My last few weeks of pregnancy were nothing less than blissful. I worked to embrace the anticipation, the insomnia, and the stretch marks that so often accompany the last days. I connected with baby on quiet morning walks and as I snuggled my older daughter in bed. Her movements against my taut skin...the way I could feel my hips opening as I walked...the fullness that somehow continued to fill. On Friday, August 5th, my very last client went into labor. I joined her and her family at Baby + Co (my birth place) and watched her birth her first baby into the world. I went home feeling relieved and inspired. On Saturday, some of my dearest friends and clients joined me beneath the oak tree in my front yard, and surrounded me with love and blessings. They brought flowers to weave into a beautiful crown and Sarahkate Butterworth adorned my belly with henna again. As they left, I assured everyone I had at least another week before baby came. I truly believed I'd have Eliza around 41-42 weeks, just like her big sister.

The day before I went into labor, I noticed nothing surprising or different...except that I texted my midwife to ask her exactly when she was arriving in Denver. Susan Mitchell is a dear friend and although she had moved to the mountains, she planned on coming back to Denver just to catch my baby. At 7:45pm that night, she let me know that she had safely arrived at her sister's home. Ryan and I watched the olympics and then we went to bed.

August 8th. I woke up with Lucy and Ryan still sleeping beside me. I checked my phone and messaged my BFF and birth photographer - Jennifer Mason. She had asked if we could get together, and I responded that my day was FULL (which it was...in more ways than one!) I had my 40 week midwife appointment scheduled, followed by a massage, followed by a fancy dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Denver. (Note: if you want to go into labor on a certain day, make A LOT of plans).

I got up and began working through my morning routine - brushing my teeth, hair, cleaning up the kitchen from the night before. Around 7:30, I started feeling contractions. They were mild, but clearly very different from the Braxton Hicks contractions that I'd been having for weeks. I noticed them, but didn't allow myself to believe I was actually in labor. On my due date. But as the minutes passed, the contractions seemed to increase in frequency. I decided to time a few, and realized that they were already 4-5 minutes apart. Still very mild but clearly consistent. And so being a birth worker who likes A LOT of advanced notice, I alerted my birth team that something was "happening." After the alert was raised, I walked up and down the stairs a few times to change the laundry. Each time I got to the washer, a contraction would come...a strong one...and I felt like I was leaking some sort of fluid. It was at this point that I realized labor had really started - around 8:00am.

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When I had called Susan, she encouraged us to head into the birth center - ASAP. Our older daughter's preschool began at 9am, and although we had a back-up plan for her in the event I went into labor before school...I really wanted to drop her off that morning. At this point, the contractions were still very manageable so we made plans to drop her off and then head directly to Baby + Co. Around 8:30 I told Ryan we needed to get into the car now. I could feel the contractions shifting, and I knew we needed to be on the road sooner rather than later. Worse case scenario: we'd forgo preschool drop-off and bring Lucy to the birth center.

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We made it to her preschool (albeit about 15 minutes before school started) and I was even able to snag a few pictures. The contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes at this point, or one to two during every song on my birth playlist. As soon as we got to Baby + Co, I made a beeline for our birth room. Susan Mitchell walked through the door and greeted me with a hug. Soon after, labor began to intenify.

I had tested positive for GBS at 36 weeks, and thus needed a dose of antibiotics. Amy and Gaither (two baby + co midwives) worked to get my IV started. I asked them how long it typically took to receive a dose - 30 minutes - and I asked them to run the line faster. I must have known that my body was going to do this quickly!

Photography by Jennifer Mason Photography

One by one, my incredible birth team arrived. Jennifer, my birth photographer, came in first with flowers in her arms. Kelsey, my best friend and doula, arrived shortly after. And amazingly, my videographer who had been at another birth earlier that morning made it to Baby + Co just around the time I got into the birth tub!

I worked through contractions with Ryan and Kelsey applying counter-pressure to my back and hips. The contractions were quickly on top of each other and I felt an immense amount of opening and stretching with each one. We got in the shower as the birth tub was being filled, and I began to moan loudly. The warm water on my back felt amazing...although I was eager to get into the tub as soon as possible. After one strong contraction I said, "I need to get in NOW."

We had brought the flower wreath from my Mother Blessing to the birth center, and I'd hung it on the bath faucet. Jennifer placed a few sunflowers in the water. And so with those blooms surrounding me -- I labored. Contractions were strong...and I found my voice and moan deepening with each one. I felt that distinctive moment of transition - I CAN'T DO THIS. I WANT OUT - and I knew that baby must be close. My mom came into the room around that time having made the drive from Colorado Springs. And so despite the intensity, I was surrounded by so many people that loved me..

Amy, the other Baby + Co midwife attending my birth, could sense both the intensity and fear that was radiating through my body. She asked everyone but Ryan to step back and away. She encouraged us to connect to our baby and each other in the minutes leading up to the birth of our daughter. I treasure those moments we shared together, and I'm so glad that Amy encouraged us to find them.

Soon after, I began to feel pressure that made me want to start pushing. I knew that I was likely complete at this point. While the water had felt wonderful for a short period of time, I suddenly felt hot and feverish. My contractions had been coming so quickly that my body didn't have a chance to cool off and rest. I tried a few tentative pushes in the water but immediately felt like something wasn't right with her position. After talking to Amy and Susan, we decided that it was best for me to step out of the water and get into bed.

