I’m sitting here with Noah Sol looking at me like an angel on my lap + today I decided, it’s time to write his birth story! I’ve journaled 20+ pages on his birth story, but for some reason typing it up + sharing it with the world feels that much more “permanent.” It feels like I’m truly closing the chapter of this pregnancy + our home birth story, + I don’t know if I’m ready to do that! It truly was so incredibly special + I’m so grateful for everything.

All Things Pregnancy

Starting at week 5, I journaled every single Sunday throughout pregnancy. I highly recommend doing this! For me, pregnancy was such a rollercoaster + once it was over, I was like “wait, what exactly happened?” I’m so grateful I documented in the moment, + now I’m able to process everything from a more holistic lens.

Why I Chose A Home Birth:

Years ago [probably 5 years ago at this point!], I saw an instagram influencer had a birth in a blow up tub at her house + I was like oh my gosh this is the coolest thing ever — I want that. I found out it was called a “home birth.” I had never hear about home births up until that point. Then, a few year after, a friend of mine had a home birth + it even further confirmed my desire to have one. I personally get really anxious at hospitals — so giving birth in the comfort of my home felt glorious. I never questioned it.

I know a lot of people choose home births because of the natural route, individualized care, + incredible support of midwives. These are amazing benefits that I didn’t even realize until later. I literally just wanted a home birth because I wanted to have our baby at home in the water. California has abundant resources for home births [compared to Chicago, which only has one option that I know of], so when we found out I was pregnant — we knew that we’d eventually move to California to birth our baby.

All of this being said, we had a hospital back up plan in place + I was very open to however Noah wanted to come into the world. I truly went into labor [+ pregnancy for that matter] with no expectations, + I really think it helped me with just focusing on “the next right step.”

The Week Before My Due Date

I experienced no “signs of labor” [other than nesting lol] up until a week before my due date. I woke up that morning with a weird intuitive feeling like… “this might be the day.” I went to the bathroom + I had a little bit of loose stools. I knew that loose stools were a sign that labor could be close, so I immediately texted my midwife + let her know [see below lol].

I told Isaac + he started getting excited. We hadn’t done anything to prepare for our home birth — so we cleaned our house, went to the farmer’s market for flowers, wrote letters to each other, blew up the tub to see what room we wanted it in, + set up our birth room so that we’d be ready TONIGHT if it happened. The whole day we intuitively felt very strongly that contractions could start at any time. We went to bed, + I got up to go to the bathroom every hour wondering, “has it started yet?” [side note: I do not miss having to pee all. the. time. during pregnancy!]

… I woke up the next morning, + my loose stools were back to normal. The intuitive feeling of going into labor was gone.

Looking back, I think Noah was saying — “GET READY, I’M COMING SOON!” After that experience, we really savored each day even more, knowing that the last days of “just Elisabeth + Isaac” were upon us.

My Due Date [4/17]

My due date was 4/17… 9 months from our wedding anniversary + Easter Sunday. I had a feeling that labor was days away… that maybe I’d go into labor by the end of the week. Ever since the loose stools day, I experience zero labor signs. So many people told me — “you’ll know when you’re close to labor because you’ll start feeling signs: nauseous, loose stools, cramps, losing the mucus plug, fatigue, etc.” I truly felt nothing but amazing.

That day, we went to Easter Mass, had croissants at a bakery, went to the farmer’s market, I did a Melissa Wood Health workout while Isaac went on a hike… it was a perfect Sunday. It was interesting, because that Sunday I was journaling in the room we had set up to give birth in + said: “Everything finally feels done.”

Up until that point, we were still *doing things* to prepare for the birth. The day before Isaac spent all day cooking postpartum meals for me with recipes from the book The First Forty Days [highly recommend!]. I had spent every day the week leading up to my due date [starting the day we set up our birth room after the loose stools day] drinking red raspberry tea, eating dates, making our birth playlist, + preparing for how I wanted this room to feel. We had done everything on our “end of pregnancy bucket list”:

Go on a hike
Go to the beach + jump in the ocean
Get dressed up + go out to dinner
Have a picnic
Record our pregnancy journey

Finally, on my due date, I realized that I felt *ready.* However, I felt like he just wasn’t coming for a while because I felt so good physically + had zero labor signs. So I decided that I would start asking him: “What do you want me to do today, prior to your arrival?” I thought that there might be things that Noah wanted me to do, I just had to dig deep + try to communicate with him to understand what those things were.

