This was my first natural birth and I was 3 days overdue with my third baby.   I started having contractions on Monday morning, November 25.  I was hoping that this would be the day. My contractions weren’t painful, but were coming consistently, but irregularly, if that makes since.  One would be 20 min. apart, then 10, then 7, then 10 again, etc…

We had my weekly midwife appointment that morning. When we got there, Sarah, my midwife told us that she was leaving town for Thanksgiving and that if I didn’t have my baby either today or tomorrow, she would be out of town.  Wendy and Joanna or Jen would be coming over instead.  I wasn’t too happy to hear this because I had chosen Sarah to be my main midwife because of the connection I felt with her.  I guess, being my third baby, Sarah thought I would have already had him by now and that it was safe to make plans.

Sarah said the she could strip my membranes and it would help to prepare my cervix and get things moving along.  But, only if I really wanted to do it.  She left the decision up to me.  I quickly decided that I wanted to go forth, for two reasons.  One, I just wanted pregnancy to be over.  I was huge! And two, I wanted Sarah to be there for my labor.  It didn’t hurt, but I felt lots of pressure.  I was dialed to about 1.5-2 before the procedure.  I really wanted to have Cameron that day and was getting really impatient.  I had already tried the castor oil trick a few days beforehand as well as taking a daily herb blend for the past week that is supposed to prepare the body.  Sarah said that if I took black and blue cohosh and the castor oil several times, (she made up a little regimen for me to follow) it would probably put me into labor.  I only took the black and blue cohosh twice because it was so nasty tasting and the castor oil made want to throw up and gave me diarrhea.  The last thing I wanted to have while in labor.

I kept having contractions all day that eventually increased to about 6-7 min. apart throughout the day.  They weren’t painful so, I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen or not and I just went about my day as normal.  Matt was encouraging me to keep taking the cohosh/castor oil, but I just wanted to let my body do the rest on its own  I already felt a little like I had cheated because even though everything I was doing is considered, “natural”, I was still  coaxing my body to go into labor.  Our other two kids were kids were at school, so Matt and I went and ate at The Good Egg, picked up Matt’s paycheck, ran errands, etc…  We also took a walk at the park.  When we were walking, I felt a lot of pelvic/vaginal pressure, but no pain.

Finally, later that afternoon around 4:00 p.m., I called Sarah because my contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart, but still no pain.  She came over and checked me and I was dilated to 5 cm.  At that point, I realized I was in labor and would probably be having my baby soon. Sarah decided to leave since I wasn’t in any pain and she would stay close by for when I needed her.

Later on around 7:00 p.m., my parents came over and watched the kids so Matt and I could go walking at the park.  Nothing really different happened, but I would get the occasional contraction that required me to concentrate a bit.  We came home, put the kids to bed and started a movie with my parents.

Around 9:30 I called Sarah because my contractions were becoming very tight and uncomfortable. This time when she checked me I was a 6.5-7.  She decided it was time to stay and get all her stuff set up and ready.   It became a bit surreal at that point.  I couldn’t believe that I was really going to be having a baby in a few hours and I wasn’t even in pain!  We planned a water birth, but I didn’t feel like getting into the water yet.  I wanted to wait until I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore before I got in.  This was going to be my version of an epidural.

I didn’t really like all the anticipation and feeling like everyone was waiting for something to happen so Sarah told my parents to go ahead and go home since it might still be awhile and we would call them later.  Sarah suggested that Matt and I go relax in the bedroom and just do whatever felt comfortable.  Now it was around 10:30 p.m.  Matt brought a couple of candles in the room and we lay on the bed with the light off, just relaxing and talking.  Sarah stayed resting on the couch, ready for us when we needed her.  The tub was filled and heated. The kids were sleeping.  It was very peaceful in the house.

While we were lying on the bed, my contractions became very close together, about 1 minute apart and became so strong that I couldn’t lie still during them.  As soon as a contraction came, I sat up from the bed and moaned my way through it.  They were finally starting to hurt now.  I just couldn’t get comfortable.  I went from laying to standing, to sitting, to hanging on Matt during the contractions.  Matt actually started to fall asleep once, but he quickly woke back up when I started nudging him and moaning.  I remember saying to him, “I don’t want to have another contraction.”  Matt asked me if I wanted to get in the water, but I didn’t. Matt said that he thought we should get Sarah in to check me, because he could tell I was getting really uncomfortable.  She checked me and I was an 8.  She told me that if I wanted to have my baby in the water, now was a good time to get in.  I thought the contractions were going to be more painful than they were, so my plan was to be in the water for the most painful ones. Since I wasn’t yet feeling like I couldn’t take it anymore, I didn’t really want to go into the water, but I did want to have my baby in there.

