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Hi friends, welcome to the Pain Free Birth podcast. I'm your host, Karen Welton, a certified doula, childbirth educator and mother of three. In this space, we'll hear positive, supernatural and yes, even pain free birth stories from women just like you. We'll explore the deeply spiritual side of childbirth and how God designed women's bodies brilliantly for birth. Let's get started.
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Welcome back friends. Today is a really special episode because I am interviewing Alla, who had a twin home birth, an unexpectedly unassisted twin home birth, meaning no medical professionals, OBs or midwives were there when she delivered her babies. It was also a precipitous labor, which is a labor under three hours. And in her case, it was only 30 minutes. So with twins at home, so many
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mind blowing pieces of this story that you will want to tune in to hear because it is such an incredible testimony of how God worked in her pregnancy and in her birth to provide everything she needed to have a beautiful, like I would dare say glorious home birth with twins. And so I'm like on the edge of my seat, so excited to interview her. I shared her birth video actually on my
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hundreds of thousands of views, like 50,000 likes. It was one of those viral ones that, you know, it was your husband, I believe, recorded it. Was that right, Alla? I had him put my phone up on a, yes, thankfully we had it set up in advance. And I just that's all I remember. I kind of like blacked out like, please, babe, before you do anything, set my phone up and press record. I'm so glad you did. I think it was less than five minutes after he set it up. Things were just happening. So.
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Yeah, there was like no delay. Those ladies just came right out in the tub. And I will link that video in the show notes so you guys can see it in real time. It's for real life, I should say. It's just incredible. So thank you for coming on the show, Alaa. This is just an honor to have you. My pleasure. I can't believe that this is my story and I get to share it. We're so excited to hear it. So tell me, just give me like a brief background.
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Is this your first time? You have two older children, am I right? Yes, we have a four and six year old, two boys, and this was gonna be our third baby when we got pregnant. We're planning for a third baby. Oh my goodness, yes. And then you got two. Yes. What was that like when you learned you had twins? What were you thinking? Oh gosh, I immediate like,
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just like doubts if I would be able to carry twins to full term. I don't know why. I think the devil right away just started attacking me from the beginning of my pregnancy. It was the hardest pregnancy by far. I was so sick in bed 24 seven and he just started putting doubts into my head. I don't know if I'll be able to carry these twins to full term. I wanna be able to breastfeed. Can I do that with two babies? Like stuff like that. It was like pretty...
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pretty like little stuff, but he made it seem like it was like, gosh, super, super, super important. I mean, it was important to me, but I mean, I'll explain now. I look back, I'm just like, the devil is a liar. I had to rebuke. I had to rebuke all those thoughts. Um, so the first thing, the first thoughts that flooded in my head was just like a lot of fear. I was really scared. I was like, Oh my gosh, two babies. Um, I just wanted them to be like healthy and I wanted, I wanted them to like thrive.
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That's all I really, really wanted. So he made me question if I was gonna be able to do that. Oh my goodness. And that's probably, I feel like that's his tactic with every mother, right? Like, you can't really do this. You're not equipped for this. Extremely vulnerable. He attacks the weak prey. And I was so vulnerable. I was severely dehydrated, had hypothyroidism. I had to get like liquid IVs to replenish myself. But I couldn't eat.
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For months I was in bed. Oh gosh, it was. Oh my goodness. Twin pregnancy, twin pregnancy. Yeah, it was, it was, gosh, it tested like every ounce of me in every way, shape and forms. Yeah. But, oh gosh, God is so, so, so good. We got through it. Yeah. And so you had a birth center birth for your first two. What led you to the decision to having a home birth, especially with twins for your third pregnancy? That's a, that's a.
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That's a big, a big thing. Like that's intimidating. Most people are like, what? You can't deliver twins at home. That's dangerous. Like what would you say to all of that? I'm sure you process that somehow. Like, am I crazy? I was, I was actually really excited. And I just knew deep down that like I could do it. And I really, really, I had a huge desire to, because I've always dreamed of having a home birth. The first two times it didn't really work out for us. We...
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We rented a small place with the first baby and the birth center was like three minutes away, so it made sense. With the second baby, we lived with my parents. It was like, there's no place we could even set up a, I really loved water birth with my first, so I wanted to do it with the second. It's like, I guess might as well just do it at the birth center again. And I remember giving birth to my second baby and just like laid there and him latching. And I'm like, in baby heaven, you know, I just gave birth and I was like,
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babe was like, we are definitely having a home birth for a third baby. Uh, yes, I hear that so much when, when even though like just right after the birth, they're like, oh yeah, we're doing this at home next time. Like, yeah. So I was like, so in my heart, I was like, I knew we were meant to have like more children because I didn't feel done. And I desired that home birth so much. Um, so here we were like.
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pregnant with our third and I was like, oh my gosh, yes, I'm going to get my home birth and all this. And it's like, uh, so that's when we found, when we found out that we were pregnant with two, that was another huge thing. I was like, am I going to be able to have my home birth? Are we going to be able to like afford it? Are we going to be able to make it happen? And my midwife already knew I was pregnant. She already had come to see me like check my vitals and everything. And she listened to the heartbeat. She's like, oh yeah.
