~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I first found out I was pregnant we began our prenatal appointments at the National Naval Medical
Center in Bethesda, MD, since my husband is on active duty in the Navy. The doctors there were very
nice and answered our questions, but as I began to read some books about natural childbirth I began to
question whether this was the place I wanted to give birth. After I became interested in the Bradley
method because of the importance of the father's involvement, I asked many questions about the way a
typical birth happened at the hospital. The doctors were giving me the answers I wanted to hear, but I
was skeptical, since I know that the military typically runs things by certain protocols. I didn't feel that a
birth was something that should follow a standard protocol. After speaking with Nicole about the
childbirth classes, and contacting several other people in the area familiar with our situation, Tammy at
Special Beginnings was able to arrange for me to give birth at the birth center, with full insurance
coverage. I began my prenatal appointments there around my 32nd week.
By around 34 weeks I had lost my mucous plug and discovered that Ida was at a -2 station in my pelvis,
so we anticipated an early or on-time delivery. I was quite anxious at this point, because people were
beginning to tell me that I looked terrible, and all the comments about my size were really getting to me.
Well, Ida decided to take her time. I had an appointment 3 days after my due date with Rachel, who
helped calm me down and reassure me that I wouldn't be pregnant forever. She encouraged me to take
daily walks to get things moving, or at least help me feel more active. On Wednesday, 11/12/03, I took
my usual walk of about a 1/2 mile or so, and felt some pressure in my abdomen and upper thighs. Later
that night, while out to dinner and shopping with my husband, I began experiencing very irregular, but
very strong Braxton Hicks contractions. I dismissed this, assuming I'd just been on my feet too much. We
returned home late and stayed up watching television, and the contractions continued on and off. When
we went to bed at about 2AM, I was still having irregular but painful contractions. Now they were so bad
that I couldn't sleep. By 3AM, however, they suddenly became regular. When I realized that I'd had 3
contractions that were each about 10 minutes apart, I began recording the time. I felt bad for my
husband, who'd been getting up early for work, so I decided not to wake him. Instead, I did the various
positions and relaxation exercises I'd learned in Nicole's class on my own. I finally woke him at 5AM,
telling him I couldn't handle it alone anymore. At 6 we called the birth center, but since I was still able to
carry on a conversation, they told me to wait until 8 to come in.  Well, by 7:30 I was convinced this baby
was coming, so my husband put me in the car, and we drove slowly, since we only lived about 20 minutes
from the birth center. When we arrived there at 8, Rachel and one nurse were there to meet us. I was 6
cm dilated at the time, though they did not tell us this, only that I didn't need to go home. After that I
spent some time in the tub with my husband, and stayed there through a rough transition phase. As the
pushing contractions began, however, it was hard for me (or anyone else) to tell whether I should begin to
push or not,  as I was only feeling a constant pain, and no urge to push at any point. They did another
vaginal exam to figure out what was going on. Ida had not progressed past the -2 station, and I would
have to push her from there. Again, they never told us any of this until after she was born, so I didn't
understand why the pushing stage was taking so long, and why I was so exhausted at the end. It took at
total of about 3 1/2 hours. At one point the exhaustion was so strong that I had trouble remembering to
breathe between the contractions, and I blacked out a few times. Rachel did ask my husband if I wanted
Stadol at one point, but even in our exhaustion we both remembered that this would only shut me down
mentally, and would probably do little for the actual pain. We refused.
Ida came into the world at 1:05PM, while I lay on the bed. My husband was able to catch her, with the
help of Rachel, our midwife, and Ellie, who was training to become a midwife. Just as I had asked, she was
immediatly placed on my chest, even though I did lose a lot of blood and was unable to sit up to breastfeed
her. Ida was quite blue and slow to breathe, as her umbilical cord had been around her neck, but after
sucking on a small oxygen tube and being covered with several warm blankets she was just fine. Though it
took some time to deliver the placenta and stitch up a small wound, I was able to see my baby at all times,
and my husband held her and sang to her. After all was through, Ida breastfed for the first time, and we
were left to cuddle in bed and nap until about 8PM, when we went home again.  Though parts of the birth
were more difficult than I expected, I can confidently say that we were all fully prepared for the
experience, and that in the end it brought us closer together as a family. And we couldn't be more proud
of our beautiful healthy girl













~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Birth of Jacob Alexander Rohmann
Kym and Mark Rohmann
5/27/04