The water was so warm, soothing, and enveloping.  I loved the way it felt.  We kept the lights off and just used candles in the room I was in.  Sarah called Wendy and told her it was time to come over.  It was like as soon as I got in the tub, my contractions were coming one right after another.  They hurt and I wanted them to go away.  I knew, Cameron was coming, but didn’t realize how soon.

Matt called all the family.  They came over and waited in the living room, behind a wall that separates our living room and kitchen.  It allowed for me to have privacy and I didn’t feel like I was putting on a show.

I’m not sure how long I was in the water when suddenly; I felt this extreme involuntary, very painful force of Cameron’s head pushing through my pelvis, followed by an incredible indescribable urge to push. I said to Sarah, “I feel like I need to push” She said, “go ahead and push”.  I said, “what if I’m not dialed enough?” She told me not to worry and to listen to my body.

I was a little scared because during my other two hospital births, I was told I couldn’t push until I was a 10 or it could damage my cervix.  After a couple of pushes, I felt and heard a very forceful pop.  I didn’t know what it was and it worried me at first. Sarah told me it was just my water breaking.  The calm and in control attitude that my midwife had, was very reassuring and helped me to relax. After my water broke, it was like I was having an out of body experience.  I was completely oblivious to everything around me. (We filmed my homebirth and I was amazed at all the things I never saw or heard during my labor).

As my urge to push became stronger, I was now in the worst pain I’d ever felt in my entire life.  Nothing compared to it. It was excruciating!  My baby’s head was crowning so Sarah told me to reach down and feel it.   It didn’t feel like a head.  It was soft and ripply. As he continued to crown, I experienced very intense, very painful burning of my, you know what. It was terrible and it didn’t go away until his head came all the way out it.  I could feel his head coming out during a push and then going back in a little when I stopped.  There was a small and very small amount of relief when his head was completely out.

The rest of Cameron’s body wasn’t coming like it should have.  After several pushes, Sarah told me to get on my hands and knees and lean over the tub.  She put her hands on my shoulders, looked me in the eye and with a very serious tone said, “We need to get this baby out!” I knew something wasn’t right, but I had no reaction.  It was as if I lost my ability to express any concern or any emotions other than pain.

I started pushing again while leaning over the tub and she and Wendy had to reach inside me and pull his shoulders out.  His shoulders were stuck behind my pubic bone, what is referred to as, shoulder dystocia.  In my case though, they called it sticky shoulders, because it was very mild.  As they were pulling, I was pushing.  It was incredibly painful while they were doing that.

Then all of a sudden, I felt the slippery gush of his body come out.  I lay back in the tub and Sarah handed him to me.  I couldn’t react. I was so out of it.   I was exhausted.  It was now, 3:10 in the morning.  The pain was gone.  It was over, finally a relief. Cameron wasn’t breathing though and then came the scary part.  I still wasn’t very present yet, but I could see that Matt was scared and I noticed the quick reactions of my midwives.  Because his head was out for a little while before his body came out, babies will sometimes need a little help with their breathing at first.  Sarah used some kind of suction straw type device to blow air into his mouth.  Then they gave him a couple puffs of oxygen and very shortly, he started breathing on his own.  That was a huge relief for us and our family who was still waiting on the other side of the wall.

I stayed in the tub holding Cameron in the warm water for awhile, waiting for the placenta.  I was having pretty painful after pains, but nothing compared to the actual birth.  Sarah helped me out of the tub and I went and took a shower.  I remember looking down in the shower and thinking to myself, “holy cow, I just had a baby a few minutes ago and now I’m at home in the shower!”  I loved the experience of being in the comfort of my home during my labor and birth.  I got to eat, drink, and do whatever I felt like during my labor.  It was all up to me.  I felt no pressure and didn’t have to experience any doctors or nurses constantly poking and prodding me.

Once I got cleaned up, we went into our room so Sarah could give Cameron his newborn screening.  Everybody’s jaw dropped, including mine when she announced that he was 10lbs. 8.5 ounces.  Matt and I thought he would be our biggest baby, probably around 9lbs.  But we couldn’t believe he was that big! My Homebirth was such an amazing and life-changing experience for me.  I am truly grateful for the experience that I had.

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Stacey