Anyway, I took a shower, ate some breakfast, and called my husband. The contractions were strong enough that I really didn’t want to stay at home alone with my 3 year old all day. I was afraid I wouldn’t be as available to get him what he needed, so John agreed to come home. I also wanted John to be with me during the whole thing.

John came home and we decided to go out to eat and to the park. The weather was abnormally warm for February. And also there had been a full moon. Anyway, we went to Route 66 and I ordered a Double Steak with Cheese and fried potatoes. Yum. After this, we went to Happy Hollow Park. I had to stop every 6 minutes or so for a contraction. We met a couple friends there, and had a nice time. I was tired, so we went home so I could try to get a nap in. After getting home I took another shower to try to calm down for a nap. After trying to nap for an hour, I decided it wasn’t going to happen. So, I gathered John and Jackson to go on a walk with me. By this time the contractions were pretty painful. We only made it for about 15 minutes on the walk and then came home.

After being home for only an hour, I decided that my 3 year old needed to go. I was having a hard time getting through a contraction with him running around yelling. So, Grandpa came to pick him up. After he was gone, John went around the house lighting candles and turning down the lights. At this point I called our Midwife. When I got on the phone with her I started crying because I wasn’t sure how far I was into the labor, and I wasn’t sure if maybe it would be possible to stall out the labor with a bath so I could get some rest. Our plan prior to my going into labor was to stop the labor (if possible) if I labored all day. We wanted to avoid exhaustion.

When the Midwife arrived we started filling the birth pool. It was taking much longer than I preferred to get that thing filled! Our hot water heater is miniscule, so we had to boil tons of water to get warm water in the pool. The warm water was supposed to either stall out the labor, or speed it up. After getting in, my labor slowed down.

When my contractions stayed at the slower pace for a while, my Midwife and the attendants decided to go out for some dinner. They thought that maybe I would get some rest while they were gone, or speed labor up due to not being the center of 5 people’s attention. When they left things definitely got going. I was yelling for HELP and telling John that I needed to go to the hospital so I could get an epidural and go to sleep. He stayed strong and told me no. He knew that wasn’t really what I wanted. I would have been very disappointed if we would have gone to the hospital.

After yelling so loud that the neighbors were probably wondering, ‘who the hell is being tortured next door?’, I told John to call our Midwife. I was definitely in hard labor. I got back in the birth pool and stayed there until Archer arrived. John laid behind me to support me while I moaned and yelled some more. I was very attached to one of the attendants. Later I found out she has been a doula and has been attending home births since I was born. She just gave me a lot of comfort and encouragement. Every time she would leave the room I would yell HELP!

By this point there was no conversation and the only thing you heard was me moaning. This lasted for only an hour and a half and all of the sudden I felt a snap, and I assumed it was just my water breaking. Then came the urge to push. So, I yelled, ‘I gotta push’! And I did. I pushed maybe 2 times through that one contraction and Archer was out! He came out in the water sac or, ‘in the caul’.

What my Midwife later told me was that Archer came out with his hand by his face and reached for her hand.  She said it was quite an amazing experience. He surprised everyone with how quickly he came. We all were in a bit of shock. He went right on my chest and it was all over! He was beautiful! He cried shortly after laying with me and stayed with me for the next few hours. He was born at 1:09 am on February 11, 2009, also my birthday! He is by far the best gift I have ever gotten on my birthday!

Our experience with having a home birth was wonderful. It was better than we expected, and even though it was rough for a little while, I am so glad we did it. This was much more of a natural way to welcome our new baby to our family. It seems that at the hospital the doctors and nurses take control of the labor and birth. For us, we were in charge, and we made the experience what it was—absolutely wonderful.

Katie
A stay at home mom of 2 boys.  I have a side business of sewing linen ring slings.  I am very passionate about natural birth, health, and living.
www.mamakates.com

On Sunday, March 1, 2009, my husband had an attack of labrynthitis (vertigo). It usually takes him several weeks to recover. Since I was already 40 weeks (or over, depending on the calculator), we knew there wasn’t going to be that much time, but I really hoped it was be at least a few days, otherwise he wasn’t going to be able to help much, if at all.

About 7:20am on March 2, I woke up to go to the washroom & felt like I was kind of damp. I stood up & gushed water all over the floor. Every step I took to the bathroom, I gushed more water. 3 labours, 3 times with my water breaking with no contractions, despite all my attempts to have it start differently. In the bathroom I quickly checked to see if I could feel any cord, since I didn’t think the baby was engaged. No sign of anything, so I figured it was fine. I put a towel between my legs, went out to the living room & called my friend, Jamie, who had offered to come to the birth, to let her know that I’d probably go into labour in the next couple days, since my water had broken. After I talked to her for a bit, I went back to bed & tried to get more sleep.

When I eventually got up, I was still leaking a little bit, but it only seemed to happen when I got up from lying down or bent over. I grabbed the fetoscope & listened for the heartbeat. It was nice & strong. I also started getting contractions around this time. They were fairly mild, I just had to pause briefly when I got one. The baby was quite active during them.They were about half an hour apart. I called Jamie again to let her know I was getting contractions, but still figured labour was a long way off, since I’d had to wait 3 days after my water broke with my second.

I spent the day mostly taking it easy; losing bits of plug all day. The contractions stayed about half an hour apart until around 10, when they started coming every 12-15 minutes. I decided to try to get some sleep. I realized it could be sooner than 3 days until labour really started, but was still hoping that I had at least another day for my husband to recover. By this point I seemed to have stopped losing plug & had a bit of blood.

I didn’t get much rest, the contractions got a lot more painful when I was lying down & started coming closer together. About 1:30am I couldn’t take it anymore. I was thinking that an epidural sounded like a lovely idea. My husband was still up, but I made him go to bed. I was still thinking it would be a long time. Getting up made the contractions hurt less, but they were still pretty painful.

Around 2:30, I couldn’t take it anymore & decided to try having a shower to see if the water helped with the contractions any. I had a waterbirth planned, the pool was all blown up, but it was in the bedroom with the sleeping kids & I really didn’t want to disturb them if I didn’t have to. So, I got in the shower. It was wonderful. Standing up was difficult, though, so I sat on the tub floor & just aimed the shower sprayer at my belly. By this point I had pretty much given up on Hypnobabies. It seemed to have helped a bit with the early contractions, but they didn’t really hurt anyway.

I stayed in the bathroom for nearly an hour. I knew the contractions were getting harder & closer together & I really wanted my waterbirth, but didn’t really want to get out. I kept hoping that hubby would wake up & come in so I could stay there while he got the pool ready, but he never did. So, I reluctantly got out of the tub, dried off & decided to try to move the pool into the living room. I wasn’t sure we’d have enough space, but was hopeful that it would fit. At this point contractions were coming about every 5 minutes, but picking up fast.

I rolled the pool out to the living room, discovered it would fit & went to grab the plastic & sheets to put under it. I woke up dh around 3:30. The thought of trying to dig out the hose & fill the pool was too overwhelming. I laid out sheets (for padding & warmth, my pool didn’t have an inflatable bottom & our floor was concrete) & put plastic over them; between contractions which were coming every 2-3 minutes by now. At some point in here (around 3:40am or so), I also called Jamie & told her the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. She said she was going to have a shower, then see if I wanted her to come up.

I thought about getting in while it was filling, but it seemed like way too much effort. When the pool was finally full (no idea how long it took, in our practice run it was 25 minutes, though) my husband encouraged me to get in. I had to go find a shirt to wear in it, since for some reason I felt really uncomfortable with the idea of being totally naked. The kids were awake by this point, not sure if it was me getting the plastic out of the bedroom, hubby getting the hose out of the closet across from the bedroom, or my moaning through the contractions that woke them, but at least it meant I could turn on the light to find a shirt. I finally found the one I was looking for & got in the pool. I think it was about 4:30am at this point, but I really wasn’t paying attention to the time anymore.

