Finding Strength in Birth, Fitness, and Pregnancy Loss with Anna McClellan | 139

Hello, everyone. Today's guest is Anna McClellan. And she is like a jack of all trades. She's a doula. She does fitness. And I'm so excited to have her on here today because she's also in Nashville, and very close to me, which we just talked about. discovered. So welcome, Anna. Say hello and tell everybody just a little bit about you.

So I love working with other women and other mamas and it brings me a lot, a lot of joy.

Trish: I love that, Anna. So you've been busy in the last 10 years since you moved to Tennessee.

Anna: Lord have mercy. I've been so, I have been so busy. And I have been busy the last, um, couple of years. It just seems like the more busy my family gets, the more busy, even like my, my own personal and my husband's lives get, you know, it's just, it's, he also runs a business as well and I help him with that.

Trish: I love that. So you guys, is he from Tennessee?

Anna: He is. Yeah. Yeah.

Trish: Okay. So you moved here. Oh, wow. That is where, I'm pretty sure that's where, no, my daughter's boyfriend, I think lives there.

Anna: We just have all the connections. It's fine.

Trish: We do. Oh my gosh. This is so meant to be. I know, right? So you married your husband and then boom, boom, boom. You're very much like me. You know, I have seven kids. So a lot of, I, I had a lot of them. Right back to back. So you wanted to be a doula and I I loved what you said in your little download you gave me beforehand.

So it was like, okay, nevermind, but I'm such a birth geek. I love birth so much, but I love how you've combined it. So tell us about your, your business and what it is that you specialize in.

Anna: Well, after I went through doula training, you know, like I said, it just was not realistic to be on call. With my own littles.

I was like, this is just not, this is not gonna work. And so I had been training actually, personal training and training boxing classes for years. That's actually how me and my husband met. And, which is super fun. But, I just realized, like, I would love to take the two components of, you know, you know, Going through this season of motherhood and a lot of changes happening within your own body.

Have, you know, and so that's kind of the course that I went down. I went and got, several different certifications for like pre and postnatal, corrective exercise, athleticism, coaching, and a few other movement, certifications that really, that weren't even really geared towards pregnancy and postpartum, but I utilize all that knowledge that I gained in those certifications and apply it to the population that I work with now.

And it has, I mean, and I've got to trial and everything on myself, you know, that's been really. cool to experience and go through this process myself while I'm also getting to work with women in the same exact season that I'm in. So I, I adore it.

Trish: I, I love that. And let's go back to the boxing because I did read that and I forgot about that.

Anna: A little bit. I, I will say like, I have certain movements that are kind of, you know, Boxing styled within my staff, depending on my programs. But a lot of, you know, a lot of what I trained within the boxing realm, it was a lot of breath work, a lot of, breathing on cue with certain movements, and learning able to being able to like move well on your feet, which.

I didn't know it at the time, but highly applied, and, and was very effective for like, kind of the season of life that I was in. I did not do any birth prep for my first two babies, and so the only thing I had on my side, really, with them was When I make a decision about something, I follow through with it and my breath.

Trish: I love that, because as soon as you said that, I'm like, So this is what I tell my students all the time.

If they want to go unmedicated, you have to marry that decision. Like, it's like when you get married, you don't like say, Oh, I'm going to try it out. We'll see how that works. Cause that ain't going to go well. And I say the same thing about unmedicated birth. If you're going to go unmedicated, you have to marry that.

So I love that you said that. Um, because it is, it's, it's a mindset, it's a commitment because it's hard. It really is.

So did you

have your babies unmedicated?

Anna: I had all of them unmedicated without any intervention and I loved it. I would do it all over again every single time.

Trish: Where did you, where did you deliver?

Thomas in Nashville. And it ended up they were full, or they had some, something went haywire when we went in there. And it was just kind of, everything was like kind of crazy. My OB went on vacation the day I went into labor. And so he wasn't going to be there. And, so I ended up being in like a regular hospital room with a doctor.

I didn't know with people that I didn't anticipate to be there. And I was shooing everyone away, like flies, like just to leave. Don't give me your opinion. Cause I don't like your opinion. You're trying, you know what I mean? I was like, just leave me alone. I'm doing no fat. I'm doing fine. Doing okay. And I had sole back labor with him.

Like I had sole back labor with Wade. So

Trish: he was in a weird position. He

And so that gave me a lot of back labor. And I ended up birthing him on my back because I just. Like I said, I didn't do any really birth prep going in with him. I was just very determined. I knew how I, I didn't want any intervention. I just wanted to kind of go for it, you know, and I utilized my breath and that was really all I did.

I ended up birthing him on my back. And, and everything went fine. I remember the doctor coming in and he was like, Alright, hold your breath and push, you know? And I just remember like, this is going against every single grain in my intuition to hold my breath. And so I just was like tuning everyone out after that.

I felt like that first push was just a waste. And after that I was like, Okay, I'm gonna breathe this baby out. And that's exactly what I did on the next contraction. And so, if you would have asked me after him, I thought that birth went fine. Great because everything I wanted kind of happened out of it, you know, until you go.