Well… clearly there was nothing else he wanted me to do because my water broke THAT NIGHT. Yes, on my due date! I was shocked.

The People Who Were Present At Noah’s Birth

Before I get into all the juicy details lol, I want to thank all the people who were present at Noah’s birth. I seriously feel beyond blessed with our home birth team — every person felt very much divinely guided. I am so so grateful for each of them!

Midwife Team — Abby [@lamidwifeabby]. Abby was the midwife who I started working with as soon as I moved to California [February… 2 months out from birth]. I interviewed her in December + knew instantly that she was *the one.* THANK GOD she had an opening. I can’t wait to hopefully do a full 9 months with her one day, fingers crossed. I cannot say enough good things about Abby, + highly recommend her as a midwife if you live in LA. Her assistant Johanna [@birthwhisperer], who is also a midwife, was also present… + she truly is the “birth whisperer” — she’s been a part of 1900+ births, truly amazing. Johanna also prepared my placenta pills + I plan on doing a “closing of the bones” ceremony with her. They also had a midwife in training present, Emily, who was super sweet.

Doula — Amy [@amyowensyoga]. Unbelievably enough, Amy is a part of our yoga community in Chicago… she was actually Isaac’s yoga teacher trainer! I had been interviewing doulas in LA, but when my friend Bridgett told me that Amy was in LA for the winter, we reached out to her. It’s so crazy because Amy literally left to go home to Chicago two weeks after Noah was born. It was so special to have a piece of the Midwest + our yoga community with us throughout this process. Also, Isaac + I did a few prenatal yoga sessions with Amy which were the best.

Photographer — Zoe [@thealohamamatog]. I found Zoe on instagram… looking through a home birthhashtag maybe? I honestly don’t even know. As soon as I saw the instagram + all the YELLOW, I knew she had to be the photographer at our birth… even though she lived in the OC + even though she had another home birth around the same time as my due date. It all worked out! Aside from photographer [that were all absolutely incredible], Zoe was also my prayer warrior. More on that later.

My #1 Support — Isaac. Isaac was with me every step of the way… everyone reflected how it was so beautiful to watch him truly be an active participant throughout all of labor [as much as he could be!]. I don’t think he ever left my side.

*Something else that I wanted to mention was that I had a backup OBGYN [who is also absolutely incredible!]. It’s not necessary to have a backup OBGYN, but this is something I chose to have in case of a hospital transfer — I wanted to be familiar with whoever was delivering our baby! They are unfortunately still limiting people in the hospital in California, so it would have only been Isaac + our doula allowed in.

My Water Broke…

Isaac + I had just sat down for dinner on Easter. He made us a big steak + rice bowl… yes, steak lol. I’m still not sure if this was the best decision I made that night or the worst decision I made that night. Right when we sat down, I got up to the go to the bathroom. When I wiped, I noticed that there was a little bit of blood. I was like, okay that’s weird… but I didn’t think anything of it because it was such a small amount of blood. I sat back down to dinner.

2 minutes later, I was like… I think I have to go to the bathroom again? I got up, had a little bit of soft stools, but this time there was blood + mucus. Then I was like ohhhh I’m losing my mucus plug! I knew that the mucus plug could be lost as early as 37 weeks + it doesn’t necessarily mean labor is super close — it could still be days [or weeks] away… so again, I didn’t think much about it. I texted my midwife + doula to let them know that I thought I was probably losing my mucus plug. I sat back down to dinner.

1 minute later, I literally had to go the bathroom AGAIN. This time, it was moreso diarrhea. Then, all of a sudden, whoosh. A ton of liquid came out of my body, but it didn’t feel like it was pee. Did my water just break? On the toilet?

I immediately called our midwife — “I think my water just broke?! What do I do? I still don’t feel anything!”

She told me to put a pad on. If my water really did break, I would keep leaking. [Which it did!] Labor would most likely start in the next few hours, so try to get some rest.

