“When I went in for an appointment with my midwife, we made the decision to release my waters in the office. My contractions immediately began to increase in strength and duration.”

She and Seth went home, ate some lunch, and she bounced the afternoon away on her birthing ball.

“I had anticipated going into labor near my due date, but was disappointed when I went past dates again. It did give me a few more days to spend one on one time with my three year old before he was officially promoted to big brother and no longer the “baby” of the family.”

As contractions began to pick up, they became intense waves. “I prayed, listened to worship music, and breathed through each contraction. I had a series of bible verses and affirmations hanging on the wall in my room, and I found herself going back to them more and more as labor progressed.”

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Though labor had progressed, Kaylee knew she needed to transport. “I was surprised by the calmness and peace that I felt when we decided to transfer from home to the hospital.”

“My incredible midwife Dawn and amazing assistant/doula Brandy assisted me. I don’t remember specifics, but I do remember moments when they said or did just what I needed at the time while I was laboring (for a little over 20 hours!).”

“My wonderful hubby was my rock throughout labor and also my verbal punching bag a few times.”

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“Dr. Brunnabend was phenomenal at the hospital. She made me feel completely safe in that environment.”

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When it comes to the highs and lows of this experience…

“The excitement from my kiddos when they realized that they would be meeting their brother soon made my heart soar! During the birth, I was extremely grateful to actually have my husband with me in the Operating Room and to be able to see through the clear drape as Braedyn was brought into the world.”

“Transferring to the hospital was a low point because it wasn’t what I had envisioned for this birth, but I knew that it was where we needed to be at that point for Braedyn.”

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Since Kaylee experienced a c-section, she shares what it was like from her perspective…

“It was an odd sensation being awake during the cesarean. With my oldest I was asleep, so I don’t remember any of it, but I have been a part of many other cesarean births as a nurse. I expected to feel more than I did. I could still wiggle my toes but at the same time I didn’t even feel tugging or pressure when Braedyn was born. The clear drape helped me to not feel claustrophobic and also still feel included in the birth even though I was laying on an OR table.”

Under any circumstance, meeting your baby for the first time is a special occasion. For Kaylee, Seth, and their other children, it went like this…

“My first thought was that he looked just like his sister. I was so grateful for him to finally be in my arms and I didn’t want to put him down. My husband also didn’t want to put him down. My older kiddos were over the moon when they first saw him, and they were so sad when they had to leave us there at the hospital.”

Although each birth offers a unique experience, there are things we can honestly say were awesome, and maybe a few things that didn’t go as planned.

When asked How her birth experience was different from what you imagined it to be – “The big difference would be that I had a CBAC instead of another VBAC/HBAC.” But, “The best part was Braedyn being born safely.”

“I wish they would have put him skin to skin with me in the OR instead of swaddling him and having my hubby hold him until they finished closing. I also wish they would have let my photographer in the OR so that Seth could have focused solely on being a husband/dad and not have to take the photos too.”

“I learned that I did have the ability to overcome fears surrounding surgical birth.”

Kaylee’s story is truly powerful and encouraging, especially for moms whose births may not have gone according to plan!