Josie Johe’s Birth Story
On Friday January 24th, I started to feel like I wanted Josie to come. I was three days overdue and although I wasn’t miserable, I just felt the desire to have her. I texted my midwife to discuss taking castor oil because that was our plan for when I hit 41 weeks anyways (Noble’s size of 11lbs made us decide to try to induce earlier than we normally would). My midwife ended up being really sick on Friday and Saturday so I held off a bit longer.
Sunday around lunch time I started to get antsy so I texted my midwife again. She gave me the go ahead and I took my first two tablespoons of castor oil at 2:30pm. I took another two tablespoons at 3:30pm. It didn’t taste terrible and it didn’t make me feel sick, thank you Lord! I left my kids with my mom anticipating that the castor oil would induce labor and I went home to do some laundry. As I folded laundry, my Braxton Hicks contractions continued to become more frequent and predictable but I still wasn’t in any pain and couldn’t tell whether it was going to grow in intensity or if it was just a false alarm.
Matt went to a deacon meeting about 4:45pm and when he returned at 6:30pm I had just gotten up to pee. As soon as he walked in the room, my first real contraction hit. It was almost like my body recognized he was home and that was the trigger to put me into full blown labor. Having had three other babies, I knew this was the real deal. I texted my midwife at 6:30pm that she should head my way. She lives in Fresno, about two hours away, so even though she left immediately, it would be awhile before she arrived.
After that first contraction they only increased in frequency and intensity. I turned on all my tea lights, started music, and started the diffuser during the first three contractions where I was still able to function. Then I hopped in my bathtub for some relief. We were only a few minutes into labor by this point but it was becoming obvious to both Matt and I that it was going to go fast and that our midwife would likely not make it. I remember listening to Jesus Strong and Kind by City Alight in this “early stage” and being comforted by the fact that those words, strong and kind, described the God that would carry me through my labor.
I labored through a few contractions in the tub and then decided I’d get out and lay on my bed. I thought maybe I could relax there while Matt rubbed my back. I clearly didn’t fully grasp how far along I was in the process. Once I got to my bed, I threw myself down and just laid there like a lump. I was past the point of moving into interesting or comforting positions and fully in transition (the final stage of contractions before pushing). I was vocalizing through each contraction while being fully aware that pressure was mounting and I was getting close to having a baby. I was praying through each contraction and reminding myself of the truth that the Lord was with me through this suffering.
At one point, I told Matt “I don’t want to do this,” a stark difference from my previous births where I thought or said “I can’t.” He encouraged me that even though I didn’t want to in that moment, I absolutely could do it. I told him “You’re right, I can do this and I’m going to do this!” And then a huge wave of pressure hit and I knew he needed to fill up the birthing tub. He rushed to get the hose in the pool and start filling and then get back to me to help me cope with the next contraction.
I moved to the tub and right when I stepped in, I realized the water was too hot but it didn’t matter because the next contraction hit and I dropped to my knees on the little seat in the pool. Right at that moment, my water broke and Matt got the temperature under control. The next contraction, I felt her start to crown and told Matt to get our midwife on the phone. The next contraction her head came out and one contraction later, her body followed. When it came time to push, I initially started to bear down along with the contraction but then I wondered what would happen if I just relaxed and allowed my body to do what it was made to do. By God’s perfect design, my body pushed her out without additional effort from me. When she came out, Matt lifted her right onto my chest and she cried immediately. She was perfect, she is perfect. We waited an hour in the tub while our midwife drove the rest of the way to our house. She clamped the cord and Matt cut it, as he has done with all our babies. Then we snuggled up in bed and spent the rest of the evening marveling at what the Lord had done.
Josie Johe was born at 7:30pm on January 26th, 2025, exactly one hour after my labor began. Matt and I were the only people present for her birth. I think if you had asked me to write my perfect birth, I couldn’t have even written a birth as perfect as her’s. For the first time in all four of my births, I felt in control throughout the whole thing. It was really special to pull from my experience as a doula, to remember the births of some of my incredible clients as I labored. I knew where I was in the process throughout, and even more than the knowledge of the biology of what was happening, I knew the Lord would see me through.
When I prayed for this birth, I prayed for health and safety, for Josie’s size. I prayed that it would honor the Lord and that it would be somewhat quick. The Lord provided far above what I asked for. He knew the desires of my heart without me even speaking them and he gave them to me. It was a perfect birth. It was one of the most special moments of all of my life. I cannot express the joy we feel over this precious gift.
My midwife said that Matt goes down as the calmest dad she’s ever had deliver a baby. He was the best birth partner I could have ever asked for. He has earned the title Daddy Doula. But it is a surprise to no one that knows him that he did so well. He is an incredible dad, an exceptional husband, and a dang good deliverer of babies. Every day I grow in greater gratitude that the Lord gave me him, this day was no exception.
It is all God’s grace. Soli Deo gloria.