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there's your baby's heartbeat, you know, just one heartbeat. She wasn't like intentionally looking for a second one. Right, right. You don't just go, oh, let's find the other one. Yes. Unless you have a reason to. Yeah, she was shocked when I texted her, I was like, Jen, there are two babies. Oh my gosh. And she's like, what? And I just remember, I was like, please, I was like, please tell me I can still have my home birth. Like, is there like...
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Is this still possible? She's like, I'm going to have to like chew this over and talk to the birth team. And, you know, she wanted to like plan this out, like to. Did she have experience delivering twins? She delivered a set of twins in a hospital setting because she will join the mother, like wherever basically, like she, I don't know if it was a transfer or not. When she told me, I don't remember. Yeah. Um, but she did tell me that mother went to have a natural twin delivery at the hospital.
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and it was amazing. I was like, wow, what a rock star. But she does wherever, she'll meet you wherever you want to give birth. So what did she eventually tell you? She said, I have to check with the birth team and then she came back. She worked with a midwife that had experience delivering twins at home. Yeah, that's really important to have experience with that. It's a different ball game for sure. So she was trying to see if we could get that midwife at the...
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at the birth too. She's a very experienced midwife, not very experienced with twin birth. So she wanted to just make sure that she felt like fully equipped to do this. Even though she knows me and how I birth, I have pretty quick labors. And yeah, I don't know. I guess that gave me a little bit more confidence here too with that and her. How did you process the fear of...
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delivering twins or the fear that I mean I don't want to project this on you but I'm imagining like from what I know to be pretty standard in our culture we've got the traditional fear of child birth that's just very impressive and then even more so with twins people are very skeptical very scared of something going wrong in in birth like with the twins and an emergency and especially in
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it feels to me like the narrative is like something could go wrong at any point, even more so than with a normal one. How did you overcome that fear and find confidence and peace in the Lord to proceed to having a twin home birth, knowing probably all these experts and I would imagine people are telling you that's too risky, that's too dangerous or that's irresponsible. 100%. Yeah, did you get that?
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I was just going to say, I was just going to say like, they're even, even my own mother-in-law's like, are you sure you don't want to give birth at the hospital? Will you have access to everything in case there's emergency? And I would just right away, I was like, mom, there will be no emergencies. Everything will be okay. And I would just have to tell her that. But deep in my heart, like deep in my heart, I just had peace because
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I did have a lot of scary thoughts this pregnancy and I knew that that was the enemy. So I would just say out loud, I would rebuke it's very important to say it out loud. I rebuke this in Jesus name. These thoughts are not from the Lord. This is not what the Lord wants for my labor. This is not what the Lord wants for my birth. This is not what the Lord wants for the rest of my pregnancy. I rebuke it. We are blessed. My children are blessed. They are protected. They're highly favored. They are very wanted.
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Speak those things over yourself, over your babies, over your birth, pray about it. You guys, this is the biggest thing that I've changed with this birth versus my other two. My other two were extremely painful, I remember. I leaned on my own strength. In this labor, in this birth, I leaned on Jesus for strength. I remember praying, praying. And even though it was very, very quick, I remember praying to Jesus like.
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be my pain taker, be my doula, be my epidural, do all these things, you know? And it's, I don't know, I can't even believe that this is my story and I get to share it. And it's so real. And I remember also just watching, every single day I would try to find some kind of twin home birth video or at least a natural twin delivery.
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Yeah, they're probably not easy to find. To inspire me, yes. Oh my gosh, but when you do find it, it's like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. This is like, I want this so bad. Like, I love this. So you just filled your heart with like the good, So much hope. the hope, the positive stories, and visually the videos of natural twin birth. That's so key, I think. And that's so smart to do that. And then it helped a lot.
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And then you took captive every thought you rebuke, you recognize the head to sermon over. That's not God. That's the enemy. This is like gold for anyone listening. Like, I hope you're taking notes because if there's anyone out there struggling with fear in pregnancy, whether you have one baby or two or however many you have in there, this is such a common tactic of the enemy is to create fear and self-doubt in mothers.
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And I love the response to that. To love, yes. He tries to deceive us. He tries to make us feel like we're not capable. But gosh, I mean, we got pregnant with these twins naturally. I was like, there's no way that God would give us two babies if we couldn't handle it or if my body couldn't do it. He created me for this. So I knew that this was, obviously this was from Him. This is such a gift, such a blessing. It's like I'm rebuking everything that's negative.
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And any thought anybody if anybody ever asked me like, Oh, so do you have a plan C section or this and that? First of all, I'm terrified to have surgery like C section is no joke. That is no joke. First of all, and then recovery with two babies. Oh, no, no, no, no. And a lot of people just assume that's what you do when you get pregnant with twins. It's like, okay, when is your C section scheduled for? Like I said, that's the only option. No, for me, a C section was like, if I had to.
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Obviously, I know I knew in the back of my head I would do anything if I had to get these babies safely right here but I also know like C-section is serious surgery Recovery is probably one of the hardest postpartum on top of that taking care of two babies I was like that's not what I want for myself It's like I don't want that for any mother, you know, like I was like, I don't know if any mother wants that honestly But yeah, so I was like I was like I know God has more for me
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So I would just literally just pray for, I would literally ask him, I was like, God, you know, if you see my heart, you see the desires, you see what I want. And I know you can give that to me or my loving father, I'm coming to you. Yeah. I'm coming to you as your child and I'm asking you please do this for me. And I would literally pray for like as pain-free birth as possible. Even though in my head I was like, I don't know if it's possible. I was still like, still getting those thoughts in my head. I was like, is it possible? Yeah. What made you pray for a pain-free birth?
