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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 I have the pleasure of interviewing Rylee Portela. Rylee is a mom of three and we shared her birth story on the Pain Free Birth account. She gave birth to a 10 pound 4 ounce baby in the hospital. A totally beautiful, redemptive, almost pain-free physiological birth in a hospital and you guys know me. I am a sucker for
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really all birth stories, but I also love positive hospital birth stories because I'm a firm believer that we just need to hear more birth stories of every kind. And I'm just so excited to have you on Rylee. Welcome to the show. Oh, thank you so much. It is such a pleasure for me to be here. Tell us about your first two births and what that was like, because you've had quite the progression. You had a cesarean, you had a medicated second birth, a VBAC during COVID, which
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story in itself, I'm sure. And then you went on to have like, another VBAC pain-free physiological birth in a hospital. So you've kind of done it all. Whole birth may be your next one if you have a fourth. But that's the plan. So tell us about your first two births and how that really helped you decide that you wanted something different. What was your first one like? So the first is just a very classic
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young, naive, first time mom who just trusted fully in the medical world and it's what they said that I should do. So I took all the classes, I toured the hospital, did all those things, and then had a very uncomplicated pregnancy. It was very healthy, very normal, and I'm very grateful for that. So then it comes time to actually deliver, and then my OB says,
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look, you're measuring really big. We just need to go ahead and schedule a C-section. And he didn't even suggest induction. He just went right for cesarean. Right for cesarean. What was his reasoning? Just that he was too big and thought that I was too small and said that there would be too much damage that just went through this whole like fear mongering list of things that could happen to my body and that it was just the right thing to do.
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And that is just scary as the first time on to hear all this, all the damage it's going to do to your body. My heart like breaks hearing this because I know it's you're not the only one that's been told that. But man, usually they'll at least say, oh, we'll have to induce you. But so you you said yes to the caesarean not really knowing any better. Pretty much. Yeah, it was just me blindly trusting his decades of obstetric knowledge.
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So I was like, okay, I guess we'll go ahead and do this. Cause at that point I was passed my due date and I thought, okay, I guess this is just what you do. And so we had the appointment, we scheduled it. And then that night I went into labor naturally and had kind of a tough time. I had a lot of back labor and wasn't feeling very good and called in to the hospital and said
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guys, what should I do? And the doctor on call said, just go into the hospital and we'll figure it out. So I labored most of the wee hours of the morning in the hospital bed, just waiting to see what would happen. And I was checked and didn't progress very far, wasn't very phased. And then my OB comes in that morning and sticks his head in and says, okay, you ready? Not even thinking about how I was already in labor and contracting.
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pretty regularly still. And I said, okay, just wherever you think, if you don't think I'm progressing, well, let's just go ahead and do it. And we did do it. And he was born via Caesarean. And was he a big baby? He was. I mean, he was nine and a half pounds. So, something you could have birthed though. Nine and a half is still not. And I know now that's very doable. Yeah. So what did you decide to do for your second birth? So for the second time around,
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I knew I wanted to do something different. I knew I wanted it to be different because I didn't want to feel the way I did immediately postpartum after my first. I was very sad. I don't remember a lot of the first 24 hours after my first birth. And I knew I didn't want that for my second. So I went to a big clinic in Rylee and I said, hey, I want feedback.
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and I'll be two years between them. And they told me, you're crazy, we're absolutely not going to do that. And I said, okay, bye. And you left. Yes, poor girl. And I left. I mean, okay, well, cause I had made up my mind at that point. It's like, I know this is what I wanna do. Good for you. So I left that clinic and came back to the one that I burst in for this previous birth and...
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or the second one as well. Okay. And did you find a good provider that was supportive of VBAC? I did eventually. This clinic has OBs and med lives. So once I finally got around to seeing everybody, I found one med life that was actually genuinely supportive of my decision and told me that I was a good candidate for VBAC. Awesome. And I had a lot of late term ultrasounds.
