Jenny and Tim endured a lengthy conception journey. After trying on their own for some time, they decided to fertility care. This led them to discover that Jenny had a couple of medical issues that required surgery. After recovering, Jenny and Tim decided to continue their journey and with time and the help of fertility treatments, they learned that they were successful and were pregnant! 

After the initial excitement wore off, some anxiety set in. The road to conceiving their baby was emotionally taxing. Jenny spent the first few months of her pregnancy worried about losing it. Once she entered the second trimester both her and Tim were able to relax and start growing a deeper connection to their baby. 

They spent the second half of their pregnancy preparing for labor, birth, and postpartum. They read all the books and prepared all the gear in advance. They ensured that they had a solid relationship with their care provider and they also hired a doula- Hi that’s me! ;) Most importantly, Jenny and Tim attended an awesome childbirth class. The instructor has decades of hands on experience and covers all of the options available to birthing people in a way that’s informative and empowering. 

November 25th was Jenny’s guess date and overall she was feeling good, a 41 week induction was scheduled just in case, her doctor stressed that they would determine the need then. This was just to hold space on the schedule keeping it an option. At 41 weeks Jenny had a non-stress test and everything checked out. Jenny had a thumbs up, she decided to hold off on the induction. 

It was right before bed at 41 weeks and 2 days when Jenny felt a small leak, she had been doing some pelvic tilts. They waited at home to wait for a solid contraction pattern to set in. Laboring at home was a big part of their plan, Jenny wanted to keep things as calm and peaceful as she could. They live close to their birthing hospital so they felt comfortable with that choice. 

Once they arrived in the middle of the night they continued laboring together. Jenny and her care team decided to keep things going with the addition of Pitocin.  Jenny found major relief on the birthing ball. She relied on holding Tim’s hand during contractions and visualizing meeting their daughter and looking into her eyes. They labored together until the early morning, Jenny was around 6-7cm when they decided to call me in for support. 

Jenny was incredibly focused through her contractions. She would breathe right through them and hold Tim’s hand as tight as she could. Tim was her rock, he was by her side the whole time. Jenny progressed the last 3-4 cm rather quickly. After feeling pressure with the contractions for a little while she noticed the intensity pick up even more. 

Jenny listened to her body and decided it was time to alert the nurse about these new physical changes. The rest of the medical team came in and prepared for Jenny to give birth to her baby. Jenny and Tim focused on each other during this stage. Jenny eased her body into pushing and slowly built up the power she put into them. It was a fairly short stage, Jenny and Tim were able to meet their baby with less than an hour of pushing. Baby Claire was born at 12:45pm on Thursday December 5th, 2019.

Jenny’s mom was the very first visitor, she was in town from Duluth and eagerly waiting to meet her newest grand baby. She arrived before the first hour of skin to skin was over, She was so excited to be there. The initial two hours postpartum were really smooth so the whole family was moved to the postpartum wing for the rest of their hospital stay. This is where they continued to rest and bond.