jones oliver birth story.
disclaimer — I want to note here, that every woman’s birth experience is different. No matter what you hope for or how it really happens, it is still incredible, your body is amazing & it’s all a gift.
I was laying in bed texting my older brother at 9:52pm on October 10th, 2021. Benton was sleeping upstairs in our guest room because I apparently had terrible bouts of snoring this pregnancy that kept him up all hours of the night. We knew baby boy was coming any day as I was already a day past my due date, so we wanted him to get a solid nights rest. I hadn’t tried to induce labor much at this point as I was 9 days late with our first son, but earlier that day we tried a few things and that night before bed, my doula recommended the Miles Circuit so I did that as we watched the newest episode of The Morning Show.
I had text my brother that I needed to vent. I had hit that point most women do at the end of pregnancy where everyone is asking them if baby has come yet and letting you know how they can’t wait or how excited they are to meet him/her. (POV from the mother — while she loves hearing about how you can’t wait to meet her baby….she’s the one that TRULY CAN’T WAIT. So instead of asking her if baby is on the way, just wait for her to let you know…because she will, promise you won’t miss out.) He kindly obliged me in my frustrations and then I was off to bed. About five minutes after I put my phone down, I felt a contraction. I had been having a few of them for days, but nothing progressed so I didn’t think anything of it….until they didn’t stop. I decided to download a contraction timer app my doula recommended because they felt pretty close.
Everything felt like a first to me. For both of my labor and deliveries I had hoped to be unmedicated. I did extensive research and reading to have the knowledge of what was needed for an unmedicated birth. I had heard birth was 70% mental and 30% physical which is wild to think about because of how physically straining birth is on the body. I took the saying ‘knowledge is power’, quite literally here and was prepared as much as I possibly could be. I didn’t know if this was the real deal and I should go ahead and text my doula + wake up Benton, so I tried to go to sleep like all my reading said. Why both of my boys decided to come around 10pm when they know their mama requires so much sleep is beyond me.
I layed on my side for an hour….not sleeping…realizing this was it because the contractions started pretty intense and hadn’t let up within that hour. Around 11:25 I started timing the contractions. They ranged anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart and I remember texting my doula that this just felt too close together to have JUST started an hour prior. We agreed for her to make the drive as she lived 45 minutes away and if it somehow subsided she’d just go back home. My sister was in town seeing her boyfriend and decided to stay an extra night before going home. Her, my mom and I just had a feeling that this would be the night so she pressed into that and waited around town for another night. I text her as well letting her know to be on standby so she could come over and stay with our big dude once we left for the hospital. I continued to labor laying down and let Benton sleep as long as he could before going up to wake him. I text my parents and in-laws at 12:25 with ‘I think we’re a go” and my sister asking her for prayer for these specific things: “quick quick quick, minimal pain, easy pushing. truly praying this one goes quick and easy. believing God can do it”. She responded with, “If anyone can do it, you can. you’re the strongest person I know”. It was just what I needed to hear as we kicked this thing off.
I woke benton up around 12:45am, my sister arrived at 1am and our doula arrived shortly after around 1:15am. I wasn’t able to lay in bed anymore through contractions, so I got upright and tried to stay vertical by walking around through contractions. I was able to chat and engage in conversation but definitely needed to give intention to each contraction. I started feeling nauseous and needed to brace myself through contractions by holding myself up against the wall or kneeling by the bed. They were now coming 2-4 minutes apart, I was feeling tired quickly and my legs were starting to get shaky. My doula recommended me getting back in the bed and laboring on all four then trying to lay down and rest between them as to not wear myself out sooner than need be. She gave me some water and a spoonful of honey to continue helping carry me through (totally forgot to drink water! This is the benefit of having a doula or birth partner when you’re so mentally focused on bringing the baby down the birth canal to cover all your other needs). I get on the birth ball beside the bed to do some hip circles in hopes to drop baby boy down some stations. It was incredibly uncomfortable and I didn’t stay there long because I wanted to be standing. This was now around 2:30am and we decided to go to the bathroom where my doula grabbed our bamboo shower bench and had me do side lunges through contractions. I felt baby boy dropping each time a contraction came. At this point, again, everything I had learned was totally out the window in my focusing. If you hope to labor and deliver unmedicated, your GREATEST resource in my opinion is a doula. I didn’t remember many positions to labor in to help baby drop and these lunges were one of the single greatest things she did for me during labor because it WORKED.