After that call, I stress ate the steak + rice bowl. Even though in the back of my mind, I was like I probably should be eating chicken soup lol.

We called our doula. We called our parents. We said a prayer. We recorded a video for our “future selves.” It’s so funny because in the video I was like, “I think I’m feeling a little bit of back pain… I wonder if this is a contraction?” YES IT WAS. It was a preview of what was to come… literally back contractions the entire time.

Isaac went to Whole Foods to get coffee for the morning. I texted our friends… it’s happening, pray for us! We cleaned the house. I journaled. I wrote an instagram post about going into labor + showed it to Isaac who was like, please don’t post that. lol We took our final bump pics… + then we went to bed. Well, at least Isaac went to bed. I was up the entire night…

My Birth “Plan”

Before I share what went down, I want to share my birth “plan”. Like I mentioned above, I really didn’t have any expectations going into it. I knew contractions were going to be painful, but I also knew that they were typically only one minute long + that you always had a break in between contractions.

I had read that unmedicated labor was the “ultimate workout,” so I was actually kind of excited, wondering what is this going to feel like?! Ultimately though, my plan was to trust + be open to whatever comes. Of course I hoped to have a home birth, but if I had to go to the hospital for whatever reason, I would!

While I didn’t have much of a “plan” per se, I did have intentions —

Read our letters that Isaac + I we wrote to each other when labor “started.” I also wrote a letter to myself.
Listen to two birth playlists that I made — a “relax” playlist + a “push”playlist
Watch a video my mom made me once labor started
Journal throughout the process — I imagined during every contraction to “let go” of something that wasn’t serving me
Maybe I would FT people during labor? [lol]
Essential oils, visualize the color yellow, talk to my spirit guides, say affirmations, have hypnobirthing meditations available in case I wanted to listen to them
Be super present to whatever arises

I also thought my labor would be relatively fast — Noah was low, low, low for awhile + even our backup OBGYN said: “Isaac you better be prepared to catch the baby.” That, compounded with the fact that I had a forward facing placenta + hadn’t felt any Braxton Hicks contractions, made the OBGYN think I wasn’t going to feel contractions until I was much further along.

Is This A Contraction?

As I laid in bed, my mind went wild. I was still so shocked that my water broke. At first, I was just so curious… I enjoyed paying attention to the sensations. Soon enough, my back pain was starting to intensify + started getting uncomfortable. I kept wondering, is this a contraction? I had always heard that contractions would feel “wave like” + I thought I would feel a hardening in my stomach — so I was waiting for a sensation like that in my belly

I listened to a “Blissful Birth Meditation” to try to help myself fall asleep + get into a more relaxed headspace… did not work. I said Hail Mary’s + Our Father’s whenever I felt pain to try to distract myself. I took super deep breaths. I wondered how the heck Isaac was still sleeping while I was tossing + turning. I started timing the pain on the clock on my phone… it was always ~30–60 seconds, so I would look at the timer + countdown the seconds, praying for the pain to be gone soon. Somehow, I did end up falling asleep for like 2 hours [no idea how!].

When I got up, + the pain was still there, I finally realized — this is back labor.

That Morning [4/18]

I texted my midwife at 6am, sharing that my contractions don’t seem super consistent, but that they are definitely the “can’t talk just breath” contractions. I asked a bunch of questions — Should I keep resting? Should I move? Should I text my chiropractor or acupuncturist to come over to speed things up? Do I only have 24 hours to labor at home since my water broke before going to the hospital? Should I eat oatmeal or a smoothie?

She told me to keep resting, to eat oatmeal, + to download a contraction app [I used: Contraction Timer]. I had Isaac use the Hypervolt on my legs + hips when a back contraction came on, + that definitely helped distract from my pain. Isaac made me oatmeal, but I think I only took like two bites. At this point, I was timing my contractions + was in a lot of pain. Isaac called our doula, + we talked to her for a bit, + she listened to me go through a few contractions. She said that she’d come over whenever I wanted.

Isaac said — “I really think Amy [our doula] should come over.” I kept saying — no I’m not ready yet. In hindsight, I don’t know why I had so much resistance. I think I just felt like it was still very early on + I didn’t want her have to be at our house for a really long time. I’m not sure! Even though we told her she didn’t need to come yet, she said she was currently 90 minutes away with traffic… so she’s going to start making her way to our house right now.

