Gina had two different births with her two boys and her postpartum experiences followed suit. With Owen, in 2020, the pandemic made for a lonely start, but she was so grateful for the support she received from her Doula, lactation consultant, and close family and friends. Owen was a healthy baby but was losing a lot of weight and it was determined that the cause was poor transfer and low supply. Triple feeding became a huge source of anxiety and sleep deprivation. Eventually they found their groove and had a beautiful nursing relationship but the low supply was a giant elephant in the room, constantly causing anxiety and stress.
Physical recovery was challenging after a long 4 hour pushing phase and at her six week appointment, It was determined that she had developed granulation tissue at her 2nd degree tear site. After having it removed, she had no more discomfort and was glad she followed through. Between the isolation of the pandemic, breastfeeding struggles, and a colicky baby, those first couple of months were a lot harder than she expected. She began to feel like herself again after sleep training and felt immensely better when she ended their breast feeding journey. Finally, she was able to focus on her sweet boy without having her supply hanging over her head.
When Gina became pregnant with her 2nd baby, she wanted to do things differently and signed up for hypnobirthing. She worked thorough a lot of her fears and anxieties around back labor and low supply and had a quick, easy, and peaceful birth. However, the day after Colin was born they realized he had broken his right collar bone. His discomfort impacted his ability to latch and Gina ended up almost exclusively pumping. After baby chiropractic care and time, Colin was able to latch again. She still had low supply but made more milk than she expected and did not let it steal any of her joy this time around. Being able to be social and enjoy her family and friends made a big difference in her mental health. Sure enough though, the whole family got Covid when Colin was 8 weeks old. He got the least sick out everyone and it was proof that even a little bit of breast milk can have huge benefits. Managing expectations, support from family and friends, and an easy physical recovery made this postpartum period so much easier than the last.
Gina McCleary Bio
Gina lives with her two sons, Owen (2 years old) and Colin (5 months), and her husband Chris. Chris is an engineer and Gina is a freelance surface designer and family portrait photographer. Their two dogs and two cats help make their home a happy and furry place. They love living on Cape Cod, where they are surrounded by local artists, salt water, antiques, great ice cream, family and friends. Connect with her on Facebook: Gina McCleary or Instagram: @GinaElizabethPhotography or @Mrs_McCleary
Monumental Beginnings Doula (Massachusetts and Rhode Island)
Mama Bloom Beyond Doula & Hypnobirthing (Cape Cod)
Ergobaby
This episode is sponsored by Ergobaby. Founded in 2003, Ergobaby has pioneered the gold standard for comfortable, ergonomic soft structured carriers. Their commitment to providing parents with the foundation to thrive has launched the company into creating a broad range of award-winning products that fit into families’ daily lives seamlessly, comfortably, and safely – where function and quality are not compromised. In 2020, they launched Everlove by Ergobaby, a first of its kind baby carrier buy back and resale program, a sustainability effort to support families and the planet. Check out Ergobaby’s Embrace in Soft Air Mesh that we discussed on the podcast!
Ashley shares two unmedicated birth stories. The first story of her son’s birth was drastically different from her daughter’s birth. Her son was born at a birth center after being in labor for over 26 hours (and pushing for two hours). Her daughter was born in the backseat of her car, after 15 hours of mild contractions and 5 hours of more intense contractions. She appreciates both of her experiences and is grateful to her husband, her main birthing partner in both births. She is also grateful for the Hypnobabies training that she and her husband completed in preparation for childbirth.
Ashley Boone Bio
Ashley is an excited full-time mommy of two. She lives in Orlando, FL with her husband, three year old son, and one year old daughter. She was a Personal Fitness Trainer and a Sales Engineer before she decided to dedicate all her time to her young children. She loves almost all forms of exercise, especially running and hot yoga. She wants to encourage every pregnant Momma to have faith and trust in your body’s abilities! Contact IG: a_marie_fit
Motif Medical
This episode was sponsored by Motif Medical. Motif designs insurance-eligible products for busy moms. With a focus on innovation and empowerment, Motif’s line of breast pumps and maternity compression garments are sophisticated, yet discreet, and made to support mothers as they navigate new motherhood. Discover why moms are reporting more milk in less time with the Luna breast pump, and see how you can get it covered through insurance at motifmedical.com/birthhour.
