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Unmedicated Birth Center Birth Story and Home Birth Story
With her first son, Nolan, Stephanie went four days past her due date and had an 18 hour labor (6 hours pushing). Afterwards, Stephanie realized how much fear she had tucked away, and that it caused her to resist and nearly stop her contractions while in the pushing phase. For her next birth, Stephanie knew that she couldn’t push for 6 hours, physically, and that she probably wouldn’t be allowed to either. She did research and decided to practice an at home study course with Hypnobabies. She also completed her DONA birth doula training one day before her second son, Remi, was born. Thankfully she had learned a technique to keep her baby in because he came fast and furious (two pushes), being born approximately five minutes after her midwives arrived. The speedy labor and birth was a complete shock. The possibility of having a baby before 40 weeks had never crossed her mind, but (surprise!) Remi was born at 36 weeks 3 days.
Postpartum Experience Baby with Congenital Heart Defect
Stephanie’s second postpartum experience was a stark contrast to her first. Exactly two short weeks after Remi’s birth, it was discovered that he was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) called Critical Pulmonary Stenosis. Thankfully Remi’s doctor followed up closely on his heart murmur, checking on him for three days in a row. The murmur was not improving or worsening but she suggested that Remi be taken to Seattle Children’s Clinic to have an echocardiogram. Remi had shown no other obvious signs that he wasn’t a perfectly healthy baby until the moment they walked into the clinic. “Right place at the right time” is an understatement. Shortly after the echocardiogram began, Remi’s saturation levels (oxygen was not circulating well throughout his body) dropped and he was transferred quickly to Seattle Children’s Hospital where he received a life-saving procedure that kept him here, healthy, and with his family. Stephanie is thankful every day that Remi’s birth was exactly where and what they needed to have two weeks to bond, co-sleep, spend days and nights skin-to-skin and establish breastfeeding. After that two weeks they spent the next nine days, including Christmas, at Seattle Children’s Hospital, going home a day before the new year. The experience, as awful and traumatic as it was, went absolutely perfectly and thanks to Seattle Children’s Hospital, Remi’s first birthday (and many more to come) was celebrated on December 6th.
Stephanie Hoverson Bio
Stephanie is a full time mom to two sweet boys, Nolan, who is three months away from turning four, and Remi, who just turned one year old. When she isn’t running six different directions after her two boys (three if you include her husband) she can be found deepening her yoga practice, studying and learning about pregnancy, birth and postpartum and adventuring outdoors with her family in the beautiful pacific northwest. She lives in Snohomish, Washington. Connect with her on Instagram, @the.double.mama.
Resources
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