I gave birth to my first boy, Oliver, at the age of 20. I was unprepared and scared, and he pushed me to my absolute limit at 42 weeks. I had dreamed of a natural birth, but was secretly afraid of the pain. When we were forced to induce, I was slightly relieved, and mostly just ready to have a baby in my arms—I didn’t care how it happened!
After his birth, I began to feel a deep sadness for how his birth had transpired. It was magical in its own way, but I still felt a longing to do it on my own (intervention free), to complete the cycle of empowerment and manifest the birth of my dreams.
At just 16 months postpartum, we found out we were expecting baby number 2! I immediately started visualizing the birth, and how it would transpire: I was going to go into labor at 9 p.m. after we put our son in bed, deliver that night, and be home the next evening to put our babies to bed together. I knew I was strong and capable this time around, and I KNEW in my heart that this birth held a lot of healing power.
At 39 week 6 days, my water broke on its own at 9 p.m. I had just come down the stairs from putting my oldest in bed, and went to the bathroom to pee when I got the tell-tale “gush”! We went straight to the birth center, where our second little boy, Isaac, was born just 12 hours later.
I labored with my husband by my side, walking the halls, soaking in the birth pool, and even took a nap early on. Isaac was born with the afternoon sun streaming through the blinds, around 3:30 p.m. I was complete. I felt healed. I felt strong.
We rested for a few hours afterward, and made it home for bedtime with our oldest. Our little family was complete.
Written by Abby Hanlon
