By Ashley Bullock

I was 41 weeks and 3 days… It was about 1 AM on Thursday, March 8th when I started to feel what I thought were real contractions. I woke my husband, Nick, to let him know, and he told me to try to get some sleep! If we learned anything in our birthing class, it was to get as much rest as you can before active labor, because you are about to run a marathon! Truer words have never been spoken, and more energy has never been needed.

I tried to go back to sleep, but it was a tough night of tossing and turning. I woke up around 6 AM and called my angel doula, Aubrey, to give her a heads up on how I was feeling.

As a first-time mom, I wasn’t sure what labor was supposed to feel like. I asked all my friends about the beginning of labor and honestly, everyone had a different experience. The answer I generally got was, “you’ll know when you start to go into labor”, and that’s true, I did finally know. My contractions felt like cramping in my lower abdomen and an intense hardening of my stomach like Braxton Hicks.

I continued laboring and resting until about 5 pm and that’s when my sweet friend Alicia, who is both a doula and massage therapist, arrived. Alicia gave me a massage and applied counter pressure during contractions. I labored this way for about an hour and a half. Once Alicia left, things got more intense, and I had to find other coping mechanisms. I leaned over my birthing ball and began really focused breathing. My doula, Aubrey, helped me breath through one contraction at a time. She told me when each contraction was at its peak and almost over. She breathed and moaned through every single contraction with me. She helped me keep a rhythm, and that was key as I hit each new level of intensity. My coping mechanisms were deep breaths in and out with a loud deep moan on the breath out, rocking back and forth from the waist, or hunched over a birthing ball.

As I focused on each contraction, not the one before or the one after, I was able to stay peaceful and unafraid. It was all Jesus. His peace reigned so strongly in my heart during my laboring hours. His grace overwhelmed me even in the most difficult parts of my labor and delivery. We kept the worship music going constantly, and that helped with my focus and relaxation as well. The verse I clung to in my heart was Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you.”

Nick was constantly giving me something to eat, and Aubrey was reminding me to drink water. Aubrey would gently stroke my back and remind me that the baby was moving down with each contraction. This helped me visualize our end goal! I headed to my tub at about midnight and labored there for a while. At about 1:30 AM, I finally asked Aubrey what my stats were. She said my contractions were about 3 1/2 minutes apart they were lasting for about 1 minute, and they had been that way for 1 hour. This made me really happy because I was pretty sure that this meant progress, and we were ready to go to the birthing center. We called Women’s Birth & Wellness Center and talked to the on-call midwife. She said they’d be ready for us when we got there!

The ride there was pretty tough. I’m so glad it was 2 o’clock in the morning; riding in a car during transition is not fun. It was nearly impossible to get comfortable in the back of my car. At one point, I looked at my doula and said “What? Was? That?” She informed me that my contractions were getting longer. Um yes, they were! I didn’t notice them stay that way through the duration of my labor, but a transition car ride is not so great.

When we got to WBWC, I had a couple of contractions walking in and had to stop each time and wait for them to pass. When I finally got inside I saw the sweet face of the rock star midwife, Rebeca. I had only met her a couple of times but was so happy to see her when I walked in that door.

She checked me but didn’t tell me my progress. I didn’t want to know my dilation for fear it wasn’t as far as I hoped. She told me I was doing a great job and to let me know when I felt like I needed to push. I was thinking… wow, I must be pretty far. I found out later that I was 8 cm at that first check! That was pretty great, but I’m glad I didn’t know my progress at the time because I still had about 6 hours ahead of me.

Aubrey and Rebeca put up a string of Christmas lights and turned off the overhead lights to keep things as serene as possible. I labored in the tub for a while. That helped the pain, but I wasn’t progressing the way that I needed to, so I got out and tried some different positions on the bed. My water had not broken and was being very stubborn. We literally tried every position to get my water to break. When my water bag finally broke, it was like a celebration!

As exciting as this was, I was still having trouble progressing to 10 centimeters. Baby Ellery wasn’t fully engaged either, so Rebeca was trying to help with that process. I’ll spare the details of this because it was painful and exhausting, but I finally got to 10 cm and had the urge to push. Yay, I thought! Let the pushing begin! Haha.

I thought this was going to be the short, easy part… No such thing. I pushed almost two hours, which was super intense and difficult. They gave me a tug-of-war rope to pull on while pushing, and that got me through. With each contraction I would pull as hard as I could on the rope while Nick held the other end. I was so exhausted I’m not sure I could’ve pushed hard enough without that extra momentum. At this point, I had been in active labor about 12 hours. I was so tired I was falling asleep in between contractions. I surely woke up though once a new contraction hit.

At one point toward the end, Rebeca asked if I wanted Nick or Aubrey to pray for me. I, of course, said YES! Nick prayed as I got ready for another contraction. The Lord had ordained that moment and put each person there especially for me. Aubrey, Rebeca, and the other sweet birthing attendants were so encouraging with each push. I never once felt afraid or like things were out of control. My team was so in the moment with me and cheering me on with each push. I finally delivered our sweet Ellery at 9:17 am on March 9th. She weighed 8 pounds, 10.5 ounces, and was 21 inches long. She was perfect!

I had prayed that her umbilical cord would not be wrapped around her neck, and when she came out they said her umbilical cord was really short. I also prayed for her skin to be clear and for her lungs to be working properly. She did not have jaundice, her skin was beautiful and her oxygen was 100%. I prayed for no lip or tongue ties and she had none. Come on, Jesus!

All these blessings were 100% the Lord’s provision and kindness toward us and Ellery. I have no doubt He was hearing every tiny request from me during pregnancy.

My labor and delivery truly was peaceful, wonderful, and perfect. My peace came from the Lord, and I was never fearful during the entire process. My husband and my doula were the biggest support to me, and my birth team at WBWC was incredible. Rebeca stayed over her shift to deliver Ellery and my nurse Jenn was the most gentle, kind person I could have asked to take me to the bathroom! Haha! It was the best! Praise the Lord for our sweet Ellery Ann Bullock!