Update: he’s born! Archer Home Water Birth & Move to OK

update! He's born!! We have taken off a lot of work and as entrepreneurs and contractors the help would be amazing :)

Hi! I’m Meral Doe Renée Jones, the mom of Archer Jones, the baby in my belly! This is me and Garrett’s third child coming in May.

I am a community leader, publisher and small business owner. I had hoped to do water birth at the hospital. I’ve done a birth center and a home birth before. Just to have a new experience so I could understand what the challenges and opportunities with hospital birth were, to save money AND to hopefully create water birth as an option for others, I started a petition to get water birth at Parkview Hospital.

The hospital responded and frankly let me know there’s no way that water birth would be implemented by Mother’s Day 2025, when Archer is estimated to be born.

(Here is the petition here: Let’s get Water Birth at UCHealth Parkview Hospital: https://www.change.org/p/let-s-get-water-birth-at-uchealth-parkview-hospital-in-pueblo-co)

I have kept the petition going, and am connecting with other women and fellow birth empowerment advocates so that eventually, water birth can be available at the hospital. It may take a long time.

So, since water birth is my absolute must (it is amazing, it’s proven to help create more easy birth!)…. I switched to getting care from a midwife for another home water birth. I am grateful because home birth was such an amazing experience.

Being healthy/low risk and a Hypnobabies hypnosis practitioner, I am able to birth in just a few hours and very low pain as I have with my son Leo and daughter Zelda.

I have Medicaid, but with home birth, there’s no zero cost option like the hospital would have been.

In addition, we are moving to Oklahoma in June, to be closer to my in laws, so we are also seeking help with some moving costs, given I won’t be able to work before and after the move. We are already saving anything extra for the move, particularly for a new house to rent. We aren’t asking for help for our housing in Oklahoma, just some moving expenses.

It is hard to ask for help. And, I am grateful to give back to the community a lot through volunteerism and leadership. So, our family is choosing RECEIVE and learn to accept.

Here are the costs broken down:

1. $1750 non Medicaid covered costs for Mountain Miracles Midwifery (total cost is over $4,000, but thankfully Medicaid does cover some)

2. $115 for the birthing supplies kit (liner for the tub, hose)

3. $1468 for other baby and moving costs (help offset my lack of work for a few weeks, gas for the move, moving supplies and U-Haul)

total= $3,333