The contractions were really close together & very painful. As expected, doing the pool was about the extent of what dh was capable of doing for me with how awful he was feeling. I figured Jamie was probably on her way & just hadn’t called. Just before 5, she called to say she was on her way. I really had thought she’d be here any minute & was upset she was going to be at least 20 more minutes. H told her he thought I was in transistion. I wasn’t moaning through most of the contractions anymore, just screaming & begging dh to kill me. I was also giving deliberate little pushes on some of the contractions, just because it seemed to make them hurt a little bit less.

Ok, to be totally honest I was pushing quite hard on a couple of them. I just couldn’t handle the pain anymore. I was trying all kinds of different positions to try to get away from how much it hurt. I was really scared of a long pushing phase because I knew I couldn’t take this much pain for that long. I was also scared that I was pushing too soon since I’d only been in active labour for a few hours & I wasn’t feeling any kind of pushing urge, it just felt less painful.

I asked h to check me, since at least then I’d have some idea if pushing hard was likely to cause problems. He checked & said he couldn’t feel anything that seemed like cervix, just something jello-y feeling & possibly the head underneath. He figured the squishy thing was probably the sac. I started pushing with every contraction after he told me he didn’t feel any cervix, but I still wasn’t pushing really hard.

Sometime around here, Jamie arrived. It was about 5:20am Dh was relieved. He was starting to worry he was going to have to decide whether I needed to go to the hospital or not. In fact, just after she called, I’d told him that I was going to make her take me to the hospital as soon as she arrived because I couldn’t take it anymore.

The baby was obviously moving down.  At this point, I wasn’t even really thinking about the baby, I just wanted to get rid of that feeling. It’s horrible! So I started pushing really hard, several times each contraction. I was just concentrating on pushing & so, even though I felt it, it took me awhile to realize that I was feeling a burning sensation & a little bit longer to process what that meant.

I told everyone (the kids were watching from the hall, I think my screaming had scared them a bit, especially the youngest) that I thought I was crowning. Then I reached down to feel if I actually was. The baby’s head was partially out already, with the edges of the membranes floating in the water. What I really wanted to do at this point was to push as hard as I could to get his head out & stop the burning. I also really wanted to avoid tearing.

So, despite how much I wanted the burning to stop, I slowly pushed his head out. Push, pause, burn, push, pause, burn. After about 7 pushes, his head was out. I waited until the next contraction & gave a hard push & his shoulders came out. It almost felt like there was a ‘pop’ as they came out. I think Jamie said his arm was out even before I pushed out his shoulders, but the timing of everything is a bit fuzzy. Unlike with my second, who had just slipped out on the push after his head was out, I had to push again to get N’s body out after his shoulders.

He floated up to the surface of the pool, face down. I grabbed him out of the water & brought him to my chest, then checked to see if he was a boy or a girl. I was kind of surprised to find that he was a boy, but also relieved that labour was over. It was 5:35 am, only 4 hours from when I couldn’t handle the contractions in bed anymore, even though they had still been 10 minutes apart.

I leaned back against the side of the pool and looked down at him. He was a little blue & completely quiet, which freaked me out a bit. Then I saw him move his mouth & knew he was ok. He looked up at me, then promptly closed his eyes & went to sleep. Jamie grabbed a towel & covered him with it.

After waiting for a little, I started getting a few mild contractions and decided to try pushing again to see if the placenta was ready to come out. It took a bit more work then I was expecting & as it came out, Nick woke up & cried for the first time.

Before I’d gotten in the pool, I’d grabbed some containers for things, since I knew dh wouldn’t be able to find anything with as bad as he was feeling. He handed Jamie the bowl for the placenta, which she floated in the pool while I was pushing it out. Once it was out, it was put in the bowl.

The pool was very bloody at this point & I decided I wanted to get out. I gave N to Jamie & leaned on h to get out. Then I sat down on the couch with some towels under me & a big blanket around me & cuddled my new little guy. I tried to nurse him, but he wasn’t at all interested at this point. My older boys came over to see their new brother & h started draining the pool.

Eventually we cut the cord & confirmed something Jamie thought she’d noticed earlier; there was a knot in the cord. When I cut up the placenta to dry it for encapsulation, I took pictures of the knot. After we’d dealt with the cord, I went for a quick shower to get rinsed/warm & get dry clothes on. Jamie went home about 8:30 & h & I crashed for awhile. The kids were wide awake, so I napped on the couch with the baby while they played a game on the playstation. At some point my youngest had a nap on the floor, but my oldest stayed awake for the whole day.

I don’t know exactly how much he weighed at birth, I think he was around 6lb 6oz, maybe a bit less. 19 1/2 inches long & head circumference of 13.4 inches.

Lisa-Marie

In retrospect, I was feeling euphoric that weekend, walking outside was nice, and checking out this lizard that was crossing my path as I went to check the mail alone made me smile in this way that I knew something was up. I wasn’t going to give into it just yet, but subconsciously I knew. On Monday, August 21st, around 2 pm I was in the kitchen making some food for Aiden and myself, I felt a gush of fluid. Luckily I had on a cloth pad as I usually do because of a bout with incontinence. I went to the bathroom and peed, came back washed my hands, prepped the food some more and it happened again.

What’s up with this, I was thinking. I just kept going about my day, feeling a little crampy, nothing of note. I had already set myself up to have another 46 hour labor like I did with Aiden, so I knew that if this was indeed it, that I would have to eat and rest and not tell anyone what’s going on because I did not want anyone looking at the clock. So I just went about my afternoon, hanging out with Aiden and changing my pads. Thank goodness for my cloth pads, they rocked. The afternoon wore on and the contractions actually started picking up a bit.

I called poppy and talked to her for a little while before I called my midwife to let her know what I was thinking. I called Jill and let her know what was up, but not to get her hopes up. I was really concerned that my tub was still not here. The other midwife Nikole was supposed to delivery it the next day at our regular appointment. I just wanted to get it there now, I felt somehow that I would feel better and progress faster if the tub was there. I had no idea how true that was.

I let Shawn know what was going on since he had the day off and all.  He wasn’t instantly excited about the prospect of labor, but then again I wasn’t really either. Especially with the history that I have with long ones. But we pressed on.

We got the futon and the bed ready with plastic sheets and got the towels out and whatnot, just prepping. I did some more cleaning and whatnot…I took Aiden to the market and bought some food that I felt like eating at the time. Chicken friend steak? Really for a woman in labor. The store was pretty neat because I knew I was walking around being in labor and no one really knew. I was cool.

Nothing else exciting happened that Monday. Went to bed, contracted on and off all night long, though I did get a lot of sleep. I would wake up into a contraction and just tell myself, open open open and breath through it. I knew this was going to be long and I was alright with it.

I sent Shawn to work on Tuesday, he thought about staying home but I didn’t want him watching me all day. I tried cleaning, resting, talking on the phone a lot to poppy and other friends, trying to be as calm as I could be with Aiden.  He knew something was up and was very high energy and needy. I kept eating and drinking, stopping to deal with contractions that sometimes made me lose my breath. I was dealing, but I knew I wasn’t progressing fast but that was ok. I honestly got bored and wanted labor to pick up.