I ended up texting my chiropractor + accupuncture to come over to help move labor along. I also saw A BUNCH of texts on my phone from friends + family asking how I was doing + if baby was here… lol… since I had texted everyone at 730pm the night before + everyone assumed the baby would arrive in the morning. Next time: *Tell people to NOT text me [or I just wont text anyone lol]. Thankfully I didn’t think too much about it because my mind was already super “in the zone” + singularly focused on one thing: get. this. baby. out.

Doula Arrives

Our doula Amy came over at 930am, + she could tell that I was already in it. I was still in bed [+ had no desire to get out of bed]. We turned on my “relax” playlist + I drink a bunch of electrolytes + coconut water. I ended up eating nothing the entire time I labored [just a honey stick] — I couldn’t even fathom food.

Basically, I would say “CONTRACTION” + Amy would do hip squeezes, Hypervolt, or electric stim [which I quickly realized I did not like]. Once the contraction was over, she’d massage me while I rested. Isaac always had his hands on me, too. That’s what I loved best — hands on pressure — to help with pain management.

My chiropractor was on her way over… but my pain was picking up so much that I couldn’t even think about getting out of bed. Isaac told her unfortunately not to come anymore. Isaac was also in communication with our photographer… who I also said I didn’t want to come anymore… I was just in so much pain + I didn’t want anything documented.

Eventually, after laboring in bed for hours, our doula encouraged Isaac + I to take a shower together. She thought the water would be soothing + hopefully help ease my contractions a bit. She set up the birth ball in the shower + put our speaker in the bathroom… turning the music up. During contractions, Isaac would give me hip squeezes + I just did a lot of low moaning. The moments in the shower were very intimate + I remember just thinking… wow, we’re doing this.

For some reason the birth ball wasn’t comfortable at all for me — I know a lot of people love it during labor, but I think because Noah was so low, it felt excruciating when I was on it… so we got out of the shower relatively fast, even though the water did help calm down my contractions.

Back to bed we went… lol.

“The Zone” + Contractions Explained

The thing I was probably most curious about with labor was wondering: What does a contraction feel like?

First of all — “labor amnesia” truly is a thing. I remember that contractions were the worst pain in my entire life — but I can’t quite remember the feeling. The best way to describe it, for me, was like period cramps on steroids… but only in my lower back/sacrum.

A contraction would come on STRONG + I would feel so much pressure + tightening in my lower back/sacrum. I would stop whatever I was doing, brace myself, close my eyes, + breathe/moan until the painful sensation was over. I remember feeling a dull ache in my back even during the “rest” periods. At one point I remember telling my doula, “I don’t feel like I’m getting a break.”

Looking back, I can only smile thinking about my “birth intentions” — there was absolutly nothing I could do during all of labor other than focus on getting through every contraction. Everything that I thought I would *care* about — I didn’t. I could care less what music was playing, I didn’t want to read our letters, I had zero thoughts on journaling, I didn’t even want our photographer to come!

When I say I was “in the zone” — I was truly in a different realm. There were a few moments when my mind would notice something in the room + I wanted to speak up, but I didn’t have the energy to say or do anything other than breathe. I could not get words out of my mouth. All I could do was follow instructions… I was willing to try any position to help progress labor. My entire being was laser focused, desperately wanting to get. this. baby. out.

An unmedicated birth is no freaking joke. Was it hard? Absolutely. Is it possible? 100%.

Midwifes + Photographer Arrives

Isaac sent this video to our midwife, Abby — immediately, Abby responded: “I’m going to start heading in your direction.” Prior to that, our doula had me get out of bed + walk up/down the stairs… which made my contractions turn on even stronger. Isaac had also texted our photographer Zoe to come over [even though I told him I didn’t want her to come anymore because I didn’t want anything documented — I was in so much pain + didn’t think I would want to remember it]… + when he told me she was here he said, “I think you’re going to regret it if we don’t let her inside. You have always wanted this birth documented.” Finally, I just said okay.