My husband Mark and I knew nothing about pregnancy or child birth when we got pregnant.  Like a lot of
people we just went to an obestetrician that was highly recommended to us by my sister who (at the
time) worked in the hospital on the labor and delivery floor.  We went to the appt at about 11 weeks and
we were very disappointed in the way we were treated.  We were not treated poorly, however, it was not
the attention we were hoping for.  Friends and family started to tell us to get a midwife and a doula and
we had no idea who these kinds of people were. We decided that we wanted a natural child birth and I
began to research where we could go.   I looked into Special Beginnings Birth Center and made an
appointment there for my following visits.  This is where I found out about Nicole’s Bradley class that
Mark and I went to for 9 weeks.  Her class was very informative and I feel like it really prepared us to
make the right choices for the birth we desired.

I was 40 weeks pregnant and my due date (May 24) came and went.  I started to make a video of the
nursery and my swollen feet and belly.  I also made some last minute stops at Babies R Us to kill some
time.  I was hot and pretty miserable by then.  The next day passed and the next night I woke up at 4am
with contractions.  They lasted until 7:30 am and were about 10 minutes apart.  I played solitare on the
computer and did not wake my husband.  I was able to sleep from 7:30 until 10am because the
contractions had gone away completely.  I woke up very excited that this would be the day.  I began to
have contractions again, one an hour all day long.  I really did not think this was the real deal and I was
waiting for these to stop too.  I was totally taken by surprise when around 11pm they began to be only 15-
10 minutes apart.  Then by 1 or 2 am the contractions were 5 minutes apart.  We called our doula who
said she would meet us at Special Beginnings and to call them then.  David, our midwife, told us to come in
and we waited for my sister to show up and we all drove together.  The car ride was especially
uncomfortable, and I held on for dear life when a contraction would come.  They were almost unbearable
and I could not relax, instead I would groan and tense up.  When we got there I was already at 7cm and I
got right into the tub.  Shortly after, about and hour or two, I was at 9cm.  I was able to relax and float. To
my surprise I actually fell asleep between contractions and I remember dreaming.  I was so tired.  I went
24 hours with out sleep and 10 with out any food.  I was exhausted.  By the time I was 10 cm and ready
to push, they got me in a squat position.  This was when I heard my water break and it was clear and
looked good.  I pushed only for an hour before Jake came out.  I was on my knees and this was hard
work.  Mentally I was ready to be done before he was even crowning.  I remember being impatient and
pushed and pushed.  He was born at 6:30 am just after the sun had come up.  He was beautiful and worth
all of the hard work and yes, pain.  I tore pretty bad inside and out and had to be stitched up for a long
time.  That was probably more painful than having the baby.  We stayed for about 5 more hours before
we went home.

My overall experience with Special Beginnings, Nicole’s class, and natural childbirth was great and I would
recommend it to anyone.  We are happy with the way everything turned out and couldn’t have done it
alone. Thanks everyone!

Mark, Kym and Jacob Alexander Rohmann

Liz and Robbie just moments after birth!

The Birth of Robbie McMichael
Liz and Tim McMichael
12/16/03
(dad's perspective inside brackets in green)

Baby Ida

Kym and Mark with 11 week old Jake

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Births of Zachary and Tyler Canaday
Suzanne Spoor and Steven Canaday





Twins!

While I was pregnant, I asked many women who had given birth whether they would recommend their
birthing class. Not one of them did! But all of them had taken a Lamaze class or something generic offered
by their hospital. Most of the women I asked said that once labor came, they forgot their breathing
techniques; some said that their class was simply a way to involve their partners in a superficial way.
Thus, I hesitated to sign up for anything. But then my pre-natal yoga instructor, Jacci Reynolds, told me
about the Bradley method. So I was fully 27 weeks pregnant with twins when I called Nicole and asked
her if I could take her Bradley class. Even though the class she was currently teaching was into its third
week, she accepted me and my husband, Steven.  

I am a women’s studies professor, and therefore I had studied and read all about the pathologizing of
pregnancy and birthing rituals in the U.S. In other words, I knew that I didn’t have to become “sick” and
helpless just because I was pregnant. So once I knew about the Bradley Method, I was intellectually quite
ready to be “empowered by the knowledge” of how to give birth. Even so, I found myself emotionally
challenged by Nicole’s Bradley class. At first, I was finding it difficult to approach my first birth knowing
that I could not passively trust my doctor to make all the right decisions for me. After the first couple of
classes, it was hard to go to sleep because my mind and heart were in conflict. I knew that what I was
learning was true, but I had to shed my culturally constructed belief that women weren’t strong enough
to give birth on their own, a bias I still held emotionally despite my feminist beliefs.  

