The Embrace midwives arrived around 11 AM. They were amazing in providing me with comfort during contractions and showing Tim how he can help me.

They made sure that I was in good shape, they made us dinner, and they cleaned everything up as if nothing had happened. It was the most incredible experience of my life.

Baby Raegan

I’m asked this question all the time: “What was birthing at home like?!” Well, I’ll tell ya! I’m here to give you all of the deets.

It was Thursday, July 11th – our due date! I had felt like I was going into labor for about two weeks at this point but nothing was progressing. I kept telling myself, “this baby will come when it is ready.” We didn’t yet know if Baby Dos was a boy or a girl, but I thought for sure I was about to meet a little boy. Come Friday evening, I had had enough of the discomfort and went to the chiropractor to hopefully get things moving. Sure enough, a bright and early start to our Saturday was going to take place. I woke at 5 AM with what I thought were contractions but I continued to rest in bed and not wake Tim as I was unsure if this time would be the “real thing.” 

Six AM rolls around and I know this is the real deal. Contractions were mild but steady and ramping up. I turned to my sleeping husband and poked him awake. “We’re going to have a baby today,” I whispered to him. He didn’t quite have the jumping out of bed reaction that I thought he would. It was more of a ‘really? Cool,’ while stretching-kind of a thing. But hey, if he could remain calm, I could remain calm!

It was a perfectly beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was going to be in the high 70s. We had the birthing tub blown up and ready to go. I alerted our midwives and messaged my older sister, Nicki, who would be assisting and taking photos of the day. This wasn’t my first rodeo, so I told the midwives to take their time. I could feel that it would be a nice and steady progression throughout the morning. We called my daughter’s dad to have her dropped off. Brooklyn wanted to be there for the baby’s birth! And on we went with preparing ourselves for the day: eating breakfast, going for a walk to help contractions progress, loving on the dogs a bit more before they were left in the dust for a few months.

The Embrace midwives arrived around 11 AM. They were amazing in providing me with comfort during contractions and showing Tim how he can help me. I got in the birthing tub but it slowed my contractions, so I got out, I got in it again, out of it again, and so on. (Ladies who have birthed babies, you get why) My favorite spot happened to be the one I said I wouldn’t want – on the birthing ball. My midwives and husband went above and beyond to make me as comfortable as possible with each wave of contraction. Meanwhile, my sister was keeping Brooklyn busy and making sure she ate and was taken care of. Brooklyn was so sweet to me while I was in labor, holding my hand and telling me I was doing a good job.

When I was in labor with Brooklyn, my water broke in the initial stages before I even went to the hospital. This time around, my water did NOT want to break! I was in transition and almost fully dilated before it decided to let go (looking back now, that was probably all Raegan trying not to come out. This child would crawl back up into me if she could). Shortly after, I was told I was fully dilated and could push if I felt the urge to. I didn’t feel the urge to like so many women say they do, which was hard for me because it was so uncomfortable to try pushing that way. But I was DONE. It was around 2 PM at this point and I was ready to meet this baby. I got back in the birthing tub and started the pushing process. This was the MOST uncomfortable place to push. Water births are beautiful, yes, but it was so difficult to get into a position that assisted in getting this baby out.

However, if you know me, you know I am relentless. Thirteen minutes later and a baby GIRL made her way into the world. All 8lbs 4oz of her was a girl! We couldn’t believe it. Brooklyn came back into the room to meet her new baby sister (she couldn’t handle the pushing part) and it was the sweetest moment of it all. She asked why the baby was wet and said she loved her anyway.

The midwives and my sister stayed until around 8 PM. They made sure the baby (still unnamed at this point) was healthy and trying to feed. They made sure that I was in good shape, they made us dinner, and they cleaned everything up as if nothing had happened. It was the most incredible experience of my life.

The next day, we decided on the name Raegan. We couldn’t choose between two middle names, so Brooklyn chose Jane. Miss Raegan Jane. She’s perfect and we couldn’t be happier.

— Adrianna