04/27/2025
Dove Josephine’s Birth Story
Born April 27, 2024 at 12:45 PM | 9 lbs. 6 oz.
When I found out I was pregnant with Dove, I was not in a good place, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. I was terrified. It was August 2023 when I found out I was pregnant again with baby number 4 I was still only 5/6 months PP. This was very shocking because I was still breastfeeding, Constantly, and I had not yet gone back to having a normal cycle. If I’m being honest I was not happy, I was not ready to be pregnant again and the memory or Naomi’s hard labor was still so fresh in my mind. I cried and cried for weeks. I did not feel mentally prepared to go through another pregnancy, labor, and have a newborn with a 15 month old. My whole Pregnancy I battled fear and anxiety. I didn’t realize I had birth trauma to work through from my last birth with Naomi. I felt so much anxiety and felt completely unprepared to have another baby so soon. Naomi was still just a baby herself, only 6 months old and the thought of everything felt overwhelming.
I was drowning before I even came up for air.
To be completely honest and transparent I have desired to have a son and had to work through gender disappointment with Naomi. I was really hoping this baby would be a boy. After three girls, I held a quiet hope that maybe this is Gods timing and that this pregnancy was the boy I dreamed of. I was trying to hold out hope from drowning in the dread of pregnancy all over again. But when we found out we were having our fourth girl, I had to grieve the vision I had imagined. I knew I loved her, but it was a process of letting go.
On top of all that, I was still carrying trauma from Naomi’s birth. The cervical lip, the stalling, the intensity, it all left a shadow over my confidence. Even though I handled it with complete control and grace, having moved that damn cervical lip myself.
I wavered constantly on how I wanted to give birth again. I longed for my peaceful home birth vibes, the ambiance, the worship, the sacred atmosphere, but I was so afraid of facing that kind of intensity again.
I wrestled during this pregnancy unlike any other. Fear gripped me in a way I had never experienced. I’m usually bold, full of faith, but this time, fear of death, fear of miscarriage, fear of the unknown followed me everywhere. I also felt disconnected from the pregnancy. I didn’t want to believe I was even pregnant. Time felt like it was slipping through my fingers, and I just kept thinking, I’m not ready for her to come yet. I need more time.
I wavered on my birth plan all the way up to 34–36 weeks, switching care providers three or four times before finally finding the right support. I realized it didn’t matter how I gave birth, what mattered was that God was going to bless it. Early one in my pregnancy I had a dream that I was telling a friend ( as though baby number 4 had already come) I told her, in the dream, “my 4th birth was by far my most positive birth experience”. I held on to the dream and I chose to partner with faith and believe that this would be my best birth yet.
After wavering for months and months I finally decided that a hospital birth with my beloved midwife Amie by my side as my doula would be the best option for me.
I also decided to face the emotional weight I’d been carrying head-on and went to therapy to process and resolve my birth trauma from Naomi’s birth. It made such a difference. I felt like I was reclaiming my voice and returning to peace. I worked though all the fear and pain until I felt confident going into by birth with Dove.
I wrote out my birth vision based on God’s Word, just like Habakkuk 2 says:
“Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.”
Habakkuk 2:2
I ran with it. I came to the revelation that everything I desired was possible with God’s blessing, even if I chose a medicated birth: no complications, a smooth epidural, a gentle birth, and a quick discharge. I even asked/believed that Dove would come after Esme’s birthday, so we could give her that special moment, and Exactly one week later, I just knew it was time. I had marked my calendar for labor during the weekend of April 26-28.
There were no contractions yet, but I felt it in my spirit. I packed everything, arranged for Naomi to have a sleepover, and Daniel and I decided to spend the evening filling the atmosphere with oxytocin and love. We went to our favorite restaurant, Biaggi’s. We shared our favorite toasted raviolis, I had a big bowl of French onion soup, and the best Caesar salad. I was in such a good head space and then I started feeling some Braxton Hicks and I told Daniel, “Let’s believe it that this will turn into the real thing”
After dinner we walked around TJ Maxx, another one of my favorite places, and then got ice cream at Oberweis. When we got home, Daniel gave me a full-body massage. I took a lavender and Epsom salt bath, and then we went to bed fully at peace, around 11 PM.
Not even two hours later, I woke up with strong, consistent contractions—more intense than with any of my previous births. I had texted Amie earlier that night and told her to be ready for a call around 2 or 3 AM, and sure enough, I messaged her right on time. We met at the hospital between 3 and 4 AM, and I was already 6.5 cm when I got there. I was so surprised, and also slightly panicked, because I didn’t want to miss my window for the epidural.
With Amie and Daniel supporting me, I advocated for exactly what I wanted: a light epidural. I told the anesthesiologist I wanted to still be able to feel and move my legs, and he delivered perfectly, I could still switch positions, stay present, and remain connected to my body.
After some rest, we turned on my worship birth playlist. The atmosphere became drenched in His presence. As worship filled the room, I experienced multiple emotional releases; deep waves of tears that prepared my heart for what was coming. Everything that I feared was washed away, It was like God was clearing the way for Dove’s arrival, layer by layer.
When it was time to push, I was surrounded by love. My husband holding my hand my doula holding my leg and my amazing photographer and friend giving me strength with her eye contact and words “you got this, she’s right there.” I felt so incredibly supported. I was completely in control. I could feel everything, but there was no pain, just pressure. Just clarity. Just peace. Within three pushes, she was born.
Dove Josephine Benedetto.
My biggest baby—9 lbs. 6 oz. of pure, chunky, miraculous goodness.
Just four hours later, we were released to go home. That had been one of my boldest prayers: to be able to go home that day, to rest in my own bed with my husband and our new baby. And God did it.
The next day, I welcomed my big girls home from their weekend with their dad, and we got to surprise them with the best news of all, their baby sister had arrived.
We named her Dove after our boy name pick Jonah, which means “dove,” and Josephine after her daddy’s middle name, Joseph. During the hardest moments of my pregnancy, “Josephine” became an anchor in my spirit. Joseph means “God brings increase,” and I held onto that truth every time fear whispered lies. This pregnancy didn’t follow my timeline, but it followed heaven’s. I told myself Dove will be our “ peaceful, increase.”
And now I see it so clearly: Dove’s birth was the fulfillment of every promise. Her arrival was not just a physical event, it was a holy, HEALING, and redemptive encounter with the faithfulness of God. And that Dream I told you about, it was true, Doves birth was by far my best, most postive birth experience and I give all the glory to YHWH for that.
🕊️🤍
Happy birthday my Beautiful Dovie Jo!!
"But unique is my beloved DOVE-
unrivaled in beauty, without equal, beyond compare, the perfect one, the favorite one. Others see your beauty and sing of your joy. Brides and queens chant your praise: "How blessed is she!"
Look at you now- arising as the dayspring of the dawn, fair as the shining moon, bright and brilliant as the sun in all its strength— astonishing to behold as a majestic army waving banners of victory."
Song of Songs 6:9-10