Zoe, + the midwifery team [Abby, Johanna, + Emily] all walked in together around 2:30pm. The next couple hours of laboring are a bit of a blur. They checked vitals. They noticed that Noah was still super low as he’s always been, but there was something a bit off about his positioning + it wasn’t optimal.

I remember being on my sheepskin + just feeling so exhausted. I heard someone say, “Elisabeth, can I pray for you?” I said YES. A beautiful prayer was said out loud. After the prayer, Isaac said, Thank you Zoe. Immediately, my mind was like THANK GOD Isaac did not listen to me + instead, told her to come to our house. Multiple times throughout the next few hours I asked Zoe to pray out loud for me + it was some of my most favorite memories from the birth.

My Lowest Point

I did cat/cows to help with positioning. I did the stairs again. I honestly could not handle anymore hip squeezes… my hips felt so sore + bruised from being pushed on every couple minutes for hours upon hours. Johanna asked — “Do you want me check to see how far dilated you are?” I said YES.

I had felt such an intense pressure for so long, surely I was close? However, both my doula + photographer highly encouraged me not to get checked. They were worried about my reaction if I was only 3cm dilated, for example. Would I want to go to a hospital? They didn’t want to risk it. I listened to them.

A lot of people have asked me if there was a point in labor that I wanted to go to the hospital. There never was. I didn’t even have a hospital bag packed. However, my lowest point was that moment when we decided not to check my dilation. I remember asking Abby what laboring position would help me progress + she told me to listen to my intuition. BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MY INTUITION IS SAYING?! I don’t remember if I said that out loud or if I just screamed it in my mind. I was extremely exhausted, + she could tell.

My midwife looked at me + said: “You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” I’m pretty sure I just nodded my head. She told to get back into bed with Isaac + rest — I would need energy to push, whenever that time came. Back to bed we went…

“I Think I’m Ready To Push”

I went to bed to labor with Isaac. The midwives did a few pressure points on my lower back + massaged my neck, which I remember feeling so good. Then, sometime later our doula + photographer came into the room to help me. I had six hands on me, putting pressure in different areas + just holding me. Isaac asked me if he could read the cards that we wrote to each other, which he did. It was a sweet gesture, but I was just not in a coherent headspace to absorb the words.

After laboring with excruciating pain for an hour or so… [side note: from 930am until 530pm my contraction pain felt the exact same: absolutely terrible], I remembered a “push position” that my friend who gave birth 5 weeks early told me about. I wondered what would happen if I got into that position + told people that I was ready to push. There was nothing that had changed physically for me, however mentally I was DONE. I was so exhausted + just wanted to move forward. How would they respond if I said I was ready to push?

The midwives came into the room, + I said: “I think I’m ready to push.” Abby told me to get on the toilet, stick my finger up my vagina + tell me if I could feel his head… + if so, show me on my finger how far up his head was. I did that + I said… I think 1 inch? She checked to confirm + immediately said: BLOW UP THE TUB! + then looked at me + was like, “Okay you can start pushing!”

… yes, on the toilet.

They put a garbage bag underneath me to “catch the baby” in case he came out before the tub was blown up. Here we go!

Time To Push!

It wasn’t too long after pushing on the toilet that they decided to transfer me to the bed in our birth room. I remember Isaac saying, “I think I can see his head!” when I was pushing on the toilet… which is wild.

Isaac was so ecstatic: “We’re about to meet our son!” Looking back at the photos, you can see how happy he was in this moment. [Little did he know I would be pushing for quite some time lol.] Even though I could strongly feel Isaac’s love + support, what he was staying to me just wasn’t registering because I was in so much pain.

Getting In The Birth Tub

After about 10 minutes of pushing on the bed, our midwife Abby asked if we wanted to get into the birth tub. I said I didn’t care — whatever position would get him OUT is what I wanted to do. It seems so unlike me, but at that point I truly did not care about having a water birth [or anything sentimental about our birth room for that matter — even though I spent days, weeks leading up to this moment curating our birth room + setting the intention of having a water birth]. Thankfully Abby said, “If you’ve alway imagined yourself giving birth in the water, you should get in the tub.” I said okay.

