Dakota’s birth was immensely evolutionary and evocative. I birthed her into this world the way Mother Nature intended. No drugs. No bright lights. No institution. Peacefully. Intimately. Safely. This is my sacred rite of passage. This is my natural birth story.

Please note: I used Hypnobabies hypnobirthing techniques. I’ve been taught to use different vocabulary without negative connotation – “pressure waves” refers to contractions, and “birthing time” refers to labor.

I was 9 days past my “guess date”, so I went to see my midwife Liz at 11am on October 27, 2017 to get my progress checked. I was 3cm dilated, which surprised me because I hadn’t felt any pressure waves, only mild menstrual-like cramping. Knowing that my birthing time was near, I went home and practiced my hypnosis techniques.

At 4:15pm, I awoke from a deep hypnosis. As I got out of bed, fluids came rushing out. I wasn’t sure if I had peed all over myself, or if my water broke! I went to the bathroom and checked to see what happened down there – it was definitely the latter. I immediately called my Liz and told her what happened.

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