Ep 214: Jade’s Birth Story – 9 Months of Nausea, 2 Minutes of Pushing

Dr. Nicole (00:00): This is a lovely birth story episode of an Unmedicated Hospital birth. Welcome to the All About Pregnancy and birth podcast. I'm Dr. Nicole Calloway, Rankins, a board certified OBGYN, who's been in practice for nearly 15 years. I've had the privilege of helping over 1000 babies into this world, and I'm here to help you be calm, confident, and empowered to have a beautiful pregnancy in birth. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Check out the full disclaimer at drnicolerankins.com/disclaimer. Now, let's get to it.

(00:50): Hello there. Welcome to another episode of the podcast. This is episode number 214. Whether you are a new listener or a returning listener, I am so glad that you're spending some of your time with me today. In today's episode of the podcast, we have Jade. Jade lives in Richmond, Virginia. Right here where I live with her husband, Shawn. They have two daughters, Corey and Savannah. We're going to hear about Savannah's birth story today. Jade works for a nonprofit focusing on school readiness, and her husband is a high school teacher. Yes, I love it. I have a soft spot for teachers. I have lots of educators in my family. Jade is a busy and active mom. She spends a lot of time with extracurricular activities for her older daughter, but in her spare time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants with her close girlfriends, yes to new restaurants and good food.

(01:41): Now, wanting a different experience from her first birth. Jade chose to be seen by midwives for her second pregnancy, and she also found a doula and an effort to create a more positive environment surrounding her labor and birth experience. However, when she experienced an extremely challenging pregnancy, it made her question if she was really ready for an unmedicated birth. She had nine months of nausea. She had severe pelvic and groin pain that often left her immobile actually, and because of anemia, she had awful cravings for chalk and hand sanitizer. Yes, that is a real thing, is something called pica. And then on top of that, she didn't have great support from her doula. It got to be non-existent towards the end of her pregnancy. Well, despite all of those challenging challenges during her pregnancy, Jade ended up having a very short labor and a baby almost being born in the car.

(02:46): Has she not trusted her body? You're going to hear about all of that today. Her story really conveys how a challenging pregnancy does not automatically mean that you will experience a labor and birth. And she also wanted to be sure that people understood that even if you have support to guide you, which is super duper important, then you really must trust your instincts and listen to your body. You are going to hear how that really served Jade well for her to have that great birth experience for her baby girl, Savannah. All right. Now, before we get into the episode, let me say a quick word about podcast sponsors. You'll hear sponsored ads in episodes of the podcast, and I wanted to share that having sponsors really helps me to continue to bring this podcast to you for completely free. That is something that I will always, always, always want to do.

(03:48): And not only does it do that, but it's actually an opportunity to learn about great products and get some great deals too, because you see, I am very, very particular about who sponsors the podcast and who I accept as podcast sponsors. I don't accept everyone, actually, I get lots of requests for sponsorship, and I don't accept any sponsors that I don't believe will be valuable to you. So check out the podcast sponsors, check out their website, check out the things that they have to offer, because I think we can find some great things there for you. Okay. With that being said, let us go ahead and jump into this birth story episode with Jade. Thank you so much, Jade, for agreeing to come onto the podcast. I am really excited to hear your story today.

Jade (04:41): Thank you for having me. I'm excited to share.

Dr. Nicole (04:44): Yeah. So why don't you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your family?

Jade (04:47): Yep. So I'm 30. I live in Chesterfield with my husband and our two girls. I work in finance for a nonprofit here in Richmond, and my husband is a high school teacher. He teaches special ed. Oh,

Dr. Nicole (05:01): Yeah. Love it. Love it. I have a soft spot for teachers, my mom, and both my sisters and education and my younger sisters. And special was a special education teacher. He's an assistant principal now, so I don't know how teachers do it, so no. Yeah, he comes home from

Jade (05:16): Work and he's just exhausted because we have two young ones and he's like, oh, I have to do it all over again. So it's like, stop for him.

Dr. Nicole (05:22): Exactly. Exactly. And small world, we are in the same area.

Jade (05:26): Okay. Yes. We are right off of that midpoint from Chesterfield going into Midlothian, so near May middle school.

Dr. Nicole (05:35): Okay. Well, I guess in the same area so much as Richmond. I'm more in Henrico County. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So why don't we start off, in order to understand what people's births are like, we got to understand what the pregnancy was like, and yours sounds like it was a bit of a challenge. So what we're going to hear. So what was your pregnancy and prenatal care?

Jade (05:55): Yes, challenging pregnancy, which I found very odd because this was a planned pregnancy. I went to my then just to make sure everything was looking well for me to us to try. I was working out, I was eating healthy, so I'm like, yes, I'm prepared. I'm ready.

Dr. Nicole (06:14): Okay. So even before you got pregnant, you went and said, I want to make sure I'm in good shape. I'm in good health, everything to be ready. They

Jade (06:22): Had me start my prenatals. They had me tracking ovulation. Right. I had a calendar, but as soon as I got pregnant, it was like my body did the complete opposite. It was almost as if I wasn't prepared. I was sick the entire pregnancy. I had to be placed on nausea medication, so I hope I'm pronouncing this right. But, so it didn't help as much, and they switched me over to Z Zofran, which worked wonders. It was almost like a miracle drug for my nausea, but I had the side effects, which landed me in the hospital.

