Winnie was born in her bag of waters. It’s been such a weird time with the ever looming Coronavirus surrounding us for the past month. So many pregnant women in fear for their lives and their baby’s lives. And rightfully so! I wouldn’t want to go into a hospital right now worrying about putting my whole family’s health at risk. At the beginning of this pregnancy, I was with a regular OBGYN that delivers at one of our hospitals, because I had no clue what to do since our birth center had just closed down last year. But then, I felt a peace about going the home birth route. I have had several friends just within the last year to have their babies at home, so I just looked to them for direction. I’ve also photographed several home births, and it just seemed right. The care you receive, the love that surrounds you, and the comfort that you already know…it’s already there!
Why I Chose Home Birth:
So, when it got closer to my due date, the scare of the coronavirus had really picked up. State by state started issuing lockdowns, grocery stores were depleting, and everyone thought the worst was coming. No one knew what to expect. So, I really felt it was God’s provision months ago when we chose to have this little one at home. He knew we’d be going through this a this exact time thousands of years ago. And I felt like this was His hedge of protection for us.
So, Friday, March 27th, I had my 39 week checkup with my midwife. I felt comfortable having my membranes stripped, so I asked her to do it (not a very conventional ask for most home birthers, but I like to get the ball rolling)! My ribs and back and pelvic area were in such immense pain this pregnancy, I was ready to be on the “road to recovery.” I knew it’d feel better with the baby out!
Nothing happened at first besides a little bleeding from the stripping of membranes. But, it was the same with Winnie, so I was hoping it’d run the same path it did with her!
I went on a couple walks that day to encourage my body to keep going in the direction of labor. At bed time, I was a little crampy, but figured it was just from the sweep. Early in the morning around 3:30, I woke up to some light crampy contractions. So, I got up to start timing them. I hopped on the exercise ball and started bouncing and walked around the house a bit. I also cleaned the kitchen. After a few hours of timing contractions, I finally decided to take a little nap, because I was SO exhausted and knew that if this was the real thing, I’d need my energy to get through the harder stuff. So, I laid down for about 30 minutes for a quick power nap. As soon as I woke up, I noticed my contractions had slowed down, so I woke Kevin up and told him I was going for a walk! I popped on a home birth podcast, and took a long walk around the neighborhood. My contractions weren’t bad enough to make me stop while walking, but once I got home around 9, they had definitely intensified! We called my parents to tell them they’d probably need to start making their way over soon. And then I texted my midwife to let her know this was definitely the real thing. Contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart.
My parents got there about 10. This was when active labor really started. Contractions made me stop in my tracks. I didn’t want to walk around with them anymore. I wanted to lay in my bed to rest through them. That’s my queue for knowing it’s getting stronger and I’m really progressing. I also just started to labor in my room instead of all around the house. And at one point, I started crying through a contraction, which felt so silly. Kevin looked at me and asked if I was sad because Winnie wouldn’t be the baby anymore (it’s what I did when I was in labor with our second, Hazel, and I was sad for Hallen not knowing the changes that were coming her way). I said, “no, I just don’t think I can do this again!!”
This whole pregnancy, I had been nervous about labor, because I felt like I had just gone through it. I didn’t want to feel that crowning sensation again so quickly! But here we were about to push through it…literally! With the tears that were running down my cheeks, I knew I had most likely hit transition since the emotions were flowing. I also started to get that nauseous feeling, so I took my peppermint oil, and started smelling it just like my oily friend had told me to! And somehow it worked! I didn’t believe it would, because I had always just taken nausea medications since nothing is worse than puking during a hard contraction. Talk about feeling like you’re going to die…that’s exactly what it feels like.
By this point, it was around 11/11:30; we began to fill up the tub before the midwife got there, because I needed some relief, but I really wanted her to check me before I got in just to make sure it wouldn’t make me start to stall out. I’m the type of person who needs ALL THE FACTS. I needed to make sure I was far enough along that I wouldn’t slow things down. Luckily, she got there soon after we filled the tub up. She watched me through a few contractions, and told me to go ahead and get in. I begged her to check me, but she promised me I would be just fine getting in right then. So, I got in the tub, she checked the heart rate, and then checked my dilation. I was already at an 8! Even though I was in a lot of pain, I was so relieved we were almost there, and then totally scared at the same time, because I knew I’d have to be pushing soon!