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for that one as well because I had a history of bigger babies and he was measuring big, everybody thought. So I was offered induction at 39 weeks, I believe, and of course said no to all that. I wanted to labor naturally and that is what happened. I did go into labor naturally and the midwife who told me I could VBAC was actually the one that was on call that night and was the one that...
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delivered my baby and helped me successfully VBAC. Oh, that was nice. Yeah. So you had a successful VBAC, medicated, gave birth and that, how big was that baby? He was, 10 pounds, eight ounces. Okay. So they're getting bigger. A whole pound bigger. Yeah. They progressively just got bigger. So I was thinking, Oh my goodness. What I was told with my first was completely a lie. And I birthed a baby.
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a whole pound heavier during COVID, right? Right before COVID, the world was shut down. Nobody wanted to take a risk on me. And he was the only one willing to do that and thank the Lord that he did, because it was a hard labor. It was difficult, but he did. He helped me successfully VBAC and I'm very grateful for that. Oh, that's amazing. I'm so happy to hear you found a doctor that was supportive of you. So...
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Now moving to your third birth, which is the birth story I shared on my Instagram, this baby in true consistency with your others was another big baby, 10 pounds for ounces, but now you're walking into this knowing like my body can do this. But what was different this time around and what did you want with your third baby? So with my third, I became even more determined, to be honest.
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I wanted this one to be completely unmedicated, very physiological. I wanted it to be as hands-off as it possibly could, but still wanted to have a positive hospital birth experience. So this time around... Some people would say that's not possible. Right! But you proved it wrong. I hoped it would be possible, and I found a way to make it possible. It ended up happening. And I'm...
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very grateful for that. So tell us at the beginning and tell us about this birth story because we shared the photo. I'll put the link to the story in our show notes. But that first photo of you just like grinning ear to ear holding your baby is it just sends all kinds of butterflies and happy feelings throughout my body. Yes, those were like real raw photos. There was no like
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birth photos, it was just my doula grabbed my phone and was like, I'm going to take pictures of all these fantastic moments. Wow, these are very real and raw. And what did you do differently to prepare for this one, knowing you're very determined and you wanted unmedicated this time? Yes. So I ended up taking the Pain Free Birth masterclass and that was life changing. That was really great.
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I couldn't necessarily afford the full thing, even though I really wanted to. That was the goal. The goal was to take the full course, but the masterclass came up first. And I thought, absolutely. So I wrote down everything. I took notes and had it just playing in my head over and over again. I love that. And that's why I make that available to women and it's free. We're getting ready to relaunch it now. So by the time you hear this, we'll probably be.
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available and we'll of course put the show notes in that. We refilmed it last year and so I'm so glad to hear that impacted your birth so much. And you're not the only one. I've had many women tell me, I just took your free class, your masterclass and I had a pain-free birth or I birthed a big baby or this incredible story just from the one hour masterclass that I give away. So that honestly truly warms my soul. Even if you didn't buy the course, I just get...
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so happy to hear that this message is getting out there and it's impacting women and their birth experiences. Yes, it was wonderful. I will absolutely tell anyone, everyone, if you are pregnant, go ahead and do it. Just do it. You will not regret it. Yes. And you said you also hired a doula for this one as well. Did that change your experience? Correct. This is the only one that I hired a doula for and she was amazing. She was so good advocating for me.
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and just knowing all of my wants and communicating that really well. And just so that my husband didn't have to worry about that. He could just be with me and be present with me because he was my rock. He was right there with me the whole time, as he always has been. And so she was the one kind of going back and forth with the doctors and the nurses and doing all that fun stuff while we were just able to be there in the moment.
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birth this baby. Oh, that's amazing. So tell us the story. How did it happen? You were, I think you were at home and it was a little crazy of a transition to the hospital. What was that like? Yes. So start to finish the birth, I think was my labor and delivery was like four hours. So very fast. That is fast, especially for a big baby. Yes. And I credit it all to the preparation that.