Dr. Nicole (06:58): Okay. So what kind of side effects did you have?

Jade (07:01): I had severe constipation to the point where I could not move. I couldn't use the bathroom for about a week, and it was causing me a lot of cramping, especially within my thigh area. And I don't know if it was pressing on the nerve, but I was on the floor, couldn't get up, had to call my mother-in-law to assist me. My husband had to come take me to the hospital, and unfortunately, it resulted in receiving enema. But I mean, I had no type of relief. And when I followed back up with my midwife, they was like, unfortunately, that is a side effect of Zofran. So I had to completely stop the Zofran, and then bam, nausea comes back. Oh,

Dr. Nicole (07:43): Stop. All day, every day. So you were in the hospital because of constipation? Yes. Yeah. And the enema, did it not help at all?

Jade (07:53): It took a while. Okay. I was in the hospital for about five hours trying to get relief. I couldn't even explain that pain if I wanted to. I've never experienced anything like that before. I mean, it was very,

Dr. Nicole (08:11): Yeah, t m, I guess I had constipation after having a surgery once when I got my tubes taken out. So to get, so I won't have any more children, and I cannot, expl, constipation is awful. Yes. It is really, really bad. And you just, it is just a terrible feeling. So I can commiserate with you in that regard.

Jade (08:41): So in addition to the nausea, constipation also had a lot of pelvic pain. It left me, I wasn't able to get out of bed. I wasn't able to walk. I would get a shooting pain, and my midwife actually recommended that I start seeing a chiropractor, which was amazing. I went to a chiropractor that specialized in working with pregnant women, prenatal, post postpartum. They also with children, and I received those adjustments every week until I gave birth.

Dr. Nicole (09:15): Okay. And that just didn't work. Miracles.

Jade (09:18): It did. I was able to stand up straight. I wasn't leaning over. I wasn't constantly lifting up my belly to receive relief. So it was great. And I do commend that. The doctor that I saw, because I give her all the props for me going into labor as quickly as I did, I was like, you have to help me have a spilled labor. And my Savannah was, she was breaching. She did the baby mapping to help assist with turning the baby and getting her in a good position. So it was great. I really had great care leading up until it was time for me to deliver, so.

Dr. Nicole (09:56): Right. And this is your second pregnancy. Did you have these problems with your first No.

Jade (10:05): My first pregnancy was so easy. I still had the nausea, but as far as the challenges, there weren't, there weren't any, I just kind of waddled around until it was

Dr. Nicole (10:14): Gotcha. Gotcha. And how much difference in between the two is

Jade (10:19): There? So they're seven years.

Dr. Nicole (10:22): Okay. Okay. But yeah, that's not crazy long. I mean, it's a good amount of time, but still. And do you feel like you're in different health compared to the different pregnancies?

Jade (10:32): Well, with my first, I wasn't really big on working out or eating healthy. It was definitely unplanned. It was kind of when, oh, I'm pregnant now, we're just going to enjoy the ride. Whereas now I've reached the age where I want to consider my health a little bit more. I'm working out. So I really thought it was going to be easier. Everybody told me, you know, work out, it'll be a smooth delivery. You eat healthy. Right. It'll result in having a smooth birth. And my birth was horrible. Okay. The pregnancy was horrible. I don't want to say the birth,

Dr. Nicole (11:06): The pregnancy. Gotcha. The

Jade (11:07): Journey was horrible. I was ready for,

Dr. Nicole (11:09): Okay. Okay. Okay. And you said you saw midwives, what, you said you started with an OB, and then did you switch to midwives? What happened there?

Jade (11:21): Yes. So with my first pregnancy, I thought I found a great OB. I thought I enjoyed the care, but they had a tendency to make me feel as what was occurring was my fault. So I was very small. When I got pregnant, I was about maybe a hundred pounds. So when I got pregnant, I didn't gain that much weight. And towards the end of my pregnancy, they were stating that the baby was measuring small. I wasn't gaining enough weight. I need to eat more. I'm my baby at risk. And it was just kind of like you are, and there wasn't really many solutions. Gotcha. I had to go to an anatomy ultrasound every week, and the feedback was very inconsistent. I had one tech tell me, well, you're small, so of course your baby's going to measure small. I don't expect you to have a large baby. And then I go back the following weekend, oh, we're going to induce you. You have to have this baby. You're not gaining weight. You're risking having a C-section by keeping her in. So I was induced with my first born,

Dr. Nicole (12:27): And

Jade (12:28): I didn't want to go through that again. I wanted to feel very much supported and listened to and explain to me what was going on with my body if, because I wasn't understanding what was being told to me.

Dr. Nicole (12:39): Sure.

Jade (12:41): So I did a lot of research. This pregnancy. I searched for a lot of OB's, and I came across midwives because I wanted to have a natural birth. That was one of the key aspects of my pregnancy. Natural birth, natural birth. And originally, I wanted to go with an at home, but my family was kind of adamant

Dr. Nicole (13:02): And a little

Jade (13:03): Nervous. So I was trying to figure out how can I have a birth my way, but still be in a safe environment. Sure. Bcu midwives offered that to me, and their stress was amazing.

