49. MyMaine Birth: Maria’s 2 Holly No.7 Birth Center Stories
Today's birth story guest is Maria and she shares her two Holly No.7 Birth Center stories. She also shares about what it was like growing up as the best friend of Julie's daughter and witnessing midwifery in action and women giving birth in peaceful environments from a young age.
Welcome to MyMaine Birth, a space where we share the real life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine. From our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births, and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated. From the first feelings of pregnancy to the first cry of your newborn, we explore the journey of childbirth in all of it's beauty, intensity, and emotion. Whether you are a soon to be mom, a seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
As part of my commitment to capturing these incredible moments, I am proud to offer my birth photography services to families throughout Maine. As an experienced doula and photographer I am dedicated to capturing the beauty and emotion of this special moment in your life. And! I create a personalized and intimate photo album that you will treasure forever. For all of the information head over to https://www.mymainephoto.com
If you have been on the fence about hiring a birth photographer I want to encourage you to reach out to me, I currently have one opening left for this year, one spot for January, and I am booking into next year.
Thank you for tuning in, and I look forward to bringing you more amazing birth stories! See you back here again next week!
Maria: 0:00
So I stumbled upon Holly number seven. I came across their website and I brought it up to my husband, trey, and I was like you know, I want you to be really open-minded, but like let's just go meet with them, let's just see the place, let's just have a free consult, be open-minded. And we went and he was like I love it, he's like I just feel so comfortable here. And we saw on the birthing rooms and they were just immaculate. They were beautiful, very clean and, of course, talking with the midwives. They get to know you, you as a person. They get to know your desires, your wishes, what you and they're so respectful of everything. And so around 15 weeks we transitioned to Holly number seven for the rest of our care.
Angela: 0:49
I'm Angela and you're listening to my Maine Birth a space where we share the real life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine. From our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated, from the first feelings of pregnancy to the first cry of your newborn, we explore the journey of childbirth in all of its beauty, intensity and emotion. Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you. As part of my commitment to capturing these incredible moments, I'm proud to offer my birth photography services to families throughout Maine. As an experienced photographer, I'm dedicated to capturing the beauty and emotion of this special moment in your life, and I create a personalized and intimate photo album that you will treasure forever. For all of the information, head over to mymainphotocom and fill out the contact form to schedule a call with me. Now sit back, relax and join me as we dive into the world of childbirth in Maine and discover the joy, strength and love that is at the heart of every birth story.
Angela: 2:11
Today's birth story guest is Maria, and she shares all about her. Holly no 7 Birth Center birth Hi Maria. Welcome to my Maine Birth Hi. So to get started, will you share a little bit about you and your family?
Maria: 2:27
Yeah, so my husband and I my husband's name is Trey we have been together since we were 19. I'm 34 now, so I don't do the math, I don't even know, but I've known him for more than half my life and his family. So, yes, we have been together for I think it's 13 years this summer and we've been married for six this summer and we have a son. His name is Desmond, he is 14 months old, and then my dad also lives with us, so he moved in about two years ago, so he has his own little in-law suite and it's really, it's really great to have him around and have Desmond.
Angela: 3:04
And yeah, oh yeah, that's really special.
Maria: 3:08
It is, I feel, very lucky and it's just so sweet to see like their bond developed every day so yeah, oh.
Angela: 3:16
so now will you share a little bit about when you first found out you were pregnant and your thoughts on choosing your care?
Maria: 3:27
to find out you were pregnant and your thoughts on choosing your care. Yes, so prior to getting pregnant, my husband and I kind of were on the same page. Well, we were on the same page about, you know, if we had kids, amazing. If we didn't, that's amazing too. It wasn't something we were really trying for and I had always struggled with a regular cycle. It was pretty irregular. Struggled with a regular cycle, it was pretty irregular. My period was never consistent. I don't think I was ovulating.
