After conceiving quickly in their first month of trying, Tayla approached pregnancy with the same dedication she brings to her CrossFit training – thorough education, mindful preparation, and a positive mindset. She was fortunate to secure continuity of care through the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) program with a lifelong friend as her midwife, receiving all her prenatal care at home.

“Through listening to your podcast, I had a really good understanding about the MGP program…I knew that I was pregnant. She was the first person that I told when I was six weeks pregnant and asked if I could be on her caseload,” Tayla recalls of securing her care provider.

Throughout her pregnancy, Tayla maintained her CrossFit training while modifying movements appropriately. This dedication to movement wasn’t just about physical preparation but also mental wellbeing: “I made a promise to myself to prioritize movement throughout my whole pregnancy, especially with my history of anxiety. It’s more so a focus on my mental health.”

Her birth began at 39 weeks and 5 days, following a regular midwife appointment. After an evening workout and regular evening routine, things started changing: “Then we went to the bathroom to brush our teeth, to get ready for bed, and it was about 10 p.m. And I felt like some discharge rolled down my leg…I quickly caught it with a tissue, which you hear on podcasts and people’s stories, and you just wonder when that’s going to happen to you.”

Labour progressed quickly from there, with Tayla found comfort in her newly renovated bathroom shower. Her husband Pat provided quiet, steady support: “He was sitting in our bedroom against the wall, like with me, but not really with me, just meeting my requests. Can you grab me a heat pack? Can you grab me a cup of ice?”

The intensity built rapidly, and before they knew it, their planned hospital birth became an unplanned home birth: “Pat FaceTimed the midwife and she was like, ‘Pat, that’s a head. You need to call an ambulance.’ And she had this big black head of hair coming out. It was phenomenal.”

Despite the unexpected turn of events, Tayla remained remarkably calm: “Again, there was no fear or worry. We were just both so calm. We just clicked into like this amazing, incredible team that we are, that we like have built our marriage on. It’s just this like unwavering, unspoken amount of respect and teamwork that we have.”

Ruby was born at home after just five minutes of pushing, with Pat catching their daughter. The ambulance arrived minutes later, and they were transferred to the hospital for checks and the birthing of the placenta. They were home by midnight, making it a remarkably swift journey from first contraction to having their baby in their arms.

Reflecting on her postpartum experience, Tayla speaks honestly about the hormonal shifts and emotional challenges: “Day eight, I had the baby blues…at one point I was just on the floor in the fetal position, crying uncontrollably in a ball. And just his support, and he didn’t even have to say anything, just having him there, just holding me, it truly felt like a rebirth.”

Three weeks postpartum, Tayla emphasizes the importance of surrender and gratitude throughout her journey: “Being grateful that I had a baby that is just the most divine little human being and being grateful that I got an amazing village, being grateful that I had a great husband. Just that gratitude during those hard hormone dip days really kept me going.”

Her story beautifully illustrates how preparation and positivity can create an empowering birth experience, even when things don’t go according to plan. As she puts it: “It was truly the most incredibly empowering experience of my whole entire life. And besides the blood making it look like a bit of a crime scene, the video and the photos are amazing. And it was a truly blissful birth. Couldn’t have asked for a better birth.”

For those preparing for birth, Tayla emphasizes the importance of finding care providers who align with your values: “I think it’s really important to find, it’s a bit of a luxury, I guess, it’s not always that easy, but to align yourself with a care provider who you feel your values align…from the beginning, really helped me surrender and really let my intuition guide the pregnancy.”