I had chosen an obstetrician rather than a midwife because with twins I was automatically considered
“high risk.” Furthermore, I was 37 years old and had only been able to conceive with the help of in-vitro
fertilization (after 4 years of trying), and to complicate matters, I had had a tumor removed from the wall
of my uterus six months before I conceived. In fact, my surgeon had told me that I would need to have a
c-section if I were ever to conceive because of the location of the tumor. My o.b., Nicole Luecke, was
fabulous and right away looked at the post-surgery report to see if I could try to give birth vaginally. And
indeed, my surgeon (who was also my fertility doctor, Melissa Esposito) had done everything in her power
to retain the integrity of my uterus and wrote that she was “quite certain” she had not “perforated the
wall of my uterus.” It is to the credit of these two doctors that I was in the position to try to push my
babies out myself.

Nicole helped me realize my desire. If anyone asked me about my birthing class, I told them it was
fantastic. We were learning a great deal and felt prepared for anything that might arise. By the time I was
in my 34th week, my husband and I had done our Bradley reading and classes, written our birthing plan,
talked in detail to Dr. Luecke about our ideal birth, lined up my sister as a doula and even bought chicken
broth to keep up my strength during labor. The only things I had left to do were choose a pediatrician and
pack a bag for the hospital. But I didn’t get a chance to do either one.

At 2 a.m. on February 3, my 36th week, I was awakened with a very hard contraction. I got up to walk a
bit and realized that my water had broken. In all the movies we had watched, a first labor takes a very,
very long time, and I knew it was important for both my husband and I to keep up our strength. So I had
two thoughts: “Let Steve rest,” and “make a baked potato.” But I honestly didn’t feel like getting out of
the rocking chair in the nursery. And by 4 a.m., I really wanted some company because the contractions
kept getting stronger and stronger. So I woke Steve and together we considered baked potatoes.  

At 5 a.m., I felt I was going into the category of “rather uncomfortable” even though it was only three
hours into labor. So we thought we better pack—but really this meant that Steve needed to pack, since by
this time, I was kneeling and rocking to get through contractions that were coming every 3 minutes. I
called my sister, who needed to start travelling down from Manhattan, and Steve started running around
the house putting stuff in bags. This is where it got pretty funny: I was in the bedroom, moaning one
minute and instructing Steve on what I wanted packed the next minute. Steve was running from nursery,
where he was searching for onesies, to bedroom, where he held my hand through a contraction, to
kitchen, where he was packing a can opener for the chicken broth we were determined I would need at
some point. He even packed the six-inch Bradley binder Nicole had given us in class just in case we had
any questions during labor!

We arrived at the hospital: Steve was so laden with bags that I had to use walls and counters to get
through my contractions. Complete strangers stopped in alarm, and our remaining energy was spent
trying to reassure them. Even then, I thought it very funny.

When we finally got settled into our labor room and looked around, we realized that we forgot the most
important thing: our birthing plan! Of course, my labor went right ahead without any written plan. And
luckily, my labor nurse, Karen Salamie listened to everything we asked of her, honored our wishes and
showed respect for my privacy. I’ll always appreciate her positive and encouraging way with me.  

My labor continued to progress without stalling. Every two or three hours, Karen checked my cervix and
told me it was more dilated. I moved around from the birthing ball onto the floor, and into bed (when I
needed to have external fetal monitoring). My sister, Cindy, arrived around ten in the morning after
getting her three children from Brooklyn to Manhattan and then jumping on a train herself. Steve had
been constantly helping me—holding my hand and coaching me quietly—for four hours and was ready for
a break when Cindy arrived.  

Cindy and Steve took turns getting me water, talking with other relatives in the waiting room and rubbing
my head or hand while I labored. The time flew by for me. I was just concentrating very hard and
breathing. When my doctor arrived around noon, she suggested I might want to take a shower to help me
relax before going into transition. The hot water was a great distraction, and between contractions, I told
Cindy a story about trying to buy a nursing bra. I had gone to Nordstrom on a very cold day. So I was
wearing a heavy winter coat and big boots. Being 35 weeks pregnant, I was feeling especially whale-like,
and once inside the store, I got hot and sweaty. In this lovely state, I approached a sales woman and
asked about nursing bras. She asked my size and when I told her, she said, “Oh, my, no! We have never
heard of an ‘A’ nursing bra!” I said, “Well now you have!” and then I spun as gracefully as possible while
wearing snow boots and marched out.  