Maria: 3:49
So three months prior to getting pregnant, I chose to take the Dutch test to kind of just see where my hormones were at, because I felt terrible and I knew having an irregular cycle wasn't normal and I just wanted to feel better. It wasn't necessarily to get pregnant, but it was just to feel healthy. So I took the Dutch test, I invested in a hormone practitioner coach and she read the results, gave me a protocol. I started tracking my cycle. I took my temperature every morning and so that's how I knew I was ovulating. So I'd ovulated for like two months. I was feeling great, was following the protocol, and then I took my temperature and it stayed spiked. So after, like you, ovulate, your body makes the progesterone, which is like a metabolism speeder upper, and so your temperature kind of stays spiked until you have your period or you're either pregnant. And so, having gone through that journeyiked until you have your period, or you're either pregnant. And so, having gone through that journey, I knew like immediately I'm like, oh my gosh, my period should have came. My temperature still spiked, I'm pregnant. I took the test and I immediately my husband was working like right down the road at the time and I immediately went over and I was just shocked like crying, shaking, like I didn't know how, I didn't know what to do because it wasn't something we were actively trying for. But, of course, like once it all settled in, like we were so excited, so that's how I knew I was pregnant.
Maria: 5:18
And then, initially, starting out with my care, I had gone to my gynecologist that I had been seeing, and so we did not have health insurance, and so we went there, we did all the lab work with them and we just kind of felt like almost like just another number, just not really it wasn't very personal, the waiting room was so sterile and it just I just didn't love it, and so I started like browsing around trying to figure out other options that were around Bangor. We live right outside Bangor so I stumbled upon Holly number seven. I came across their website and I brought it up to my husband, trey, and I was like you know, I want you to be really open-minded, but like let's just go meet with them, let's just see the place, let's just have a free consult. Be open-minded. We went and he was like I love it, he's like I just feel so comfortable here.
Maria: 6:14
And we saw on the birthing rooms and they were just immaculate. They were beautiful, very clean and, of course, talking with the midwives, like they get to know you, you as a person, they get to know your desires, your wishes, what you, and they're so respectful of everything. And so around 15 weeks we transitioned to Holly number seven for the rest of our care.
Angela: 6:38
Yeah, it really does make such a big difference to have that personalized care.
Maria: 6:43
It does, it really does. And mainly we met with Chris, who I believe is like one of the owners, the co-owner, along with Julie. They're the two main midwives there, but there were a couple of like intern midwives as well and they were just phenomenal, like everybody, and it's nice because you have a chance to meet with all of them. But mainly we met with Chris a lot. Chris and Grace were the two midwives that we were super familiar with.
Angela: 7:09
Oh yeah, grace is with Sakapeed midwives now, yeah.
Maria: 7:12
Yes, I think I may have been. No, she had finished up her I don't know what you call it her placement, her internship or whatever um prior to being at my birth, but um, she still made it, just because she had been with me like the whole time. So that was like just that meant a lot for her to be there.
Angela: 7:31
Wow, that's incredible support. Yes, now let's get into when your labor started, unless there's anything else you want to share about your pregnancy.
Maria: 7:41
No, no, my pregnancy went so smoothly. Yeah, it was great. I was 41 and five days pregnant and, of course, if you're at an OBGYN, they induce when you're 40 weeks. And so, talking with the midwives, I was like what's the plan, Like if I go beyond 40 weeks, and they're? They were like you're going to have the baby. She was like you know, nobody ever goes past 42 weeks, like it's incredibly rare that you would go past 42 weeks and I was like, ok, ok, like I trust you, you know.
Maria: 8:16
So I didn't do anything special, I just tried to be patient, tried to stay busy, to not just think about when this baby was going to come. But I remember sitting on the couch and feeling something. I was like, oh my gosh, like I just felt like a little something. And so I went to the bathroom and I had lost some of my mucus plug and I was like, oh my gosh, right, like this is like a sign that like a labor is so close, and had a couple of contractions, nothing intense, but like I knew they weren't like Braxton Hicks and then the next day we went to bed, whatever. The next day woke up, um, contractions again a little closer together, and then they kind of just stopped like mid afternoon and so went to bed. And then the next day contractions were like pretty consistent throughout the day. We go to bed, woke up at 1230. And I was like, oh boy, this is these, these are, these are getting intense.
Maria: 9:14
So labored at home for a little bit longer and then called Anna the midwife and I just explained to her like how I was feeling, how close the contractions were. I was timing them. They were about like four minutes, five minutes apart. So they were like, okay, yeah, head over, and we're only, I think, 10 minutes from Holly number seven. So I'm super thankful that we were so close. I drove over there, they checked me. I was about four centimeters dilated and they suggested like you can stay here or you could go home and come back and we're just going to stay. Because this is our first baby, we're like I don't know, like we're just going to stay.