I got a call from the midwives and Nikole was coming to bring the tub around 2pm….I called Shawn around noon and asked him to come home. I felt like I needed him here, and we needed to move the table for the tub. Nikole talked to me about taking some homeopathic crap to ’get my labor going’ which I was not going to do. I didn’t want to take/do anything unnatural to this labor. Nipple stimulation, fine, spicy food, fine, kissing, walking, squatting great. But nothing extra.

I talked to Jill again later that day and she was going to come by at 4:45 to listen to the baby’s heartbeat and just see how I was doing, she too talked about augmenting the labor and the risk of infection. I know that as long as I’m not putting anything up in my vagina, I’m going to be alright. She stated that she would fully support any decision that I made and she had to just give me the information. Which is true, an educated decision is much better than a stubborn ’i want my own way’ one. Jill suggested that I take some echinacea and 1000mg of vit c to help prevent infection. Fine with me. I’ve taken all that before and it wasn’t a big deal.

Shawn came home and it was so nice to have him here. We cleaned up some more and were waiting for Nikole. We wanted to take a long long walk and do some curb walking too, which our birth instructor said is great for moving baby around and getting labor progressing nicely. Curb walking is walking with one foot in the gutter and one on the sidewalk. It looks funny, feels weird but I know it helps.

Nikole calls at about 330 and says she’s running late, and that it will be another hour and a half or so. We decide that we’re just going to go for our walk and get out of the house, and she’ll call when she gets closer. My mom also called and wanted to stop by, at this time, she didn’t know what was going on and I wasn’t sure if we were going to tell her just yet. She was going to bring by some papaya, some vit c and the ech.

So we walk and walk and walk, over to the park. Talking about weather or not we’re going to tell my mom if I am in labor, talking baby names, chit chat. I’m not having any serious contractions, nothing to make me stop, so I’m thinking that I’m just chilling out. We get to the park and we’re talking about names and we ask Aiden:

Aiden what should the baby be named?
(he pauses seriously thinking for a second)
umm….PICKETT!

No really, he said that. We laughed so hard that I had a contraction right then and there. HA. We get the call from my mom that she’s on her way, so we started heading back. We’re on the sidewalk when all of a sudden I feel a HUGE gush of fluid. You know how women are always worried that their water will break in public?  Yeah, well it happened to me. Just a huge gush of fluid and my cloth pad caught almost all of it. We get back to the house and I went ahead and told my mom what was happening, and asked if she could please come and get Aiden if I needed her to in the middle of the night. She was happy to do so. She leaves.

Nikole calls again and her car has broken down, and she’d like to know if Shawn can meet her at the service station to get the tub. Just then, Jill shows up and we have our talk about antibiotics and augmentation and whatnot. I tell her I really don’t want to do anything at this point, she listens and understands. She wants to do a Clindamycin dose every 8 hours for as long as I am in labor. This is also because I didn’t take a GBS test so she doesn’t know whats up with that. She’s not worried she just wants to be sure. She said that she knew this baby was fine and she trusted in my body to do what it needed to do. I agreed. I asked her to come back around 9ish and we’d talk again and see if I progressed any. She listened to the baby who had some great acceleration’s during my contractions, he sounded wonderful she said. She was kind enough to bring a doppler with headphones so I didn’t have to hear that canned heartbeat sound.

Jill calls Nikole to see what is going on and she tells Jill that she got a ride and is on her way to my house at that moment to set up the tub. Nikole shows up, sets up the tub and leaves. I get in the shower, and nice hot one, and let the water hit my back where I was having a lot of pain. Another concern of mine was that this baby was post. like Aiden was, and that labor was forever. I didn’t want that to happen again.  I did some nipple stimulation and had some killer contractions in the shower. I was moaning and it was really powerful.

I got out of the shower, dressed, and laid down with Aiden, this was probably around 7:30ish. I had another awesome contraction while laying down with Aiden. He fell asleep and that was the last I would see of him for the night. Shawn heated me up some miso soup that I had made. It was so amazing and good. Gave me energy again.

I was laboring well. It felt good. I just had on my sports bra and I leaned on my ball and Shawn put pressure on my back, pressed my hips together and I feel like that helped move the baby down a little. He kept telling me I was doing a great job and to keep it up. He said I was strong and soon we’d have our baby in our arms.

The lights were low, the music was on and it was just the two of us. Shawn was really great about getting up and coming to me when I started a contraction. I felt like I was actually making progress. I had made up in my mind at that time that I would go ahead and let Jill give me the antibiotics. Not because she wanted to but I wanted to stay the hell home. This way, I would be able to stay home for another four days if my labor was going to take that long. I would also be able to get checked out for my own peace of mind and know how much longer I would have to go. I was at peace with my decision. The contractions were long and close together but not as painful as the ones I had with Aiden which had breaks, but were stronger because of the pitocin. I was handling it really well. But they were GOOD and STRONG.

Jill showed up around 945ish, walks in the door, sees the scene and says ’this is great!’ She knew from all her years of experience that I was moving along. She asks if she can check my dilation because if I am moving along, then we’ll just skip the anti-bs all together. She checks me and says I’m 4-5cm and very stretchy, that she could stretch me to 7. I was so happy to hear that. No antibiotics. She starts setting up and I just keep laboring. This is 10pm.

I am ROCKING with contractions. They are hard and I’m feeling a lot of pressure on my perineum. I’m walking around the house, leaning on the ball, which is on the futon, so I just stand behind it and lean on it. Standing was the best thing ever, it was so hard to do, but I KNEW I had to do it to get this baby to come.

They really aren’t letting up, but it’s not like I am feeling out of control either while having them. I’m telling the baby that its ok to come out, and we’re all waiting for them. We have a cute shirt for them to wear. haha. Just positive energy and thoughts going to this baby to come out and positive thoughts to my body to open up. Just ooooooppppppeeeeeeennnnnnnn.

Jill calls the other midwife Mary, who I had not met before to come now. I joke with her that the first time I’m going to be meeting Mary, I’ll be half naked writhing around in pain on my futon. We all had a good laugh at that one. I’m still feeling some amazing contractions, and Mary shows up in the middle of one of them. Shawn comes over to rub my back some more and I look up at Jill and say ’I can’t do this any more and don’t tell me I’m in transition’. She laughs, Mary laughs too, and they both say, ’yes you are!’ It’s 10:45pm.

I laugh at them and say ya right. Another contraction hits, it’s good. Jill just says to go with the flow, where ever I want to be just be, if I want to squat, then do so. I just held on to the chair in the living room and braced myself for the contractions. Jill checks me again and I’m fully dilated to 10cm. No really. I couldn’t believe it myself. No one could. Well Jill and Mary could because they’ve been doing this for so long.

I said I want to get in the tub. Then another one hits, and I just stand there. I said it again, and it was really my only time to do it and Mary says to me, ok Noel get in the tub. I walk over get down on my hands and knees into the nice warm water. It wasn’t as much relief as I thought it would be at that far in labor, but I knew I wanted to be there to protect my perineum. Shawn was at my side, giving me encouragement all the way. Holding my hand and keeping me focused on low grunts.

I tried to sit on my butt and that was just not fun, so I got up on my knees again and held on to the side of the tub. Jill told me to reach down and feel for my baby’s head. I was scared. I didn’t want to, but I did. I could feel Mary’s hands on my perineum and I said, “Mary that doesn’t feel good!’ Which is funny at that time, I laughed even. That brought on another good contraction.

I reached down with my right hand and inserted a finger and couldn’t feel the baby’s head. I brought my hand out again, and just held Shawn hand with my left. I was really rocking and grunting and yelling. I was surprised that I didn’t wake Aiden.

