Arden's Birth Story

Arden’s Birth Story

10pm I had just hit 38 weeks and thought I had a stomach bug because I was feeling ill and on the toilet a lot for a few days. I was on the toilet and couldn’t stop peeing. I was in denial that it was in fact my water breaking so I called the doula and she told me I would start getting some cramps shortly. I started to feel period like cramps only a few minutes later and when I timed them, they were only 3.5 minutes apart! I went downstairs and bounced on the yoga ball while listening to the Freya app (hypnobirthing app that calmly talks you through each contraction) while AJ gathered our stuff.

12am The doula, Andrea Boyd of satoribirths.com, met us at the birth center at midnight and we all got settled. I was managing contractions bouncing on or leaning on the ball. My back pain was pretty intense so Andrea and AJ took turns applying counter pressure during each contraction which helped a lot! The midwife offered to check my cervix and I agreed but didn’t want to know until the end so she didn’t say anything. I was 5cm dilated at 1am.

2:10am With pain intensifying, I got into the tub thinking it would help the back pain. It DID! Shortly after, I got sick but still felt completely in control. Apparently, this was transition. Definitely not what I was expecting since everyone said transition is when you feel like you can’t take it anymore. I still felt completely in control in between contractions and contractions were painful but not unbearable. I think it was easier than expected because I had a break in between contractions. I don’t know why I thought labor was just constant pain before I got pregnant and researched! So, even if the pain was unbearable, it only lasted a minute.

2:35am We played the hypnobirthing video I had fallen asleep to almost every night in my third trimester. I kept my eyes closed and went inside my Self. I felt like I was in a different dimension, looking down watching the people in the room from a higher consciousness. I kept my eyes closed this whole time and almost felt as if I were high. This was the “labor land” the doula had told me about.

3:50am My body began pushing and I had no control over it. I told the midwife and she checked me to see if I was fully dilated before pushing. At this point I wasn’t trying to push but also wasn’t fighting it. I was almost 10cm but had a lip. Around 4:30am, my body completely took over and would push with each contraction. It was a powerful feeling that I had no control over, but I still focused on keeping my breathing slow. I felt weak from getting sick earlier, so I kept hydrated with Body Armor and snacked on organic gummy bears for the quick energy. I was still pushing with contractions and felt every bit of skin stretching but kept the trust in my body. The midwife guided me out of the squat position and back to leaning against AJ once his head started coming out in order to prevent tearing. Once his head was out, his entire body emerged with one push. It felt amazing and I still remember the feeling so vividly!

6:35am Arden Jude Acuna was born weighing 7lbs 9oz and 19” long! Because I was pushing for so long, my skin had the time to stretch and I didn’t need stitches. Our bodies are made to do this and the trust in that allowed it to happen as it should. I felt very supported and like my body was in control. It was truly an amazing experience and I remember thinking “this is it?” and “I did it!” immediately after.

This photo was taken immediately after Arden was born. We patiently waited for his cord to completely stop pulsing as we marveled in the amazing experience that had just happened.