Birth Story: Cora Ann

The days before:
We ran some labs at 36 week prenatal/home visit out of abundance of caution. Unfortunately they came back the next day and it appeared they were either contaminated or off based on only one number coming back abnormally high (my ALP).  Out of caution I went to see Jill and had an NST and we redrew the labs.  They came back at the beginning of the week with practically the same number and my P/C ratio was just barely over the norm.  I did not have any symptoms so I was surprised. After Jill & Shoshannah consulted with our OB we had for co-care - they all agreed this is not pre-eclampsia and was something I would need to deal with postpartum. They said we could either do a home induction or I could stay pregnant and do an NST twice a week and wait for labor. However if I had any symptoms at all I would need to go straight to the hospital.  I opted for a home induction at 37 weeks.

Friday March 27th, 2026

Jill and Shoshannah were called back to another birth that morning.  Cheney, my doula, friend, and chiropractor came over around 11ish on Friday. I had lost my mucus plug earlier in the day so we were hoping to get things started.  I was 2cms/40%/-2 the day before.  We went for a walk, did the Miles Circuit, and my contractions were about 3 minutes apart… except I couldn’t feel them unless I thought really hard and felt.  It felt different than my normal braxton hicks but definitely not strong enough to get a baby out. So we fed the goats and tucked them in for bed for the night.

When the midwives got there about 4:30 on Friday, we tried to nap and then get things going with pumping. Same thing…contractions showed up but didn’t stick if I stopped, and I still couldn’t feel them really.  So Jill asked if I wanted a sweep and I consented. I was maybe 3cm, but Cora’s head was trying to come before my cervix.  She was harder to reach than the day before. A foley was already on the table for me so when Jill said maybe we could consider it, I said “go ahead and do it while you’re checking”.

That… was an experience. Jill was so gentle for how high my cervix was but after I got up and moving things picked up really quickly but it seemed like one big contraction that wouldn’t end.  I genuinely thought I might not survive a homebirth for about 30 minutes from how intense my uterus reacted. This caused us to go ahead and call my photographer friend, Abby!  Then it calmed down. We ran an NST because Cora’s heart rate shot up to 180–200 (she was not a fan), but she settled and we kept the OB in the loop to make sure she wasnt concerned. Once things were calm we all went to sleep. I slept on and off from 11pm–5:30am.

Saturday March 28th, 2026

I got up at 5:30 am to go to the bathroom and the Foley came out but still no real contractions…. Not even early labor. After breakfast, Jill checked me again and did another sweep. I was funneling - 6cm on the outside, 4cm on the inside. Touching Cora’s head during the check, made her mad again, so we did another NST.

At that point I started thinking maybe we should go to the hospital if she was that finicky even though she recovered well. We looped the OB in again and she reassured me she looked perfect and we’d be doing the same things at the hospital anyway. I needed to hear that. So Abby and Jill prayed over us, Shoshannah did CST, Cheney worked on me, and also worked on getting baby INTO an OP position (because of course my babies need to enter the pelvis backwards ). I felt much better mentally after all the body work and a visit out on the porch with the goats.  We tried pumping again with some added cotton-root bark … still I was guessing at contractions but did feel them slightly.

By 1pm Saturday, we decided to try castor oil before breaking my water. Something didnt feel right about breaking my water YET.. I took the castor oil, and everyone laid down for a nap until about 3:30. My sweet husband Victor stayed with me and napped while everyone gave us our space.
Once I woke up and after the mild GI upset from the castor oil, I walked out to see the goats and feed our bottle baby. I finally started feeling contractions while I was out there. I was SO happy something was happening but nervous about the horrific castor oil stories.  But castor oil only went so far for me… the contractions only lasted about an hour and faded. At that point, I agreed it was time to break my water.

We did an ultrasound to make sure the cord was in the all clear and out of the way. Then Jill sang The Blessing over me and spoke the most precious words.. I was sobbing. I had felt so held and heard the whole time by Victor, Cheney, Abby, Jill, Shoshannah, and my friend Ashley. When she checked me, I was 7cm which felt wild considering I’d only been feeling contractions for about an hour the entire time at this point. I told them if we were breaking my water, I wanted the pool ready immediately so the pool was filling during this time. At 5:25pm, my water was officially broke and just like that, active labor hit. We worshipped and talked between contraction as they came every 2 -3 minutes.

At 6:15, one contraction was super strong so I decided it was time to get in the pool even though I was worried I still had a long way to go. The water felt amazing. I began to feel her descend with every contraction. I was still on and off laughing and talking between contraction until about 6:50pm… then it turned into either “this is stupid” or “thank you Jesus” with absolutely no in-between.
I was honestly nervous to push but not because of pushing.. I thought the castor oil was about to betray me in the pool and I would need to get out.  My team assured me we had options.  After another strong contraction at 7:02, I reached in to check and felt her head so I felt okay to push. My body quickly began to take over and I gave small pushes during the contractions. The feeling of her head filling my pelvis got intense fast as she descended to a crown with the pushes. Jill reminded me I was catching my own baby and if there was a nuchal cord, I could handle it myself with her assistance. Im pretty sure I told her no in my head. I think other people on my team were talking but I was locked in on Jill. She reminded me that I could do this. When her head filled my hand. A few more small, steady pushes and her head was out… then the rest of her body followed quickly.

I reached down and pulled her up out of the water with Jill’s assistance. Immediate relief. Pure awe. March 28th, 2026 - 7:05pm was forever imprinted into my soul in that moment.

We just sat there taking her and everything that had transpired in for a moment before my placenta decided it was time. Jill guided me as I delivered it on my own too helping me understand how to push and gently guide it out myself.
We took our time postpartum…  And just like that all the years we waited for our girl were over. I had no expectations for my birth but it was everything that I needed and more.

I feel forever grateful to the way I was held, guided, and prayed over by my own team. It’s something I’ll never take for granted. This was more than just a birth. It was redemption, healing, and the sweetest reminder that God was in every single part of the journey.