I had another urge to push, I felt it deep inside me, Jill told me to feel again, and this time I could feel the head. It gave me so much encouragement. I told Shawn ’I feel the head! I feel the head!!’ He was so happy, I think that he was still in shock that I was already pushing.

I kept my right hand on my vagina and felt my baby’s head coming out. Shawn just held my left hand and rubbed my back giving me encouragement the whole time. Jill was saying encouraging words, and Mary was too.

I just let my body do the work. Mary and Jill were saying push, but it’s not like I was pushing when they told me to, my body pushed when it wanted to. I did however grunt and blow when Jill and Mary said to. I knew that they were there to help me keep my perineum intact. That was my goal as well and was happy to take blow grunt orders.

I felt my baby’s head crown into my hand. It was the ring of fire, but not as BAD as I thought it would be. I was scared. Terrified of this awesome power that I had within me. Birth is so insanely amazing, and to feel this power for the first time was unbelievable. I let someone else take my power with Aiden’s birth, and this time I was feeling it full force with my everything.

With one little grunt my baby’s head was born, I felt his head outside of my body. Its like nothing I can put into words. Then I pushed every so slightly, really a grunt again and his whole body slipped out, I felt his shoulders, then his stomach, then his hips, knees and finally his little feet leave my body. The midwives, handed him to me through my legs and I sat back and pulled him up out of the water.

He screamed at me, and pinked up.  I watched him pink up before my eyes. Jill and Mary just stood back and let Shawn and I enjoy the moment. It was amazing. Shawn was crying and saying ’I knew you could do it Noel!’ He was beautiful, and I was so in awe of the power that I felt. I just sat in the water admiring my baby, kissing Shawn and the baby. I fingered the umbilical cord, it was so cool feeling. I touched my baby’s head, his body, kept him in the warm water. Then I said, lets take a look! I looked between his legs and made the call….it’s a boy! Shawn was so happy!

I then wanted to get out of the tub, I was very ready. Shawn helped me stand up, and Jill helped me over the tub wall, and put a blanket on the baby, and a hat on his head. We walked over to the futon where chux pads were laid out and I got to RECLINE ON MY BACK! You have no idea how long I had been waiting to do that, well….9 months I’d say. Haha. It felt so good to have Shawn next to me, and my baby all wet and warm on my chest, reclining on the futon. I was handed a chocolate dipped strawberry, which is what I had been waiting for after birth my whole pregnancy. Shawn passed them around to our midwives as well, they both said it was the best they’d ever had.

Just then I head the familiar cry of another little one, and out came Aiden from the bedroom. He was a little startled at first with a new person in the house, Mary, not the his brother. So it took a little coaxing to get him out in the living room. He climbed on the futon with me and just looked at his little brother. He was in shock too and smiling and amazed. I laid there for a little while and then felt the pain of a contraction again. I birthed the placenta and it was lovely. I felt whole, it was placed in a bowl next to me and it got to chill out on the futon with us for a while.

Baby was making sounds and Aiden thought it was really cool. I made a couple calls to friends and my mom to let them know our little one was here. Jill assessed me and thought that I had a small tear that would require two stitches. I was not in the mood for stitches, so I asked her to check again. I handed our son off to Shawn and let Jill and Mary take a look. They both informed me that I could have stitches if I wanted to, or I could let it heal naturally, meaning lots of sitz baths and keeping my knees together for the next week or so. I opted to be a hairy arm pit hippy and forgo the stitches. *Crunch*

I got up and went to the bathroom and put on my cool mesh underwear and a sposie pad, man that thing sucked. I got into bed with a little help and Jill did the newborn exam right on the bed with Shawn and Aiden right there with us. No nurses bothering us, no hospital lights, no poking, sticking, drawing of blood, nothing. She just ran her hands along his body and checked him out. She dressed him in his cool hand dyed shirt and cloth diaper, remarking to Mary that it was so nice to be putting a newborn in cloth and not a sposie. I beamed. My little one was all decked out and ready to settle down for the night. I too was feeling tired.

Shawn brought us some peanut butter toast which was so good, and I had a big glass of water. The midwives left, and I feel alseep with my boys, in my own bed, in my own home, with no beeping, blinking lights, or thoughts of a nurse coming to take my freaking blood pressure in a half hour.

I have a lot of friends on the Internet, women that I will probably never meet in real life, but I feel like I have a connection to them through our words. Words have always been a powerful medium to me for many years. The phone calls, emails and journal entries that I’ve received and read over the past nine months, if not longer have helped me have the birth I had. I did this in honor of the women who have taught me through their own births, words, links, phone calls, what birth is about. I birth in honor of Tina, Jenne, Shanna, Lorrie, Morgan, Poppy, and all the women I call friends. I birthed in honor of you guys, because I know you were with me on this journey. I know you thought of me, prayed for me, sent good thoughts my way. You kept me strong. I know it. We all did this together. And when/if you ever have babies again, know that I too will be sending love, and strength your way as you all have done for me. I believe in you like you believed in me to birth this baby.

I feel whole today. I feel like a complete woman. I feel powerful. I want every woman to not be afraid of birth and the power of birth. We all posses it and we should guard it with our lives. It is so important

Stats:
Born 8/22 at 11:17pm
in water
7 pounds 4 ounces
21.5 inches long
13.5 inch head

Noel
Single mother of three, graphic designer, birth and breast feeding advocate, working towards becoming a postpartum doula as a placenta encapsulation specialist. Author of the original Housepoet’s Famous Lactation Boosting Cookie Recipe.
www.noelove.com

My first, born at 39+5weeks, was a long (35 hour), drawn-out process that involved waters breaking, contractions stopping, pitocin drips, 13 hours of hard labour, Dr talking c-section, and about a half hour of active pushing.

This one… just a wee bit different.

The prior Saturday, started feeling contractions that were rather strange. There wasn’t so much any tightening, as just a surge of energy that started in my belly, and flowed up into my sinuses making me light-headed.

That night, during my many trips to the potty, I lost my mucus plug. Figured things should really get going soon.

Not so much.

Nothing really changed before my midwife appointment on Tuesday finally arrived. She did an internal, and found I was 3cm, and she could stretch that to 5. She stripped my membranes while she was in there. Not a comfortable procedure, but not the worst. She set me up for a Verbena induction on Sunday, but honestly didn’t think I’d even make it thru the night.

5am Wednesday morning. Woke up to a small puddle between my legs. Assuming it was my water having sprung a leak (as was how my first started), went and cleaned up the small mess, and went back to bed. About 10 minutes later, the contractions started. Not overly painful, though it was concentrated down at the bottom, and it was like bad (at least for me) menstrual pains, not really anything resembling the full-belly tightening I had with #1.

They were about 5 minutes apart at first. Laid there debating whether to let DH go to work, or just have him stay home. By the time it was time for him to leave, they were down to 2-3 minutes, and getting painful, so he stayed home.

I finally managed to get myself something to drink, and quickly realized my thirst had been aggravating the contractions, as they slowed down.

Nothing really progressed throughout the day, contractions stayed about the same intensity, and went from 5 minutes, to 2, to 8 or longer. And I realized that I hadn’t really been leaking anymore, though there was an inordinate amount of mucus. Just after 4pm, decided to call the clinic to see what they thought I should do.

The on-staff Doula suggested I give it till after rush-hour, and if there’s still no change, to head to the centre, and get checked out. Worst they could do is send me home, right? She figured my “puddle” that morning was possibly a small leak that had quickly healed over. Or it might have just been a build-up of vaginal fluid coming out. Hard to tell.

As I was talking to her, my husband was kindly providing me with some nipple stimulation (he’s a boob guy), and it was causing the contractions to suddenly come harder, and as it turned out, faster too. By the time I got off the phone, they were down to 2 minutes again, and kinda painful.