By the time I finished telling my sister the story and taking a shower, I had completed the transition stage
of my labor. I dried off, asked the nurse to remove the bottom of the bed and replace it with a standing
platform and a squatting bar, and I pushed. With each push, my doctor advised me on how to better focus
my pushing so as not to waste any energy (less in the legs, more in the pelvic floor, etc.) My sister helped
me breathe, and Steve gave me water and held my hand every single contraction. By 1:30, I had pushed
out my first baby—a healthy, beautiful blonde baby boy! I can’t describe how I felt. He was perfect and
safe. We waited a few minutes for the blood to flow out of the cord, and then Steve cut it. My little guy
was starting his life on his own now.

It occurred to me at this point that I might want a little rest. I told my doctor this, and she just smiled.
With the next contraction, I pushed hard, and we had a second son almost before I knew what had
happened. This little guy’s cord was a bit short, so I couldn’t hold him on my chest to wait for the cord to
empty. But I stroked his head, and very soon I was nursing him. By that night, I had learned to nurse
both boys at once. And within a few hours, they were pros.  

Thankfully, my sons continue to be healthy. They gained their birth weight back within a week. They are
now six months old and still breastfeeding. Even though I had something to do with it, I would not have
had the wonderful birthing experience that I did without the help of Steve, Cindy, Nicole Luecke, Nicole
Tengwall, Karen Salemie, Jacci Reynolds and Melissa Esposito. I was blessed that both babies were head
down and healthy, and I was able to deliver two beautiful baby boys at 5lbs 9 oz and 4lbs 8 oz. without
any drugs on February 3, 2004.  

Zachary and Tyler...still side-by-side!

Suzanne and Steven...doubly blessed!

The Birth of Zachary Vibbert Wallach
Cindy and Doug Wallach
6/18/04

Zach about to be born!

A C-Section Story

Strong wills and independent spirits run in our family. And Zachary is no exception. We went to our
fabulous Bradley class taught by Nicole Tengwall. We committed ourselves to a completely natural
childbirth, with a midwife, at a birthing center. We made our birth plan and packed our bags.  But Zach had
his own birth plan.

At about 36 weeks I felt funny. Nicole had taught us what we should feel where, and how you could tell if
the baby was posterior. So using what I learned I went to the midwife that week and said I thought the
little guy was posterior.  She felt my belly and hummed and hahhed for what seemed like an eternity. Then
she said, “Not only is he posterior, he’s breech!”

We discussed the options. Right away we ruled out and external version (a technique where the midwife or
doctor will manually attempt to rotate the baby by pressing on the abdomen and turning the baby with
their hands) . I was uncomfortable with it and apparently it’s not allowed in many places any more because
of insurance liability (the procedure can sometimes cause the placenta to abrupt or entangle the baby in it's
umbilical cord). So instead, we started the routine. Visits to the chiropractor, visits to the acupuncturist,
certain yoga positions, cold peas on his head, shining a flashlight down low (swim to the light baby boy…),
music down low, standing on my head in the pool, visualizing babies head down… you name, we tried it!  I
thought I felt some movements and I was full of positive energy. We went in for our nearly 40 week check
up… and he was still breech.

I wasn’t given very many more options. Because of his position and some issues I have with allergies to
anesthesia, it was decided by the midwives that I should go in to the hospital the next morning and have
my baby be born by c-section. No going into labor, no picking out our birthday, just go have your baby in
the morning.

How weird to go to bed at night with the knowledge that you well be a mom at an exact time the next day.
I cried all night. This is not what we planned. This isn’t what was supposed to happen. I was so ready for a
natural childbirth. I wasn’t afraid at all! What I was afraid of was needles. I have a severe phobia of
needles. I had never had an IV in my life, never had surgery, never broken a bone, never taken a drug
stronger than an Advil. And here I was about to be stuck and sliced open. I was terrified.

Our doula met us at the hospital at the set time. I went into the prep room for my IV and was in tears. The
doula explained that I was needle phobic to the nurse. Then super doula massaged my feet and helped me
visualize and relax. Who knew labor coping techniques could be used for getting through an IV?! The nurse
stuck me twice and STILL didn’t get the IV in. The doula calmly and firmly suggested she call another
nurse before I pass out. New nurse got it in just in time for us to find out that several emergency c-sections
came through the door and we wouldn’t be going until “later”. It was 8:30am.  I had a needle in my wrist. I
hadn’t eaten since the night before. And we were left in a room to wait. And wait. And wait.

