It might seem contradictory to say that the birth of my son at Our Community Birth Center was simultaneously the most amazing and yet the most painful experience of my life – but anyone who has given birth will understand this. 
I’ve always known I wanted to give birth at a center. As the eldest of 10 kids, I grew up watching my mom give birth, mostly at home. Her experience delivering my youngest sibling at our local birth center in Bozeman was very peaceful and memorable. My husband and I agreed that for our first baby, a birth center was also a good compromise between the safety of a hospital, and the comfort of home. My conversation with AlexAnn sealed the deal for OCBC – she was so attentive, knowledgeable, and had such a calm energy that I immediately loved. We also got a personalized gift bag full of baby goodies at the end of our visit, which I thought was a sweet touch!
Pregnancy was mostly smooth, aside from 18 weeks of nausea at the beginning, and then losing my sister in a car accident when I was seven months along, which was incredibly hard. Through it all, AlexAnn and the birth center provided such attentive care, and I always felt better after every prenatal visit. I was also extremely impressed by the staff’s quality of care, especially in comparison with other medical experiences I’ve had. After every interaction with the birth center I’d tell my husband, “I’m SO glad we decided to give birth here!”
At 2:30 am on September 12th, I was awakened by my water breaking. I think by that point I was definitely done with the heartburn, fatigue, and discomfort of being pregnant, and so I was really ready to meet our son. My water continued to leak throughout the day, but still, no contractions. I knew that I had 24 hours from the time my water broke to go into active labor before they’d transfer me to the hospital, so I was eager to get things going. I still didn’t really know what to expect with active labor. Around 6 pm, I started feeling cramps that were undulating in waves pretty regularly.
Once we got to the birth center around 10 pm, I drank castor oil in a smoothie my husband made, and then immediately the contractions started washing over me in full force. “Oh, so THESE are contractions,” I remember thinking, and felt kind of silly that I thought the cramps from earlier were the “real” thing. The whole vibe of the birth center was perfect. It was quiet, dimly lit, and calm, and we had my playlist with all my favorite calming soundtracks going in the background. Lots of Lord of the Rings, of course.
I labored on all fours on the bed at first – it just felt the most natural and I wanted to encourage my baby – who was posterior – to get into a good position. Mostly I just wanted it to go quickly. The pain was horrible, hard to describe, and of course, kept ramping up as the hours went on. I caught my husband tearing up at one point and asked him if he was ok. He said it was hard to see me in so much pain. I was doing my best attempts at crushing his hand through every contraction, but he stayed solidly by my side for the full six hours. I even had him text the doula that I didn’t need her to come – I felt like the more intimate the experience the better. And my husband, AlexAnn and Victoria were providing all the support I needed.
I really turned inward mentally, and was counting seconds during the contractions. I didn’t want any distractions – no washcloths, ice, combs, or anything. I remember thinking at one point when I was laboring on my left side on the bed, “This is just like working out. One rep at a time. One, two, three…” and counted my breaths as if I was counting lifting reps. At one point I moved to the shower and labored leaning over the chair, while my husband sprayed hot water on my back. I had planned to labor the whole time in the tub, but when I was actually in it, I decided I just wanted it over as fast as possible, and didn’t want the tub to slow anything down. I labored on the toilet for a while. I think this really helped get the baby down, because as soon as I went back to the bed and Victoria pulled me over onto my side, my contractions changed drastically. AlexAnn checked, and I was so relieved to hear that I was fully dilated. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel!
I pushed in the tub (which felt so nice) for 45 minutes, and around 5 am, our perfect little son Caelus William Palmer arrived. The picture of me right afterwards sums it all up – I was so happy to be done, and so happy he was healthy and safe and HERE. The first thing I said was, “I did it!” 
I tell everyone who asks all about how amazing AlexAnn and Victoria were throughout this whole experience. My husband and I talk often about how they made both of us feel like we could do this big scary thing, and feel supported the entire time. Now I serve on the OCBC board, because I think the work they are doing in our community is incredible and I want to help them continue to be successful. The aftercare – I had to have one stitch, and the midwives came for 2 home visits – was also top-notch. I cannot say enough good things about my experience, even though it was physically the most painful 6 hours I have ever endured.
I have to say, I had been really nervous about giving birth unmedicated. From watching my mom labor without an epidural so many times, I knew how incredibly intense and painful the experience was going to be, and in the back of my mind I had a deep fear that I was going to give up and ask to be transferred to the hospital because of the pain. But I’m proud to say I didn’t! And this gave me a new strength and confidence in myself that I am going to carry for the rest of my life. 