Olivia's Birth Story

Birth Story – Olivia Mae Müller

September 26, 2018, 6:56pm

7 lbs 13 oz, 20 in long

Olivia’s birth was an incredibly beautiful and empowering experience; a night-and-day difference from the birth of our 2 1/2 year old son, Trippe. This pregnancy and birth brought significant healing into our minds and hearts after the difficulty of our previous experience.  

To provide a bit of background, my pregnancy with Trippe was extremely smooth and easy…up until 30 weeks. It was at that point that I went into preterm labor (while directing at a choral competition an hour from the hospital without my own transportation). I was admitted into the hospital at 3cm in active labor, and administered high dose magnesium for 48 hours. While this did effectively slow my labor, I was in the hospital on bed rest for 21 days. I was sent home on anti-contraction meds, continuing on bed rest, where I remained pregnant for 2 1/2 more weeks. I went into labor again at 36 weeks and 5 days (the very first day that I was given permission to get up and start moving around a little bit).

After an 8-hour labor, Trippe was born; as he was, he took in too much fluid, and his premature lungs couldn’t handle it. After I got to hold him very briefly, he was rushed off to the NICU. He ended up staying there for 8 days as we waited for his lungs to clear and gain strength. Finally we were able to bring our little boy home.

When I found out pregnant with Olivia, I knew that I wanted a totally different experience from my first birth. However, I didn’t initially make any changes to actively pursue something better. I went to go see a traditional OBGYN at a well-known practice in the city. I immediately had an uneasy feeling about the care I was receiving, but still didn’t make any changes. Little did I know that God had a plan to provide something so much better than I could have ever imagined.

We had a sudden change in our insurance (my husband and I both became self-employed) that required us to change to all health providers in Indiana (Louisville is on the border of Indiana and Kentucky, and we actually own a home just over the river in New Albany, Indiana). I was at a total loss for what to do, since I was now about 10 weeks pregnant, and needed a new OBGYN as soon as possible. While I was extremely skeptical, I took the recommendation of several friends and decided to try out a group of midwives in a practice at one of the local hospitals in southern Indiana. However, I was NOT going to do any of that natural birthing nonsense.

At my first appointment, I was a little taken back by how laid back the midwife was. She was wearing a tunic and leggings (no scrubs??), and was very relaxed about my past experiences. Unlike the other doctor, she calmly reminded me that every pregnancy and baby are different, and just because my first had been a certain way, it was not a pattern. Also, while the other OBGYN was going to make progesterone shots beginning at 16 weeks mandatory, the midwife said “do research, and let us know; we will do whatever you want to do.” (Upon further research, I decided against progesterone shots because I didn’t find enough conclusive evidence to prove that they worked against preventing preterm labor. I am so thankful now that I made that choice!)

I continued to have a fairly easy pregnancy with no complications, except that I was paranoid about once again going into preterm labor.  I started to have Braxton-Hicks contractions at 20 weeks. Up until the middle of my second trimester, I was still fully planning on having an epidural and an experience very similar to what I had with Trippe. Around this time, I began really getting into the use of essential oils, especially in correlation to pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. After watching a training on that topic and learning about all of the ways that oils could help in that process, my interest was peaked to learn more about natural childbirth. The more I read and researched, and the more people I talked to who had experienced that kind of birth, the more I was convinced to try it. Right before my third trimester, I made the final decision that this was the kind of birth I wanted.

After deciding on natural birth, I hired a doula. (I highly recommend that if you are considering this type of birth, that you do hire a doula. It made our birth experience so meaningful, and I really think I may have had an epidural if ours hadn’t been so supportive and knowledgeable.) Upon her recommendation, I also signed up for a Hypnobirthing course. (This is another thing I would definitely recommend. While I did not necessarily incorporate 100% of the concepts and would be hesitant to call my experience a true “Hypnobirth,” the course definitely helped me to manage the intensity of birth, particularly coping with the mental struggles of it.)

As soon as I entered the third trimester, I began occasionally experiencing periods of timeable contractions. However, they would always calm down after a certain amount of time if I utilized relaxation techniques that I learning in Hypnobirthing and a regimen of several essential oils (I strongly believe that essential oil use was the main factor in why I avoided any kind of preterm labor during this pregnancy.) However, when I was 36 weeks along, I began to have stronger contractions about 4 minutes apart while driving home from visiting family in Indianapolis. They got even stronger and closer together, so we went directly to the hospital. I was sent home after a few hours, however, because I was only 2-3 cm dilated and the contractions were fading out.