Dr. Nicole (13:14): Okay. Okay. So you felt like you had great care

Jade (13:16): With them? Yes. I explained to them what happened in my previous journey, and they was like, oh, no, we're not going to focus on your weight. We're going to focus on you and making sure that you're okay and that your family's okay. They really incorporated my spouse and my daughter. They asked him how he was doing, how he was handling the pregnancy. They asked my daughter, are you excited? They allowed her to participate, put the gel on my belly, use the Doppler to listen. So it was very family engaging, which Nice. I really liked. We're very close. So I liked the fact that they included

Dr. Nicole (13:48): Sure.

Jade (13:49): My spouse and my daughter Sure. Listened to me. I mean, the appointments went from, I'm in and out to about an hour long.

Dr. Nicole (13:56): Okay. Just getting to know you and your family, and really looking at you as a whole person

Jade (14:04): And making sure that I was comfortable before leaving the office, and that I didn't have any questions, that they didn't answer, and that I was comfortable with what was happening, what was going to happen, and if I needed any support outside of them, that they could provide references if needed.

Dr. Nicole (14:22): Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Now, one of the things you also mentioned, tell me about these cravings that you had.

Jade (14:30): Oh my goodness. So I had low iron, and I was craving chalk, cleaning supplies, dust. I mean, I was gouging my hands and sanitizer and sniffing it every five minutes to the point my husband had hide sanitizer bottles. Right. Cause I mean, it just smelled so wonderful. And I'm drooling over chalk, and I was even looking up edible chalk. I found that there was a thing as edible chalk for pregnant women. I

Dr. Nicole (15:05): Did not know that.

Jade (15:07): I never had that craving before. So when I brought it up to my midwife, they was like, let's check your iron. And my iron was extremely low, very low. And they had me take iron supplements, blood builders, I believe it was, and it helped a little bit. Those cravings didn't go away, but they weren't as high as they were in the beginning. I mean, I actually tried a piece of my daughter's chalk one day. Right. I mean, it just horrible. But it was

Dr. Nicole (15:37): No, yeah. It's this weird thing called pica, where if you have low iron and you just, it's like your body's craving strange things to try and find iron. Some people eat dirt. Actually,

Jade (15:50): Yeah, I was work clean. I was like, does your destiny need to be clean? Just so I could touch Lysol wipes and then smell, just have the smell around.

Dr. Nicole (15:59): It would just make you feel better, or you just,

Jade (16:03): For me, I was smelling. It was like,

Dr. Nicole (16:05): Okay.

Jade (16:06): Okay. Yeah, I was embarrassed by it, but I couldn't control it either. I didn't try the chemicals. I kind of stopped myself at the

Dr. Nicole (16:16): Sure. Oh goodness. Okay. So you were with midwives and you felt like things were great. You unfortunately had nausea. Did you have vomiting also, or just nausea?

Jade (16:32): Yes. Yes. I lived at my, and lived in my bathroom, nausea and vomiting. But luckily I was able to listen to my body. So I was never in a position where it just came. I was always ready and prepared. Got it. I just figured out the cues and went to the bathroom when I felt it was time, so,

Dr. Nicole (16:52): Got it. Got it. And you said that persisted your whole pregnancy? My

Jade (16:56): Entire pregnancy.

Dr. Nicole (16:57): Okay. And you did not have it that bad your first pregnancy?

Jade (17:01): No, no. I had it in the beginning and towards the middle, but I believe, I want to say maybe the last four to three months, it settled down and I was able to eat again and go out and enjoy the last few months of the pregnancy,

Dr. Nicole (17:18): And then the terrible pelvic pain. And when did you start seeing the chiropractor?

Jade (17:26): I believe I only went to her the last two months of my pregnancy. So it was very much towards the end, I started experiencing and more as I got farther along. So around seven months, that's when I stopped working out, because I couldn't stand a lot for long periods of time, and it wasn't safe. Cause I did a lot of strength training, and that's when I brought it to my midwives attention. They suggested the chiropractor.

Dr. Nicole (17:51): Got it, got it, got it. Okay. So all of those things going on, how did that make you feel about, because you said you definitely wanted to have an unmedicated or natural birth.

Jade (18:02): I started second guessing myself and whether or not this was even possible for me to have an unmedicated birth, I was becoming nervous. I'm like, I'm experiencing all this discomfort and this pain. How is a natural birth going to work? So that's when I spoke with my husband. I was like, well, I've been doing a lot of reading, looking at a lot of videos, and that's when I decided to find a doula to assist

Dr. Nicole (18:29): Me. Ok. Okay. Yeah. So what was that process like finding a doula?

Jade (18:35): Yeah. So I did it off of a lot of recommendations. There was one doula in particular that I knew individuals that had worked with her in the past. She had great reviews. I also had made a posting on Facebook, and she responded to it. And that's kind of how that interaction started. We had a little meet and greet over Zoom with my husband, and we just went over what I was currently dealing with, what I was working for, and where she could assist me. And within that service, she also had classes that we could attend once a month, more so open discussion. So there was other mothers there. Also planning to have a natural birth. So of our questions kind of intertwined, and it was also another way to feel supported. Oh, another mom has a similar concerns or questions that I have. Sure. And that process was great up until it wasn't.