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was in it beforehand, like I was relaxed. My body knew what it was doing and it was just amazing. So I started off laboring on the toilet actually.
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For the most part. Go to the toilet. Yes, I had seen that so many times. I was like, okay, I'll give it a try. I was like, oh my goodness. That's probably why you progress so quickly. Probably. Thinking about it now, wow, I'm really in progressing quickly because my due date was actually the day before, and I went to labor the day after my due date. I was already feeling discouraged and thinking, I really wanted this baby to come a little bit earlier.
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They never listen. They're just silly babies. They always just come whenever they want to. Whenever they want to. But yeah, I did that and then I texted my doula and she was like, okay, and gave me this list of things to do and to rest. And of course I didn't take her advice. I just got up and started cleaning my house because that helped.
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It helped just to be up and walking around and doing something productive, just because that's how I work. Well, it obviously works. So, so at what point did you decide to go to the hospital? It was, it was pretty soon after that, because about 10 minutes after I first texted her, I was like, girl, I'm starting to have to like really focus during these contractions. And she said, I will be there in five minutes.
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because she lived very close. So she paid and she looked at me and at that point I was waking up my husband. I hadn't even woken him up yet. So he was like running around crazy, trying to do stuff and get everything in the car. So she was there helping me while he was around doing that stuff. So she was like applying counter pressure. She was doing all of our like affirmations and she was just amazing, a godsend. But then I felt myself.
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Yes. And then I found myself like, oh, this is a new feeling. What's going on here? And the only thing I could think of was I feel like I'm bearing down. I feel like I'm pushing and I'm at home. And like everything contractions, I was laying there like on the ball, on my hands and knees on this huge ball. And I was like, I'm pushing.
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And I hear both of them in the background going, what? And then I do it quickly. Yeah, right. That's what I was thinking. I was like, I have so long to go. I'm just going to keep punching through, I guess. And no, it was coming a lot faster than I anticipated. You must have obviously been handling the contractions really well to progress that far to feeling like you're bearing down. And. Yeah.
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And of course your last one was you had an epidural. So you hadn't experienced that before I imagine, or at least not in the same way. Correct. Because I labored naturally with my second until I hit really early phase transition and got the epidural. So I had to be coached to push and stuff like that. So I really, I didn't know what it felt like. Yeah. I was like, okay, I guess we need to do something now. And what were the contractions feeling like? Cause I mean, if you made it all the way to bearing down.
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pushing either you're in transition or you've been through transition. Did you know you were going through transition at that point? No, to be honest, I had no idea at that point. I was just like, wow, this feels intense. This feels different. I feel like I was starting to shake a little bit. I was like, okay. No, it really wasn't. I would describe it as intense, but not painful. It was, it wasn't painful. So, which was what I was like.
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gearing up for, I guess. I thought that's when transition would be, which was where I would feel actual pain. But I didn't. I really didn't. So I imagine they whisked you out the door after you said you were pushing. Yes. Time to go to the hospital. They tried to as quickly as possible, but I was just like waddling out the door as best as I could. So you drive to the hospital. How was the car ride there? I...
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don't remember the car ride. It's a blur. That's good. Because it's not always a great experience. The car rides a bit rough sometimes. I had a whole conversation with the on-call doctor in the car and I have no recollection of it. None whatsoever. That's hilarious. Those are birth hormones for you right there. Yeah. Well, because I had to, I told myself, I was like, I have to be in my head, like in birthland while I'm in this car. Because I won't be able to do this otherwise.
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It was insane. I had the hold of the handle like that handle in the car and I was raising myself up during the contractions going, okay, I'm either going to have this baby in the car or somehow I'm going to get through it. And I was like, Lord, you're going to have to handle this. I am completely surrendered at this point. It is all in your hands at this point.