Then, they turned to Isaac, “Okay Isaac, get your suit on + get in!” Neither of us realized he’d be in the tub with me, so we were shocked when they said that lol. [For the record — I am so glad he was in there with me!]

Literally, as soon as my body was in the water… my contractions went from a 100 to a 1.*

*I asked our midwife if most people have the same reaction that I did in water [basically, not feeling contractions anymore] + she said that while water absolutely reduces the pain of the contractions, she has not heard anyone describe it reducing that drastically [100 to a 1].

Water is sometimes referred to as “nature’s epidural” + OH MY GOSH, it truly was for me. When I got in the water, I remember thinking: “Do contractions completely stop now that I’m at the pushing stage?” [Which obviously that question does not make sense because I could certainly feel my contractions on the toilet + on the bed even though I was also “pushing”]. I was still absolutely exhausted, of course, but my body finally felt like it could relax… I even smiled… probably for the first time in 24 hours lol.

Before I started pushing in the tub, Isaac encouraged me to look everyone in the eyes + see the support all around me. This was one of the only times throughout labor that I opened my eyes. I met eyes with each of the 5 incredible women of my birth team… all mothers, silently thanking them.

95 Minutes Of Pushing + “Ring Of Fire”

Inhale through the nose, hold, push x 3… long exhale out the mouth

I remember being so curious about the “ring of fire” — I’ve heard people describe it as a burning or stinging sensation. To me, it felt like my vagina was being stretched open with Tiger Balm lol — there was definitely an element of heat to it. However, it was nothing in comparison to the back labor I had experienced for hours upon hours.

While pushing, I heard my birth team say out loud:

You got this mama
You’re so close
You’re doing great

All of these affirmations helped me SO much. They encouraged me to feel his head… he was right there! I opened my eyes + looked down… + oh my gosh, it looked like a hairy softball was coming out of my body. Still though, it wasn’t registering to me that I was going to meet our son VERY SOON.

I was still so exhausted, + giving every bit of energy I possibly had into pushing. Even though I kept hearing “you’re almost there” — it felt like I was crowning forever. I remember praying — “You can come now, Noah. I’m ready for you. I promise.” I was worried that he didn’t believe I was ready.

… but he knew I was ready… he was just waiting for the absolute perfect time…

Noah’s Arrival: 7:17pm on April 18

It had been almost exactly 24 hours since my water broke. After 95 minutes of pushing… with 15 minutes of crowning + 4 contractions with no forward progress, our midwife stepped in + supported my perineum to allow it to stretch a little bit more* As soon as she did that, in only one contraction —Noah immediately came out + it was THE SWEETEST RELIEF OF MY LIFE.

*Later, they told me that it looked like Noah’s head was putting so much pressure on my perineum that it looked like my perineum was going to “blow up” [aka have massive tear if they didn’t supported me]. I did not tear AT ALL, which I feel so so grateful for + truly believe it was because of my birthteam’s guidance + knowledge on how to best assist during the pushing stage.

On 7:17 [Isaac + I’s anniversary is 7/17], Noah came out to the song “Orange Sky” by Kevin Paris — the song that was played during our wedding ceremony by Kevin when we passed our sweetgrass rings around. A feet away from the birth tub, were our sweetgrass rings. It was beyond special. It was divine. Noah truly was the greatest wedding gift we could have ever imagined.

Our First Words

I instantly started crying, as did Isaac. It was so surreal — Noah was here! In my arms! His body was white, wet, limp, + he just reminded me of a little animal cocooned on my chest. Right away, he grabbed Isaac’s finger, which was the most precious thing ever.

Isaac’s first words to Noah: “There he is. Welcome. Welcome, buddy.”
My first words to Noah [after a lot of “aweeees”, crying, + sighs of relief]: “Noah” + “Bless you” [he sneezed lol]

Our midwife had me rub my hands up + down Noah’s spine, while Isaac massaged the bottom of his feet, + she said to Noah: “Tell us you’ve been born.”He whimpered a few times, + she said, “Come on, I need it better than that, buddy” + then finally, Noah was like WAHHH WAHHHH WAHHHHH. He let out his first cry to the world!

You can find @elisabethsinnott on Instagram!

Birth Story: Noah Sol by Elisabeth