Susan checked me just to make sure I was complete - it was the only vaginal check I had during my entire pregnancy and birth. Sure enough, I was ten centimeters and baby was in the plus one position. She encouraged me to push whenever I felt ready. I forwent pushing as long as I could but soon my body was telling me it was time. With my daughter's birth, pushing had come easy and I'd surprised both the nurses and my OB with my ability to push her out in about 20 minutes. With this baby, I could tell something was very different. My pushes weren't moving her the way they had moved my daughter three years ago. Further, 2nd time mamas are often able to push their babies out much quicker than their firsts. It became evident this was not going to be the case with my labor. While I don't know exactly what was causing this to be so much harder, I think we all suspected that I was giving birth to a BIG baby in a wonky position.

So Susan and Amy encouraged me to move from side to side, from my back to all fours. We were trying to get baby under my pubic bone - a task that felt more and more monumental with each push. Active labor and transition had happened SO quickly but this pushing stage was long, hard, and often times disheartening. And yet through it all, my midwives helped me hold it together. They could feel and see baby moving, and so they told me (again and again) that I was making progress even though I felt like we were permanently stuck.

And this is the part of my birth story that holds the most meaning for me. It's the part of my birth story that I didn't expect. The part that perhaps I had the most to learn from. Having seen so many births and having had such a quick labor with Lucy, I anticipated that this second birth would be fast and easy. I felt strong throughout my pregnancy and I envisioned myself birthing my baby without much support from those around me. Instead, I ended up on the bed with two midwives guiding me as my husband and best friend held my shaking legs up. Instead, I found myself doubting my body's ability to birth my baby. Instead, I found myself going to that place of desperation that so many birthing mamas can relate to - a place that you feel like you'll never be able to leave. But it was during those moments that I found a deeper strength then I had previously imagined - a strength that came from community and from loving support. I let go of self-sufficiency and found that I could rest in the arms of my family and friends.

Further, that long hour of pushing forced me to connect with my baby. My labor had happened so quickly that I was still in shock when I started pushing. But when I realized she wasn't going to slide out, I found that I needed to remember what I was doing...and who I was doing it for. I placed my hand on my belly and felt her last movements inside of me. I garnered up all that mama-bear strength and pushed harder than I ever thought possible.

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When we finally got her around my pubic bone, she birthed herself. I felt the ring of fire and suddenly everyone exclaimed - her head is out! Even more exciting, she turned just as she was crowning. Her head rotated and my posterior baby decided to come out the right way after all. I was able to see her head and touch it before I delivered her body. Words can't describe how amazing it felt when she eased her way out of my body and I was able to greet her with just a gentle touch from my hand. With the next contraction, her body was born. My husband lifted her out and placed her on my chest.

She didn't cry immediately, but the midwives stood back and watched me vigorously rub her body. Soon after, she let out her first beautiful lusty cry.

I birthed my placenta soon after, and I asked it to be placed on my belly (a weird request to most...but incredible to me). I felt the warmth of that amazing organ on my skin and marveled at it's intricacies. I loved seeing my beautiful baby beside my beautiful placenta. Our bodies are capable of incredible things.

And then we were just a family - together - in a beautiful space with so many loved ones and friends surrounding us. My sister, my mom, and my mother-in-law were all present for our baby's birth. They stood by the bed and sent me their love and energy as I brought our newest family member into the world. Eliza latched almost immediately, and so we spent the next several hours skin-to-skin. Lucy came to meet her little sister after preschool. She was shy and timid, but I could tell that it was the beginning of a beautiful and life-long relationship. Our family and friends slowly filtered out so that Ryan and I could rest and recover with our new baby.

Eliza's newborn exam was performed on our bed. She was an AMAZING nine pounds and four ounces. Almost a full pound bigger than Lucy, who had arrived at nearly 41 weeks. Later that evening, we took a bath together...and that beautiful crown of flowers floated beside my new baby.

And so I found that this birth was less about me and my individual strength or power. Instead, it was about community, it was about a sisterhood of women who were brave enough to stand with me. It was about my husband and me...the deep love that created this baby was present when we birthed her. And that beautiful wreath of flowers carried the words and spirits of so many dear friends who weren't physically present in the room. This is what birth can be, what birth should be...a space in which we're able to do something absolutely incredible, a space where we're never alone.

A huge thanks to:

-Baby + Co for providing me with some of the most compassionate and competant care I've ever received. I felt surrounded by such peace and love during my pregnancy and birth journey.

-Susan Mitchell and Amy Wallace, two amazing midwives who held space for me and helped me bring my precious baby into the world

-My best friend and doula Kelsey Gossett. You've stood beside me time and time again, and yet having you at my birth is perhaps the greatest gift our friendship has given me.

-Jennifer Mason. You captured my birth story in such an incredible way. These images mean the world to me. You are one of my dearest friends and your voice on my birthing day helped me carry through the end.

-Brezi Merryman...I can't wait to see my birth video. I'm so glad you made it. You are such a talented artist, and I couldn't imagine anyone else being with us.

-My family. Thank you for supporting me time and time again. Thank you for believing in me and in birth. I'm so glad you stood beside me on this very special day.

-Ryan. You are my rock, my best friend. I'm so glad that we make babies together...and that you encourage me to find my voice, my passion. I couldn't have done any of this without you. I'm so glad that our daughters have a man like you in their lives.

Powerful Birth Stories Across Colorado

Denver Birth Photography - the Birth of my Second Daughter - Eliza Noelle