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Sofia Rosalind Keith was born October 22, 2007 at 11:21pm. She weighed 7pounds 15ounces. She was 21 inches long. This is the story of her water birth.

On October 22 I was officially 7 days over my due date. Still feeling great and no contractions. I had to go to the hospital and have the “stress test” done since I was overdue to make sure baby and placenta were still doing well. I was very stressed out about the test. I didn’t want to go and have it done. This was my third baby and I had never had to do this before. The woman at the hospital was very nice and sweet. I filled out some paperwork and they put a hospital bracelet on me, which I didn’t like because I had not intention of staying long. I got in the chair and she strapped the monitor on me I started to cry. I so didn’t want to do this! My husband reminded me that if I calmed down they could do the test and we could leave. He held my hand and helped me relax. During the test the lady asked me if I was feeling the contractions I was having. I told her they just felt like strong “Braxton Hicks”. After the test we went to Whole foods and walked around. By the time we got home I was feeling “very pregnant”. When we got home my “Braxton Hicks” were getting stronger and by dinner I realized I was having contractions. After dinner I laid in bed a bit trying to relax and hide from the other 5 people in the house. This didn’t feel good so I got in the hot shower. This felt good but when the hot water ran out I had to get out. Then my husband Brandon and I went for a walk around the block. This helped speed up the time between contractions. I was having a hard time finding something that worked so I could relax through the contractions. My contractions were 12min, 5min, 15min then 3min apart. I called Kel around 8:00pm. She said it sounded like I was in early labor, and to try concentrating on my slow relaxed breathing and to call her when the contractions were consistent or when I needed her. We got our 2 boys to bed and decided to watch a movie with my parents. They were watching Failure to Launch. Everyone thought this was a funny choice since I was past my due date and having my own “Failure to Launch”. During the movie I tried to lie on the couch or get on all fours during contractions. Between contractions I had to go to the bathroom a lot. Sitting on the toilet made each contraction stronger. Brandon reminded me this happened with our first child right before I stared pushing. I called Kel and told her I was ready to come in to the birth center. By now my contractions would come in 3’s. The first two contractions were ok then the third would be strong. We met Kel at 9:45pm and she checked me. I was only 4cm dilated. I was disappointed since I thought I should be further along by the way the contractions felt. I did feel at peace being at the birth center and the whole “when do we go in” stress was gone. She got me set up on the labor ball and left us so we could have some time. The labor ball felt great. Every few contractions I would get up and go to the bathroom. I remember sitting on the labor ball yawning, I was so tired. I decided I better try and take a nap since I was only 4cm and I needed my strength for later. I crawled up on the bed and lay on my side. The next wave of contractions my body started to push. Brandon went and got Kel. She checked me and I was complete! She filled the tub with water and called the labor assistant. I had only been at the birth center about 45 min at this point. Brandon and Kel got me in the tub as it filled. At first it was not very relaxing. Once it was filled I was able to lay back and the water felt great. The water really eased the contractions. Having 3 or 4 pushing contractions on the bed I could really feel the difference the water made. ( I wish I would have had my other two un-medicated births in the water.) My husband stroked my hair and held a cool wash cloth on my head while Kel spoke in a soft voice and explained to me what my body was doing. Kel and I had talked at great length during my pregnancy about my fear of tearing. I had a 3 degree tear with my first two births and didn’t want to tear again. At one point she told me to reach down and feel my baby’s head. While I was in the tub Kel broke my water. Kel did a wonderful job at guiding my pushing. She told me when to relax and not push so Sofia would come out slow. She would tell me to push when I felt the urge and then when to stop pushing. She reminded me that I would still feel her head slowly stretching me. I never felt rushed to push her out. Lying in that tub with my husband and Kel next to it was so peaceful. I remember looking down and watching my little girl under the water being gently pushed out into the world. Karly arrived as Sofia was placed on my chest and we were covered with warm towels. Her eyes were opened and she looked at us although Sofia didn’t cry at first she was healthy. Kel rubbed her with a warm towel and she cried. The water was drained from the tub before the placenta was delivered. When the cord stopped pulsing Kel helped Brandon cut the cord. I delivered the placenta in the drained tub. After we got settled in the bed Karly showed us the placenta and explained all the parts and how it worked. This was my 3rd baby and I had never seen the placenta before. Seeing how it worked was really cool. I was given a herb to help stop the bleeding but eventually I was given a shot of pitocin in my leg. It burned going in but after a minute I didn’t feel it. When we were all settled Kel said goodbye and Karly stayed with us. We were the only ones giving birth that night so the center was quiet. Karly came and checked on us during the night. She always entered the room quietly and never disturbed us. The next morning we woke, ate our meal we had brought and headed home with our new baby girl. When we arrived home the boys were so excited to meet their new little sister. And a whole new chapter in our life began.