Decided to have another bath, as the one I’d had earlier had provided quite a bit of relief. Went into the bathroom, sat down to pee, (which was tough thru the contractions) and as I was sitting there, feeling like I needed to poop too, I felt what to me felt like a bubble of gas popping thru (I’m sure we all know what I’m talking about), though I wasn’t 100% convinced.

Finally got into the tub, and had barely got myself seated when I started to feel a good gush. Because of they way I was sitting, it kinda felt like I was peeing, but it very quickly became evident that it was not pee. My water had burst, and I was flooding into the tub (thank the gods there, and not somewhere it would have to be cleaned up). This was shortly after 5pm.

Debated whether to hang around at home for a while more, but the 3 minute apart contractions, and the 40 minute drive to the centre quickly changed my mind.

When I got there a little after 6pm, we were down to 2 minutes, and painful, and turned out I was already 7cm. Could barely tolerate laying there for the 15 minutes they needed to take a strip, especially when they wanted me to move onto my sides. Moving at all was bringing on contractions at this point.

Finally got the clearance to get into the tub. I had a hard time getting over there, but managed alright. I wasn’t in there very long when the contractions were starting to make me push a little too. It also wasn’t long before the contractions were all but non-stop. I’d barely finish one when the next would start.

Seemed like it took forever, but the midwife finally arrived, and when she checked, I was easily 10cm.

It was about 7:30 when I finally admitted that the contractions were making me push. I wasn’t really sure at first, cuz with #1 the pushing was a relief… it actually felt good to push. But this time, it hurt like hell. I decided that it wasn’t gonna get any better, so I started to just go with it, and started letting the pushes do their job.

It wasn’t till he was crowning that reality finally set in. Up to this point, even though I knew that I was having a baby, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that in a few days (/hours/minutes) there would be a BABY there, and that our lives would suddenly be completely changed forever.

But, a few LOOOONNGGGGG pushes later, at 7:52pm, he was finally there. All 10 pounds of him, with his 39.5cm head. And though it was at 40+6weeks (we think), he apparently didn’t show any signs of being overdue.

I ended up with a 2nd degree tear. Better than the 3rd degree I had with #1, but sitting is still not comfortable.

The placenta was delivered a few minutes later. The midwives and nurses were amazed at the size of both it and the cord. It was apparently the largest placenta most of them had ever seen. They weighed it. 2lb 9oz. Most are around 1lb. And the cord was a rather large neatly wound spiral that they marveled over as well.

The part that took me by surprise the most, was the fact that I actually delivered in the tub. I never could figure that one out. We’re human, not cetaceans. It’s just not natural to me. But, being in there, knowing the kind of relief it had been providing earlier, and the pain I was in while in there, getting out was just not an option. Add to that the fact that there wasn’t time to get out, thanks to the constant contractions, I didn’t have much choice. And honestly, by that point, I just didn’t care. I put my trust in the midwives, and went with it.

All-in-all, I would say a good experience. It definitely hurt more than what I remember the first to be, notwithstanding the pitocin the first time. And it would have been nice to have had the chance to use the music I had ready, and the tea, and all the other stuff, but I did get to do most of the time-consuming work at home, and didn’t have enough time at the centre to really think about things. And I’m pretty sure nothing happened/didn’t happen that was contrary to my birth plan. YAY!

So, welcome to the world Calum. We’re happy to have you here.

Lisa

I had prodromal labor for months with him so it was nothing new when the contractions started at 8pm. I tried to sleep and for the first time they didn’t stop, but got a little stronger. I got up, took a shower and begged him to let me sleep a little. They slowed to about every 15min and I got a few (restless) hours in.

I had an appointment at 9am to strip my membranes and try to keep things going. Thankfully, by 9am, I was in hard labor. I had been sitting at 5cm for weeks so when I let her check me I was happy to find I was 7cm already!

At 10am I had a hep lock put in for GBS abx, we ran a cycle and then I got in the shower. I sat on the labor ball in the shower for an hour, got out and ran another cycle of abx.

She checked me I was a full stretchy 8 and wearing down fast, she suggest breaking my water and I happily agreed. With the next contraction she broke it and told me if I wanted another waterbirth I had better get in the tub NOW.

I got in and with the next contraction he was crowning. I pushed maybe 2 or 3 times and delivered my 2nd beautiful boy.

To manage the after birth bleeding I had with the previous birth, I took alfalfa supplements, and she ran some pit through the hep lock as I pushed him out. No problems this time.

Another perfect birth for me.

Richelle

We went back at 3pm and was still only 3cm, she sent me out again. Back to the hotel room where I was in and out of the shower, sitting on the toilet, moaning pretty strongly.

At 7pm Kris thought we should head back over there, she checked me again and I was still only 3cm. She had planned on sending me out again but thought I should try getting in the tub for some pain relief (7:30pm). Within 5 min of getting in, my water broke and I was an instant 5cm.

I relaxed in the tub and almost fell asleep between contractions, I was really focused on relaxing and feeling the baby move down. At 8:30 my body started pushing by itself and my midwife was shocked to see I was ready and he was coming, I pushed for maybe 20 min and delivered my big beautiful boy myself. I went from 3cm to delivering in 1hr 50 min!!! Man I loved that tub!

After the birth things got a little dicey, I lost a lot of blood. My midwife and her nurse assistant were grinding on my uterus and I had 11 shots of pit before they could get me to stop bleeding. There was an ambulance on stand by just in case they couldn’t get it stopped asap. I had no idea at the time it was so serious, they were perfectly calm and collected and I was none the wiser.

It was my perfect birth.

Richelle

Following a miscarriage in September of 07, my previous OB told me it was my fault because I was still breast-feeding.  I had already decided I wanted a water birth with the second and wanted to switch providers but this really sealed the deal.  I went looking for an affordable and more sympathetic (and less myth-based) approach.

Meeting the midwives at the Mountain Midwifery Birth Center I realized everything the midwifery model of care could offer.  They actually seemed like the LIKED their jobs and talking to moms about their pregnancy and whatever else was going on in their lives, unlike my OB.

My last pregnancy was good, but Lyric’s pregnancy was even better.  I felt fantastic, even right up until I went into labor.  Towards the end she was measuring a little small, so Cassie sent me for an ultrasound.  I was freaked out and the midwives were so great and supportive and listened to my fears (everything showed up fine).

I went into the office Wednesday, June 18 for my last prenatal appointment.  Tracy did my forty-week check and found me to be 2 cm and 70% effaced.  I was feeling totally overwhelmed and emotional and when I broke down and started bawling in the waiting room, Heather said, “I think you’ll have your baby really soon.”

Sure enough, that Wed I went into early labor, waking all throughout the night with contractions.  They got much more regular at 9 am, from 2-5 minutes apart for three hours.  At 12:30 we decided to head down to the Birthing Center since we live a bit far.  We dropped off our stuff and headed to a nearby park to walk around outside.  I think this turned out to be not the best idea since I couldn’t really get inside myself and settle into the Birth Center.

We returned at 4:30 where they checked me and found I was 2 cm, 70% effaced…exactly the same as yesterday!  I was so frustrated!  I didn’t mind a longer, slower, labor as long as it seemed to be doing something!  Cassie and Tracy were awesome at talking me through my frustration, Tracy saying her last birth took three days to get there!  Tiffany also helped me regain control by saying my baby might just need a little extra time to get used to the idea of being on the outside.  They almost sent me home to a bath and glass of wine, but I really didn’t want to spend an hour in the car (contractions in the car are awful!) and I wasn’t sure when to come back since contractions were pretty close together anyway.  They decided to give me two hours to see how I would progress.