Being a queer couple, Katherine & Silas always knew they would need to seek a reproductive endocrinologist to help with pregnancy. They were surprised to find out Katherine also had a diagnosis of PCOS, which was found at their initial appointment. They were very fortunate and got pregnant on their second IUI cycle. Being a medical professional, Katherine had planned for a traditional hospital birth. Her midwife’s office was right down the hall from hers, and she would give birth at the same hospital where she was employed. Around 20 weeks gestation, Katherine started listening to the Birth Hour and became enthralled with the idea of a birth center birth. After watching the Business of Being Born with Silas, they were sold. Unfortunately, the closest birth center was two hours away. They met with homebirth midwives and felt an instant connection and completely switched their birth plan at 24 weeks. The pregnancy was unremarkable, some chest pain in the second trimester and a lot of swelling.
Katherine started to panic at 41 weeks gestation with no sign of labor in sight. Her midwives quelled her anxiety and assured her she would be just fine but being the worse-case scenario overthinking Virgo she is, she worried. The midwives recommended acupuncture with a specialist, some herbs, and to chill out. After stopping work and 41 weeks and two acupuncture rounds Katherine woke up to her bloody show in the early hours of Halloween! She labored at home for 26 hours on a spooky, windy Halloween night, and with only 15 minutes of pushing Arlo Abraham was born on 11/1/2019.
Katherine Oberwager Bio
Katherine is a Pediatric Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who lives in the Berkshires with her husband Silas, son Arlo, dog Chestnut and cat Clementine. She spends her free time hiking, baking, reading, watching trashy TV and chasing her little one. Katherine is passionate about perinatal & hormonal mental health, all things wellness, astrology and tarot. Connect with her on IG @keopeno.
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After dealing with infertility, Olivia and Isaac turned to embryo adoption to grow their family. Even still, they dealt with a miscarriage before becoming pregnant with their son. 35 weeks later, Olivia realized that her water had been broken for several days, so she and her husband headed to the hospital for an induction. The birth plan went out the window and after 43 hours of induction, their son came into their lives healthy and happy.
Olivia Hall Bio
Olivia is a former second grade teacher, married to her preacher husband Isaac. They live in a small town in Kentucky with their 10 month old son, Elias and cat baby, Lucy. Olivia and Isaac tried to conceive for about 3 years before deciding to go to the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, TN and pursue embryo adoption to grow their family. After a healthy pregnancy and beautiful baby boy, Olivia now has her dream job, being a stay at home mom. The three of them are homebodies and love spending time with family. Connect with her via email at oliviamcmillan314@gmail.com.
Today’s episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Pregnancy and new parenthood can be extremely stressful and many struggle with their mental health. Which is why we want you to Check out BetterHelp.combirthhour. BetterHelp will assess your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can Connect in a safe and private online environment and you can start within 48 hours of signing up!
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Wisdom Talk
Join Bryn for a Wisdom chat where she will share her birth stories and invite those on the call to ask questions or share your own stories. The Q&A will be on December 27 at 10am CT on the Wisdom app: https://joinwisdom.audio/thebirthhour
Melissa sometimes hears that she leads a charmed life, and the fact that her baby arrived on his due date was no surprise. She was fortunate to have what they call a “textbook pregnancy”, in which she was swimming and running until the day before the baby came. She had some minor contractions on the day before her due date – which her husband recognized as contractions before she did. She woke up to strong contractions at 2 am, and spent a few hours at home before heading to the hospital. Her doula Nicole met her there shortly, which was a good thing because Melissa was clinging to the side of the hospital bed and didn’t want to move until Nicole coaxed her away. Melissa was aiming to have an unmedicated birth experience if it was possible, and she was successful in that goal. Having her doula and her husband by her side were immensely helpful, as well as the support from the hospital’s nurses in achieving a natural birth.