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Did you know about that for your first two? No, I didn't know about that for my first two, but I watched a birth vlog, a water birth, home birth vlog of a mom who was giving birth to a singleton. And she had two older children and they were standing there with her and she was writing down subtitles during her labor, like when she was editing her video and was watching it. And oh gosh, I think it was like the most beautiful video I've ever seen. And she titled it as a supernatural birth. I was like, what?
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She's like, she was in the pushing stage. She's like, in this stage, she's like, I had zero pain. It was just pressure. It's like, how is that possible? I remember screaming my head off with my first. Like the, it's like a very, very intense, like the, you can just feel everything. I was like, is that really possible without an epidural? But that video was what really like, it planted a seed in my head. I was like, okay. Yeah. I'm still questioning if it's possible, but I prayed for it.
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But you saw evidence that it could be possible. And that made you, I love how you said that it planted a seed. And then it's like, God does that. He plants these seeds in our hearts and awakens something in us to go, yeah, I didn't know that was even possible. But now that I know that I almost can't, I can't unsee it. And now I have to find out, is that true? Can that be possible for me? Yeah, through a video, it's possible. That's why I felt so compelled to share about it on my social media, even though it's like
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very quick little video, but I really, gosh, I mean, that's probably a whole different topic about how many women reached out to me about my video. And there were just like goosebumps and crying. I was like, that's the Holy Spirit. Because like for weeks, weeks, weeks after my birth, I was on such a like, breathing high. I would just cry just from joy and that they were here safe and sound. And from the birth that I had, I felt like I was floating.
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I would just get goosebumps all over again. And oh my gosh, to relive that. I wish I could just relive that over and over again. Yes. I know exactly what you're talking about and how that birth high can last for weeks after your birth. And just replaying it in your mind brings back the surge of hormones and oxytocin and endorphins and the love and the joy. And it's like.
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It's like so much gratitude, so much love, so much joy. But like it actually happened. Like everything you prayed for happened. Everything like, okay. So we got to tell the birth story before we, before I go on a rant about the birth, how I could last weeks. Because I know I've experienced it too and it's glorious. Oh, that's like the perfect word for this. So you're glorious, unassisted twin home birth. How, how in the world did this happen that you had twin babies at home in 30 minutes? Walk, walk us through this.
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Okay, so just like a quick little backstory, like I said, my first two started with contractions, very painful, they would get closer together, just like a typical, like regular birth, you get contractions, they get closer together, they get more intense. And I mean, I remember like having to like, really breathe through them, couldn't talk, nothing. So, when it comes to this, when it came to this one, I just remember,
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sitting in our living room and towards the end of my, my births, I'm typically like, babe, I was like, can we just like be intimate as much as we possibly can? I mean, obviously he's down. My husband's down. No arguments there. Yeah. I was extremely uncomfortable, but I, I, I actually was, I, well, gosh, I don't know if I, I,
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I tell my friends, at least I tell my friends, I was like, I self-induced myself at home with my husband. Like, and we don't do anything else. Like, we just focus on that because the oxytocin, I know it's scientifically proven that it can help to jumpstart things, you know. If it works, it works. Yeah. So I just stuck, I was stuck too. I was like, babe, I was like, it's time. I was like, so we were intimate that night. It was around, gosh, 11 maybe PM. So we were intimate that night. And I remember like,
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I was so tired. I was ready for bed afterwards. Like, okay, I'm going to go to sleep. So I went to the bathroom, trying to like empty my bladder one last time before going to bed. And I remember sitting down on the toilet and actually, no, I, I sat down for a second and I got right back up because I just felt like insane pressure right away. Like everything felt like from my belly down to like my vulva literally felt like everything was being pushed down, like really intense pressure. Like there was no sharp pains, nothing.
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No contractions. Um, so I was like, okay, this is really strange. It's like, I cannot even sit on the toilet to go pee. So I didn't even pee. And I was just, I was like, Oh my gosh, I need to go lay down. That was extremely uncomfortable. Like paint the picture. I want to make sure we all understand here. You're 38 weeks with twins. Most twin moms would have been induced by now in the hospital, right? Like they usually say, okay, 37 weeks, that's full term. So you obviously were not wanting.
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induction, you're having home birth, you're at 38 weeks, probably super uncomfortable. I was, I was, I was massive. I look back at my photos of my stomach. I'm like, oh my gosh, what? I don't know, mind blown. So I was 38 weeks and three days. I was, I was, I was ready to be done. I was very ready to be done. So I was barely walking over to my bed and I was, so I, I could just imagine you're like, okay, we're going to, we're going to be intervention.
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Oh my gosh. And then it's like an hour later, you're feeling this intense pressure. Yes. So no, but no contractions. So yeah, so that was not regular for me. That's not typical for me with my other two from experience. I was like, okay, this is so in my head, I'm like, okay, I'm not a neighbor, but maybe I'm just, I've had very strong Braxton Hicks, like my whole pregnancy. And towards the end, they were actually like very strong and they were just like,
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they were extremely uncomfortable to the point where I was like, okay, are these contractions or not? Yeah. And that was leading up to the birth, like in the weeks prior to the birth. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I also had, I also had what I thought was labor four days before this even happened. So I was doing things. Yeah. You don't know, is this real labor? Is this Brexit and Hicks and it's twins. So like, maybe it's different. You're kind of like a new mom in a sense.