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Yeah, you're like going through transition, trying to walk to the car and then in the car, holding on to that handle for dear life. But yes. I'm surrendering baby to baby Kevin. I love that so much. Absolutely. So you got to the hospital. What happened next? So we get to the hospital and I get out and the security guard meets us at the ER entrance and my husband was like, you gotta move. My wife is having a baby right now.
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And he went to me and was like, oh my gosh, it ran back inside and got the wheelchair, whatever other stuff that we needed. And they were trying to get my information for like admission purposes. And I was trying to talk through these contractions to them. I was like, I can't do this with you right now. I cannot. It's like the worst time to get that information. Like, woman's about to have a baby. Can you just...
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Build out the paperwork later, please. I know. I was like, oh my gosh, this is so annoying. So we get up there and it was like the slowest wheelchair ride of my life. I don't really think they believed that I was as far progressed as I was because I felt like I was handling it well.
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But I was getting like irritated and agitated because I just wasn't in the headspace. Yeah, absolutely. Get in my room right now so I can have this baby. Pretty much. So yeah, so once I got to the room, it was let's go from there. I got to the side of the bed. Did they take you right to your room or did you have to go through triage? Right to your room. Oh, no, no, no, they took me right to the room. Get this lady a room. Yes. Yeah, they were not going to.
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triage me, they were like, we don't want her to have this baby down here. Get her to labor and delivery. So you got to your room. That must've felt good to finally get a little settled. What happened next? Yes. So I like barely got undressed and got the gown on. I got no IV, no nothing. And another godsent moment, the midwife that I had seen a couple of days before.
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was the midwives that actually delivered the baby. And she was amazing. Like just hearing her voice as she walked in the room was just like, I was like, thank you God, because this is exactly who I needed. And it was exactly what I wanted. Those little things can just calm your heart and your mind and your body. Like just hearing that voice or that having a gentle touch like that.
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presence and that energy of someone to support you. You can feel it. You're so sensitive and intuitive as a woman in labor in this stage and who you have in your environment is really powerful. And I just love that just her voice calmed you. Like it just probably instantly put you in a calmer state of being, which is amazing. Because it was in the back of my mind. I was like, what if I get someone I don't like or what are their...
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not kind or don't respect my wishes or whatever, which my doula was all over that. She was going to be all over that anyway. But just knowing that was her and knowing that she could communicate well with my doula so I didn't have to go through this questioning process or whatever. But it was amazing. I stood there at the edge of the bed and my husband was about to go back down to the car to get all of her stuff, get my birth plan, all that. And she goes, wait a minute.
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Let's check first and then ask me, can I check you? I hadn't been asked that before. So I finally got to consent to a check. After two, this is your third baby and that was the first time they actually got informed consent to check you. Yes. Oh my gosh. I'm not, I'm going to restrain going on a ranch right now. I know, I know. Anyway, so I was like, yeah, sure, whatever. And she did and was very gentle. That was nice too.
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and checked me as I was standing there. And she looked over at my husband and she goes, you can't go anywhere, we're having a baby right now. And then she and my husband helped me up on the bed and I got on all fours and just went in the zone. Like I was in that proverbial birth land, like what I had hoped to experience because I hadn't had that experience before. So I got in there, got on the bed.
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And then my wonderful, amazing mother came in the room and just gently whispered over to me, I'm here. And she said she almost started crying because I was so in the zone. I barely even heard her whisper to me. And I looked up and I said, well, hi. And then went right back in. She said, me and your Jula almost started bawling because we knew it was coming so soon. And my mother
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wasn't able to be there for any of my other births. So this was another way, another godsent moment of how this was so redemptive for me. Right. Cause your first was Caesarean and your second was during COVID. And so you probably couldn't have her even if you wanted to then. Right. It was just my husband. That was the only person I could have. So it was amazing to be able to have my entire support system right there with me. And, but then
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I could feel that I was starting to kind of purple push, like I was fighting against my body and it wasn't feeling just right anymore, but it was just different in a bad way. So I thought to myself, okay, I have to recenter. This is where I really need you to show up God. Like I was just talking to God and talking to my baby almost at the same time. Lord, you have to take care of this baby.
