To listen to this episode, and hundreds more birth stories in The Birth Hour archives, join our listener supporter Patreon here!
Ashley’s labor started late on the evening on May 3rd 2018. She was unable to fall asleep that night after what she thought was an upset belly and turned out to be the beginning of her laboring journey.
For hours in the early morning of May 4th, Ashley tossed and turned, unable to sleep thinking she was just having an upset stomach. She contacted her midwife when she realized labor was in fact beginning. She woke her husband Tobin, and even though they began the day excited and together, their togetherness didn’t last as Tobin became severely ill. The midwife arrived shortly after and although Ashley’s labor continued to progress, Tobin continued to feel so ill that he wasn’t able to offer the physical support they had both expected he’d be able to.
After laboring in the bed, in the tub, walking around, their son Jasper finally arrived in a rush on the living room floor on the evening of May 4th. Ashley was euphoric after the birth of her son and nearly immediately after giving birth said, “I’d do that again tomorrow,” to be sure that everyone knew exactly how much she enjoyed the process. Looking back, Ashley describes her birth as a pain free, enjoyable, rich experience.
Ashley Renwick Bio
Ashley grew up in southern New Hampshire. Her first career was as a circus performer, until she had an injury. It was while recovering from that injury that she started taking yoga classes and she fell in love with yoga immediately. Six months later she got her yoga teachers certificate. After teaching yoga for a few years, Ashley bought and ran her own yoga studio in Massachusetts until she became pregnant in 2017 and subsequently sold her business to be able to spend more time with her family.
Ashley met her husband, Tobin, in elementary school, although they didn’t begin dating until they were in their early twenties. Like Ashley, Tobin also became a traveling circus performer, a job that has taken him and Ashley all over the world.
Ashley, Tobin, and Jasper have moved back to New Hampshire where Ashley is a stay at home mother, teaches the occasional yoga class, and runs an informative podcast about Waldorf education, Waldorfy.
Resources
- The Business of Being Born
- Awakening Fertility
- The First Forty Days
- Orgasmic Birth
- Birth from Within
- Spiritual Midwifery
- Expecting Better
- Crib Sheet
- Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering
- Your Self Confident Baby
- Brain Rules for Baby
Crane
This episode is sponsored by Crane Humidifiers. Crane’s colorful humidifiers are a nursery necessity to help relieve your baby’s tiny congested nose, which can make feeding and sleeping a struggle for both baby and mom. A happy baby is a healthy baby. Crane is generously offering $10 OFF and free shipping on all of their full-priced, 1 gallon, adorable animal shaped humidifiers and drop humidifiers with the code BIRTH20 at www.crane-usa.com.
The Birth Hour Supporters
Become a Listener Supporter via Patreon and get access to bonus content, archived episodes, and an exclusive Facebook group!