What a beautiful day it is when you get to witness the miracle of birth. I was called early in the morning and met Aly + Jordan at the hospital. (Side note: I love when I get to attend births at hospitals close to home, the quick drive is such a treat!)

Continue scrolling as Aly shares her birth story in her own words! ❤️

“I woke up at 4am on Aug 12th feeling crampy and shortly after some dull contractions started. I had had a few false alarms so I didn’t get too excited. After timing a few and realizing they were getting closer together I decided this was probably the real deal. I text Alyssa, woke up my husband and started packing our hospital bags. We decided to go to the hospital fairly soon after contractions started since my first labour went quickly. We got to the hospital just after 6am and to my disappointment the nurse said I was 4-5cm and baby was still high up…”

“We walked the halls till 10am hoping to make some progress. The contractions were coming quicker and getting more painful but I was still only 5cm along, likely due to baby still being high up. Our midwife Silvia suggested squats and walking up and down stairs to bring baby down, so that’s what we did. We walked up and down stairs and did squats for nearly an hour…”

“At 11am with contractions starting to get intense I got into the tub, positive that baby must have dropped and I would be nearly dilated. It was so disappointing to hear I was only 6cm. I was beginning to doubt my ability to have a natural birth without pain meds. Silvia suggested breaking my waters at this point and I readily agreed. I stayed in the tub till 11:30am when contractions became unbearable and asked for the gas and air.

Just before noon I jumped off the bed thinking I needed to use the bathroom. Alyssa and Silvia followed me laughing saying it was probably time to start pushing. I tried one push on the toilet and felt some relief so I ran back to the bed and started pushing. In just a few minutes I’d pushed Charlie out and pulled him onto my chest. He weighed 6.7lbs, was 20inches long and was utterly perfect.”

Welcome earthside sweet boy!

Midwives | Transitions Midwifery in Maple Ridge.