The tub was immediate relief. I stayed on my knees the entire time in the tub to labor. And I had done the same thing even outside of the tub…just laboring forward. I hadn’t ever done that before, but it was just instinctual for my body this time. With my last check before I started to push, I had to lay back, and it was just the most painful thing about that labor!
So, I immediately got back on my knees, breathed through a few more contractions with some loud roars, and then my midwife told me to do a more inward breath…I actually have no clue what she told me about how to breathe. Some kind of magic where I immediately went inwards with hardly any sound, but it really helped me channel the energy I needed to push. It was amazing! My last three labors, I was roaring like a bear through all of it at the end.
After a few initial pushes to just let go of the tension and start the process of baring down to get the baby out, the real pushes began. His head was already so low, so there wasn’t much pushing. I just remember there being one long break between contractions, and I felt his head go back up, which made me want to cry. But they reminded me that it was actually a good thing that would help me not tear. With the next push, my water broke! It was the strangest feeling. It felt like I basically shot a water balloon out! That’s the only way I know how to explain it! My water breaking has been different with each labor, and each time so surprising! (With Hallen, the midwife broke it at 10 cm; with Hazel, my water broke in early labor; and Winnie was born in her her bag of waters.)
I think there was only 2 or 3 more pushes, and he was out. Kevin and my midwife, Damaris, pulled him up out of the water to give him to me (still not knowing the baby was a he), and the relief was so amazing. I sat back in the water with pure joy and the biggest oxytocin high. He wasn’t breathing very well at first. I think he may have gotten a little water in his throat or something, but my midwife wanted to give him a little breath to help him. I started to bring him closer to her, and that’s when I saw it…the boy goods! We had a son!! I was in shock!!
The whole pregnancy, up until the last week, I was certain we’d be adding a 4th girl to our crew. All of my pregnancies had felt the same, looked the same, and had basically been copies of each other. So, shock was an understatement!
We were all so thrilled. Everyone was still saying “she” about the baby even after I delivered him until I said that, so it was just comical.
I finally got out of the tub after delivering my placenta to rest on the bed with our newest addition. Those are always some of my favorite moments. Admiring and loving on what had been growing inside of me just moments before.
After cutting the cord, he got weighed and checked out by the two midwives. He was 8lbs 5oz. Another shocker for me! My next biggest baby was exactly a pound smaller! Now I knew why I had been in such pain the last 8 weeks. I wasn’t lying when I said it hurt to walk and breathe!
We also were a tiny bit nervous, because his heart was skipping about 2 beats per minute, but after getting it checkout out by a pediatrician later in the week, we learned that it was normal and not a sign of anything serious. Just his body getting adjusted to life outside the womb.
Thatcher also didn’t have a name for two whole days, and honestly it’s because I wasn’t expecting to have a little boy. Thatcher was our top name for a boy, but I think since I wasn’t expecting a boy, I just couldn’t decide on a name. Maybe it was initial gender shock or gender disappointment. I don’t even know what I’d call it. Just having a different family than I thought I’d have. It doesn’t mean I’d change a thing about our sweet little family. It’s perfect, and exactly as God designed it to be for us. It was just different than what I thought it’d be for the past 9 months.
My Thoughts On Our Home Birth
So, there you have it! Home birth was amazing. So so good for the soul. I really felt empowered and in control of how I wanted to birth instead of having to bow to the wishes and commands of an institution. My midwives were there to support me in how I wanted to birth my baby…in whatever way made my body comfortable.
Midwives really are the unsung heroes. Coming to my home for every prenatal so I could be comfortable, bringing all their equipment to every prenatal and all the births they attend, constantly being on call, helping me shower, doing my laundry, dressing me, and not leaving my side for hours after his birth. I’ve never been treated with such love from a care provider during my births.
So, if you’re thinking about a home birth, I say go for it. Call a local midwife and ask all the questions…the fun, scary, and piercing questions you have. They’re trained for every situation. They aren’t just baby catchers.
You can also ask me anything you want. I’m a pretty open book, and love talking all things about medication free birthing.
**Photos taken by my friend, Alex who was there for moral support, but ended up with lots of titles and jobs. My wonderful photographer had to back out last minute because of the quarantine. So, when my friend came over, Kevin gave her a 5 minute overview of my camera! **
Kristina
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