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Yeah, and anytime being my husband were intimate, like afterwards, I would, it was normal for me to feel like crampy or like have extra breaks and hicks and feel uncomfortable because oxytocin releases, obviously like it causes your uterus to contract. But like if your body's not ready to go into labor, it's, you're not going to go into labor. You're just feeling like discomfort. So here I am walking over to my bed and I couldn't even make it. I was like, no, I was like,
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I need to walk back. I was walking back to my husband. He was in the living. I was like, I was like, babe, I was like, I am so uncomfortable. I have so much pressure. I literally feel like something is about to pop. But I did. I grabbed one of those, um, depends. I had the depends for postpartum. So I grabbed one of those cause I literally felt, I was like, I was like, there's no way my water's going to break. Like I did not feel like I was a labor. I was like, but it literally feels like something's going to pop. So I just, I was trying to put them on and I couldn't, I was like, I couldn't bend down. I was like,
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Babe, can you help me? So he ran over, he quickly helped pull those up. I remember standing here, like here in my living room where we had like, we did have the tub prepared. It was blown up already in advance. Cause from Sunday when I had my clothes, when I thought was in labor, we blew it up and we actually started filling it up that day. But obviously the contractions and everything went away. I just wanted to be prepared also. I don't know if I mentioned this, I had quick births with my first like,
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He was born within four and a half hours of my first contraction. And my second was born like three hours after like, um, early labor. Okay. This is making more sense because this is your story is actually very consistent with many other twin natural twin home birth moms that I've shared because they'll tell me that it went very quick once they did go into labor, like their body wasted no time and those babies came out like very quickly. So,
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It's like you already have fast laborers. So that makes sense that your twin home birth would be even faster. So that's what we were, that's what we were trying really hard to prepare for because I was like, they could come really fast after my water breaks. And that's my other two boys. They actually, um, my water would break right before pushing. So as soon as my water breaks, I would like start pushing. Yeah. So, um, so here I am standing and he's helping me put on the fence.
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And we don't have a bath here where we live. We just have like a walk-in shower. And I was like, babe, I was like, please. I was like, can you just start filling up the tub? I need to soak in some warm water. I need some kind of relief. So he connected the host to the shower and started filling up the birthing tub. And while that was happening, I was just like, I was walking over to the couch and just trying, oh my gosh, trying my best to get comfortable. I was just, I was so uncomfortable. There's no words for this. I've never felt this discomfort in my life.
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I couldn't sit, I couldn't sit like normally on my butt. I was trying to like lay sideways and even that was so hard. Do you think you were in transition at this, at this point? You just didn't know it? Yes. Yeah. Oh yeah. So you're like, Oh, that makes sense though. Yeah. So I sat down on the couch and I called my midwife at that point and I called her. I was like, Jen, I.
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I don't know what's going on. I've been having pressure for what felt like 10 minutes now and it's not going away. It's not getting like, it's still strong, consistent, like pressure, constant pressure. And she was just like, okay. She's like, okay. She like knows what my previous labors are. Typically I start with contractions, yada, yada, and I'm like barely like talking through them. She's like, okay, well, if anything changes, she was already sleeping.
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So she said, if anything changes, she was kind of, I think, hoping that I would tell her like, okay, I'm having consistent contractions and they're close together, you know, just so we're both not questioning it. Yeah. So we, in this case, we were both questioning it. So I was like, I was like, okay, I was like, if anything, she's like, if anything changes, call me immediately. She was 15 minutes. She lives about 15 minutes from me. Okay. And I was like, okay. So I hung up and I think it was literally within like one minute. I did feel a contraction.
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And now it's kind of hard to actually remember exactly. I felt a contraction, maybe one or two, and then my water broke. So I felt two pops. I felt two little pops inside of me. I mean, I didn't feel it. It felt like I heard it, but also, no, I did feel it. It felt like air bubbles, two air bubbles popped. Like the two water bags breaking. So that was, yeah, that was one baby. So basically what I felt was
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baby A her sack broke and then the sack that was around both of them. Okay. Right. Cause there's the amnion and the cor- the corion. There's two layers. Yeah. Literally felt too pop. And what type of twins did you have? I don't remember. I had di-di twins. They were fraternal twins. They each had their own sack, their own placenta. So they were completely separate. And so my water broke and my husband's sitting here at his table and I was like,
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I was like, babe, my water just broke. He's like, what? He's like, what? Are you sure? He's like, are you sure? I was like, oh, yeah. So I got up and we saw that it was leaking and I quickly called my midwife. I was like, and the pressure was still there. The pressure was very intense. I was like, Jen, and I had to get in the water. I needed some relief. I quickly took off my diaper and I was getting into the water. And it was maybe like.
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Gosh, maybe like three inches of water at that time because it was just starting to fill up. He just connected the hose. And at that point I was feeling very like achy, like in my hips, in my thighs and my lower back. Like I could feel the aches. It didn't like feel like pain. It didn't feel like pain. It felt like a strong ache. So discomfort and the pressure was constant this whole time. So.
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So by instinct, I shoved my fingers up my vagina just to see what's going on. And I could feel ahead. I could feel ahead. Like I literally just almost, I didn't even look and go in all the way as deep as I could because I didn't know how deep I need to go. Like when people, when you know, a midwife checks out for a long time. Well, you wouldn't be able to feel ahead unless that baby was like super low, like plus one, plus two, plus three. You were probably like plus two at that point.