I needed to go to the bathroom, so I did and then decided to labor backwards on the toilet. The one position I remembered on my own from all my reading that seemed to promise great results. In birth when you’re pushing, they often tell you to do so like you are having a bowel movement and when you sit on the toilet, that’s just something that comes naturally so your body releases any tension you’ve been holding which progresses your labor and moves baby down. Not long after sitting on the toilet a gush of fluid came out and my water broke! I then immediately moved myself off the toilet onto the floor and proceeded to vomit. After my water broke with both boys, I quickly threw up.
Everything changed quickly at this point. I started bleeding and lots more fluids were coming. My contractions became incredibly intense and I was completely unable to do anything but focus and moan through them with all attention and energy I had. They were coming so close together and my moaning turned to guttural grunting which again, from my birth with Judah, I knew things were rapidly progressing. We decided it was time to call the midwife. Benton chatted with the one on call (which just happened to be the very first one I ever met with and the one I saw the most during pregnancy) because I was unable to talk. Based on the timing of contractions and her listening to me grunting in the background, she advised us to head to the hospital and she’d meet us there. I threw on one of those adult diapers I had already stocked up with for postpartum, my doula threw her portable fan around my neck (because #hot) and we made our way downstairs to the car. I stopped at the front door on my way out to have a contraction and felt a major shift then that I needed to start pushing. I’m so glad we have a nest doorbell because it caught the whole thing on camera for us to go back and watch later.
By the time I made it to the car, I was worried we weren’t going to make it to the hospital. I had only labored at home this one time so I wasn’t quite sure when the ideal time to leave was and I quickly realized we waited a little too long :). My kind doula tried to buckle me in as contraction after contraction came and I so rudely about bit her head off to leave me alone because the baby was coming and we needed to GO NOW. We pulled out of the driveway around 3:50am and arrived at the hospital at 4am. My midwife, Gerry, was walking in the hospital at the same time I was getting dropped off by Benton. She looked at me, listened to me work through a contraction and immediately went to grab a wheelchair because she wanted to get me to the room ASAP. She told Benton to just meet us up there because she was going to take me and bypass security. We got upstairs so fast and before we could even get in the elevator, my midwife had called the labor and delivery staff telling them she was bringing me up and they needed to get room 6 ready immediately.
As soon as I got in the room, they were stripping my clothes, admitting me, giving me all the wristbands and checking my cervix. It was a whirlwind. I was100% effaced, dilated to a 9.5 with baby boy being at a -1 station. I started pushing immediately, instinctual short bursts through contractions with no guidance, just everyone watching and waiting. It felt entirely different knowing what to do the second time around. My midwife encouraged me to lay on my left side and push side lying to get me off my back. I would have loved to of delivered standing up with gravity working on my behalf but my legs were so weak by this point that laying down felt good to me. They lifted my right leg for me and I kept pushing through contractions. My doula was applying counter pressure to my back as he was crowning. I had so much support from my midwife, doula, husband and nurses that just kept encouraging me I was doing so well. One last push and baby boy was here with a nuchal cord (wrapped around his neck) and his sweet hand up by his face at 4:46am. They layed him on my chest immediately and we delayed cord clamping.
I kept asking if I tore. Our first little dude tore me internally all the way down both sides on his way out and the recovery was quite brutal, so that was THE one thing I was concerned about this time, especially since Jones weighed 9.6lbs. They told me I didn’t tear and I remember asking no short of four times if they were sure I didn’t and had them keep checking as time went on. There is nothing in the world like pregnancy and birth and I hope we never forget the miracle of it.
Jones Oliver Cranford. Our sweet gift of a rainbow baby.
jones -- Jehovah has favored
oliver -- "olive tree" meaning peaceful
This boy is our rainbow baby. Conceived just one month after we lost our second. A true favoring of life being given so quickly after loss and every single step of this pregnancy, labor + delivery has been favored by God in His sheer kindness. Things I asked specifically for this time around that were all 100% answered according to my request (SHEER KINDNESS):
no induction ✔️
optimal position ✔️
shorter labor + delivery ✔️
no medication ✔️
no hemorrhage ✔️
no tearing ✔️
avoid pushing too early and prolonged pushing ✔️
didn’t want one specific midwife (lol) ✔️
group b strep negative ✔️
We believe his life is one marked by Gods favor and kindness. His story is one that holds and carries peace. It's the story he will tell and one that we've watched God already so beautifully weave for him. He's truly such a peaceful baby and we are grateful.
