Liberty's Birth Story
Liberty’s Birth Story
Liberty’s story begins long before she was even conceived. My husband and I had been trying to have children for three years. We even went to a fertility clinic, but with all the treatment and cost, we decided that if God wants us to have a child it will happen in His perfect timing. Skip forward to the beginning of 2018 and still no pregnancy, so Kevin and I decided to start two businesses and focus on those. Our businesses were going well and Kevin and I were making more plans for the summer over our anniversary weekend in April. I hadn’t been feeling well prior to this weekend but attributed it to the fact that sickness was going around the school where I teach, so I didn’t think anything of it. It was Kevin who told me that I should take a pregnancy test, just to rule it out as a viable option. I had one test left and was ready to see the same results that I had in the past…negative. Three minutes later, our lives were forever changed by a positive test result. The rest of that weekend we were in shock while simultaneously overjoyed and scared to death!
Fast forward to December 2018. Liberty’s expected due date was December 9, so I scheduled for my last day of work to be December 7, thinking she would arrive on time. Baby girl did not arrive on the 9th, or a week later on the 16th. At this point, my family, friends, Kevin and I were ready to meet this precious girl. I went in for a checkup with Galyn on the 20th and still no change! All the vitals were good for both of us, but I was hoping Liberty would arrive before the 23rd since Galyn would be gone for Christmas holidays and she was anxious to meet this girl too. By this point, I had received advice on what I could do to stimulate labor and walking seemed like the best option. On the morning of Friday 21st, Kevin and I went to Blue Hole Regional Park and went walking for an hour. I had mild contractions at this point, but not those that were described to me. With no change, we went about our day as normal. Feeling restless around the 3 o’clock hour, we decided to go for another walk through the neighborhood. Towards the end of the walk, I experienced stronger contractions to the point where I had to stop walking and just breathe deeply. Once home, I started timing the contractions and informed my midwife. I took a bath and tried to get some sleep all the while the contractions were getting stronger. I called Galyn around 11 pm and told her the contractions were getting progressively stronger. She told me to meet her at the birth center at 2 am. The next few hours were spent making sure the “go bags” were ready and that the house was in order. Once it was time to go, Kevin called the parents and let them know we were on our way to the center. After arriving, Kevin and I were greeted with a calm ambience, helping to soothe my nerves while Galyn checked my progression…I was at 9 cm! It was go-time and the next couple of hours seem almost a blur. At one point, I felt like giving up. I had been in progressive pain since 3 pm Friday and I was tired. Kevin kept encouraging me and told me to keep going, while Galyn kept coaching me through the birth. Liberty Lucille made her arrival December 22, 2018 at 4:14 am. My husband had the honor of delivering her; and I was able to see and hold my sweet girl after her arrival. All the pain that I had just experienced immediately went away when she was placed on my chest.
This was the most intense experience I had ever gone through, and it was the most rewarding. I recommend using Family Birth Center and any of the midwives (Galyn and Brianna especially) for the birth of a child. For women who don’t think they can do it…believe me, you CAN! The body is amazing, and as long as you listen to it and trust your midwife, you will have a great experience.