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So, oh my gosh. So we called the midwife. I was like, Jen, my water broke. And she's like, I'm coming. I'm coming immediately. And she lives 15 minutes away. So 15 minutes away, I called her and I felt the head and I told my husband, I was already in the pool on my knees. I was like, babe, it's like, please before you do anything. And what's crazy to me is I was actually still able to talk just fine at this point, guys. I wasn't like groaning and moaning. I wasn't breathing through them. Nothing.
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I was like, babe, please, please, before you do anything, it's set up my phone and press record. I really wanted to capture this so badly. I had my tripod set up for days in advance up there. Oh, I'm so glad you did. It's such a gift. Oh my gosh. I know I look back, I'm like, oh, thank you, Jesus. So I, so he had that set up. He set it up and I'm in the tub. I'm just like focusing rubbing my belly and I'm just like, oh my gosh, in my head, I'm like millions of thoughts. I'm like.
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I'm about to see my babies. Like, I'm about to meet my babies. Like what? At what point did it become real to you that you realize this is real labor? Like I'm not in denial anymore. Oh, when I, when the water broke, I just like, I just knew that that's it. Like things are going to happen fast. And then the babies come. Yeah. That's so funny. Okay. Yeah. My water broke and then I felt the head and I was just at that point, I was just waiting for like contractions and waiting for the urge to push.
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While he was like running around, he was like preparing things, last minute things like. Did we see freaking out after that point? No, no, no, no, not really actually. No, he was pretty chill. Thank goodness. Oh my gosh. Thank goodness. He was too. Because it's just you two. Were you scared? No, I had zero fear. I had zero fear. I just like, I don't know. It was like an instinct thing. I was like, I was so excited. I was, oh my gosh. I just remember being really excited and just wanting to hold them already.
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And I just and I knew I knew that the midwives were on their way So that gave me some peace too because I knew that they would be here soon to like check make sure everything's good. I Remember also calling my friend who was supposed to take photos for us of the labor And I called my sister's she lives an hour away and I told her my water broke and she actually drove over but she never made it obviously, but So, okay. So my husband was right here next to me, but he was in the kitchen. So he didn't see
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Like I literally just by instinct, I just started pushing and I was focusing on pushing. So baby A, she came out so fast and we actually waited to find out the genders. So I didn't know if I was going to have a girl or two girls or two boys. So that must have been so special having already had two boys. So the funny thing is, yeah, so she came out. So she came out and I was just.
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Did you? I was like, Oh my gosh, what? He walked in, he walked in and he was like, what? So he wasn't even there when the first baby came out. It was just he didn't even he didn't even realize I was pushing. He was here like he was cleaning out the the birthing tub because I literally pooped a little bit in the birthing tub from pushing. And he was like, so worried about keeping it clean. He's like, we got to keep it clean for the babies. You know, he's like this like.
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germ freak and it was so funny to me because I didn't even realize until the video we had like the little scoop thing he was like cleaning that out putting it in the trash and I'm like over here pushing out a baby but it was like silent no screaming nothing I was just focused I was so focused on pushing that baby out. Did you experience the fetal ejection reflex where your body just ejects the baby? Oh yeah.
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Oh yeah, 100%. I also actually felt the ring of fire with both of them. I had it with all my babies. Like it burns. Yeah. It burns, it stings basically, it stings. So I was just like. But you were just quiet, so you were just letting your body do it. I was like breathing it out, like the pain, not the pain, it was like the stinging sensation. It was like, oh, you know, like stings. It's like, ah, like somebody's like lighting a little torch down there. That's what I thought with all my births.
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I'm like still trying to wrap my head around this, like how many contractions did you have before baby A came out?
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I want to say maybe four. Oh my gosh. Maybe four. I can't even pinpoint it. I can't even fathom how fast that is. What? I was like, how did I just like skip transition basically? Like transition was like. You skipped all of labor, girlfriend. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah, that's true. That's true. I was just.
32:19
I mean, like, there was no first stage, second stage, you just skipped the whole thing and went right to pushing. A hundred, actually, yes. That's, gosh, no, no, praise God. Praise God. I was like, so, so, so grateful, especially after the pregnancy. I was like, this is such a gift. Talk about a supernatural childbirth man. Oh my gosh. So when she came out,
32:47
I was so excited to find out the gender. I was like, find out. I was like, we can find out the gender. Like, babe, do you want to check? I checked and we both look at it. And I literally said, I said, I think it's a girl because I'm thinking such denial that I have a girl. I was like, I think it's a girl. Oh my gosh. I was like, yeah. And towards the end of the video, I didn't realize I just played it back recently. I literally asked him, I was like, babe, can you check? Is it really a girl?
33:13
You're like in disbelief, I bet. Yeah. I mean, the whole thing is like you're probably still in shock. Like what just happened? Like, I don't know what's reality here. Yeah. So I was there. So she was there crying, her little cry. The smallest baby I've ever had. She was six pounds, 10 ounces. And that's a good size for a twin. And I was just holding her. Oh my gosh, yes. And I was like holding her. I was like, oh, this is the best.