Dr. Nicole (19:34): Oh, what happened?

Jade (19:36): So towards the final month, want to say, I had maybe a month left, and the communication just started to cut back a bit, and the visits started getting canceled. So we had a visit that was supposed to be hands-on where my husband could help me with pressure points. My mom was also in attendance so she could assist if my husband needed to step out. And the day that she was supposed to come, we were waiting and she didn't show. I contacted her and she indicated that I should have sent out an email to reschedule an email that I didn't receive. So we rescheduled, and then that turned into, well, you don't really need me there to show you how to do this. It can all be found in a video. And she started sending me links. So I started panicking because I'm like, my due date's only a few weeks away.

(20:38): My husband and I have never had a natural birth. I can watch this video and I can hope that I get it. But a part of the service was to have hands-on appointments so we could feel comfortable in going into this journey. And then I kind of just said, okay. I expressed to her, I want to feel comfortable. I want to feel confident the day of, I want my husband to feel confident in assisting me and you know, can reach out to me at any time and keep me updated. So I kind of just felt a little neglected, kind of left out to defend for myself a little bit, and to rely on a video. I'm just like, I've been watching videos, but I

Dr. Nicole (21:22): Paid you for some hands on. Right.

Jade (21:24): Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Dr. Nicole (21:26): Okay. Well, we'll to, I want to hold and see what happened when it came time to go into the birth and how she played into it. But before that, let's talk about what did you do to prepare? Because it sounds like you did quite a bit.

Jade (21:39): I did. So of course, the dieting working out, I watched a lot of birthing videos. I listened to your podcast religiously on the way to work and at work.

Dr. Nicole (21:54): And

Jade (21:55): There was actually a month where you were giving out free courses, and I got one of those courses. Oh,

Dr. Nicole (22:01): Nice. I took your

Jade (22:02): Course the last month of my pregnancy also.

Dr. Nicole (22:07): I love it. Love it, love it. So you were ready and prepared. I

Jade (22:10): Was. Okay. I did everything in my power. I started following a lot of social media that related just to natural birth, so how to breathe, using your stability ball, how to stretch, squat, birthing

Dr. Nicole (22:27): Positions. Okay.

Jade (22:29): So I was really on it to the point where all of my feed and social media was nothing but birth.

Dr. Nicole (22:37): And then was there anything in particular that you like? Were there any social media accounts or things in particular that you found pretty helpful?

Jade (22:46): Yes. There was one account in particular, I want to say I hope I'm not botching the name, but I want to say it's a working mama. She does a lot. Yeah. She shows a lot of visuals and how adjust, depending on what type of positions you pushing, how much it opens versus laying down. And I found that so interesting and helpful.

Dr. Nicole (23:13): I'm going to have to look that up. Yeah. Because

Jade (23:15): I never thought about how I would push until I started watching her video. Sure. Wow. That is a way to push. I didn't know that.

Dr. Nicole (23:22): Right, right, right. Okay. And then I take it for your first, you had an epidural.

Jade (23:28): Yeah. Oh, I screamed for that epidural, yes.

(23:33): But surprisingly, I was supposed to have a natural birth with her, but it was told to me, oh, we're going to have a natural birth. You can do this. But there was no preparing. I was just my having a natural birth, I wasn't really given a choice. It was like, you can do it. You're going to have a natural birth. We're going to have a natural birth. And then when I get to the hospital, I get induced, which was great. I've heard a lot of horror stories about, mine was smooth sailing. I slept until I started feeling the contractions. I was like, wait a minute. I believe I, I got to seven centimeters before I asked for the epidural. But when it came, I was not prepared for that feeling.

Dr. Nicole (24:15): Okay. Okay. I

Jade (24:16): Was like, this is intense. I need the epidural now. And then it came to I in and out. Right.

Dr. Nicole (24:20): Gotcha. So for this time, you said you wanted unmedicated or natural. What are some other things that you wanted for your birth?

Jade (24:29): Yes. So I wanted to labor majority of the time at home. I only wanted to go to the hospital when it was right then that it was time to push. She was going to be entering. So I wanted to stay at home as long as I could. I wanted to be comfortable. I wanted to be able to be relaxed and enjoy the moment and embrace what was happening with my body. I had a birth plan. It was spoken. It wasn't provided back to me. So originally, water, tub, low lights, instrumentals. I wanted a very intimate setting. So it was just going to be my husband and my mother. We didn't want any family members visiting the hospital. We weren't going to see anybody until we transitioned home. So I just kind of wanted to be in the mindset of comfort and didn't want to have any overwhelming feelings surrounding me. So that didn't happen, but

Dr. Nicole (25:28): Oh well. Okay. What did happen then? Let's get into that. What exactly did happen?

Jade (25:35): It came very quick. Okay. I was, my husband and I were home. Our daughter was asleep. We had just finished up watching a movie. I was drinking my red raspberry tea. I was like, okay, I'm getting tired. I go get into bed, and I start feeling like these cramps. But I had just had an appointment and I was only three centimeters. They weren't expecting anything to happen. Sure. So my

Dr. Nicole (26:02): Due date And how many weeks were you? I

Jade (26:04): Was 40 weeks.