I calmed myself down, refused to look at the clock, and went inside myself.  After two hours Cassie checked me and I was at 4 cm so they decided to let me stay!  I spent some time on the toilet where my water broke, a high tear that didn’t continually leak fluid.  Two of my good friends came, including my friend who was a doula and was amazing at helping me with my breathing and rubbing my back!  Contractions started getting really strong, along with bloody show and more of the mucous plug was lost.

I spent my time going through transition in the tub, which was great and made the contractions much more round.  I was always a little worried I wouldn’t have a break if I did it naturally since I had had an epidural with Haven and it really helped my long labor by giving me a rest.  Magically my body seemed to know this and contractions slowed down to 7-8 minutes after I had gone through transition.  I even started to fall asleep in the water between contractions!  My body was naturally preparing me to push.

I was checked and found to be sort of stuck at 9.5 cm with a little “lip” of cervix left.  After sixteen hours at the Birthing Center, I really wanted to be done, so Tracy said I could try and push past it if I wanted to.  I tried but it was hard, like pushing into a hammock where the baby kept bouncing back.  Cassie ended up helping break the bag of water around her head which felt AMAZING, like her head was suddenly half as big.  Then she helped hold the lip of cervix back while I pushed.

At first I couldn’t tell what was a productive push and what wasn’t and I was losing all my energy out my voice.  Tracy gave me a great pep talk to help me learn the right way, then I became much more productive.  Twenty minutes of pushing and she was out!

My daughter Haven watched as I brought her out of the water and then she and Kyle joined me in the birth tub.  As soon as she came out of the water Haven said, “It’s a baby sister!”  Even to this day she likes to tell the story.  She says “Uterus squeeeeze the baby out and the baby came out Mommy’s yoni in the water and nurse and get all dry dry.  That was hard work for Mommy, Mommy did a good job, good job Mommy!” Haven was totally thrilled with her new baby sister and held her even before Daddy!  We got out of the bed and spent time cuddling as a family on the bed.

After a long time, Kyle and the nurses did all the weighing and checking while I took a luxurious, relaxing herbal bath.  It felt wonderful!  We stayed for a while, then packed up to go home…at 4 am!  It was nice to be in our own bed after such a long night.  The nurses and midwives needed a break too because with the full moon and Summer Solstice brought six new babies…IN 24 HOURS!

The recovery went really really well, much better than after Haven’s birth.  I think I was able to be aware of what my body was doing so much more without the epidural and not rush my body into a place it wasn’t ready to go.  As a result I had only one tiny tear that felt fine after a day or so.

Haven’s birth was good, but Lyric’s birth was phenomenal.  I never thought I could be so nurtured and supported in the process.  The midwives and nurses were all fabulous and Kyle and I both enjoyed the intimate atmosphere.  We loved having Haven there to watch the birth.  I can think of no greater responsibility than teaching our children (especially our daughters) that birth is a normal, natural part of life and nothing to be feared.  It was all I could have hoped for and more.

Lyric Hana Brynn
Lyric:  because she loves being sung to,
Hana:  meaning “flower” in Korean, her placenta is buried under a flowering linden tree,
Brynn:  meaning “little drop of water” for my little water birth baby.

June 20, 2008
12:23 am
7 lb 3 oz
20 in

Amy
http://birthingbody.org/
Youtube video of the birth here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccUROeqhsjQ

I woke up around 4:00am on April 19th with mild contractions and more bloody show. I went and warmed up my two herbal rice packs in the microwave and tried to go back to bed. I laid there for a good two hours having regular contractions and just couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to just get up eat breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher and just straighten up the house. When all that was done I sat watching the news on TV.

All of a sudden I feel the baby move and there was a lot of pressure and then I felt/heard a pop. I immediately jumped up and ran to the guest bathroom where it was clear my water had broke. It was 6:45 am. I got Jeremy up and told him to call the midwife just to let her know where I was at (I had called her around 6am to tell her I was having regular contractions). I called my mom and told her what was going on (she was to watch Elizabeth during the birth) but I also told her no need to rush because I was sure it would be a while before the baby was here.

My contractions really started to pick up once my water was broke and they were getting closer and longer. I don’t know the exact timing because I was just trying to relax and breath through them as I knew timing them would only make me more anxious. I spent the time waiting for the midwife just relaxing between the yoga ball, bathroom and walking around. I knew I couldn’t get in the birthing spa until she was here because they were worried about me progressing much faster like I had with Elizabeth once I took the warm bath.

My midwife arrived sometime around 8:45am -9:00am. They checked my blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate both were great. I asked to get in the birthing spa and she said it was fine. It felt so good to get in the warm water it really helped with the back labor I was having and it really helped relax me more.

The majority of the time I was in the game room alone in the birthing spa. Occasionally the midwife and the doula would come in and get me to drink water and ask if I wanted anything to eat. They sat in the hall way listening to me breath through my contractions and timing them. I started to feel pushy but it just seemed too early to be needing to push but my midwife encouraged me to go with what I was feeling and my body was wanting to do. The baby was still posterior at this time and I could tell because of the back labor I was having and the fact that it felt like the baby was coming out of the wrong end…lol. I expressed this to my midwife and she assured me to just wait it out and continue to listen to my body, that the baby would turn into position when it was ready.

The contractions were getting stronger and longer. I was on my knees and just leaning on the side of the spa. I started to feel sleepy and wondered if it was transition but once again convinced myself it was too early for that. My midwife knew different. She came in and told me that I was a lot further along than she had originally thought and she started laying out the chux pads, shower curtain and birthing stool.

My mom and sister got to the house and switched off with Jeremy to watch Elizabeth. He had no clue things were as far along as they were. He came down into the room and was going to take the trash out and the midwife told him he probably wanted to hang around it was close. I was shocked and relieved to hear those words. The midwife asked me if I wanted Jeremy in the tub with me and I said no. He sat on the outside of the tub beside me quietly waiting (they all knew I preferred to be alone mostly and do it all myself).

The contractions and the urge to push got super close and instead of opening my mouth to breath I started clenching my teeth, grabbing tight on the side of the tub and breathing through them. Instantly the doula came in and told me to hum. I looked at her like she was crazy. I am not a vocal person when in pain and the thought of humming just felt odd. It was not easy for me to do at first but she sat on the birthing stool and made eye contact with me and would open mouth hum through my contractions with me. It was soooooo amazing how quickly my body relaxed once I started the humming.

I started to push and the baby’s head was crowing. I reached down to assure myself and I could feel it. My midwife told Jeremy it was time and he moved to get a better view. I leaned back a bit in the tub and did three short and easy pushes to get the baby’s head out. Once the head was out the body followed instantly. I reached down and grabbed my baby up out of the water. Instantly the baby started crying and looking around. I put the baby up to my chest and they gave me a towel to put around the baby. It was a minute or two before the midwife finally asked is it a boy or a girl. I still find it funny that it never crossed Jeremy or my mind to see what the gender was. I unwrapped the towel and announced “it’s a boy”.

The spa filled with blood and the midwife asked me if I could get out of the spa. They wanted to make sure it was the placenta and not me hemorrhaging. I held the baby and got out to sit on the birthing stool, to everyone’s relief it was just the placenta delivering.

We put the placenta in a bag , got our little boy a new warm towel and headed to our room to relax with our new baby. We just spent the next two hours in bed nursing and napping as a family. After the two hours the cord had stopped pulsating so Jeremy cut the cord.