After only 4.5 hours at the hospital, it was time for the baby to enter the world – though labor took an unexpected turn just as she started pushing. The baby’s heart was decelerating with each push, and the doctor thought it might be necessary to do an emergency C-section. Melissa was wheeled to the operating room, where she was greeted by bright lights, a cold sterile table, and eight clinicians in the room. There she was given one more opportunity to push, and push she did. With the help of six nurses cheering for her, she was able to deliver the baby in only a few minutes. (Melissa was very glad that she had trained for a half Ironman prior to birth).
After almost two days in the hospital, she and her husband decided to name their son Emerson. The next few days were the absolute highest that Melissa has ever been on life, as she was so thrilled to have Emerson join their family. With the help of physical therapy and gradual recovery, Melissa is back to her regular active lifestyle. Emerson is now 16 months old and continues to be her greatest joy.
Melissa Noel Bio
Melissa lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband Mark, her son Emerson, and goldendoodle named Griffey. She works at the Mayo Clinic where she partners with clinicians to bring innovative care models and new clinical services to life. Melissa holds degrees in bioengineering, mechanical engineering, and business administration from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of St. Thomas. She enjoys competing in triathlons, spending time outdoors with her family, and traveling the globe. She can be contacted on Instagram at @melissa.m.noel.
This episode was sponsored by Motif Medical. Motif designs insurance-eligible products for busy moms. With a focus on innovation and empowerment, Motif’s line of breast pumps and maternity compression garments are sophisticated, yet discreet, and made to support mothers as they navigate new motherhood. Discover why moms are reporting more milk in less time with the Luna breast pump, and see how you can get it covered through insurance at motifmedical.com/birthhour.
Sarit and Jakob lived in Geneva, Switzerland when they first started trying to have a baby. Sarit was diagnosed shortly thereafter with PCOS, so she learned to advocate for herself within the Swiss medical system. Almost a year later and with the help of letrozole, she was pregnant. Sarit then used her newfound skill of self-advocacy and the privilege of good health insurance to surround herself with kind, evidence-based providers for the birth of their son. This eventually translated into choosing a birth center in central Geneva close to the university hospital and hiring a doula. Sarit and Jakob also self-educated and prepared for the birth as much as possible, taking multiple courses including the Know Your Options birth course, and practicing coping techniques such as Hypnobabies hypnobirthing.
Their son’s birth, 48 hours from start to finish, was a powerfully positive experience and almost entirely painless. Elena Piantino, their doula, was instrumental support, preventing the need for a hospital transfer on two occasions. Though the labor itself was calm, Sarit and Jakob’s son August entered the world to the sound of Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine and Sarit roaring “ow, my asshole!”.
Almost two years later, Sarit and Jakob found out they were pregnant again. By this time, they had moved to Bonn, Germany, and the only birth center was booked out by the time Sarit was 7 weeks pregnant. Through a friend, they had the luck of hiring a midwife that could attend both hospital and home births. Though Jakob and Sarit planned a hospital birth, Sarit had a feeling it may be worthwhile to prepare for a home birth. This time, they mostly prepared by rewatching the Know Your Options videos and using them as dialogue prompts, and skimming The Birth Partner book. Sarit also meditated with Hypnobabies and Expectful meditations.
On the day they were meant to induce, Sarit woke up from a nap with a mild, painless contraction. Less than 4 hours later, a very surprised Jakob caught baby Aurelia, using what he remembered from their son’s birth. While waiting for the midwife to arrive, Jakob ran to the bookshelf for The Birth Partner and double checked the unassisted birth checklist. Luckily everyone was healthy and it was another positive and empowering birth.
Sarit Quirin Bio
Sarit lives in Bonn, Germany with her husband Jakob and children August and Aurelia. She feels lucky to have lived in New York City, Buenos Aires, Hamburg, and Geneva after growing up in the Northeast United States. Now she works in next-generation computing and in her free time joyfully makes spreadsheets about everything from social movements to Halloween parties to the birth of her children. She would love to connect via Instagram @saritish or via email at saritquirin (at) gmail.com.
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