Dr. Nicole (26:05): Okay. So

Jade (26:07): My due date was the 28th, and she was showing no signs of entering the world. They actually scheduled my appointments all the way out to July 11th.

Dr. Nicole (26:16): So

Jade (26:16): I was just like, oh, these are Braxton Hicks. I can just breathe through them. And within 30 minutes, they just kept progressing and progressing. And that's when I started my timer and I was like, I called my husband. I was like, I think you need to stay in here close by. I was, I feel like something's happening. And when I was doing my timer, at that point, they were about 9, 9, 10 minutes. And within 20 minutes they went to five. And at that point, I told my husband, I was like, I believe you need to call the doula. I think this is happening, but I'm not sure.

(26:56): So he called our doula, and it was almost kind of like we were bothering her. Maybe I was asking, this is how far along they are. They seem like they're progressing. Should I stay home and breathe through it? Should I go to the hospital? And the response was, you can go to the hospital if you want to. There was no coaching me through it, no listening to my breathing. And I was kind of confused. And my husband said, okay, we'll keep you updated. So he got off the phone and I was just kind of forget my contractions. I was like, what do we do?

(27:36): Do I stay home? And at that point, I was like, let's call the midwife. So we called our midwife, and she stayed on the phone with us for about 30 minutes. She listened to me breath, she timed the contraction. She was like, they're definitely progressing, but let's see what happens. Within an hour, she gave us her direct cell phone, because of course, we called the line. She was on call, but she gave her cell phone number. And we got off the phone with her, and we ended up calling her back in 15 minutes because they were a minute apart. So when we called her back, she could hear me, Brittany. She was like, oh. That progressed quickly, come to the hospital. Now. It took me about 15 minutes to get out the house, because every time I took a step, it happened.

Dr. Nicole (28:22): Oh, okay. And I had

Jade (28:24): To the stairs still. So my husband had to assist me getting dressed, and he had to help me down the stairs. When we finally got outside, it was just so much pressure. I was just like, I don't know. I feel like she's coming. So we get into the car and he's one of those cautious drivers, and he has the hazard lights on, and he's going. So I was like, look, I know that you are trying to make me comfortable. I say, but this baby,

Dr. Nicole (28:53): It's time to go.

Jade (28:55): I need you. I don't need you to just turn the music off and go. Right. So we finally get to the hospital. We get to,

Dr. Nicole (29:03): How far away do you live from the hospital?

Jade (29:05): It was about a 25

Dr. Nicole (29:06): Minutes. Okay. Long, longest, 25 minutes of your life. It's

Jade (29:10): The longest drive of my life. Luckily. Finally took the expressway to get to vcu, but it was the longest drive of my life. When we finally got to the hospital, I want to say it was about maybe 2 0 8, 2 0 9. We get to the hospital, they're checking us in. I can't stand. So of course they bring me the wheelchair. We finally get upstairs and they was like, we're just going to get you to use the bathroom. Ms. Armstrong just go to use the bathroom. I go use the bathroom, and I stand up and say, she's coming. I was like, she's coming. I have to push. So I'm pushing, and they're ripping me out of my clothes

Dr. Nicole (29:44): In the bathroom,

Jade (29:46): From the bathroom to the bed. So we're

Dr. Nicole (29:48): Right. They're like,

Jade (29:50): To the bed, I'm watling. They're taking off my pants, my socks. I get on the bed and they was like, go ahead and push. And I'm like at the head of the bed, just holding on and pushing down. I pushed for about two minutes and she was here. So from the time we got to the hospital, she was born within 10 minutes of us getting to the hospital.

Dr. Nicole (30:10): Oh my goodness.

Jade (30:13): I was like, if we had waited, I was like, if we had stayed home, she probably would've

Dr. Nicole (30:17): Been, oh, she'd been born in the car. More

Jade (30:19): In the car

Dr. Nicole (30:20): Or at home.

Jade (30:21): As soon as we got to the hospital, she said, I'm entering.

Dr. Nicole (30:24): No, she said, here, here, here I come. I'm coming. So somebody be there because I'm coming.

Jade (30:30): Yes. And the nurses were so amazing. It was like, we just got all of your paperwork and she's here already. I didn't have they, no iv,

Dr. Nicole (30:37): Nothing,

Jade (30:38): Anything. It was just from bathroom to bed. And she was born.

Dr. Nicole (30:42): So from when you had the first contraction to when she was born, that was what? Maybe a couple hours.

Jade (30:49): It wasn't even a couple. So we called my in-laws around 1 45 to let them know we need to go to the hospital. They came and got our daughter, and we got to the hospital. And

Dr. Nicole (31:02): That was it.

Jade (31:03): Yeah, it was. That was, it was a very, wow. Quick.

Dr. Nicole (31:09): How were you feeling? Because for some people, that can actually feel very overwhelming.

Jade (31:14): I had to remember my breathing,

Dr. Nicole (31:18): And

Jade (31:18): That's all I could do. I was like, please don't let me have it. But it was amazing. I mean, I was expecting to be hollering and screaming and yelling and grabbing my husband by the arm neck. And I mean, as soon as I got in the room, it was, Jade, you can do this. You got it, mama. All the nurses, you're doing amazing. And I'm pushing. And it was just as soon as she was out, it was like a relief. And it was praises all around me from the staff. I mean, it was great. They helped me turn over immediately, put her on my chest then. I mean, it just was nonstop. It.