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You've got to do your job too. Like we all have to work together. Yes. Hold up to his promises, right? Yes, absolutely. And is that when it started to feel painful when you started to get out of your peace and start to hold your breath to push? Yeah, a little bit maybe like more intense. I wouldn't say it was exactly painful then, but.
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it could have gotten there easily if I had not had that mental shift very quickly. It happened very quickly. It's amazing that you knew, no, this doesn't feel right and I need to make a shift. Like that is the mother's intuition. And so often women ignore that nudge and then they start purple pushing and it takes hours and then they regret it later. I've heard so many women tell me a story similar to that, but I love that you...
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followed your gut instinct and knew this doesn't feel right. I need to re-center. I need to get back to peace. And so what was that like? What did you do to help yourself re-center? Mostly just praying. Really, it was making, just talking to God and making sure that I knew where my mental state needed to be and where it was at.
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I was saying, Lord, you have to take over now. I have completely surrendered. It is up to you. This child is yours. I am yours. We are doing this together. And please bring my baby soon. And hurry with it, please. I really need to do it now. So real. So raw. Oh my gosh. I just love that. That's that moment of surrender. Like that is.
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when we face ourselves, we face this baby's about to be here. And I feel like we all hit that moment at some point in labor where we either like grip onto control and we try to like grin and bear through it. Or we full surrender, come to Jesus moment, which is what you did. Yes, which I had done the opposite before, which was why my labor was so long with my second because I was trying to hold onto that control. I was trying to.
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keep it within my control instead of just completely letting go. And it felt so much better to just let it go and surrender and just be relaxing myself, like telling myself you have to relax here and here. You have to keep relaxing here and here. Just over and over again, just the monotony of it was almost calling. What did you tell yourself to relax? It was physical points. It was jaw, shoulders.
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hips, vaginas. I don't know if I'm allowed to say that or not. Yeah, such as the birth podcast, you can definitely say vagina. That's great. So how was pushing for you? It was so relieving. To be honest, it felt weird saying that it was relieving, but it was because once I was out of transition, I could relax, which I thought that was so strange because I guess
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transition was so weird for me because of being in the car and having transitioned to the hospital and doing all that before I could actually feel relaxed enough to push. Once I actually got to that point, I was like, okay, this is great. My midwife and my doula got me on my side to push. And that was when it all went down. Like once I laid on my side, I was like, okay, this is it. This is how we're going to do it. It felt right. Like it felt good.
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to do it on my side. Good. And it was amazing. It really was. I was actually able to rest in between contractions so I could effectively push a little bit better. I never felt like FER, like ejection reflex, I never really felt that. I felt like I needed to push, but I was never coached to push. I was never told when to do it. I just listened to my body and went with my body.
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Just try to help it along because baby was that big. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes they need a little extra. That's okay. And that can definitely help if you're working with your body, not overpowering it. I love that. Sounds like you were well supported during that phase as well. And it was calm. It wasn't hectic. They weren't yelling at you to like hold your breath and push. So that makes such a big difference when we are allowed to trust our intuition, especially in pushing phase.
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Because so much tends to go wrong during that phase, if it's hectic and forced. And so it's really great to hear. What was it like when baby came? Oh my goodness. His head was out with one push and then the rest of his body was out with the second push. And it was, I felt the ring of fire. So that is probably the only time that I would say that I felt pain. Like I felt actual pain was then.
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But even then it wasn't so much that I told myself I can't handle this. Yeah. It was, it was almost more motivational for me to say, okay, I know what this is. This is something I've been, I've read about and I know what this is. So it was almost more motivational for me to actually go ahead and push them out. And I had been very quiet. I had been doing some low moaning and making sure my jaw was dropped. And.