33:39
And I immediately started actually having contractions right after that. I had maybe two contractions. And then I started pushing again. And at that point, when I started pushing, my husband ran out the door to open, unlock the gate so that the midwives could come in when they arrive. He's like, I'm just going to go quickly, open the gate up for them so they can come in while we're still here. Because he's like, just in case I can't open it when they're like when they get here.
34:07
Basically, he's like, I'd have to leave it. Anyways, he wanted all to be like set up for them. So I'm holding her, he gave me a towel to cover her and stuff, it's like, okay, go, go, go. So he quickly ran out and I started pushing. He walked out, I started pushing. I was like, okay, just like focusing on pushing, feeling the ring of fire. And just as he's walking through the door, I'm just like, I'm pushing this baby out, like the rest of him.
34:33
And he starts coming out and my husband's just running over, kneeling down and he grabs the baby with his one hand and I grab the baby with my other hand and we pull him up to my chest. So he was born three minutes after his sister and he was seven pounds, 10 ounces. He was a whole pound heavier than her, which is crazy. I was like exactly a whole pound. He just felt so much bigger. I was like, oh my gosh. Oh, it was amazing. I remember I was like, and then we would check.
35:00
But I was like, oh my gosh, it's a boy, our third boy. That's why I said in the video, it's our third boy. And people, some of the comments are, they're like, did they have triplets? Like third boy, what? But no, I guess, sorry, that got a little confusing for some people, but. So I held them, yeah, so I held them on my chest. And you had the first baby on your chest when you pushed out the second one, like your husband was in there.
35:26
Yeah, I was holding her cord. So you're you're literally pushing out baby B while holding baby A and your husband is even in the room. He's on the gate. Oh, but oh, my gosh. If it all felt so right, it all felt so right. And even my red vibe, she's like, you know what? She's like, you guys experience something like so intimate, so rare. She's like, if we were there, we would be like, you know, listening to the heartbeats constantly, like it wouldn't be as intimate. She's like, she's like, as much as I would have loved to witness that.
35:56
She's like, it was amazing the way it turned out for you guys. And I think so too. I was like, I literally, I was like, everything that I prayed for happened and even more. It was like God orchestrated from beginning to end. And yeah, so the midwives arrived and my placenta was almost completely out on its own. Actually, I say placenta because both of them kind of like, they were like connected by like a clear tissue. The placentas. So they came out together, they were attached.
36:26
not like placenta vessels, but like the, gosh, I don't even know how to say it. It was like the clear stuff. I don't know, it was like the clear sack kind of actually. Yeah, the bag of waters probably. Yeah, so it came out together. And I was, and you know what? I wanna say this actually, like by instinct, I just wanted to rub my own belly after they came out because I was starting to feel like those postpartum contractions when the uterus starts shrinking down.
36:55
And those were very intense, I think also because I was measuring almost 50 weeks at the end of my pregnancy. I was measuring like a 50 week pregnant woman. I was big. My uterus was really, really big. You were probably like, looked like a ticking time bomb to any of these. And I'm five three. I'm not like this.
37:20
So big. Yes, my belly was massive. You'll have to send me a picture so we can share it. Yes, I just remember wanting to rub my belly and I could just feel how it was like literally like I was just rubbing my belly and my placenta was like coming out. Like all of that naturally like it encourages the placenta to come out. Yeah. And which is obviously better you don't want the placenta staying in for so long.
37:46
And we were also- But you didn't have to like aggressively push your belly. No, not at all. I didn't even push. It was just instinctual. I was like rubbing it and it felt really, really, really good. And a lot of twin moms will be nervous about postpartum hemorrhage because it's more common with twin birth. But I can honestly say I probably lost less blood in this birth than I did with my first son. And we didn't need any of the pitocin shot or anything. And it was like-
38:15
It was like perfect. They both came out crying. None of this none of the cords was wrapped around their necks. Nothing like that. Like it was it was a lot of people will say like you just got lucky. But I'll say like no God made that God makes that happen. Only God like
38:34
You did the preparation, you did the work, you had your mindset, you were rebuking, you were cultivating an environment of peace in your heart to set yourself up for that kind of experience so that when it happened, you could receive it. Yes. Oh my gosh, yes.
38:52
Yeah, and sometimes, yeah, just like now I can like sit here and I think about it and I'm like, he is so good. Everything I have and I'm still breastfeeding. That was like my, one of my fears is will I be able to breastfeed and they're almost 11 months old. That was, gosh, that was a lot of work in the beginning with them. I remember breastfeeding them like day and night. That was my full-time job plus overtime as newborns. I had no sleep, but I was so, so happy.
39:21
I would just cry tears of joy all the time. And I would look at them and I'm like, smell every inch of their body to try to savor it as best as I can.
39:31
And God provided with help to our mothers. My mom, my husband's mom would bring us food so I wouldn't have to worry about it. I had no time to think about food but I was hungry. I was breastfeeding. So God provided in so many ways, so many ways. Gosh, I got to save it. Did you ever use formula? No, I never had to use formula. So they've been exclusively breastfed for 11 months.
40:00
Yeah. And my goal was like, my main goal was to get into one year and they're almost 11 months old. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, yes, we can do it. That's unheard of. Like statistically, that's like so rare. I don't even think you know. It is, it is, it is a gosh breastfeeding is breastfeeding is another thing. I'm pretty like, I love talking about it. And I love giving mothers hope because they can do it too. It's just, you know, there's a lot of self-sabotage that goes on in the beginning.
