-Neely and her husband Garrett have 2 sons, Howie and Cole
-Decided to have homebirths after watching the film “The Business of Being Born” 
-She selected her midwife after a friend had a wonderful experience with her
-Neely did not use a doula for her first birth, but decided to take Hypnobabies for her childbirth education, then used a Hypnobabies certified doula during her second homebirth.
- For her first birth, she took a Bradley-based childbirth education class.
-She attributes her successful labors to the fact that she practiced yoga throughout her pregnancies, saw the chiropractor, ate dates at the end, and generally did all she could to prepare.
-With her first birth, she had early-labor type contractions from 36 weeks on, but felt she would likely give birth a week or two after her due date.
-She went into labor several days before her due date, with contractions that seemed similar to what she’d been experiencing before.  She got in the shower to relax, but suddenly felt she needed to poop.
-After about 30 minutes of being awake, she wakes up her husband, still feeling sure she has a long way to go, but just wants him to let the midwife know what’s going on.
-The midwife asks how far apart the contractions are:  1-2 minutes apart, lasting a minute each time!
-Once the midwife hears her have a contraction, she lets Garrett know that she might not make it based on how far along Neely seems to be.  She tells him what to do if she doesn’t make it.
-She became overwhelmed with the urge to take her clothes off, but at the same time was saying to herself, “This can’t be right.  Why do I want to take my clothes off so early in the process?  I thought that happened towards transition!”
-Immediately after having her baby, she stood to her feet and said, “Hey Baby,” which her husband says was incredible to watch.
-Because the labor was so quick, Neely did experience symptoms of shock. 
-She felt that she had failed what her vision for her birth was—It was so different from what she was expecting, she felt she never had time to get on top of the contractions.
-With her second labor, Neely felt confident that she would go past her due date.  She had no prodromal labor with this baby like she did with her first.
-In the middle of the night (39 weeks, 5 days), she begins having contractions.  She calls her husband, who is in the other room, on his phone.  He responds back via a text message with a ‘?’ …..He then comes into the room!
-He calls the midwife, she asks how far apart contractions are.  They were a minute apart and a minute long… practically no break!
-She felt far more in control with her contractions during this birth.  She was riding the waves instead of being pulled under.
-She did not feel pushing as being nearly intense with this birth; rather, she felt she was breathing her baby down.
-With the head partially out, she began to feel the fear that she would tear.  Suddenly, her contractions paused.  It was the longest break she’d had since labor had begun.
-Her body gave her a break, allowing her baby’s head to stretch the perineum naturally.
-Neely’s water broke, followed by the baby’s full head, and then the whoosh of the rest of his body.
  -She was able to feel that she was a part of her labor and in more control, not as helpless feeling as her first labor.
-Garrett was able to catch the baby, and immediately exclaimed that it was a boy.
-Neely’s biggest recommendation for labor is to prepare.  Take a childbirth class and truly learn to relax and release.
 
Want to interview?  Katelyn@myhappyhomebirth.com
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