Two weeks with Peyton Lee and I am finally finding a few minutes to jot down her amazing birth story.
Finding the brain space to process and write as we adjust to life with three kiddos has proven harder than expected… but this morning as I sit with this little girl asleep on my chest and her birth playlist of worship music playing in the background, it felt like the time.
The last month of pregnancy felt like one of the hardest months of my life. I know some people thrive being pregnant but let me tell you, I am NOT one of those people. Because she was measuring ahead, I thought she might come early, and the last few weeks of insomnia and feeling massive and exhausted were so rough.
Everyone says every birth is completely different; and while it was in a lot of ways, it started off very much the same.
For about two weeks, I had prodromal labor. I would start contractions, close and time-able, but they wouldn’t progress. Every morning I would wake up angry I wasn’t in labor, and we were basically just staying home because I was afraid to go too far and then labor actually progress.
I tried to distract myself as much as I could, and the kids spent one day helping me decorate what (I thought) would be the birth space. They wrote out scripture on cards I hung on the walls, we put up white lights and organized snacks and everything I would need, and got the pool ready. We even moved our table to the dining room so it would feel spacious and calm and cozy.
Then Valentines day came… little girl’s due date.
The day before I realized she was not actually coming early, or even on time, and I had zero plans for Valentines day even though we usually do a fancy dinner at home with the kids.
So I impulsively went to Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby and got what little decor they had left to make the day special despite feeling horrible. I also went to the chiropractor on the verge of meltdown where my sweet chiropractor Dr. Kaye adjusted everything and hugged me and started praying she would come.
We had a sweet charcuterie candlelit dinner and the kids did crafts and I made them cute heart outfits and took some photos and it was such a good distraction.
Then that Saturday, I rested most of the day as much as I could but I was stressing, again. It seemed like every time I thought labor was progressing, it was a natural disaster happening. Multiple bad snow storms causing me to panic that we would lose power, or that my mom or my mid-wife wouldn’t be able to get to our house, or that my in-laws wouldn’t be able to get the kids. This time, it wasn’t a snow storm, but a freak flood.
At about 4:45 I was so tired and was worried as the roads were flooding, so Will went to pick up pizza early for our movie night.
We ate Hawaiian pizza (from the best local place, Joe’s- so good!) and watched a movie and the kids had candy, and contractions started again.
Every time they would start, I would just try to ignore them so Will was afraid when it was actually time I wouldn’t tell him because I didn’t want to jinx it, haha. They were coming about five minutes apart, and by 7:00 we finished the movie and I told my mom she should come over and spend the night because I didn’t want to stress about her getting there if it was real– half the roads on the way from their house to ours were closed due to flooding.
Will told his parents to come get the kids just in case, and by about 8 I decided to go ahead and tell my mid-wife to come over– not because I believed it was real even though contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart at this point, but just because I didn’t want to worry about her not getting there with the floods. I still thought I would go to sleep and they would stop.
At about 9:00 pm I asked to play Rummikub because I needed a distraction.
So I sat on the birthing ball and Will, my mom, and Valerie (our amazing midwife) played my favorite board game as contractions were getting worse.
It distracted me well as we played (and I won!) two rounds until I couldn’t stand to sit anymore, not realizing it was already 10:30. I said I wanted to go take a bath– not ready to get into the birth pool yet, but I just thought it would help to relax in the bath.
We lit my favorite lavender candle my mom got me, and I took a lavendar bubble bath as we listened to the birth playlist (called push a baby out, hahahah) and for a long time it was just me and my sweet husband in our tiny ugly bathroom.
Contractions progressed pretty quickly and Will helped me breathe through them and prayed over me several times and we prayed through several songs. The one that really stuck in my head was “Speak the name of Jesus” which ironically just started playing as I am typing this.
“Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
Over fear and all anxiety
To every soul held captive by depression
I speak Jesus
‘Cause Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire”
Praying these words with tears streaming down my face as I told Will they just were not letting up and there was no longer a break in between.
Valerie asked if I wanted to just stay there instead of moving and I said no, I hated that bathroom– but then the thought of moving seemed impossible, even though my sweet mom had been heating water and filling the pool for the past hour! Of course after beautifully decorating the space, she came on her own terms in our ugly bathroom, haha.
I reached the point where I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore which I knew meant she was coming.
I told Will to switch to the album called “Intimate Encounters” by Catherine Mullins, which was the album I remember playing when Sawyer was born and I knew that’s what I needed.
Valerie came in and she asked if I wanted her to check me, but I told her I could feel her head and it was time to start pushing; Mom came in and suddenly all three of them were so excited they could see her head and SO much hair!!
Valerie was so non-invasive and completely calm and I just felt so empowered. Birth at home is the wildest experience and one of the times I feel closest to the Lord because I know I have to rely on his strength to do what I was created to do. What a miracle!
I felt like I needed a break in between, and then Valerie told me to stand up and she flew right out, head full of hair and round cheeks and perfect at 12:50 on Sunday morning!
My mom cut the cord like she did with Sawyer and Will took her and snuggled her while I took a shower and she quickly pooped all over him, haha!
Tired but completely exhilarated because she came so fast, I got in bed to snuggle our sweet little girl.
Valerie and her assistant, Beth, who was coming from Oak Hill and just barely missed the birth because it happened so fast, were little angels and quickly cleaned up EVERYTHING while I nursed Peyton, who latched great!
Born February 16, 2025 at 12:50 and 7 lbs 15 oz of perfection.
At about 3 am, my sweet mom took Peyton so we could rest for a little while.
The next few days were some of my favorite days of all time. The big kids stayed with Grandmama and Pawpaw and just came over to see Baby P while we rested and adjusted.
My mom stayed with us and we just took turns snuggling and sleeping and reading (mom and I both read a few Freida Mcfadden books) and we had friends bring us food and it was just such a peaceful beautiful few days. My sweet mom would take night shift with Peyton and we would all swap off sleeping and snuggling during the day. The first four hour stretch I slept felt AMAZING!! Everyone says “you’ll be so tired once the baby gets here” but Peyton sleeps great– and after 9 months of insomnia, sleeping more than an hour at a time is amazing.
So many people think birth at home is crazy, but it was honestly such an amazing experience, and I am so grateful to have the best husband who is the BEST partner in birth and my midwife who made me feel so supported and safe. What a blessing to be able to rest at home and to have her peacefully as home, knowing God designed us to be capable of this, without a ton of interventions.