Maria: 9:48
So I remember we were able to go to sleep till 3.30 and that's when things really kicked in. I remember waking up at 3.30 and just wanted to get in the shower. I feel like my entire labor I was either in the tub or in the shower, like that's just where I felt the best, the most comfortable, and like when you're in labor, it's just a time warp, like I remember being in the tub and having a really intense contraction working through it and then like closing my eyes for probably just a minute, but it felt like I napped for two hours, like I just I just fell asleep and then the next contraction came and I was in the tub. Oh my goodness. So things really kicked in at three, 30, I think. Active labor followed shortly after and then I ended up laboring for 14 hours.
Maria: 10:41
Um, I was pushing for two and I remember I was in the tub and the midwives were like we need to get you out of the tub, we really need to get things progressing here. The midwives were like we need to get you out of the tub, we really need to get things progressing here. And I was so reluctant to because I just felt so good in that tub Right and, um, they had me straddle the toilet and that was the most intense sensation I ever. I actually I puked, um, I remember throwing up. It just was so intense and I was like I cannot stay in this position any longer. I need to move. And so, of course they respected that and I switched positions.
Maria: 11:21
I got onto the bed and then to help the baby, help Desmond, kind of come down a little bit further in the pelvis, they had me and there's a name for this. I think I actually heard it on one of your podcasts. A mom was talking about it and was like, oh my gosh, I did that. That's what that's called. Where they have you stay in one position, you have a certain amount of contractions in that position. One was almost like a downward dog, and then I was on my side with the peanut ball and those were also very, very intense.
Maria: 11:50
And then from there they checked me again and I was about nine centimeters and then I had a few more contractions, tried a bunch of different positions the birth stool I didn't love that. I ended up on all fours and that's where I started pushing and so I pushed there and then I would go to the bed and then I would go back to the floor. I kind of went back and forth pushing there and then eventually I had Desmond on my back, which wasn't like something I really wanted to do. I had read that. You know, that kind of prevents the tailbone from really opening up, but that, just that, just felt the best in the moment. So it's so funny how like you can envision these things and how you want your birth to go, but like in the moment it doesn't feel good. So, yeah, I ended up having Desmond on my back and he came out great. He was eight pounds, two ounces, 21 and a quarter long, so a bigger baby not huge by any means and it was such an amazing experience and just the instant like relief of them being here and it being over is just inexplainable.
Maria: 12:55
And just having Trey there was amazing. I mean, he was so supportive throughout doing anything he possibly could, you know, help me through it. Remember he kept draining the tub and filling it back up with warm water so it stayed warm and didn't get too cold. And just a washcloth, a cold washcloth. And the other thing I remember during labor I was constantly like incredibly hot so I had my portable fan and then I got so cold and I did not want it. So it was like back and forth with that and yeah, it just was trying to just work through it. Remember my breathing, trying to stay calm.
Maria: 13:32
And I remember also there was a point where I was in the shower and I remember turning to Grace and being like I can't do this, like I can't, like I don't know if I can do this anymore.
Maria: 13:44
And then I remembered like transition, like that's like when you're like all of these like thoughts that you are incapable, and I was like, okay, no, this is transition and I can do this. Like that's like when you're like all of these like thoughts that you are incapable, and I was like, okay, no, this is transition, I can do this. And she's like exactly Like you can do this. And I think, honestly, the biggest thing that helped me work through like the unmedicated birth was just listening and watching other births, like on YouTube and podcasts, and just learning, like physiologically, what your body is going through and the stages of it all. It just made it a lot less scary. Just trying to listen to all of these different birth stories, because they're all so different and, just like I said, understanding, like physiologically, what is going on inside your body was really, really beneficial.
Angela: 14:33
Yeah, how was your postpartum time?
Maria: 14:37
Postpartum was. It was pretty, pretty good. I did have a slight tear, it was just first degree, so Desmond's head came out fine, but he had his arm like up by his face and I think that's what. That's what you know the midwife said had given me the tear, so that was a little uncomfortable, I mean, you know. So healing from that, but overall it was amazing.