After that point, my body never stopped contracting. Every single day, particularly from 11pm until 2am, I would experience timeable contractions. After anywhere between 2 and 5 hours, they would stop. It was the most frustrating and annoying thing ever. I learned that this is called “prodromal labor.” Essentially, it just means that labor is happening over a long, drawn out amount of time. We ended up going to the hospital with two more false alarms over the next few weeks. My doula faithfully came every time, and provided emotional support when we got sent home. However, it was really frustrating and embarrassing. The third time I went to the hospital, the nurse checked my cervix and said, “I don’t understand it. You’re 6cm dilated and everything looks ready to go, but you’re just not contracting anymore.” I eventually realized that there was something deep going on related to going to the hospital. Even though it was not a conscious thing, I believe that my body was stopping labor upon arriving at the hospital because of the trauma of Trippe’s birth. It’s truly amazing how our minds affect our bodies, even when we don’t realize it.

I walked around at 6cm dilated for a week. When I arrived at my 39-week appointment, my midwife was shocked to see me. At my appointment the previous week, she was sure that I was going to have the baby before the weekend; yet, here I was. As she walked into the exam room, she said, “how are you still pregnant?!” All of the roller coaster of emotions of the past weeks hit me at once, and I began to cry. She very sweetly encouraged me, and then told me my options now that I was considered full term. She checked my cervix and noted that I was still just between 6 and 7cm. Over the past few days, Mike and I had decided that if I were still 6cm at my 39-week appointment, we would have my water broken. My midwife agreed to this, and she called over to the hospital to schedule it. She came back with a big smile on her face, and said, “why don’t you go have lunch and then come back and have a baby?” I was ecstatic. I called Mike, and then made arrangements for Trippe to stay with my mom.

I had lunch, made sure everything was packed in my bag, and then went back to the hospital. Mike was finishing up work and planned to meet me there, since we knew the process of getting checked in and settled would probably take a while.  After about an hour of getting settled in the room, around 1:30pm, the midwife came in to break my water. While she didn’t force anything, she presented the option of also doing the lowest possible dose of Pitocin to get contractions started, since I wasn’t contracting at all at that time. They would do just enough to start labor, and then would take me off of it to labor on my own. While this was definitely not a part of my original birth plan, I decided to do this. I think I was just so ready to finally meet my baby after all of the start-and-stop labor of the past few weeks, and honestly I doubted my body’s ability to continue labor on its own, even with my water broken.

I didn’t feel much for about two hours, but right around 3:30, things really started to intensify. I decided to stay in bed to rest as much as possible until my doula arrived. (I actually got the huge privilege of having two doulas, as mine had another sweet, amazing lady training with her at the time of my birth!) They got there around 4:30, and we took a walk around the halls. That is when things really started to intensify. I made it a couple laps, but then things got too intense to continue. I was feeling a lot of back labor, and I also remember feeling like I was about to pass out.

From about the point that we returned from our walk, I felt completely dialed in to what my body and baby needed to do, and focused very little on what was going on around me; I truly felt like I was in my own world (this is where my Hypnobirthing techniques really played a big role). My cervix was never checked after my appointment that morning. My midwife truly left me to follow natural instincts, and was there as a support system, and then to of course catch the baby. She told me early on, “When you feel the urge to push, just let me know and we’ll go from there.”

I tried a couple different labor positions before asking to lie down. While back on the bed, the midwife did a sidelying release on both sides. After that, I tried laboring on the medicine ball for a while. It was during this stage that I started to question my ability to go through with a natural birth, and came the closest to asking for an epidural. However, right when I felt like I couldn’t take any more, my doula recommended laboring in the tub. I HIGHLY recommend that if you have the option to labor or birth in a tub, that you do so. Apparently they call it the “midwife’s epidural,” and that is absolutely no joke. The amount of relief I felt when I got into the tub was incredible. This was one of my favorite memories of the whole birth; I can still picture the scene around me. I was feeling so much better, my doulas were right there by the tub, Mike was there and took a few pictures of all of us together, and my midwife was there hanging out with us (I remember thinking, “How cool is this? My midwife is just here, conversing and spending time with us through labor. This would never happen with an OBGYN!”)