Dr. Nicole (31:55): Well, you said help you turn over. What was,

Jade (31:57): Cause I was facing the headboard, so my face was against the wall, so I was on

Dr. Nicole (32:02): My feet. So were you in, oh, you were in hands and knees? Hands and knees. Okay. Okay.

Jade (32:06): Just kind of climbed on the bed and started pushing.

Dr. Nicole (32:08): Okay. Yeah,

Jade (32:09): They just gave me freedom. They to do. They just put me, wanted to get me up on the bed safely. But other than that,

Dr. Nicole (32:16): It was like, do what you got to do.

Jade (32:18): Right. Yeah. Push mama, you got it. And I just grabbed on the headboard and started pushing.

Dr. Nicole (32:23): Okay. Okay.

Jade (32:24): But the way that I pushed, they grabbed her from behind. So

Dr. Nicole (32:28): Yeah. So they had to kind of tuck her under and turn.

Jade (32:32): So they had to turn me and get her smoothly from under my legs.

Dr. Nicole (32:36): Yeah. Yeah. And where was your doula in all of this?

Jade (32:41): So after Savannah was born, my husband contacted the doula, let her know. And I don't believe there was a immediate response. I also had my husband text her on the way to the hospital just to let her know we were on our way to the hospital. We didn't hear back from her until maybe around 10 that morning. And Savannah was born around two that morning. Yeah. So quite a bit of a delay. And when she was glad to hear that, you know, had a safe delivery. So I was expecting her to come to the hospital at least. But she sent me a text just to following up, just checking in to see how you were doing. I kind of gave her a full overview. We transitioned upstairs. Baby's latching on, she's doing well. And that was the last of the conversation. My text to her was the last of the conversation

Dr. Nicole (33:45): That that ever

Jade (33:47): Occurred. That was it. So it was what I sent for my update. Was it? That was it. And I want to say I was supposed to have a home visit a week after the baby was transitioned at home.

Dr. Nicole (34:01): And I assume by this point you had already paid her for her. Yes. Yeah. Services were paid for. Well, me, I'm going to come back to that, but let me back up real quick. Did you have to have any stitches or anything like that after your birth or? I

Jade (34:14): Did tear, but it was minimal. And I was given the option, I could either allow it to heal naturally or I could get the stitches. And after having a natural birth and pushing out the placenta, I think I had done enough and I opted to just allow it to heal naturally. I don't think I want to go through anything else.

Dr. Nicole (34:39): Right, right.

Jade (34:41): To heal fine. And of course, they gave me the witch hazel and the pad. Yeah. But yeah, no. Okay. I had stitches the first time around and I was like, no, we're not going to do it this second. Got

Dr. Nicole (34:50): It. Ok. Ok. Okay. And then how was the postpartum period for you?

Jade (34:57): So after I had the baby, I felt amazing. It was almost, if I didn't just give birth, I like the very next day, I felt good. I was walking unassisted. The first time I used the bathroom wasn't painful. I asked if I could go home that same day.

Dr. Nicole (35:16): Okay. And

Jade (35:19): They allowed me to go home that same day. So we were only in the hospital one night. Okay. That one night. And I left. Now emotionally afterwards is a different story. So physically I was fine.

Dr. Nicole (35:30): Okay. And do you feel like you felt better physically compared to your first birth? Yes.

Jade (35:35): Okay. Yes. I think because I had that epidural, it took a while. I didn't feel comfortable. I felt uneasy. My body didn't feel like my own. Sure. I was in a lot of pain. Might been because of the tearing and the stitches. But for this one, I don't know,

Dr. Nicole (35:53): Was you were up, my body

Jade (35:55): Agreed with

Dr. Nicole (35:55): Me. Right. Cause this was a pregnancy. Sure. But

Jade (35:58): Right after the baby, I felt great. I was walking, we went on walks after, I want to say maybe four days. Okay. I was walking. Okay. I was up moving around. I didn't need as assistance getting in and out of the bed. So I felt really great physically.

Dr. Nicole (36:14): Okay. Awesome. But you said emotionally, maybe a different story.

Jade (36:17): Emotionally was very different for me. My mom was very concerned that I had postpartum depression. I felt alone. My husband was working, my daughter was in summer school, and I'm at home by myself with a newborn. I wasn't really talking to anybody. I had texts, but I just felt in a bubble, trapped in a bubble. And the only person around was a baby that can't speak or comfort. I didn't feel very supported by anybody. And I'm sure the support was there. I just didn't feel it. Sure.

(36:53): So I struggled a lot. It took while for me to start feeling like me again. But I also was entering in my thirties, so it could have been a transition period for me also. Sure. But yeah, I struggled a lot this pregnancy afterwards, and I had to kind of do a lot of self-reflecting. Like, Jade, you just had a baby. And I had a lot of people around me, my give yourself some grace. You had a baby. This is new. You're a mom of two now. Right, right. It's going to be a transition period. It's going to be a learning experience, and you have to kind of ease up on yourself. I was very hard on myself the first

Dr. Nicole (37:30): Two months. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. And what do you feel like helped you best to get through that?