Declan Lucas was born April 19, 2009 at 10:05am. He was 8lbs 3 oz and 20 ½” long. I still can’t believe how quickly it all happened. Contractions at 4am, water broke at 6:45am and by 10:05am he was here!

Tami

On Monday (September 28th) I had some mild contractions during the work day.  They felt like strong braxton hicks so I didn’t think much about it.  Around seven o’clock we started timing them.  They weren’t strong, but we wanted to test my husband’s iPhone contraction timing application.  They were 15-30 min apart at that point.

At 8:30 I decided to do a fear clearing hypnosis session.  The contractions were getting stronger, and I was starting to have flashbacks from my son’s 32 hour labor.  I needed to get my fear under control.  It helped a lot and I calmed down.

At 9:30 I started to wonder if this might really be it.  Contractions were still 15-30 min apart, but some were up to two minutes long and very intense.  I can honestly say my initial thought was “oh crap…I still have so much to do at work before I go on maternity leave!”  So I decided to work for a while (I work from home).  I worked until 11:00 trying to close things out.

I got in the tub at 11:00 thinking it would slow things down so I could go to bed, but things only picked up.  At this point the contractions were about 3-5 min apart and intense enough that I had to really focus to get through them.  I was still in denial that this was the real thing, and then I felt a big gush and knew my water had broken.

Josh started getting our things together.  We were very caught off guard and we hadn’t packed anything.  He called his mom to come watch Ryker, and my mom and our midwife to meet us at the birth center.

We left for the birth center shortly after 1:00 a.m.  The drive was about 15 minutes and we listened to the Hypnobabies Birth Day Affirmations on the way there.

Getting out of the car at the birth center I felt a huge wave of nausea.  I didn’t throw up, but I remember thinking that I must be entering transition.  I was shocked at how calm I was and how quickly I had progressed.

The atmosphere at the birth center was so calming.  The lighting was low, and my midwife spoke in soft tones.  She had the tub filled and waiting, and I immediately got in.  We listened to her heartbeat and my midwife checked her position.  She did not check me for dilation – she said that when it was time to push I would know.  She also tested the fluid on my pad and confirmed my water had broken.  Josh turned on my Hypnobabies script, but I felt like I needed a quiet room so I could concentrate so I had him turn it off.  I did use self-hypnosis and Josh used the queues we had learned which helped me relax.

After about 30 minutes in the tub I started feeling the urge to push.  My midwife said to go ahead and give it a try.  I was lying on my left side and moaning deeply with every contraction.  I could feel her moving down.  Pushing felt so good!

I put my hand down and could feel her head covered in hair.  The contractions were very intense, but I was able to recover and smile and talk in between them.  I never felt out of control.  I never felt like I couldn’t handle it anymore.

My midwife had me put my hand down to help stretch the perineum.  She had me hoot like an owl to slow down on pushing so I wouldn’t tear.  Then suddenly with the next contraction her head was out.  I had a small break before the next contraction, then one more big push and she was out!  She swam up to me and I pulled her up onto my chest.  She was beautiful and perfect.  It was 2:13 a.m. and only forty-five minutes after our arrival at the birth center.

It took her a minute to start breathing, but that was fine since the cord was still attached and pulsating.  We sat and cuddled and massaged her for a minute and then she let out a little shriek.  Once she was breathing well and the cord stopped pulsating my mom cut the cord.  My midwife had me move to the bed to monitor my bleeding while I nursed Ruby and birthed the placenta.  She latched right on and nursed for 45 minutes or so.

Ten minutes later I felt amazing and told everyone I could do it all again right then!  The rush was unlike anything I have ever felt.  I had a very small superficial tear that did not require stitching.

We measured and weighed her (8 lbs, 5 oz and 20 ¾ inches long).  She got her vitamin K shot, and then we tucked her into the co-sleeper.  Josh and I got in bed and went to sleep, my mom wet home, and my midwife went to the next room to sleep.

We woke up to the smell of pancakes being made in the kitchen by my midwife.  It was the best meal I have ever eaten – I was so hungry!  We had breakfast in bed and stared in awe at our little miracle sleeping away next to me.

At 10:00 a.m. Ruby and I had checkups and passed with flying colors, so we left and went home to begin life as a new family.

Leanne

November 13th 2008 at 11:40 PM I gave birth to our second daughter, Isla Elizabeth. She was born at home in our family room. Once labor actually started it was only about 4 hours start to finish ! She weighed 7lb 4oz and was 21 inches long. For those unfamiliar with her name, it is pronounced EYE-la, (like Island, the S is silent) and is of Scottish origin. Her middle name is after my auntie. Here is her story.

Things started off slowly this time. I was 40weeks and 3 days pregnant and was ready to be done. After spending the evening walking with my daughter Addison on my mom’s treadmill, I had about 24 hours of pre-labor contractions… not super painful or anything but not effective and never closer than about 6 minutes apart. They produced some bloody show, and I was very excited! I thought that I would have a baby for sure by morning.

They were bad enough that I couldnt sleep through them and they came every 6-8 minutes all night long! I spent the night in and out of bed, bouncing on my birthing ball and talking on the phone with my midwife. But they never got any closer together. Talk about discouraged! I was tired, and I couldn’t sleep. By morning I was dissapointed and exhausted from lack of sleep, and they had kind of petered out and were coming more like every 10-15 minutes. They were still pretty pinchy and painful. I could not help but feel like her head was not in the right position, and was just jamming ineffectively into my pelvic bones with each contraction. By this time I was praying they would stop so I could just have some rest.

I finally drifted off to sleep and had a two hour nap with no contractions to speak of. The sleep was nice, but I was still dissapointed.

I had a midwife appointment at 1:00 PM and was encouraged to find that all those obnoxious contractions were actually doing something after all, I was 3cm dilated and 90% effaced! (the day before I was only 2cm and 40%) They stripped my membranes again and sent me on my way, reassuring me that when things did finally decide to kick into gear it would most likely go very quickly. I left the midwife in much better spirits.

On the way home we went to Fred Meyer for some groceries, and on the way out the door I had a really nice strong contraction that I had to breathe through. We grabbed our last minute provisions and headed home for our home birth!

Once we got home we put in a movie and I laid on the couch and we waited for things to pick up. Once again, the contractions were a stinging, sharp pain in my pubic bone and I just wanted to cry. This was not how labor should be. I could not relax through this kind of pain! I couldn’t work with it! I just wanted it to be over already.

Jay tried to cheer me up, and he told me he was betting we’d have a baby before midnight. I thought to myself, “yeah… right.” I wasn’t even in labor yet, and midnight was only 7 hours away!

It has been my experience that just when you resign yourself to the fact that your baby is NOT on it’s way, it mysteriously decides to come out! I think I will try to be determined of this fact much earlier with the next baby. *giggle*

I was in the bathtub when my mom arrived, and Jay was sitting next to me writing down my contractions on a peice of paper. They were still pretty irregular, but were coming between 5 and 7 minutes apart. They were still rather pinchy and just did not feel effective to me. They had a strange quality to them, and I still wondered if Isla’s head was in the proper position. We discussed it and decided that I should get out of the tub, that maybe the warm water was slowing things down. My mom suggested that we go find something to distract ourselves, so we sent Jay to Walmart to buy a game of Scrabble to keep our mind off of things  while we waited for the hard contractions!

I was still downstairs in our family room, and my mom had gone upstairs when my cellphone rang in the pocket of my bathrobe. It was Jay, and he wanted to talk to my mom. Unbeknownst to me, he was going to tell her to call the midwife and see if they would come check on me. He thought I would be encouraged if they were there. I didn’t want to call yet, because I was still thinking this just might be another false alarm.

