, our family, and postpartum. I wish I could go into detail about how God answered every single one of my prayers in such a powerful way, but that would take a while haha. Maybe on another blog post? 🙂 But as I said God so graciously answered all of my prayers, starting with my care provider. 

Delivering a baby is a beautiful but challenging experience, so choosing the right care provider shouldn’t be taken lightly. I found myself completely stuck when it came to selecting ours. It seemed as though the two options offered were a hospital birth or a home birth/birth center. While I did initially pursue home birth options, it just wasn’t something I ultimately wanted, but knew I didn’t want a typical hospital birth either after my bad experience last time. After praying for three months I found a provider that seemed to align perfectly with my values and beliefs. 

I found a local group of midwives that deliver at a suite facility within a hospital. Essentially, they provide care that feels like a personalized home birth but within the walls of a hospital. They pride themselves on holistic, mom-centered care that takes your desires into consideration. During my first meeting, they told me their goal is to provide a birth with minimal interventions and utmost care for the mother. The midwives were also open about the fact that they like to blend western and eastern medicine as they see value in both approaches, which pretty much sums up my views on healthcare! After my first birth experience, this sounded like a dream come true. Safe to say God answered the first prayer on my list in a way that was more perfect than I could’ve ever imagined.

I loved going to each appointment where I’d meet with my midwives and sit on a sofa in their office talking about everything from the health of my baby to my emotional needs and desires for my birth experience. I had made it clear that I wanted a natural, unmedicated birth with minimal interventions, but the best part was I trusted them completely if any medical intervention was necessary. The care my midwives provided during my pregnancy made me feel so confident my birth would be much better this time around.

The Birth Story:

I was nine days past my due date and was definitely ready to have this baby haha. My first contraction started at 12:30 AM on January 23rd. I woke up out of a dead sleep with a very intense wave of pain. I got up and hopped in the shower to breathe through the contractions.

Jordan got out of bed and started packing up and called my mom to come over since she was going to stay with Weston. Within 20 minutes of my first sign of labor, my contractions were right on top of each other. Pretty much back-to-back with no break and very intense!

I somewhat expected this because this is what happened when I went into labor with Weston. Apparently, my body decides to speed through the first stage of labor and jump straight to stage two haha. We called our midwives to let them know I was coming and we hopped in the car around 1:15 AM. The delivery suites were about 20 minutes from our house. At this point, my labor was essentially one big contraction with no break at all. I was just praying the whole way there and doing everything I could to maintain composure and breathe through the contractions. 

We arrived at the hospital at 1:35 AM and walked into the lobby. I literally felt like the baby was going to come out any second, but had to oblige the receptionist and answer her questions to get checked in haha. They could tell I was in active labor so they took me to a room right after that. My midwife came in to see how far along I was, and sure enough, I was just moments away from delivery. About five minutes passed and I started pushing during contractions. After 2-3 pushes, Lane was here! I was in complete shock he came so quickly haha. Only an hour and a half from start to finish! But the labor and delivery was everything I prayed it would be. I was able to have a natural, unmedicated labor surrounded by the best team of care providers. They were so encouraging and supportive.

Jordan and I kept looking at each other and laughing over how fast the delivery was. Had he not driven so fast, I would’ve had Lane in the car! One funny thing that happened was right after I delivered Lane, my midwife got a call that I was ‘on my way’ to which she replied, “Nope, we just delivered her baby” haha. Also, the doula I hired missed the birth completely. It all happened SO fast! We spent another day at the birthing suite and received wonderful care from all the nurses and midwives there. We were beyond grateful our healthy baby boy was finally here.

Since then Lane has been such an angel baby. Another answered prayer! I prayed for a sweet-spirited baby and he is just that. Such a little cuddle bug who pretty much only cries when he’s hungry 🙂

I’m also happy to report I haven’t had postpartum anxiety or depression this time around. I prayed against this during the entire nine months I was pregnant, and have continued to pray and rely on the Lord during postpartum. I’m beyond grateful to share that I have so much peace and joy even amidst the challenges of postpartum and newborn life. It’s truly a testament to the goodness of God and a reminder to rely on Him for our every need. He’s always there to provide for us if we are willing to give our life to Him. 

My Experience With Unmedicated Labor:

I really wanted an unmedicated birth with Weston and did not end up having that. The funny thing is, I did EVERYTHING I thought I needed to prepare for a natural labor with him. I read books, took courses, worked out, ate healthily, and made a birth plan. But honestly, none of that seemed to matter when it came time for me to give birth. My labor was very fast and painful and my nurse was so unhelpful that I quickly turned to medication as my lifeline (nothing wrong with having a medicated birth by the way, it just wasn’t my preference).

After that experience, I felt the Lord teaching me that I needed to rely on Him rather than try to take matters into my own hands and try to control the situation. There are so many ways you can prepare for a natural labor, and I think most of them are beneficial in one way or another, but when I got pregnant with Lane I decided to keep it simple and surrender my pregnancy and birth to the Lord. Here are the five things I did to prepare for a natural birth:

1. Pray: I made a list of prayers and pray them every day. I was diligent in spending time with the Lord and doing my devotions every morning. Children are a gift from Him and He desires a relationship with us! I also wrote down scripture on notecards to read each day and be reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
2. Read this Book: I did not have a pain-free labor, but the message in this book helped me completely transform the way I view pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. Such a powerful read! Click here to get the book.
3. Choose the Right Provider: Whether you want to deliver in a hospital, with a midwife, or have a home birth, take time to find a provider that aligns with your beliefs and values.
4. Hire a Doula: While I didn’t get to work with the doula I hired because of my fast labor, I think doulas are so valuable and an essential part of the birth process!
5. Release Control: There were many times throughout my pregnancy I could’ve given into fear and worry, but I didn’t. I knew that no matter what my life was in God’s hands and He wouldn’t let me down. Even if my birth didn’t go as planned, I know God would’ve given me the strength to accept and rejoice amidst my disappointment.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

So that’s the story! I hope you feel encouraged and filled with hope in reading this story. For me, this story is one of my most cherished memories and reminders of God’s faithfulness. Thanks for taking the time to stop by the blog and read it 🙂