“I had the pleasure of being introduced to Casey when I was considering using a doula during my second birth. I elected not to use a doula when I birthed my son and knew going into my second pregnancy that I had to make some changes…hiring a doula was one of them. Our first meeting, partnered with Casey’s mentors from Birth Insight, occurred at Panera. I was 20 something weeks pregnant and was so excited to start discussing my wishes and learn more about the doula birthing options. I can honestly tell you that it did not feel like we were meeting in Panera… it was just us, and the rest of the world was far far away. I was immediately comforted and prepared for the next few weeks, knowing that I had an amazing team and doula to guide me on this amazing journey.
Long story short…I went into labor one week past my due date. After a stress test, ultra sound, and midwife exam I finally had legitimate contractions. During my early transition I was on the phone with the doula team and was told to head to the hospital. Casey met my husband and I on the unit and we immediately got to work prepping for my transition, working through the contractions, and finding pain alleviating distractions that involved time in the shower, breathing exercises, meditation, and walks around the unit. Eventually I transitioned and was in full on labor but immediately knew that I wasn’t progressing and was having a really hard time navigating the pain. Casey was amazing and worked with me, supported me, and advocated for me when my husband and I didn’t have the energy anymore to voice our wishes. She knew what I needed and deep down inherently wanted.
My goal was to have a natural birth, my body was telling me that that wasn’t going to happen. She saw my despair, and helped us vocalize our wish to move forward with getting an epidural. Unfortunately this meant moving to a different unit. Casey was with us the entire time–at that point twelve hours of contractions every 45-60 seconds. I couldn’t catch a break. After the epidural was placed, we finally all got a nice reprieve and were able to rest to gear up for the final push. After a failed epidural, and what seemed like forever, my water was manually broken and we spent 30 minutes pushing and just like that…our entire world was changed.
Our sweet baby Emerson Kaimana Grose made her appearance. A very healthy BIG beautiful girl weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 21 inches (no wonder she wouldn’t come out!!!). I couldn’t have done it without the support of Casey. Looking back, I wish I that I had hired a doula with my first pregnancy, but hindsight is 20-20, I am glad I was able to find the perfect support system in Casey with my second. If you are looking for a doula that fits right into your circle, your heart, and your pregnancy, she is the one. She doesn’t come into the relationship with an agenda…she truly believes that you set the pace and your baby holds the agenda. She navigates the somewhat rough waters as a captain and cries with you when you reach the end…Casey captured the most amazing pictures of our journey, and looking back on it now, still brings tears to my eyes. Thank you Casey for being our rock and helping to bring our sweet Emmy-Kai into this amazing world. We love you!”