Maria: 15:00
So the one thing that I love about working with Holly number seven was that the postpartum period, the first 24 hours they come to you and then they do I think it's two or three day follow-up they come to you and then, I think, the third follow-up, you do go see them. Like I couldn't imagine, like peeling and trying to get dressed and get my baby ready, and go out the next 24 hours like, or even three days later, even a week later, like it's just that's that's a lot to ask of a new mom, I feel. And so the fact that they come to you was amazing and I just I was in bed, like they didn't want me out of bed. They were like stay in bed, like they. They were just so good. I just I'm so thankful for them and that experience and the opportunity to to have worked with them and I am currently pregnant with baby number two and I plan on, you know, seeing Holly number seven again for this pregnancy. I have my 12 week appointment tomorrow. So yes, it's just, they're lovely.
Angela: 16:14
Oh, that's so exciting. So if you were to explore a little bit about what your dream birth would look like this next time, how would that go? For you would look like this next time?
Maria: 16:24
how would that go for you? I truly love my birth story with Desmond. It was like the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was just so empowering and so amazing to see my body just do its thing. And so, if anything, if my second birth could go as smoothly as it did with Desmond, I'd be happy. I don't know about going to almost 42 weeks that part I think I would hope for a little bit sooner, not necessarily even like 40 weeks, just maybe 41 weeks, you know. So, maybe not caring as late.
Maria: 16:55
The other thing I do want to try to do this time around is labor at home longer. I think that that's something else that I would. I would really try to do and especially now, knowing the difference between, like, early labor and active labor, knowing that I think I would try to to labor at home a little bit longer. Not that I was uncomfortable at Holly number seven is just, I don't know, almost like a little bit of guilt, like, oh, I brought them here and it's like not quite go time, like I could have labored at home a little bit longer. So I think, yeah, laboring at home a little bit longer. Everything else I loved, I loved it all. It was hard, it was crazy, it was wild, but it was amazing and I would do it all. I am going to do it all over again.
Angela: 17:39
Oh yeah, that's so fun to think about your dream birth and to really manifest that. That's so fun to think about your dream birth and to really manifest that. Yes, so if you were to share advice for anyone who is also expecting, what would be maybe some general things that you would say?
Maria: 17:55
I would say explore all of your options, follow your intuition. Wherever you're most comfortable, go, go with that option. If you know financially you can and all of all of those other things to consider. And honestly, maybe not necessarily reading all the baby books, because I didn't read anything, but I watched a ton of YouTube videos. I watched hospital births, I watched home births, I watched birth center births, I read blogs, followed a couple of really credible resources on Instagram to learn about, like the physiology of birth.
Maria: 18:30
Another thing that I found beneficial was spinning babies, even though, like I didn't need to do any of the exercises or strategies in order to like spin a breeched baby, but they do go over, like the physiological things of of your body during birth.
Maria: 18:46
So I think, just honestly, learning what's going on in your body, understanding the different stages of labor, knowing, like, your options during birth and being able to self advocate for yourself, or having, like a partner who is really strongly going to advocate for you, cause during labor, I mean, you're, you're not really with it, you know you're in your own own head space.
Maria: 19:12
So having someone there that is going to advocate for you if you do have certain wishes is important, for example, like the right after giving birth, like we did, skin to skin immediately. We didn't cut the cord for almost an hour, they didn't rush to weigh him, like we were given that time and I mean you can have those, those wishes in a hospital as well. You know it's just knowing that you can. So just learning as much as you can about your options, your body, and then just watching a lot of and listening you know your podcast is great. It watching a lot of and listening you know your podcast is great. It's exposing so many women to like different birth stories and different outcomes and ways to give birth, I think is so important.
Angela: 19:55
Yeah, I totally agree. Being educated about your choices really is so important. Yes, well, thank you so much, maria, for sharing your story today.
Maria: 20:08
Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure.
Angela: 20:12
And that's the end of another episode of the my Main Birth podcast. Thank you for joining me and listening. I hope that the stories shared here have been inspiring and informative to all of my listeners. If you're looking to capture your own birth story, I highly recommend considering my birth photography services. I'm a professional photographer and I'm very passionate about capturing the raw and emotional moments of the birthing process, and I designed a personalized and intimate photo album, creating a beautiful and lasting memory of one of the most special moments of your life. For more information, head over to MyMainPhotocom and schedule a call with me. Thanks again for tuning in and I look forward to bringing you more amazing birth stories. Don't forget to subscribe and leave me a review, and I'll see you back here again next week.