Jade (37:39): I started creating a routine. I'm just like, if I'm going to be home by myself, I don't want to just lay in the bed with a baby. We started getting up, playing, watching sensory shows. I started going Okay. Walks outside. I got the little body wrap. I'm like, we're going walk. We're going to get sunlight. Sure. We're going to take a little drive. We're not going to go far, but just right out, get dressed and feel like my skin. Right.

Dr. Nicole (38:04): Skin. Right, right. Okay. Okay. And was your mom nearby or was she from out of

Jade (38:13): Town? Yeah, so my mom worked at night, so usually during the day she slept. So she was definitely available as needed, but I had a tendency not to want to bother her. So I kind of just stayed in my own place and just counted down until summer school was over so I could have my husband back at home.

Dr. Nicole (38:32): Gotcha. To help me. Gotcha. Yeah. And did he have any leave at all? How long was he able to No,

Jade (38:39): He did no leave. So it was understood that I'm having a child and during the last few weeks I can be as needed. And his take on it was like, well, Jade, I'm only going to be gone for four hours. Four hours is a long time with a newborn. But my mother-in-law, and my mom helped with our oldest, getting her out the house just so I could have a little bit of a break. Right. Two kids by myself. It was a lot.

Dr. Nicole (39:13): It's a lot. Yeah. Yeah. And then what about breastfeeding? Did you breastfeed?

Jade (39:18): Yes. So I did breastfeed, still breastfeeding. Okay. So breastfeeding, the latching was difficult, but I ended up going to see a lactation consultant with VCU U at their children's pavilion. And those appointments were great. Similar to the midwives. VCU was just wonderful all altogether. So I went to the lactation consultant. They watched how I latched their on, they provided corrections. They also allowed me to see how many ounces she was taking in. So after they unlatched her, they put her on the scale, they moved her to the second breast. They helped me with positioning, also being comfortable as well. They was like, the baby can be comfortable, but moms needed to be comfortable also. Sure. They assisted me with how to lean back to get a deeper latch. And they showed me certain techniques to actually get the baby on. So right. Soon as I left their care, I mean, breastfeeding was amazing. I was like, oh, this is actually kind of easy.

Dr. Nicole (40:25): Right. Good. Good, good, good, good, good. And then how did your pelvic pain, did that resolve after delivery?

Jade (40:34): A little bit. So I still had moments where if I laid on my back, if I woke up, it was a lot of pain. So I started sleeping on my side a little bit more, started doing a little more exercise just for my pelvic region. I did a lot of deep squats, a lot of stretching. So just trying to get back into the motion. My plan was to go back to the chiropractor just to see if any more adjustments were needed. But I haven't been back yet. Life

Dr. Nicole (41:09): Happens. Right. Folks busy. Yeah. Right. Gotcha. Gotcha. And I forgot to ask, did your insurance cover the chiropractor or did you have to pay out of pocket? I had

Jade (41:16): To pay out of pocket.

Dr. Nicole (41:18): Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's often what happens. Okay. So how do you feel about everything?

Jade (41:27): So I went through my periods where I was dwelling on what could should happened. And overall, my prenatal care was amazing. I wouldn't change anything. I think if I could do it over, I believe I would maybe spoke up a little bit more in regards to my doula services, just so we could be on one page and have a clear understanding of what I felt was happening and how we could do better going forward, and what support I was looking for.

Dr. Nicole (42:02): Yeah. That was, I mean, that was not what doula service issues. No. Yeah. No.

Jade (42:07): And my husband, he's very quiet, but he also was very uncertain after a while. And he was just like, well, what are we paying for? Is this supposed to happen? And my mom also started to chime in about, and she was like, this is an another appointment that was canceled. And there was additional services that were involved that I was supposed to receive that I never did, that I felt would've been very beneficial, like the hypnobirthing breathing techniques. So I didn't receive any of those services. So I know in the event that I have another pregnancy, I definitely will probably do a little bit more research or not kind of jump out at the first doula that reach reaches out to me, just kind of look at different reviews and weigh my options a little more instead of, I think I kind of jumped into it because I'm like, oh, I heard amazing things about her and she reached up. This is a good sign, rather, then sure. After that first meeting, greet say, okay, well thank you for meeting with me. I'm going to kind of look at other places and then make my decision. I just based my decision off of that one meeting week that we had.

Dr. Nicole (43:26): Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. So then as we wrap up then, what would be your one piece of advice, favorite piece of advice that you would give to someone who's getting ready to have a baby?

Jade (43:37): Yeah, definitely prepare. I look into courses. I found it very beneficial. Things that I didn't think of I learned about in your course, and even with the podcast, listening to other women's stories and being relatable, and it's kind of like, wow, I didn't think about that. Or I didn't know about that. And it's something that I could take away. So I think some moms like, oh, I can do this. I was made for this. But I do find those resources are very helpful with preparing for your birth because

Dr. Nicole (44:12): 100%

Jade (44:13): You learned so much, and you can gain a lot of from it. And I think I did. I took a lot away from your podcast. I was writing my little notes. I'm like, I'm supposed to be working, but this is so helpful. This relates to my pregnancy. This is what I'm dealing with. Right. Lemme look for this.