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things like that, but for those two pushes to get him out, I felt like I was yelling. I felt like I was absolutely yelling, which I probably wasn't that loud, but for me, I was like, okay, you're coming up. This is it. This is the time. Oh my goodness. You wrote some things down. What was the funniest part of your birth experience?
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To be honest, the funniest part was my husband and my doula's reaction when we were at home. When I was saying, I was pushing and just hearing their reaction in the background because they both are very calm people. It's hard to get them startled. When I said that, I heard both of them go, what? Them have to recollect themselves. It was just hilarious.
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My husband still says to this day that I was being absolutely ridiculous because I had been in labor for probably an hour and a half, close to two hours before I even woke him up and he was like, what are you doing? Why didn't you wake me up? I was just having my moment of me and the Lord of this baby. Yes, I totally understand that. That's what's so funny. He's like, I wanted to help you. Oh, I love that. Yes.
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going back to the birth of this amazing baby, you felt the ring of fire and pushed and roared your baby out. This quiet, laboring mom suddenly turns into a roaring lion. Yes. Yes. That's what I felt like. That's great. And so your baby came. What was that like for you? Because I imagine that had to be a different experience too, birthing unmedicated compared to cesarean and medicated birth. Yes. And...
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Was all of that worth it? What was that like? Oh, it was amazing. There is nothing on earth to describe what that felt like to actually have them out to hear him. Brian, he was immediately put on my chest and did not leave anything that they needed to do to him, which it was a low risk, everything. Like he was totally fine. I was totally fine during pregnancy.
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So just to have him finally on my chest, to hear him breathing, hear him crying, and have him there with me was an experience like no other. It made me want to have another one like soon. Like right then and there. Which is hilarious because I didn't feel that the other two times. Like I knew I wanted more kids, but right then I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. I love this. I am so in love with this feeling. I'm so in love with how...
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empowering the splars and my baby and how the Lord brought me through it. It was amazing. There's nothing like it. That's the way it's meant to be. So that's just the way it's meant to be. Like that's God's design for birth. Like we get through it and we don't say, oh, I'm never doing that again. Or how could you do this to me and our husbands? It's no, I can't wait to do this again. That is the design. That is God's design for women, for birth, for procreation. Like to ensure we keep
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The species going, but we procreate that as the commandment, right? From scripture. It's, and he designed in a way that our hormones would make us want to do it again when we have a birth that is in alignment with how he created us to birth, which is empowering and beautiful. And you get to the end. And I'm not going to lie. Like, I remember thinking like, I'm so glad that's over. And also I'm going to do that again. Like it can be, yeah. Like you can be exhausted. You could be like, I'm so glad. I can't believe I did that.
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There can be so many feelings and emotions. This isn't to say like one reaction is bad and one is good, but I just feel like that raw, like that feeling of like, I did it and I want to do that again. I could totally do that again. That is the feeling I wish every mother could experience at some point in her life. Cause we all deserve to have that kind of birth experience. Absolutely. I mean, there was, there was truly nothing like it. And it's just like you said.
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I did feel relieved that it was finally done and that I got to hold my baby and be with him and have that beautiful bonding experience that I had been craving since the moment I got pregnant with him. But I was also like, oh, thank you, Jesus. This part is over and I get to start this beautiful new journey with him here on the outside with me.
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How was your postpartum? What was that like? And was it different than your other births? Oh, it was amazing. It was so much better than my other births. We actually celebrated Father's Day and had family over at our house, I think the week after, because I felt so good. Like I was up and walking around doing stuff and it was just amazing. Like I didn't feel...
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sluggish like I did after having that epidural. I didn't feel overwhelmed because I did have some PPD after my first and second and I didn't have nearly as much with this one, not much at all. And it was just completely different. That's such a, that's a true marker, I believe, of physiological birth and something we don't talk about enough is how much it impacts our
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Yes, and I didn't realize how much it would. Yeah. I didn't realize how much it would. That's amazing. And this baby was not small either. It was 10 pounds, 4 ounces. And you birthed it in a hospital, mostly without pain, physiologically fully supported in love. Like, what an incredible story and a hope-giving story to any mother who is birthing in a hospital or is facing birthing a potentially big baby.