The next day Karly came to the house to check Sofia and myself. She helped us with some breastfeeding issues we were having. The whole experience was so calm and peaceful. During my prenatal appointments, the birth and my post partum check ups I never felt rushed. I liked that I saw both Kel and Roberta during my pregnancy so when I went into labor I felt comfortable with both of them and knew the person who would help us. I liked that the birth center was an all female staff. Dulce and Yesenia at the front desk greeted me with a smile and were always ready to help. Thank you all! Kendal and Brandon Keith

All I wanted was to have my baby before my 42 weeks we up. My due date was October 7, 2007, but my little bundle of joy just wasn’t ready to come out and see the world yet. Since I missed my due date, one of our midwives, Roberta, suggested we take castor oil to start contractions; just to speed things along. She said that if it doesn’t start any contractions, she asked if I would be willing to take it again. I told her that I would because all I wanted was my baby. The first time wasn’t strong enough to start any powerful contractions. Since that didn’t work and only being 2 cm dilated, our other Midwife, Kel suggested that I take it again on Friday October 19th ( at this point, I’m 12 days overdue). On Friday, I took the first dosage and nothing happened. When my husband came home, he was encouraging me to finish the rest of the oil (this stuff is really gross) Of course I didn’t want to and as I was pleading not to finish the rest off, I felt a pop from within and then fluid leaking, my water broke! We called midwife Kel and we went down to the birth center around 8pm. I had a lot of amniotic fluid so you could imagine it took awhile to unload. My contractions became stronger shortly after my water broke. I picked up my bedroom and sat hand in hand with my husband the whole time going through my powerful back labor pains. Boy, did they burn! After 2am I was dilated to 4cm. My husband and I were up for awhile without any sleep, all I wanted was for my baby to come and go to bed. Around 6:45 am, my body started pushing during each contraction. I told midwife Kel and she started my bath tub and we just waited. My delivery only lasted 45 minutes and it was a relief when I gave my final push. But during my pushing, Kel held a mirror up so I could see my baby’s head; it was a great focus and to have my best friend (my husband) right there next to me the whole time. After I delivered, Kel put my baby on my chest and I couldn’t believe just how big my baby was. I asked my husband what we had and he said, “A girl.” I was so excited. Labor 13 hrs. Lillian. 8lbs, 13oz. 22 inches. Born October 20, 2007 @ 7:14am.

Avery Dee Mitchell’s Birth Story- October 18, 2007 9:40am. 7lbs, 6oz. 21inches
I was due on October 13th, 2007. My due date came and went and my husband and I became increasingly anxious. Finally on October 18th at about 2:45am, I woke up having manageable contractions. I woke up my husband and we timed them determining that they were 10 minutes apart. We decided to try and go back to sleep knowing that we had a lot of work ahead of us. At 5:45am I felt a “pop” and a gush. My water broke and we knew it was really time. Yay! My husband called Best Start while I hopped in the shower. Roberta told us to hold off coming in until the contractions were three to five minutes apart and pretty intense. At this point my contractions were about 8 minutes and still manageable. After showering I stretched out on the couch while my husband loaded up the car. The time was approximately 6am. By 6:15, I knew it was time to get going. My contractions were about 7 minutes apart and I wasn’t able to talk through them anymore. We headed to Best Start, our baby was on her way! Roberta did my initial check: 4-5cm dilated and 5 minutes apart. I got in the bath to relax a little, it felt great! About 20 minutes later I felt like I had to push and decided to get out of the tub. By this time I was 9.5 cm and my contractions were extremely close together. I tried lying on my back at first but things didn’t feel right. After trying other positions we settled on my delivering in a squatting position. My husband got on the bed and had his back against the head board while I faced him and used him for support. After pushing for about 15-20 minutes, Avery Dee was born. Tamara told me that I began to stand when Avery started coming out. She said that I was like a “Mommy Giraffe”. I didn’t even realize that I was doing it. Best Start is the most amazing place to have a baby. We are so happy with out decision to have Avery there. Thank you Roberta, Tamara, Karly and everyone else at Best Start.

Avery Dee’s Birth Story- October 18, 2007 9:40am.
7lbs, 6oz. 21inches

I was due on October 13th, 2007. My due date came and went and my husband and I became increasingly anxious. Finally on October 18th at about 2:45am, I woke up having manageable contractions. I woke up my husband and we timed them determining that they were 10 minutes apart. We decided to try and go back to sleep knowing that we had a lot of work ahead of us. At 5:45am I felt a “pop” and a gush. My water broke and we knew it was really time. Yay! My husband called Best Start while I hopped in the shower. Roberta told us to hold off coming in until the contractions were three to five minutes apart and pretty intense. At this point my contractions were about 8 minutes and still manageable. After showering I stretched out on the couch while my husband loaded up the car. The time was approximately 6am. By 6:15, I knew it was time to get going. My contractions were about 7 minutes apart and I wasn’t able to talk through them anymore. We headed to Best Start, our baby was on her way! Roberta did my initial check: 4-5cm dilated and 5 minutes apart. I got in the bath to relax a little, it felt great! About 20 minutes later I felt like I had to push and decided to get out of the tub. By this time I was 9.5 cm and my contractions were extremely close together. I tried lying on my back at first but things didn’t feel right. After trying other positions we settled on my delivering in a squatting position. My husband got on the bed and had his back against the head board while I faced him and used him for support. After pushing for about 15-20 minutes, Avery Dee was born. Tamara told me that I began to stand when Avery started coming out. She said that I was like a “Mommy Giraffe”. I didn’t even realize that I was doing it. Best Start is the most amazing place to have a baby. We are so happy with out decision to have Avery there. Thank you Roberta, Tamara, Karly and everyone else at Best Start.