Birth Story: Kate Elisabeth

Katherine (Kate) Elisabeth Woodfield

Born Wednesday, January 31st, 2024

5:58pm

7 pounds 14 ounces

20 inches long

Kate's Birth Story

Birth team

Midwives: Krista Miracle of Miracle Midwifery, Amanda Counter of Mountain Time Midwifery and Amanda Mauch of Chava Midwife
Doula and Photographer/Videographer: Carlie Didericksen of Simply Sacred Births

From left to right: Carlie, Amanda Counter (far back on floor), Amanda Mauch, and Krista

Tl;dr

Labor was simple and fast! Early labor started Wednesday morning at 8am until about 2pm, then things picked up. First, contractions were coming every 5-7 minutes, then around 3:30 every 4-5 minutes. Around 4:30, the midwives came and we setup the pool and she was born by 6pm. I pushed her out in two big pushes - it was so fast and wild! I never crowned. I had no tearing and she is very healthy (and the smallest of my babies!)

I absolutely love how the video(s) turned out. They capture the feel and events of her birth day perfectly. 

Longer version

I woke up Wednesday morning and went about the morning routine. Right as the boys were headed off to school, I had my first intense early labor contraction. This one felt different than my Braxton Hicks and I sat down to eat breakfast and told Braden about it wondering if it would be the day. Then they came pretty consistently every 20 minutes or so until 2pm.

In the weeks leading up to labor, I had a lot of Braxton hicks. I feel like this time around, I heard a lot about prodromal labor and I’ve never had that happen before, so I was weary of any kind of contractions meaning prodromal labor. Either way, In my last few births I’ve been in denial until just about the point when I start pushing 😆 Once again, I was definitely in denial. I had not had any other signs of labor (such as bloody show, loss of the mucus plug or loose stool).

Looking back, the first sign that I was in labor is that I did not want to put on clothes that morning 😂 I was getting ready around 9am and had only had a few intense contractions by that time, but I had no desire to wear clothes. I put on shorts and a short sleeve shirt that I had up over my belly most of the day. My skin feels more sensitive during the intensity of real contractions.

I started my work day as normal, although it was a light day as I had passed everything off by then. I was working on a few projects. My husband was gone taking care of some things so the house was quiet. I moved to my bedroom to be more comfortable and was sitting on my birth ball with my laptop on the bed. I would sway my hips on the ball and take some deep breaths to work through contractions as they came. They were not too intense but required some focus.

Around lunchtime I went outside for a walk. It was such a beautiful day! We joked with my midwives that it was the most summery sunny winter day. The sun was shining, the sky was a perfect blue, and snow was melting. On my walk, I jokingly walked the curbs thinking it might help if this was the real thing. I also had a few intense contractions that I had to stop and breathe through, but I was still wondering if this was it.

Around 2pm, things started to pick up. My contractions were a little longer, coming every 5-7 minutes or so. I still wasn’t timing them but I could definitely feel this shift. I had my last work meeting at 2:30 and had 4-5 contractions during it that I had to work through. Some I had to put my head down and breathe through. It was a 1:1 meeting and I told my colleague at the beginning what was going on and it was fun to share in the excitement together.

As that work meeting ended, Braden got home with the kids and I went downstairs to talk to him. I was still in denial. Braden first suggested we wait an hour and see what happens, but then he saw me work through a contraction and he knew this was real labor. He could tell I was on the brink of vocalizing. At this point, contractions were every 4-5 minutes. We called my birth team and agreed for everyone to get to our house within the next hour or so. In the meantime, I helped clean up the house and was still going about my normal day, occasionally stopping to work through a wave. 

At one point, I did hop in our tub for a bit, convinced that would tell me if labor was real or not. It felt like things slowed down while I was in there so I was still not convinced. I was watching Braden setup the pool, slightly worried this wasn’t the real deal. This is why I have to let Braden call the shots 😂 He was confident it was baby day. I turned on my music and let that help me relax and surrender. I had a protein shake and a banana to ensure my body had enough fuel. I also started drinking some coconut water and electrolytes. I chose to put on a disposable underwear at this point (love Rael organics brand!) because I was paranoid my water would break or I would lose some other liquid (that's birth for you 😆) on the carpet as I was laboring. So that brought me some simple peace of mind. 

 

Livvy took this picture on the right of me when I was laboring

My mom arrived first - she was so excited when she got the call! She sped all the way to our house from a work meeting in Davis County. She stayed with the kids downstairs while I labored in my bedroom.

Everyone else arrived by 4:30. I took some herbal tincture then (root cotton bark and labor enhancer). I’ve found this to be helpful in the past to help kick my body into active labor and organize more effective contractions. However, I think I was already on the right track and I would have had baby that night regardless. 

These are the two herbal tinctures I took

We were missing our previous midwife Rebecca who had been with us for our two previous births - she has since retired. I kept hearing her voice in my head through contractions “let them be big!” It felt all too fitting when my doula Carlie also said “let them be big” shortly after arriving. It brought it all full circle.

When my midwives arrived, they checked baby’s heartbeat and everything looked great. They felt for baby’s position and she was nice and low.

I worked through a number of contractions on hands and knees, leaning against the bed, swaying upright, constantly changing positions to find what was comfortable. 

At one point, Olivia came up to check on me. She asked if I was okay and I could not verbally respond but nodded my head. She left our room and proudly proclaimed “mom is okay!” We tried to prepare her for the sounds I would make but she was still a little unsure during the birth.

I had my husband fill up the birth pool as soon as everyone arrived - I held off as long as I could but needed the relief of the water. I asked him to make the water a little cooler because I was hot! We had the fan on and the window open. I was sweaty and working hard.