Thanks. And you know that, fetal ejection reflex where, you know, yeah, well, I very much experienced that with her. I wish that I would have kind of held myself back a bit more instead of like, okay, let me just help and aid and push. But there was no stopping her from coming. I just remember she came out in one good long contraction and it was just, it was, and her birth was awesome.

Trish: Yeah.

Anna: Yeah. And so, that was. That was their birth, both at St. Thomas and Nashville, and then I ended up having Waylon at home, so. And how old is she? Dani is, she just turned four, two days ago.

Anna: Okay. Yeah. That's awesome. Funny.

Trish: I used to go down to say, I used to go down to the other St. Thomas, like if we had classes or whatever. Okay. And then how old is the baby?

Anna: He just turned, he's 3 months. So. Oh. Oh my

goodness. He's tiny. Yeah. I love it. I feel like he

should be tinier. I feel like that newborn, you know, he's like worked his way out of that newbornness and I'm like, Oh, go back.

You know, I love when they grow, but I'm just, you know, it's so fleeting. Oh, they, yeah. Is all of a sudden they're nine,

Trish: like all of a sudden. So tell me about that birth because you said all three were different.

Anna: Well, Waylon, I had him at home and it was, I mean, just from start to finish, very different with him because I had never experienced any type of false labor with my other two.

It was like once construction really

Trish: can wreck your brain,

I knew, you know, I've been through labor before, so I knew I wasn't an active labor by any means, but they were just more than Brock's picks. I was like, okay. There's a difference to these, you know, well, I got it when I moved around and then they totally faded out. So I was like, okay, and I thought a little bit during the day, but just nothing that made me like made my ears perk up, and, so then the next day.

I'm thinking, you know Position and she agreed like maybe his head was just cocked in a not ideal position. Yeah Yeah, so I agreed with that. She recommended mile circuit. And so I kind of got on the floor for that I I honestly and I know some people love mile circuit. I was i'm just not a fan I felt like it wasn't as intense as what I needed So I ended up going in my living room and I got into I got on my ottoman like my couch ottoman And did inverted breathing, so I got my hind end pretty high up in the air and did several breaths in that position just to try to create more space at the bottom of the uterus, you know, and I did several, like about three sets of a few breaths of that, and then I sidestepped my stairs.

So she did. And I was still only like two centimeters dilated. I wasn't fully a face. And so I was like, you know, so she left at about 415. And I said, I'm going to do these movements again. So I inverted breathed again. And then I sidestepped on my stairs and those contractions started coming back, like pretty good.

So I said, I'm going to go take a bath and I see if this is actually labor, then it'll probably kick up. But if it's not, then it'll kind of, you know, get my contractions to subside a little bit. I took a bath and by, 637, they started rolling in and I started timing them at about seven o'clock and I texted her.

And, my parents were actually in town. They had just come in town the night before, so they were there to help, which was great. They had my kids downstairs. And so I. Called my midwife and I said, Hey, here's where I'm at. She listened to me breathe through a contraction. She said, Hey, I'm, I'm going to head back.

I'm going to head back your way. And so she ended up getting there. I went from, what was it? Like four centimeters, eight centimeters in about 45 minutes. We were rolling at that point. And so I ended up having, yeah, I ended up having him by 10 35 that evening. So labor. Once it really started going was only about three and a half hours.

Trish: I love it for those of you guys listening This is why I say dilation does not matter.

Trish: nothing to everything so quick

Anna: And I will say I labored with Wayland so differently than I did my other two I laid a lot on my side With the other two, I used a peanut ball, which was great.

I mean, at the time I thought I could feel, I mean, I could feel myself dilating. I thought this is working. It was just slow and steady. With Wayland, I completely changed that approach and maybe it's just because I've learned a lot, you know, and so I had a very different mindset going in. I was not fearful at all.

All I was so welcoming of every single contraction that hit me. I was like, bring it on. If it was like taking, more than I felt like a minute, I was like, what's happening? Where are they at? You know, bring them on. Yeah. And so I stayed standing a lot with him in labor, just leaning over my bed.

That's

Trish: so powerful. And I

And if I needed a break, I would like get on the bed and lean over the peanut ball, just kind of like, you know, kind of swaying back and forth.

Trish: Yeah.

Anna: But I was constantly giving that forward and kind of moving through it. And it wasn't like, You're out doing lunges or squats and deep squatting or anything.

They were small, very intentional movements

Trish: that that's what it takes.

Anna: And it's in the mindset. It's so intense, but I was so ready for that. And it was really powerful because we actually lost a baby last summer. And I, it's, it's strange because. You know, that process with that baby, I ended up, I ended up carrying that baby for about a month before I miscarried from, it was a miscarriage.

Trish: Yeah.

Anna: And I remember leaning on my side of my bed. And I just remember feeling myself go through that process. It was, it was extremely sad. And I just remember after that, I had envisioned having and laboring with another baby in that same spot, in that same position.