Dr. Nicole (44:30): Right. I did not pay her to say that. I promise. Well,

Jade (44:36): I had a family friend that I believe you are familiar with, and she always pushes for birthing classes and preparing like Keisha.

Dr. Nicole (44:47): Oh, yes, yes. 100%. I love her dearly. So she

Jade (44:55): Knew was when I told her I was ready for birth, she was like, well, let me know if you have any questions. I mean, even after I had the baby, we had a hour conversation about the whole birthing process.

Dr. Nicole (45:04): Right, right. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, where can folks connect with you? You can say nowhere if you want. Yeah,

Jade (45:12): I'm usually on Instagram, which is Jade.Timaris, and that's t i m a r i s, or Facebook, which is just my first and last name, Jade Armstrong. Okay.

Dr. Nicole (45:23): All right. Well, Jade, thank you so much for agreeing to come on the podcast. So appreciate you sharing your story.

Jade (45:29): No, thank you. I appreciate it. I enjoyed it. And I still enjoy your shirt, even though I'm not pregnant. I still listen to it. Aw,

Dr. Nicole (45:36): I love it. Love it.

Jade (45:38): Another baby will be here, and then I'll be okay.

Dr. Nicole (45:40): Enough. All right. Sounds good. Sounds good.

(45:49): All right. Wasn't that a great episode? Jade has such lovely energy. I really, really enjoy chatting with her. Just a great birth story, and I really appreciate her coming on. Now, after every episode when I have a guest on, I do something called Dr. Nicole's notes where I talk about my top takeaways from the conversation. Here are my Dr. Nicole's notes from my conversation with Jade. Number one, get help. Accept help. Help can be so crucial during pregnancy. Jade had a chiropractor that was helpful. Some other things that are going to be helpful, potentially our lactation consultant. I think definitely pelvic physical therapy could be helpful as well. So sometimes you need to get help. So check out those things and get that help when you need it. All right. Number two, speaking of help, you do have to do your due diligence with the help that you get.

(46:42): You want to be sure that you get people who are competent, trained and will be there when you need them. I'm going, I'm speaking specifically about, well, of course that's the case, whether it's a chiropractor, you want someone who has experienced during pregnancy, a pelvic physical therapist who has experienced during pregnancy, a board certified lactation consultant. But I want to say a word about doing your due diligence with doulas. I think sometimes because the media portrays doulas in a largely positive light as they should, because doulas provide a lot of help, support, and things during pregnancy. Sometimes people skip during doing their due diligence and they don't realize or know that they should be asking more questions about working with doulas. They're like, oh, you're a doula. Okay, it's going to be great. Without asking those questions to make sure it's a good fit, to make sure you understand what you're getting, to make sure you're getting your money's worth when you decide to hire a doula.

(47:37): And to be clear, I love doulas. Doulas are important. Doulas help improve outcomes. But again, they're humans. And you have to, in any relationship with a human being, make sure you do your due diligence to know that that person is doing the things that you need to support you. Okay. And I'm not saying, of course, that Jade didn't do her due diligence. I'm just saying in general, do your due diligence. That's one of the things that I have inside of the birth preparation course. My online childbirth education class is a checklist of things that you can ask, of questions that you can go through and ask when you are hiring a doula so that you know what you're getting into and you know that you can find someone who is a good fit for you. So do your due diligence with doulas, and if you want to learn more, check that out inside the birth preparation course.

(48:25): The course is dr nicole rankins.com/enroll. All right. Next is having a supportive team can make all of the difference, just all of the difference. The encouragement that Jade had from her nurses and the midwives she worked with just made a huge difference. So you really want to be sure as best that you can that have good support lined up during your pregnancy and for your birth experience. It just makes a huge, huge, huge difference. And then the final thing that I want to say is that every pregnancy is different. All right? And you will not have control over that. There's so much about how your pregnancy unfolds that you will not have control over. But what you absolutely do have control over is preparing so you can prepare as best you can. Preparing is going to be asking questions, preparing is going to be childbirth.

(49:30): Education. I will die on the hill of every person having a baby needs to do some sort of childbirth education. And I, of course have an option, the birth preparation course. But you need to do something. There are lots of options out there. Find something that works for you and do it. Again. You can't control what happens during pregnancy, but you can control how you prepare, and that can make a huge, huge difference in your experience. All right. So definitely, definitely, definitely prepare. All right. So there you have it. Do me a solid and share this podcast with a friend, or two, or three or four. Anyone who you think may find this podcast helpful. Sharing is caring, and it helps me to reach and serve more pregnant folks. My mission, passion, and purpose is helping every person having a baby be treated with compassion, dignity, respect, had that beautiful birth experience they deserve in providing this information in the podcast so that people can advocate for themselves is one of the ways I do that.

(50:34): So please share this with a friend. Also subscribe to the podcast wherever you are listening to me right now. So you do not miss an episode. And let me know what you think about the show. Shoot me a DM on Instagram. I'm on Instagram at Dr. Nicole Rankins. And while you are over on the gram, follow me on Instagram as well. I provide great content there, and it's a great way for us to connect outside of the podcast. All right, so that's it for this episode to come on back next week. And remember that you deserve a beautiful pregnancy and birth.