We dug into our birth bag that was still packed for our birthing center birth. Music we weren’t allowed to
play. Candles we weren’t allowed to burn.  Food I wasn’t allowed to eat. Sigh.

Finally they came for us (eight hours later!). We called the doula and the midwife to meet us again. We
snapped into reality and remembered the class when Nicole told us all about c-sections. I remember it well
because it’s one of those talks you don’t want to hear. We’re in a natural childbirth class after all, we don’t
want to hear about no stinkin’ c-sections. But I am SO GLAD we did. First I asked that no drugs be put
into my IV. No morphine, no nothing. The doula backed me up and they said ok. Then I asked NOT to
have my arms strapped down. The mere thought of being strapped down sent me in a panic. Again with
the help of a strong, knowledgeable doula they agreed!! Score two! Then I asked if I could have a mirror
placed so I could see the birth. The midwife frowned and said I don’t think that’s possible. But super doula
and a very nice anesthesiologist said no problem! The thing is, I would have never known to ask for these
things if it hadn’t been for Nicole’s talk. So glad we learned about ALL possibilities of birth. Even the ones
we don’t want to face up to.

The spinal was horrible but fast. My body disappeared (how can people push in a vaginal delivery with
their body so numb??) and before I could even think about what was happening I could feel the tugs of
being cut open. My sweet husband Doug snuck in my lavender aromatherapy pillow and held it near my
nose so I could relax. The fabulous anesthesiologist explained his mirror trick to me. He said, “Listen if you
see your self getting cut open you may pass out or panic. I am going to angle the mirror so you can’t see
anything until the baby is coming out. Then I will angle it right above your head so you can see him coming
out, and once he’s out, I will angle it away again so you don’t see your innards. Ok?” Sounded good to me!
Moments later the mirror tilted and I saw my beautiful baby boy come into the world. I asked the doc, is
he ok? Was anything keeping him from turning? The doc announced that “the boy is in the Buddha
position. Happy as can be. No problems. The only thing keeping up head up was his own free will.”

They brought him over to me and thankfully with hands free I was able to caress him and say our first
hello! And thanks to a sneaky camera, we captured the moment.









I had some complications after they stitched me up. I did have an allergic reaction to the spinal and my
blood pressure dropped to 80/40. I began to feel light headed from the low BP and started vomiting. Doug
held Zach, keeping him warm while they worked on my situation. Then super doula came in. It was less
than an hour after surgery. She took Zach in one hand, and took my breast in the other, and got that baby
latched on! He nursed and nursed like a pro! I was SOOOOO grateful we had super doula around to create
that very special, very important moment. I believe it was key to our incredibly successful nursing
relationship. We haven’t had a hitch since then, he is a nursing machine, going strong at 6 months of
NOTHING but mama’s milk.

Because we didn’t get the birth we wanted, it made another aspect of Nicole’s class even more important.
The last class! At first I wrote it off. I didn’t want to hear about parenting styles, who is she to tell me how
to raise my kid anyhow? What was all this AP (attachment parenting) stuff about anyhow? Blah Blah Blah.

Well now I know that last class was probably THE most important part of the whole education. In a
nutshell, I am a believer now. We co-slept from Day 1 (even in the hospital), we never even owned a crib or
bassinette. We used a sling from Day 1, never owned a baby bucket (portable car seat), have never used a
stroller in 6 months. We breastfeed exclusively on demand (even when it’s every hour in the middle of the
night) We NEVER let our baby cry it out. We held him non-stop, let him nap in our arms, and be a part of
everything we do. We have never used a bottle or a pacifier, never. And of course we left him perfectly
intact and did not circumcise.

I know every parent thinks their baby is great, that’s natural. But honestly he is the happiest baby you’ll
meet. Never cries, so easily laughs and smiles. He’s incredibly social and loves meeting new people. A
happy, well adjusted, easy baby isn’t pure luck. You treat them with love and respect, and they will do the
same for you.

We can’t all have a natural birth. But we can all take a natural approach to parenting, and that will pay off
for a life time! Thanks Nicole!                       

Cindy meeting Zach for the first time

Happy Zach at 6 months old!

The new happy family...Natasha,
Jason and baby Haven

Beautiful baby Haven visiting
Nicole for the first time

Melanie, Eric, and Ida at Daniel's birth.  This
picture was taken a few hours after Daniel's
birth at Special Beginnings Birth Center.