Grace had her first child when she was 25, her goal was to go unmedicated with as little intervention as possible in a hospital. At 41w3d Grace went into labor on her own (24 hours before her scheduled induction). She showed up to the hospital with contractions coming every 2 minutes, lasting 2 minutes long and very intense. When she had her cervical check upon arrival, she was only dilated to 1cm. Thus began her long and hard 16 hour labor. The contractions never spaced out and her body dilated slowly. After 14 hours of labor, Grace felt the urge to push, and after two hours of pushing, the baby was discovered to be OP and there was a cervical lip that the baby’s head could not pass over. The Midwife performed an episiotomy and baby boy was born in the next push! Recovery was very hard and there was a lot that Grace had to work through mentally for that first year PP to come to terms with a lot of unmet expectations she had about how her birth would go.
Grace’s second pregnancy was almost identical to the first, no complications. She went into labor with the same intentions as the first, unmedicated with as little intervention as possible. At her 41 week appointment, Grace showed up to her Midwife’s office and she was 7cm dilated and told to go straight to the hospital! After the midwife manually broke her waters, the baby arrived 4 hours later in what Grace would describe as a “pain free birth”! Night and day difference to her first birth and so healing from the trauma of her first.
Grace Anderson Bio
Grace lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband, Brent and two children: Ryker age 3 and Maelyn 10 months. She works in the tech industry and also runs a wedding photography business on the side! She loves to cook, spend time with friends, and photography.You can connect with Grace via email at: aapril994@gmail.com or on Instagram: @grace_andrson
Resources
8 Sheep
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