Once I was in the water, we felt for baby’s position again and found her head was slightly off center to the right, versus directly putting pressure on the cervix. I heard that and thought it would be a while. I also felt like contractions had slowed once I got in the pool. I even had Braden get me a second dose of the herbal tincture since I felt like my contractions were spreading out. My doula reminded me to enjoy the break and not stress about the timing.

My boys were coming in and out of the room but Ethan lingered the longest. He stayed close to us most of the birth, so excited to meet the baby and interested in what was happening.

My midwives later told me they were quietly talking together about what position I would need to be in to help baby align with the cervix. Before they could say anything to me, I was already shifting onto my left side instinctually, where gravity help her head shift towards the cervix. I also remember making small shifts in movement (like opening my legs wider) during contractions and my body would instinctually tell me yes or no based on how it felt. Our instincts are so powerful! I just listened to my body and let it do its thing as it guided baby downward. Little did I know, those small shifts made a huge difference and baby girl was close.

At one point, my midwives were sitting on our bed and it felt things were slowing down a bit. I had some small contractions but nothing too intense. They went to sit in the hall and things picked up almost immediately. I had a big contraction after that I had to really vocalize through. As mammals, we don’t typically like to be watched in labor - they knew this and it was clear I subconsciously preferred more privacy.

I had another large contraction and my midwives came back in. Things were shifting. My boys ran back upstairs too and they could sense baby girl was close.

Ethan's little face in these next photos...such cute and funny reactions while I was pushing 😭😍😂

I had another big contraction that seemed to last upwards of 2+ minutes. In that wave, baby moved down through my pelvis and her head was out. I could feel the fetal ejection reflex (FER) as my body involuntarily pushed her out. No crowning this time! Wow. It was fast and intense! I had a small break and then she came out completely in the next contraction. 5:58pm. My boys saw her birth. Livvy came in shortly after with my mom and sister. What an incredible experience! And yes, I did poop a little but hardly noticed in the moment. It was only an hour and a half of focused, active labor. One of the best parts of her labor is that we did not lose any sleep! We were well-rested from the night before and I labored during the day.

After she was born, she did have a little extra mucus in her lungs. Nothing to be concerned about. My midwives did give her a little oxygen as she was clearing it. They said it was because she had hardly any pushing time under the pressure of the pelvis, which can help to squeeze out some of the mucus in the lungs.

I held her for about 20 minutes until we clamped the cord and I handed her off to dad to warm up. 

The water was getting cold as the sun had set and the window was still open. I was still waiting for my placenta to come - it came within 15 minutes in previous births! My midwives did give me a few doses of some herbs (like Angelica) to help encourage the placenta. I stayed in for another 20 minutes or so, changing positions to encourage it to release but to no avail. I wasn’t worried though. I had an anterior placenta this time and it can be very different in how it releases. I finally agreed to stand up and make my way to the shower to rinse off. As expected, I felt the urge to push while walking so we stopped and squatted in the middle of my bathroom floor where the placenta came out on a chucks pad 😆 However, it was a little stuck behind my pelvic bone and a full bladder. With some gentle support from my midwife and rocking back and forth, we were able to get it unhooked. We were very careful to ensure none of it was retained. It was almost a full hour after birth that my placenta released. That wait felt so long! But it was chill and I was feeling good.

After my placenta finally released, I rinsed off in the shower and went back to my bed where I held baby and started to nurse. Then we did the newborn exam and weighed her, etc. She looked perfect! She is the smallest of my babies, just shy of 8 pounds. Ethan was exactly 8 pounds. My kids all took turns holding her in bed while my mom and in laws and sister came in to hang out. It was such a beautiful, dreamy family-centered birth. I was on such a birth high that night and had a hard time sleeping from all the adrenaline and oxytocin. It felt like a dream ✨

Everyone was so excited to meet her! My in-laws showed up when we were still in the birth pool and my sister arrived shortly after the birth and once I was cleaned up, everyone started to come in to meet her. It was so special. 

Ethan was in pure awe. So excited! The sweetest. 

I’m convinced baby Kate wanted her own birthday and her own month! We don’t have any other immediate family birthdays or anniversaries in January. I was 39+5 when she arrived. We were kind of hoping she would be born February 2nd to be birthday twins with my mom but she had other plans.

How did we decide her name? We gravitate to classic, timeless names. Katherine means “pure” in Greek. And Elisabeth means “God’s promise” in Hebrew. My full name is Elisabeth so of course she is also named after her mama ❤️ She has a pure and beautiful little soul.

She is the answer to a promise from God. When we found out we were pregnant, it was very clear that it was His timing and His plan. It was a series of very spiritual experiences to get her here. We were ready to be done, but God was patient and sent us many signs that she was waiting to join our family. In March 2023, I had a very cool experience where I was standing at my kitchen counter juicing and I saw a little girl twirling in a spotlight in the corner of my vision. Then Livvy ran to me from the other direction chanting “baby sister! baby sister!” A warmth tingled throughout my body and tears streamed down my face. I knew in that moment, without a doubt, this was God’s plan.

Even then, I still had my own plan and timing. But once I agreed, God took it from there. We were a little shocked when we found out we were pregnant since we were planning to wait a little longer. Statistically, we had less than a 3% chance of getting pregnant that month. But God made it happen.

 
We cannot believe she is ours! We feel so blessed and our hearts are so full. We cannot wait to see who she becomes and watch her grow. What an honor to be her parents.

On a birth high as we went to bed that night