And that's exactly what I did with Waylon. And it was just, it was such a redemptive and healing experience. I was just about to say

Trish: the same thing. It was

Anna: so redemptive. It was so healing for me. I just remember, like, Smiling in labor with him because I was like, this is what I have longed for. I have longed to be here with this healthy baby doing this exact same thing, knowing the outcome that's about to come, you know, that's that we're about to have versus what we experienced last year.

And so it was such, it was, it was really healing for, for me as a mama and just for my family, you know, to finally

get

And so I just, it was really, really awesome. Really such. I love that. I'm

Trish: so sorry for your loss. I and I really appreciate that you are talking about the pain of it because Women don't talk about how painful miscarriages can be and when I had my first miscarriage, I had been a labor nurse for a very long time and It feels like labor.

Anna: Thank you. We actually we had lost our first son seven, seven years ago.

And we had named him Jace and so my baby, his name is Waylon Jace. So I feel like we have come full circle with our little family and just being able to, I don't know, it's cool to hear my kids even say his name, they'll call him Waylon Jace all the time. And it's just sweet. That we've included, you know, I feel like all of our babies in such a beautiful way.

Trish: I love that. Yeah, my little rainbow baby is now nine. So it is it's so beautiful

And I've always said it is the worst club to be in. It sucks to be in this club whenever you lose a baby, but I will say, I'm glad it exists because you don't feel alone. You feel isolated going through it already. You feel a lot of isolation and confusion. I mean, there's a lot of emotions that go. Into losing a baby and not only just figuring it out mentally, but like it resides within our physical being, you know, and there's a lot of guards that can come up for yourself, like personally.

As a woman with your marriage with your own children that you have and so I just feel like We've got to talk about that or else we go crazy, you know, it's no I agree. Yeah So,

I feel a lot of times it's so hard to hear and then you put yourself in their place. And so, yeah, all around loss needs to be something that we're able to speak to one another about. The experience like so that you don't go into it. I'm prepared. Yeah, because it is very hard and it's Emotionally devastating.

So it really does for those of you guys listening. I have two pieces of advice Listen, but don't over talk You don't have to say things. You don't have to fill the silence. You don't have to say things like, well, God has a plan because that hurts in the moment and you don't want to hear those things. So err on the side of caution and just listen.

And I would say if you're going through it

but I

would be, I always erred on the side of caution, you know, of talking, you know, With women who are pregnant or about to have babies about my loss.

Like, I would not go there because I think that that puts their headspace not in the best headspace. Right? So it's like kind of being choosy on both aspects of, okay, I'm going to talk to this. Talk about this from my standpoint and my emotions and what I need to kind of work through with people who are in a place to be able to help me with that.

But I think going to people who are pregnant or who are about to have a baby may be hard for that person to get on your level, you know? So yeah.

Trish: Yeah. Well, and it's hard for you. I remember when I lost the baby before Grayson, I had several friends that were pregnant at the same time and to watch their bumps growing and then it was hard.

I agree

Anna: I fully agree

Trish: and I can't when I had my own because I had three losses when I had the first I Couldn't believe how many of my friends had had losses and they had never told anyone I know. And it was like, I wouldn't know how.

Anna: Both of mine, I had already told everybody I was 15 weeks and 13 weeks along.

And so we had already told, we had already, I'm, I'm a type though, too, where I think it's okay if you don't wait till a certain time to tell, like, if you're pregnant, you're pregnant. And I think that if, whether you go through something or not. Whether it's hard, I think it's important that we, that we have that community.

Trish: No. I agree. So no matter and that's I'll

Anna: say that doesn't matter if you are six days, six weeks.

Cause once you see that line, you're already dreaming about that baby and planning for that baby. I mean, it doesn't mean that, that it's any less than just because it was early, you know?

Trish: Oh yeah. That's so rotten. Yeah, I'll tell you, my own losses changed me as a labor and delivery nurse because I was able to connect with my patients in a much deeper, different way after having had the losses and understanding that.

Like, Mm

hmm.

I know. Which I love. From one over here to one over there. I love. I love. So can you tell everyone where they can find you?

Anna: Mostly on Instagram. It's just at movelikeamother. com. Or well, that's my website, movelikeamother. com. And then, yeah. Instagram is the same handle, but like a mother.

Trish: I love it. Mother, right?

With a

Anna: name. Yeah. And people ask me all that. And I'm like, it was just because mother was taken and I was the type of the time where I was like, I really want to do this. I'm just going to go for it. And that kind of sounds fine and it's got a, it's got a ring to it. So I just rolled with it. I really didn't put a lot of, like we're moving.

We're rolling. Let's go.

Trish: Well, and that is like a mother. Yeah, that's for sure. That I don't think we ever stopped.

Anna: No, 100%. Yeah.

Wow, what an incredible conversation with Anna. I love how each of her birth stories and her losses played into her passion for birth and Preparation and fitness and faith. If there's one takeaway from today, it's that you are in control of your birth experience and it can be beautiful. No matter what, as always, thank you for listening.

Hit subscribe, write a review, and I'll see you again next Friday. Bye for now.