After three or four contractions that were significantly less intense, I had the worst one yet; I literally remember feeling her move downwards. During the contraction after that, I suddenly had the urge to push. I called out, “Um…I think I’m pushing!”

The midwife came back into the room, and they had me leave the tub to walk over to the bed (it is hospital policy that you cannot give birth in the tub). During that transition, I had another contraction where I felt her move down. Mike grabbed me and held me as I worked through it. I got to the bed, and started off pushing on my hands and knees. Mike was up by my head, holding my hand through it all. My doula was reading me scripture and encouraging me constantly, helping me find the strength I needed. My midwife said several times in the calmest voice, “Laurelen, she’s just right there. If you just give a really good push, I think she’d come right out.” After five or six pushes, she just wasn’t budging. At that point, they pulled out the squat rack. It only took one big push using the squat rack, and she was born! I immediately sat back and got to hold my baby girl in my arms. The relief, joy, empowerment, and love that I felt in that moment can’t really be described with words; I can only say that her birth was perhaps the most amazing experience of my life.

Recovery was so much better and easier than my first birth. Because I didn’t realize how hard I was pushing with Trippe, I ended up with ten stitches, whereas I only had one with Olivia’s birth. I had so much energy right away, and I remember those sweet moments right after she was born so vividly. I will always treasure that!

Takeaways & Thoughts

This birth was truly a healing & empowering experience. I feel like I have a whole new perspective on childbirth, and I honestly can’t wait to go through the process again someday, as well as to encourage other women on their journeys.  If you have even an inkling to try natural childbirth, I strongly encourage you to go for it. I will never regret that I made that choice, and I hope to always be able to birth naturally in the future.

Throughout my pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, I have really felt like I am being called to do something related to maternity care at some point in my life. I don’t know what that will look like yet, but there is definitely a pull on my heart to follow this new love and passion.

Along with that, it’s amazing how empowering it is to do something so incredibly hard. I have a brand new appreciation and perspective of my body and what it can do. I truly feel like I can do or be anything that I want, because I made it through something so unbelievably hard, and the reward was so infinitely great. I also have a new appreciation and love of Jesus and the Gospel through seeing the beauty and mystery of new life coming into the world.

Choosing a midwife was the absolute best decision I’ve ever made. And the most beautiful thing about it? I didn’t really choose it; it just happened, and it was totally 100% a gift from God. From my very first appointment, it was a completely different experience than what I had with an OBGYN. I felt like I had a choice and a say in absolutely everything that happened each step of the way. This was so beautifully displayed in my birth. Every decision was my own, and I felt like I was in complete control. My midwives were supportive and knowledgeable, offering recommendations when necessary, but never forced anything.

Mike did an amazing job, and I loved the active role that he got to play in labor. He was so tired, and had actually injured himself pretty badly the day before while he was working. But yet, he was such an incredible support system, and was there for me every step of the way. Again, I’m so thankful for my doula, who coached him along the way in how he could play an active role in labor. I think most men don’t really know how to help, but once they do, they really are amazing in helping in the process.

Hire a doula. I know I’ve said this about 100 times now, but seriously. Do it. Make it happen in your budget. If you choose a good one, I promise that you will never once regret it.

DoTerra essential oils are truly amazing, and help in huge ways throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. While I did not end up using my oils during delivery like I had originally planned (I ended up being so tuned in to the birthing process on the actual delivery day that I just didn’t even think to want them), I used them majorly throughout pregnancy, during prodromal labor, and in the postpartum stage. They have helped with so many things, from calming down early contractions, to circulatory issues and swelling, to emotional support, and so much more. I would love to share more about how I have used oils throughout this process! If you’re interested, message me.

I am actually considering a home birth if we are given the gift of a third baby. These are words that I never, ever (ever, ever, ever) thought would come out of my mouth. I thought that people who did home births were weird, crazy, and honestly…stupid. Yet, the more I learn about birth, the more I am inclined to try home birth. If I don’t choose to do that, I definitely think I will go with a birth center. Next time I really hope to go into labor 100% on my own. I think that if I avoid the hospital, maybe my body will more naturally be able to do this without any mental blocks resulting in intervention. That’s my hope, at least!

Please feel free to message me with any questions that you have. I loved this experience so much, and would be happy to share or help in any way that I can!