40:29
Because mothers will be like, I'm not making enough. My baby is hungry. And we all just want to feed our baby. And formula is there, obviously, just in case. A baby's not getting enough food. But in the beginning, I just know. It's the same fear from the enemy that creeps in. You're not doing enough. Your body's not working. But also, and breastfeeding is supply and demand.
40:56
So the more often you latch that baby, it tells your body to produce more milk. So I knew that. And I just, I would literally, I would literally nurse them for 40 minutes. They tandem feed them. And five minutes later, if they seemed hungry or if they were searching, I would latch those babies. My nipples have never been in such a rough state in my life. I bought those silver nipple covers to help me heal. Like the little breaks that I had in between. Yeah, silverettes. Those things are a big deal.
41:24
Go get them moms. So I actually got the knockoff version on Amazon and I can say I do believe that they helped because I feel like I literally had no breaks from nursing and I got away with like, oh I did have a cracked bleeding nipple and they were extremely sore but I feel like it would have been so much worse without those things. I'm nursing twins. I watched a friend do it and I was baffled at how much more work it was to nurse two.
41:53
than to just nurse one. It was like more than double the work because the sleep deprivation, having to even just getting set up to like latch both babies. Yes, I needed help. Yeah, I needed help. My husband would have to like set the other baby on my chest and prop me up and prop pillows around me so I could like hold them properly. Like my back was killing, my neck was killing, but I was really determined. I was like, I just want her breastfeed them. I just want them. And what a labor of love. Like...
42:22
Did you have to go into the hospital for anything for them? Like they're twins. They should be in the NICU. That's what everybody would assume, right? So I prayed, I prayed a lot. Like, please God just let them get to full term. And I remember just counting that it is. I was like, oh my gosh. Yes. Every, every single day that I was still pregnant, I was very grateful. Even though I was, I was mentally, I was done by like 20 weeks. I was like, I'm done. I was like, this is hard.
42:52
Bless your heart. You are a trooper. You are so amazing. Listen, you'll do what you have to do. You just want those healthy babies. I know. I am one person like, NICU parents, gosh, I cannot imagine. That was one of my biggest fears. And I mean, I've been in the hospital with my baby when he had RSV and that was insanely hard. And I can't imagine with a newborn like...
43:22
just like praying and hoping every single day they'll get better and better. It's just hard in the hospital. And I really, really, really was trying to like avoid as best that I can. And the only way I knew how was to pray. Like, please Lord, just let them stay in until they're ready, until they're like fully grown, until their lungs are fully developed so we can avoid the NICU. I mean, my midwife did say, she's like, if you go into labor, let's say 36 weeks, she said.
43:52
So 36 weeks, between 36, 37, they would still probably recommend that I obviously go to the hospital just in case they need assistance breathing when they're born. So I was like, okay, after 37 weeks, she's like, you're safe, basically. You're, we are planning, well, we've always been planning the home birth throughout the pregnancy. She's like, but you're good to go, like after 37 weeks. But she actually went out of town. She went on her first vacation in a very long time. What that was like between
44:21
37 and 38 weeks. Oh my goodness. So they came three days after she got back. And I was like, I remember she was gone and I was like getting those strong back to nicks. Couldn't sleep at night. I was like, please, please, please don't let this be labor. Like, I don't know. I was like, Lord, please keep them in until, until she's back. Your body knew. Like you gotta wait. I'm just saying, it's just the way that everything worked out. Yeah. It was all divine. All divine timing.
44:51
So let's jump back just a bit to the birth story. You have baby A, well, I mean, the timeline of this, I feel like you went to the bathroom, that was 11 o'clock PM, you said, 11.30, somewhere in there. So, okay, so they were born, no, so they were born at 1.08 and 1.11, three minutes apart. And no, it was already midnight. So if that was 1 a.m. So I think, actually, I think everything,
45:21
started at midnight, 12, 12 with me and my husband. We got into my around 12, went to the bathroom, felt tons of pressure, came out back to here, put the diaper on me, got on the couch, called my midwife. And then after we hung up a couple of minutes later, that's when my water broke. Cause the video actually captured the whole thing. Yeah, I just got in and he turned it on. And the video was 15 minutes long. Basically I started pushing almost right away the video.
45:48
And that's actually how we were able to track how far apart they were born is through the video because we had no we were looking at the time and Yeah, and then it shows me like sitting in the tub holding them rubbing my belly and the midwifery they arrived Yeah, I think 15 minutes after I started pushing But they got there like when you said right as the placenta was being born. Yeah. Yeah, it was already basically basically I came out she just like what what like
46:18
an incredible sacred experience to have experienced that. It almost like you're in a bubble. Like there was no, nobody was there. I love even what your midwife said that she even recognized like if we were here, we would have been checking the baby. It wouldn't have been as intimate. What a gift that God gave you and your husband to experience that together. And I bet many people would have taken that as
46:45
like a horrible thing or a traumatic thing, like, oh my gosh, my twin babies. I've actually heard women tell me stories just like this, where they had their babies at home in the bathtub alone. And it was terrifying because that's an emergency. That's horrible. And yet your heart was so positioned for glory and for this, this beautiful sacred birth that God gave it to you as a gift. I, it sounds to me like that, at least like what did I, I did.
