Graham Ellis

Graham Ellis

June 10th, 2026

Some birth stories begin with contractions.

Graham's began with a text message on Tuesday morning, the 9th at 8:53am.

"Hey Keeley! Just wanted to let you know I had some bloody show this morning."

At the time, there were no contractions. No certainty. Just a feeling that something might be beginning. Throughout the day, the signs slowly started stacking up. More bloody show. Loss of mucus plug. Pelvic pressure. Back aches. Tightening. The kind of subtle changes that make experienced mothers wonder if they're standing at the edge of labor or simply another day of late pregnancy. Annalise was already 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced, and while we both knew her body was preparing, neither of us knew exactly when Graham would decide it was time.

Then, it happened. Her water broke.

With a positive Group B Strep status, we headed to the hospital so antibiotics could be started. The hospital was packed with laboring mothers. Apparently Graham had picked a popular birthday. The first few hours were calm. Mama rested while contractions settled mostly into her back. Daddy was still on his way home from a last minute work trip to Oregon, and I could tell she was trying to stay strong while also wishing he would hurry.

When he finally arrived around midnight, the entire energy of the room shifted.

Mama relaxed. The room relaxed. Labor continued. One of my favorite parts of this birth wasn't a cervical check or a milestone. It was the atmosphere. Worship music played softly in the background. The lights stayed low. A diffuser quietly filled the room (after an emergency Walmart run when my original diffuser was stranded in Fort Worth after another birth.) Nurses repeatedly commented that walking into the room felt like a breath of fresh air. (We joked it was the cool room)

It felt less like a hospital room and more like a sanctuary.

The hours passed. Contractions remained mostly in Mama's back. Sometimes they seemed irregular. Sometimes they seemed farther apart than they should have been. More than once she worried labor wasn't progressing.

But her body was working. At 10:30 PM she was 4 centimeters and 60% effaced.

By Early Wednesday morning, the 10th at 3:30 AM she was nearly 6 centimeters and 70-80% effaced, Active labor. The contractions asked more of her. She became quieter. More focused. More emotional. She breathed deeply through each wave while Dad remained beside her. He even went full Doula-dad mode and took over hip squeezes so I could time contractions and man the Speaker! Eventually, she reached the point that so many laboring mothers reach. "I don't know if I can do this." The truth was that she already was.

As morning arrived, labor slowed. She remained around 6 centimeters despite hours of hard work. Exhausted after a long night and needing relief, she chose an epidural and Pitocin. This wasn't giving up. This was wisdom. This was a mother listening to her body and using the tools available to continue the journey.

The hours that followed were not easy. There were moments of discouragement, disappointment and moments of laughter. Somehow, despite the exhaustion, Mama never lost her sense of humor. Even in the hardest moments she found reasons to smile, and to repeatedly let Dad know how much she loved him. And slowly, labor continued to unfold.

The cervix softened. The baby descended. The tiny remaining cervical lip finally gave way. At 4:00 PM, Annalise was fully effaced with only the smallest lip remaining. After a long journey, Graham was finally close. Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for. After hours of labor, tears, laughter, encouragement, prayers, and determination, Graham entered the world on June 10th 4:48pm to Mamas favorite worship song "This is my Father's World" and was immediately welcomed into the arms that had been waiting for him. A son. A brother. A dream finally held. The doctors all took guesses on how much he weighed and how "squishy" he was. They weren't wrong, he was pretty cute!

But Graham's story wasn't finished yet. Following his birth, Mama experienced a significant postpartum hemorrhage due to Uterine Atony. The room shifted from celebration to focused action. Nurses and providers moved quickly and calmly as they worked to control the bleeding. Medications were administered. A Jada device was placed. Questions were asked and answered. Mama remained So brave through it all, even while scared she asked all the questions andstayed so strong She lost approximately 2,100 milliliters of blood. It was serious. But so was the care she received. As the bleeding came under control and the room settled once again, the reward waiting at the end of every difficult moment was right there on her chest.

Baby Graham. Tiny fingers. Sleepy eyes. 8 pounds 5 ounces of pure perfection, oblivious to everything but his mamas heartbeat and comfort. The little boy who had taken his time arriving. When I left, I couldn't stop thinking about how much had happened in such a short amount of time. A mama became a mother of two. A Daddy became a father of two. A baby was born. And somewhere nearby, a little boy named Henry became a big brother. Those are the moments that make birth sacred. Not because everything goes perfectly. But because families are forever changed. Thank you, Annalise and Dylan, for allowing me to witness one of the most important days of your lives.

Welcome to the world, Graham Ellis.

You were worth the wait