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What helped your mind not be afraid of another big baby? Just that I had done it before. I knew it was possible. You knew it was possible with your son. Yeah. Yeah. I knew it was totally possible and that my body was meant to do this. I wouldn't naturally conceive and grow a baby that is beyond my body's capabilities. And I know external things can happen, but I've...
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personally was low risk, my baby was low risk, and it just happened the way it was supposed to be. So that mental fortitude I had was just knowing he was fine and that I was going to be fine. That was my affirmation. I'm okay. My baby is okay. We are going to be fine. This birth is going to be the redemption story that I've always wanted. And just kept saying that even through my pregnancy, as I was praying, I would say, Lord,
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please let this be the redemptive birth that I need from you. That this baby was given to me from you. And I was like, well, please, like just saying, please grant me the, this desire. And he did. And you did the preparation, the work and the trust and the surrender to allow that to happen. I love that so much. What's just in closing here, what is one thing you would
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say to mothers who may have experienced a disappointing birth or traumatic birth experience much like you, maybe a cesarean or they're just not sure can I even do it unmedicated, can I really have this dream birth, can I really go for that VBAC? What's something you would tell these moms? That at first you have to decide, I would say even before you get pregnant, you have to decide for yourself right then and there that is
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what you're going to experience. That if you are low risk, even if you're high risk, like it's definitely possible, but you have to go ahead and have that mental fortitude now so you don't waver later. That was my biggest thing was to say, look, I have it made up in my mind that this is going to happen the way that it needs to happen. And I'm going to go ahead and pray now and say, now, Lord,
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I know this is how you've designed me to be. This is how you've designed my baby to do this together. And this is how I want it to be. Please grant me that desire. And then surround yourself with the most supportive people possible. It can be very hard to do. So that's where I found a lot of community online. That's how I found you was looking up those large baby birthing stories that
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helped me a tremendous amount and then having the support of my own people and hiring a doula. I don't care how much money it is. Fire the doula. Just do it. Worth every penny. It was worth every penny. Absolutely. So encouraging for moms. Rylee, thank you for sharing your story for just your...
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incredible vulnerability and realness and being generous with sharing such a sacred moment with other moms and I just pray that this encourages and uplifts people. Oh also I wanted to mention for if you also have had big babies like Rylee and that is something your doctors have been fearful of, I've collected tons of stories you probably are in this real.
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Um, it's called, and I have them on my Instagram, the big baby highlight, and it's kind of notorious. Now I, women and midwives and birth workers will send women here all the time because I've just collected over the years, like the biggest baby birth stories I could find up to like even 14 pounds vaginally delivered. So, so like the fear of the big baby is like one of my missions. Like we're just going to kill that fear because your body can do it. Absolutely. That is a fear that needs to die.
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That used to go. And you are like the poster girl for this having a Cetherian with your first because your doctor said your baby is just too big. You're going to damage your body to having a beautiful, redemptive VBAC pain-free birth in hospital with God and your support team. What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing and coming on the show today. Yes. Thank you so much. It was absolutely a pleasure to share it. And I'm just so thankful to have.
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Any kind of encouragement to anyone else. Anyone wants to reach out to me about having a big baby. I am, I'm all there. Tell them how they can find you if they want to reach out to you. So I'm on Facebook. I'm that old lady on Facebook. My name is Rylee Portela and then I'm on Instagram as Mrs. dot Newtela and that's pretty much.
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all the social media I have. We'll put those in the show notes so you can find her and reach out. Thank you, Rylee, and we'll see you guys next week.
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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 shared this with your community. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram at PainFreeBirth. 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.
