Debbie and Aleia's Birth in Pictures!

Ineke and Levi's Birth Story!

I had had mild contractions earlier in the evening, but took Whitney's advice to try to go to sleep (especially since I had had two false labors within the prior couple of weeks). I went to bed at around 10 pm and woke up about half past midnight when my water broke. I called Whitney who told me she would meet me at the hospital within the hour since my contractions were less than 5 minutes apart and the doctor on call told me to come on in.

Whitney arrived a few minutes after we did, while I was still hooked up to the monitoring machine. Unfortunately, the nurse assigned to me was unable to find my cervix and was unaware how dialated I was and told us all to go walk the halls for an hour. Whitney was terrific while we did this, helping me breath and providing great reassurance and coaching through my contractions. I was doing great! However, just as we were returning to the room for the next check-in, I hit transition labor and the real fun began. Having no real desire to experience the pain of a natural labor, I had very much wanted an epidural and had communicated this strongly to the hospital staff. However by the time they checked my cervix for the second time (and actually found it this time!), it was time to push. The hospital staff ended up scrambling to get my OB to the room on time because they had no idea I was that far along. Unfortunately, I wasn't mentally or physically prepared for the incredibly intense pain, and having Whitney there to help guide and calm me really helped me keep it together.

While Whitney felt bad that my labor didn't go as planned, I actually had MORE of a need to have her there because I was unprepared for a natural birth. My labor was only 4 hours long (though very, very intense because of that) and Levi was born at 4:32 am, just 4 hours after my water broke. I know I had what many people think of as a dream labor, but the short labor made it very painful and, compounded with the mix-up of the hospital staff, I just wasn't prepared for it. I might have survived a labor with an epidural without Whitney, but I would have likely fallen apart with my unexpected natural labor (and missing OB) without her help.

My son was incredibly healthy, weighed in at 8lbs 12 oz, and scored 9 and 9 again on his Apgars. He had no problems latching on and went straight to work when put on my chest and was alert for about 2 full hours after the birth. I highly recommend Whitney, and using a doula, to anyone who asks!