We’re a third of the way through “Let’s March,” an easy 31-day workout campaign. If you’re like me and you hate working out, if you’ve stuck with us thus far, this in and of itself is quite a milestone.

If you need to be encouraged, let me tell you that when I first started this I could not do a wall sit for longer than 15 seconds, and now I can make it a full minute! So, it doesn’t take long to build strength and notice progress. I’m also finding I don’t mind being sore the next day, because it means that I’m working muscles and that makes me feel accomplished.

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I had never heard of APNO, or All-Purpose Nipple Ointment before I started breastfeeding in 2015. It’s also called Newman’s APNO, Newman’s Nipple Ointment, or some variation of that. It’s named after Dr. Jack Newman, a breastfeeding advocate and specialist in Canada.

I struggled a lot with breastfeeding in the beginning, and since I was too ashamed to ask for help, I found myself searching online for help and answers to my questions. One of the things I came across was the magical elixir of unicorn blood that is Newman’s APNO, and it’s supreme healing powers for sore nipples.

Every birth story is beautiful, and they’re all unique in their own way. My first childbirth experience was a very long hospital labor and delivery. My second was born via water birth at a midwife-run birth center; it was absolutely everything I’d hoped it could be! I hope you’ll enjoy reading this birth story for what it is: a beautiful way (one of many ways!) a baby comes into this world. I’m not here to shame medicated deliveries, hospital births, or C-sections — they just aren’t part of my story.

The pictures were taken by my talented friend, Teodora. You can find more of her work here.

If you know me, then you may already know my deep-seated and longtime desire to be a mother. I lost my first pregnancy to a miscarriage in March of 2014. I was almost 11 weeks along, and for the last 5 weeks we had several ultrasounds as we heard our baby’s heartbeat slow down and eventually stop. I knew knew the odds of having a miscarriage, yet still did not fully grasp the gravity of the situation even as it happened. I desperately wanted to be a mother, and put much of my identity and value into fulfilling that desire.