11/12/2025
Each birth unfolds in its own way — beautiful, raw, and chaotic all at once. It’s been an absolute honor to support you through this sacred journey. Below, Taylor shares her powerful home birth story.🤍✨
Taylor’s Home Birth Story
2 hr 51 min labor 🤯
I was 41 weeks exactly when baby girl made her appearance. Friday morning, I woke up around 4:00 a.m. with cramping. (I was in labor, but I’d had so much false labor that I was sure that’s all it was.) I just went back to bed.
At 4:30 a.m., I was waking up every 5–7 minutes, so I decided to stay up. I took a shower to help me relax and see if they would go away — I even had Eric get ready for work. In the shower, they started coming every 3–4 minutes and were more uncomfortable, but I still wasn’t convinced.
I told Eric I’d make myself some breakfast, and if they didn’t go away, I’d call. Well… I didn’t even get started on breakfast before they became more painful — about 2–3 minutes apart — so I called at 5:20 a.m. I still wasn’t entirely sure it was labor (silly me, right?). I felt unsure because my water still hadn’t broken. My midwife was sending everyone my way regardless, since they knew how fast I gave birth to my son.
My husband started preparing everything, and my mom came to take my son to my grandpa’s before heading back to help Eric finish setting up. I tried to go fix my hair and look halfway decent — and then it hit. I called my midwife back at 5:30 a.m., certain I was in labor. Contractions were 1–2 minutes apart and very painful (transition labor).
My first midwife, Emma, arrived at 6:20 a.m. When she got there, I wanted to get checked since my water still hadn’t broken. On the way to the bed, another contraction came and POP — my water broke (around 6:36 a.m.). I said forget the cervical check and just wanted to get in the pool.
Lainey, my nurse, arrived just as I was getting in the pool at 6:39 a.m. Almost immediately after getting in, I had the uncontrollable urge to push. Eric was ready to catch the baby, and my mom stayed holding my hand. I pushed her head out, and Emma quickly noticed her shoulder was stuck. She acted fast, having me try a couple of maneuvers, but the water in the pool wasn’t quite high enough, so it was time to get out.
I was definitely panicking by this point — baby’s head was out, but I was still in so much pain and unable to get the rest of her out. As I climbed out of the pool, my other midwife, Jess, came through the door and rolled up her sleeves. When I climbed out, my pelvis opened just right, and baby came right out into Jess’s arms at 6:51 a.m. ❤️ She cried immediately and was perfect in every way.
After I got out of the water, Mom went to grab Gregory so he could see her right away. He got to help with everything after that — measuring, weighing, listening to her heartbeat, and even learning all about the placenta. I can’t get over how grateful I am that my birth team made him feel so important and involved. I hope you all know it meant the absolute world to him. 🥹💙
The birth did not go how we planned it…
She came a week late, it was a confusing start to labor, my water didn’t break until 15 minutes before she was born, Eric couldn’t catch her, it was much more painful and taxing than my first birth, we experienced some shoulder dystocia, and I was not able to stay calm during the delivery…
But it was still beautiful. It was our raw, beautiful, and chaotic birth — the story of our stubborn second-born. ❤️
It happened at home, where we were meant to be, where things were calm and peaceful — and I wouldn’t change any of it. Because here I am, at midnight, laying next to this sweet ball of beauty, listening to her quick breaths, tiny grunts, and sleepy giggles… and I’m right where I want to be — somewhere between pure bliss and absolute peace. ❤️🥹
