Valerie's Birth Center Birth Story

Hi Carrie! I wanted to share my birth story with you, feel free to use the story and any of the photos for your website or classes! Whatever you need :) thanks again for being a part of this magical experience. 
Love, 
Valerie, Mike, and Roxie 
B I R T H ❤️ S T O R Y 
A lot of you know that I became very passionate about how I wanted my birth experience to be...as natural as possible and as fearless as I can be. Mike and I studied Hypnobabies for months leading up to birth to change my mindset and clear all my fears of all the horrible stories I've heard about labor. And I gotta say- self hypnosis, meditation, Mike, my doula, and the beyond wonderful team at South Coast Midwifery made this possible for me. I hopefully  will inspire someone to have this highly emotional and incredibly special experience too.

I ignored my due date- it became a "guess date" (to avoid interventions) and we knew it was sometime between June 8th and 19th. Well by June 8th I was bored out of my freaking mind and went back to work for a nice distraction... I mean who doesn't like salon drama? Nothing exciting happened until June 13th when the natural signs of labor starting rolling in! I thought my water broke but it didn't, I was leaking a lot of amniotic fluid and the contractions were SERIOUS. I waited 2 days for my water to fully break...nothing. So on the verge of a mental breakdown and wanting all the drugs in the world I went to the midwifery and just about died inside when she told me I was only a measly 1cm dilated. I was sent home with orders to sleep and eat every hour. Oh and to have a glass of wine. Yeah right... it's 7am... I couldn't eat a thing. SLEEP?! Not happening. She had to reassure me that pregnancy is natural, normal, healthy, and safe. If I didn't eat and get rest then I would be transferred to HOAG medical center and most likely have interventions because I have exhausted myself. I was not in any danger and I knew this wasn't going to go well if I didn't reset and focus on everything I have learned to do... which is to really do nothing and trust and listen to my body. I had to get it together and let the process happen the way it's suppose to. I had to believe that nothing could be stronger than me because it's all with in me. I was able to drink 1 protein shake. 
The next day they had me come in to assess me, so we went the midwifery Friday June 16th at 8:30am with an open mind that I may be transferred to the hospital... and I was ok with that. I was given an IV of fluids (because I was so dehydrated it stalled my labor) and then SNAP my water was broke. I drank as much peppermint honey tea as I could and hopped in the birthing tub.

BEST PART EVER/ magic started happening. We put on soothing music, lit candles, ate fresh fruits with nuts and honey, mediated and used my hypnosis and before you know it I was smiling at the camera at 9 1/2cm dilated. Transition was rough yet tolerable, using my hypnobabies techniques made it so incredibly fast and the discomfort was easy to accept. I imagined every contraction was tight baby hug not wanting to let go until the perfect moment. Sometimes I would imagine each contraction being flower petals reaching up inside me to comfort baby to release. Mind over matter right?! 
It's go time- I hopped out of the tub to drain and refill so baby Roxie could arrive  in gorgeous clean water but when gravity hit there's was no time for waiting for the enormous whirlpool bathtub to fill. I made it to the bed, got cozy, and starting pushing. Midwife Rachel asks Mike if he would like to deliver the baby and he was instantly hands on "catching" baby and she was put to my chest. It was barely 30 minutes of pushing and two positions. Everything went to plan... skin to skin contact, delayed cord clamping, dad cut the cord, dad helped catch baby, no unnecessary interventions, just all love and an incredible life experience. BAM we're a family of 3 and I ordered a cheeseburger 🍔. We had a golden hour of new family bonding and then my entire family came into the room to join us and place bets on how much baby weighed. 8 and 1/2 lbs of perfection, my mom was shocked 😳. The birth team poured the most delicious sparkling cider in beautiful champagne glasses and cheers us to new beginnings and a job well done. We got cleaned up and went over postpartum rules and went home with our 4 hours old brand spanking new baby girl. We were in our own bed sleeping by 8:30pm the same day 😴 ....and we haven't slept since. 

Roxana Belle Owen
June 16, 2017 @ 4:32pm 
8lb 6oz and 20.5 inches long