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Click on the blog post {aka Show Notes} for any podcast below and the links are at the bottom! Enjoy!

Birth Story: Madison Mackley's Unmedicated, Birth Center Birth

Madison shares how her birth goals changed over time and a red flag that caused her to change service providers for the better. Madison also discusses the moment she found the perfect birth center for her and what led her to that decision. Madison shares the preparation she did regularly for an empowered birth. She shares the spiritual side of her birth story and how she surrendered her body after a long and exhausting labor. Her story is beautiful and inspiring...and even full of some challenges, especially postpartum, so take a listen! I hope you enjoy this week's episode!

Show Notes:

[1:16] Reviewer of the week, SydneyAdairG, shares that she is 22 weeks pregnant and has been listening to the podcast "Every Step of the Way" since she found out she was pregnant. The podcast has helped her feel informed and in control of the process. She says she's also enrolled in the birth course and cannot wait to dig deeper into...

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Almost Didn't Make It - Kayla's Unmedicated Birth Story

Kayla and her husband, Grant, share about what mattered most when preparing for their first birth and how they are getting ready to meet this baby! Kayla openly shares about her struggle with and ultimate decision to become a mother. Her and Grant discuss the open communication that was so crucial for them prior to and during pregnancy. Kayla also discusses her concern with the changes having a child would make to her body, especially considering she is in the fitness industry. This is a must-listen because I know many, many women struggle with these same things and I love how she was able to work through each of these challenges. 

Her birth story is incredible as well! She talks about how all of her prep left her unconvinced that she was even in labor come birthing time AND how she arrived at the hospital just in time to birth her baby, unmedicated, and exactly how she had planned for. I hope you absolutely enjoy listening to this week's birth story episode!

**PLUS, Kayla is...

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First Baby, Birthing with Midwives: Taylor’s Birth Story

1:27 - Today's guest is Taylor, a new mom, and student of My Essential Birth.

2:15 - Taylor shares that this is the first baby in her family. She loved being pregnant, although the first trimester symptoms were rough but later got better.

4:15 - Signs like persistent tiredness, and delay in her monthly flow made Taylor suspect that she was pregnant, and she took a test to confirm it.

6:11 - During her pregnancy, Taylor had a very strong craving for watermelons. She also had to struggle with significant discomfort in her legs especially at night. Her chiropractor helped with this but the symptoms completely disappeared after delivery. 99% of the solutions to pregnancy-related symptoms are to just have your baby.

8:36 - While having some doubts when she initially found out she was pregnant, Taylor highlights that she got a lot of encouragement from her husband to go ahead. She had started seeing a doctor for the first 20 weeks and observed the Doctors often did not spend the time to get...

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Anne's Birth Story: Experiencing All the Firsts

I can't wait for you to listen to this inspiring birth story with Anne, a My Essential Birth Course mama, who takes us through her journey from conception, pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum. It is a perfect story about what it's really like to walk through everything pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for the very first time. Her and her husband did an excellent job preparing and supporting each other. I hope you will find something special and learn tons, for both you and your partner as you listen. Enjoy!!

Show Notes

3:24 Anne tells us a little bit about herself and her husband, a bit of their history and what conception was like for them. 

5:10 Anne gives us some inside on what pregnancy was like for her. She talks about the different feelings she experienced every trimester and the changes she felt along the way. I also ask Anne about her provider experience, how she found her provider and what solidified her choice. We continue of conversation about her provider and...

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Speedy Delivery: Erica’s Birth Story

On this weeks podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting with one of the members of the My Essential Birth Course, and talking about her most recent birth experience. Erica is a mother of three, and due to previous births that were less than she had hoped for, she decided to explore a different option for her third pregnancy. She talks about her provider experience - what needed to change for this birth, course experience - what worked well, and her partner's experience - how he was not only able to step up and support her but also how he was so proud of her afterwards. We also talked about many other important aspects of pregnancy and birth. You're in for a treat with this beautiful birth story!

Show Notes

3:18 - Erica introduces herself. She gives us a bit of background about who she is, where she’s from, and her family dynamics. She further talks about how she discovered MEB and her not-so-favorite experiences prior to joining the course.

8:58 Erica talks about the signs of...

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Birth Story: Triumph Over Adversity

This is another extra special episode because I am here with my sister. If you have been following along for a while you know I said I hoped to have her on the podcast one day and I’m really excited for all of you to listen in to her story. It is one of strength, courage, and resilience. She talks about her many obstacles and wins throughout her pregnancy, different ways in which she advocated for herself, and how at the end she was able to make an informed decision for herself and her baby. She is one of the most powerful women I have ever met, an incredible mother, and I can't wait for you to hear her pregnancy and birth story.

Show Notes

4:43 - Amanda shares a little about her struggle in becoming pregnant in the first place. She talks about her journey with multiple care providers and Endometriosis.

7:39 - I share an excellent resource for Endometriosis, as well as some information about what to look for, how you know if you have it, and differences between surgical...

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Unmedicated Birth Stories: One Induction with Preeclampsia & One Textbook with Eryn Stucki

Birth stories are a window into the powerful work we do as women to get our babies earthside and Eryn's story is no exception. She was a student of mine when she was preparing for her very first birth. Her and her husband worked hard together to prepare for this task of birth ahead of them and when they came back to share their story, after they had their sweet baby, I was amazed at the details of the birth as well as how her and her husband handled it. There is so much strength that comes from listening to other strong women walk through one of the most trying and rewarding things we are blessed to be able to do in this life.

Stick with this episode until the end because not only does she tell a story of her first birth, which while challenging, ultimately led her to the career path she has today, but she also tells of the drastic and beautiful difference between her first and second birth. I hope you will listen, learn, and love this episode.

Show Notes

5:00 - Eryn tells us where...

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First Babies vs All the Others

 
Motherhood feels new and exciting with each baby you welcome into your family. There's always a bit of a learning curve as the family makes room for a new member. As we were reflecting on our own experiences (Steph has 3 kids & Cort has 4) we realized that many of the things we worried about (our bought- haha!) with our first baby were very different from what we did for baby #2, 3, 4, etc. How many of the things below can you relate to? 
 
1. We noticed we had (or wanted) SO many more gadgets with our first baby. Can you relate? Everything from a bottle warmer to a bottle drying rack, wipe warmers, the diaper Gene, and even those special baby towels and washcloths. 
 
We were joking that you may even own variations of the same product! Take the bassinet for example...there's a co-sleeper bassinet, a pack n play, a portable bassinet or Moses basket. So many options! BUT, what you come to realize with subsequent babies is that they...
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Student Success Story: Christy's Birth

 

In this episode, My Essential Birth mama, Christy, walks us through her birth experiences and what she did to make the third time a charm!  We absolutely love listening to birth stories and this one was no exception. We know you'll feel inspired by it too!
 
[1:27] Christy has 3 girls; 4, 2, and 2-month old baby
[2:13] Chrisy's first birth - She discusses the details of this birth, the challenges, and how preparation would have helped.
[3:01] Christy had her water broken, received an epidural and blood pressure meds because the epidural caused a drop in blood pressure. She was told she may need a cesarean birth for baby in distress and a stalled labor. She was put on Pitocin, pushed for 45 minutes, received an episiotomy, and lost a pint of blood. 
[8:22] Found a new doctor for her second birth who was more in line with her vision for birth.
[9:07] Stalled again, right around 7cm...just like with her first birth.
[9:29] Baby #2 was a...
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