47:15
I would literally tell God, I was like, God, I was like, let this be for your glory. Let my story be for your glory. This is literally all him. This is all him. Everything that he like, he orchestrated through my pregnancy, the way that he made things happen, like come together. It was all him and I'm so, so, so grateful. Oh my God. It's beautiful. I love how you just instinctually,
47:44
do things like when there's no interruption and there's no one around to interfere or to give you a suggestion even how your instincts just take over. Like did you feel like you were in like another zone like a supernatural like the way you describe it, it sounds like you were just in a different time zone. It seriously felt like a dream because I felt like I was going to be pregnant forever. Like my pregnancy felt like it lasted.
48:13
nine years. And I was like, I wonder, I would always wonder when the babies would come, like how far along that would be, how it would happen. Oh, I like daydreamed every single day up until this point. So when it was finally happening, I was like, and we actually, it was like meditating the lights. We didn't the lights. Like it was like a really wonderful atmosphere here. My husband, he's so funny. So he was on the computer when my water broke. So he quickly switched.
48:42
He quickly turned on some peaceful music. And I looked back, I was like, you can hear it in the videos. Like, oh my gosh, that's so nice. But I didn't even recall any of that while I was focused on the babies. And gosh, I want to know. There was also something I wanted to. Oh, yeah. I wanted to say that. So a lot of people will argue that a twin birth should be at the hospital, should be planned with an OB. But
49:13
If I was with this with the way that everything happened, if I had an OB and no midwives, if I did not prepare for a home birth, it's very likely that I would have been giving birth in the car or at home completely by myself and would have to call obviously the ambulance. Yeah. After the babies would be born. So true. Which is which is not safe to be delivering twins in a car. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Yeah. Or having no medical, you know, no
49:42
I mean, yes, the body knows the rush and everything. I like, I can write the stress of that. Yeah. That's a really good point for those of you listening to this, who may have fast births, you know, sometimes I think it's safer to stay home than to try to rush to the hospital and get to the hospital on time. You know, it's almost safer to stay home and let the help come to you for sure. And the fact that you set that up from the beginning, knowing my midwife is on the way. So I'm at peace.
50:11
She's going to check out the babies, but you just, it's like, you just knew in your heart, like everything is okay. Absolutely. Yeah. You just like start rubbing their little backs just in case, just to like stimulate them, but they both came out crying. Praise God. And, um, yeah, when it comes to like being prepared, I don't know, I look back and I'm just like, so glad that it worked out the way that I did. Like it was a lot of relief. Yeah. What would you say to women?
50:41
preparing for their birth. Gosh, there's so much I wanna say, but like the first thing that comes to my mind is like, you can absolutely do it. You are made for this. You are so capable. Don't let anybody else tell you otherwise. Like God created women to give birth. Yes, thanks to like even like we will say Adam and Eve, the curse causes caused us to have painful labors because of that.
51:08
But I believe that if you come to God and say like, God, this is the birth that you originally wanted us to have. I want that, give me that. Like, that's what I believe that birth was before it got cursed. That is like the supernatural that when I experienced. And I never, never, never thought that I could have something like that. I didn't even know how it would feel like, but now I know. And it's so real and it's possible. And it's, oh my gosh, it's.
51:38
How am I? How am I the person that got to experience that? I don't know what I did to deserve that. I don't. So that is why I'm just like. You ask. Yeah, exactly. He says, come to me and ask. You don't receive because you don't ask. Yeah. And I have a verse here that I would like to share too. That anybody who's pregnant now can write it down. Just repeat it to yourself.
52:05
especially when you're in labor, you can repeat this to yourself, but Psalm 37, 4-5, delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also, like lean on Him, also in Him, and He will bring it to pass. Just come to Him and you ask, you are His child, your Father. He wants you to be happy, He wants good for you, and He can give that to you.
52:34
And yeah, that's what I know. That's what I know. And it's, gosh, it's so, so possible. So, yeah, I hope that this spreads a lot of hope. Wow. Thank you. Would you just pray for those listening to have a supernatural birth? Oh, yes, I can do that. OK. Oh, Lord, what you have granted me, it's just it's beyond words.
53:03
And I pray that anybody listening on this podcast right now, God, that you cover them and that you bless the rest of their pregnancy and that you bless their labor. And you give them that experience, that supernatural experience, Lord, that is only possible with you. That you be their pain taker. That you be their epidural, Lord. I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over them. And I just bless them.
53:33
their babies in Jesus' mighty name. Be with them and grant the desires of their heart to them, Lord. And thank you so much for this opportunity, God. May your name be glorified through all of this, through every single person here, through every birth. In Jesus' mighty name, you are holy and you are just so grand, grand beyond words. I can't even express it. And I'm so, so, so grateful
54:02
Father. Thank you. Thank you so much for everything. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much for sharing your story and just allowing God to use it. I hope it blesses so many women and if you're listening to this and you've been touched at all by this, please share it. Share it on your social media. Send your friends. Let this story just give glory to God and be a testimony of what is truly possible in birth.
54:32
Amen. Amen. Thank you, Alla. And thank you so much. Thank you for coming on. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much, Karen. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Pain Free Birth podcast. If you were encouraged, it would mean so much if you left us a five star review and share this with your community. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram at Pain Free Birth.
55:00
Want to learn more about the Pain Free Birth e-course, free resources, private coaching, and upcoming events? Find out more at painfreebirth.com. See you next week!
