01/03/2026
Owen’s Birth Story PART TWO
At 39+1, I started having some pretty good contractions overnight. At one point that night, they were every 6-10 minutes, lasting 30-45 seconds. Maybe I wouldn’t make the one million appointments I scheduled?! But they faded in the morning. I let my midwife ( ), doula (Lindsay w/ ), and photographer ( ) know just in case things picked up again that night. Much to my disappointment, they did not pick up and I ended up having some really great rest the next 4-5 nights (which I am thankful for in hindsight).
At 39+6, I asked my midwife for a cervical check and sweep if it was possible. I know, do as I say and not as I do.
BUT I was 3cm/60-70% effaced/-1 station. I was SO encouraged by this exam. I knew if we ended up needing a natural induction before 42 weeks, we could get things going out of hospital.
I ended up contracting again that night, but I definitely wasn’t surprised or disappointed when things faded in the morning. I was still able to sleep pretty well in between contractions. I also had some bloody show but knew it was probably related to the sweep.
At 40+4, I had an acupuncture appointment, my prenatal with my midwife (I was 3-4cm and got 2 sweeps done and walked stairs), and some body work Meghan at . It was a busy day 😅 Meghan did some pelvic floor work and helped get baby into a better position. I scheduled a last minute visit with Dr. Sam at and another acupuncture visit for the next day.
Around 3am (I was 40+5), I felt a small but not insignificant gush of fluid, went to the bathroom and started feeling contractions almost immediately. They were pretty intense, but manageable and 8-10 min apart.
Kyle started getting a little anxious so he had me text my doula and midwife to give them a heads up. Jenn responded really quickly which was suspicious 😂
I was still coping well but thought this was definitely it, I was IN LABOR. So I tried resting as much as possible and encouraged Kyle to do the same. Things felt really big. I was vocalizing. They were taking my breath away.