The Birth Story of Raelynn | Jacksonville Birth Photographer

Raelynn Jane was fashionably late just like her sister (40+3) but her birth was so vastly different. I was in early labor all day Tuesday 2/16 and spent the day on my toes wondering if and when my contractions were going to pick up and we were going to meet our girl. Despite my efforts to get active labor started (curb walking, bouncing on my ball, etc) my contractions stayed irregular and mild. We had my sister stay the night that night though because I knew I would likely go into active labor sometime the next day and someone needed to be home with Kynlee, our oldest. 

About 3:00am strong contractions woke me up, and I dozed in and out of sleep through contractions for about 30 minutes before they got so painful I couldn’t sleep any longer. I labored in our bedroom for a little while longer, and timed my contractions to make sure it was the real deal since I had spent the whole previous day with early labor contractions. Around 4:00am I woke up my husband, and I texted my doula (Kahla), and Erin to let them know I was pretty sure I was in active labor. By that time my contractions were pretty painful and consistent at about 3-4 minutes apart. After I talked to Kahla, I called my midwife Sam to let her know it was go time and give her an update on how labor was progressing. She and Kahla couldn’t decide if we needed to head straight to the birth center or if we had some time and finally we decided that we probably had a little time, so Kahla and Erin headed to our house. They arrived around 5:00am. I labored at the house for about 30/40 minutes and then Kahla decided we should probably head to the birth center. 

We arrived at the birth center around 6:15am, and man, was the car ride there intense. My contractions has definitely picked up. My mom arrived shortly after. Sam checked me not long after we arrived and got settled, and I was 6cm dilated with bulging waters. From there, things moved pretty quickly! I labored beside the tub while we were waiting for it to fill up and this is a moment I will always remember... as I was working through a pretty intense contraction, I heard the song “Well Done” by The Afters come on my playlist. This is a song we played often in remembrance of my grandmother who passed when I was pregnant with our first daughter. As I listened to it and worked through the pain, I started to cry. Kahla reached over and laid her hand on my chest and whispered “she’s going to be right here soon”, talking about our baby girl, and in that moment all I was thinking about was my grandmother, how much I miss her, and how I longed for her to be here to meet my girls... and I heard Kahla’s words as “she’s right here”. I thought to myself, there’s no way she knows that this song is the song we played for my grandma and then I realized what she actually said. Even still, her words comforted me in that moment more than I can say, because my grandma was right there, she lives in my heart and I know she is with me... and knowing that she was with me and that my baby girl would be right there on my chest soon, gave me strength. 

Shortly after, I got in the tub and as soon as I squatted down in the warm water I felt my water break! The rest is sort of a blur as the very next contraction after my water broke brought the most intense pain I’ve ever felt. The contraction right after that I felt the urge to push and as I roared through the pain, Kahla stroked my forehead encouraging me to focus on my breathing. In that contraction, Raelynn’s head emerged... and in the very next contraction our sweet Raelynn girl was born. It was 7:05am, the sun was rising, and I felt the most peace, relief, and overwhelming joy as Sam and Jessica (student midwife) handed me our baby girl. She let out just a single little cry, and then she laid there in my arms just staring up at me. She was so calm and content. 

Once we got settled in the bed, my sister and our oldest, Kynlee arrived as well as my mother in law. My heart burst and broke in the same moment seeing my first baby meeting her little sister, and realizing that she was no longer the “baby”. She suddenly felt like such a big girl! Kynlee was so gentle, stroking Raelynn’s head, it didn’t take long for her to warm up! We loaded up just before 10:00 and headed home as a family of 4! It was the most magical morning, a day that will forever be etched into my heart. 

-Kalli