I jogged up the stairs to give the phone to my mom, and I felt the baby shift in my pelvis. The next contraction when I got to the top of the stairs immediately felt different. Like labor. No longer pinchy, and I recognized the feeling from Addison’s birth. YAY! She had finally tucked her chin, and we were ready to rock and roll! I was much encouraged at that point, and we called the midwife to come check on me in a little while.

Months later, I happened upon an article on fetal positioning, discussing techniques to get a baby to tuck it’s head for a better delivery position. One of the suggestions was walking up the stairs! I am so glad Jay called when he did.

Labor

Almost immediately, about 7:30 PM my contractions started to come closer together. I think Peggy and Jackie (my midwives) showed up sometime around 8:30 and we started getting stuff set up for the birth. Peggy checked me once things were set up and found I was 5cm dilated! I was surprised because my contractions were not nearly as intense as my labor with Addison, and they didnt last very long… only about a minute each. I just did my best to relax through them and allow them to do their job. They were still mild enough I never needed to make any noise through them, just breathing was enough. I was totally alert, and still my normal self between contractions.

They felt much better when I walked through them, so I stayed upright through the whole thing, just pacing and walking and taking breaks between them to play my Scrabble turn! Which I won, by the way!

My sister Rosanna, Jay’s mom Christy and our two year old daughter Addison (She was at Grandma’s for the afternoon so I could try to get some rest) showed up around 9:00 PM and we all got to talking and laughing. I was surprised that I was still up and around and talking during contractions even during active labor! I got kind of tired of walking around 10:00 and got into the shower. I spent each contractions rotating my hips in circles to help the baby move down better.

While I was in the shower, Jay came into the bathroom and peeked around the shower curtain at me. “We’re going to have a baby!” he said, huge grin on his face. He was so darn cute, I couldn’t resist. So I kissed him. And I kissed him. And kissed him some more. Just the two of us, laboring for our baby in our own bathroom, all alone. It was very intimate, and arousing, and passionate and dare I say it, sexy! The slow warmth spreading through my belly helped SO much to relieve the intensity of my contractions. This is my favorite memory from Isla’s labor, and a pain releif technique I intend to try again!

I stayed there for maybe 20 minutes and then I didnt want to waste any more hot water so I got out and walked around some more while they got the birthing tub filled the rest of the way up and at a good temperature. I grabbed my makeup bag, and went into the bathroom and applied some concealer, and bronzer, and brushed my hair. My mom laughed at me! She said she’d never seen anybody worried about their looks at that point of labor. When the tub was ready I climbed in and felt SO much releif as I could totally float in any position I wanted to without putting pressure on anything. It made relaxing during contractions so much easier and I really felt like we were making progress.

But the warm water slowed my contractions way down again to about five minutes apart. At this point, my grandma showed up so she could see the birth and she joined the family upstairs waiting.

I got a good case of the giggles then, and for some reason had the song from Mulan stuck in my head, “Let’s get down to business, to defeat the Huns. Dare they send me daughters when I asked for sons?” I’m not sure why it struck me so funny, maybe because I was having my second girl? I was in the middle of a contraction, chuckling away in the tub. Although I was reluctant to laugh at first, thinking the pressure of the laughter would make the contraction hurt worse, I found that every time I giggled it reduced the pain by at least half!

I guess it’s true what Ina May says, you can’t have a tight cervix and a laughing mouth at the same time. I was amazed to find that the more humor I felt, the less pain was involved, even during hard labor. So I enjoyed my time in the tub, talking with my sister about her pooping in the tub when we were kids, and I ate some chicken noodle soup in between contractions.

I did not want to be checked again for a while, because my contractions were still relatively mild, and now spaced far enough apart I was worried that I would still be at 5cm, and I didnt want to be discouraged. But after another few contractions my curiosity got the better of me and I asked for a cervical check. I thought it would be good to know, so I could change activities if I wasn’t progressing.

Jackie checked me and determined I was 6 cm, stretchable to 7 and there was a protruding bag of water that was keeping Isla’s head from really applying as well as it could have been. So we discussed it and decided to break my water. That immediately made my next contraction much stronger, and I remembered that “birth is imminent” feeling from last time, the one that you cant help but moan… ok moo like a cow through!

I found that again, as in my labor with Addison, keeping mind over matter and willing myself to relax through the contraction, welcome the sensation, allow it to be there and do it’s work was the hardest part of labor.

I remember at one point at the peak of a contraction saying “Open open open open open”… over and over again. It was important somehow to tell my body I WANTED to open.

Transition

I started getting emotional at that point and just wanted to cry as I thought of transition… remembering back to my first labor, I was assuming it would still be at LEAST an hour or maybe two of the real intense labor before she would be born and I was a little overwhelmed thinking about it. Although I should have guessed by my emotional response, I had no idea how far along I really was!

I flipped over and rested over the edge of the tub on my knees. My mom came to sit with me, and held my hands as I dealt with my emotions. “You’re almost done,you are doing perfectly! You are making this look easy. It will be over in just a few minutes.” She whispered as I fought back tears. The tears were not from the pain, just the emotion of transition. My body was getting ready to birth.

The contractions were still spaced way far apart and I had three of the really intense ones before I started to feel pushy right at the end of the contraction! I only had three hard contractions in between my rupture of membranes and when I started to push. Three hard contractions, my whole entire labor! I could NOT beleive it!

“I’m pushing! WHY?” I breathed, confused, thinking it must be another premature urge like I had with Addison. But my amniotic sac was no longer intact, so it was impossible to have a bulging bag of water… Then I felt her head slide down into my birth canal.

“It burns!” I gasped. Jackie leaned toward the tub, as Peggy walked around back to see if she could spot a head. “Put your hand down there Sharon” Jackie instructed. “No!” I said, in a state of confusion, “She’s not crowning yet! I dont think…” I was thinking how impossible it was that I was really pushing out my baby, when only minutes before I had only been 6cm dilated.

“Sharon” Jackie said, looking into my face. “If it burns, you need to put your hand down there” So I did. “Can you feel her head?” I felt with my hand, and sure enough, there was her head, just inside the opening. “Oh, GOD! Yes!” I sat back so I was on my haunches, my hand still on my perineum, so I could proceed with my birthplan. There was no way I could catch her myself on my hands and knees.

“Where is Addison?” I asked. Calm and collected now. Filled with adrenaline. Ready to birth my baby. She was upstairs playing. Jay asked his mom if she could go get her.

“I was going to in a minute” she said, not realizing I was so close.

“I don’t think we have a minute” Jackie warned. So off Grandma scurried to fetch Addison, and let everyone know things were getting close. They came down and stood on the stairs so they could see the birth without being in the way.

The birth

With the next contraction I HAD to push and could feel her little head bulging out of me! It burned a lot and I was worried that I still had a cervical lip, but Jackie felt at my request and told me it was ok to push, I wasn’t gonna tear anything. So I did. I was kind of in a squatting /semi sitting position as her head was born with the next contraction. I was guarding my perineum and could tell just how much to push as I birthed her head into my hands! I felt around her neck and could feel a cord so I had Jackie feel again… it was wrapped twice! And it was too tight to slip over her head.

My contractions were still so far apart, as pushing contractions usually are. There was a four minute break between the birth of her head and the birth of her body. So I was just sitting there chatting away with a baby head between my legs! I was feeling her little face with my hands, and stroking her fuzzy head. I could feel her fat little cheeks and her ears. Her eyes were closed. (Or maybe she just closed them because she didnt want to get poked in the eye by her mother’s curious fingers?) I was in love, touching my new baby girl for the first time. I wanted to see her face so badly! But I had to wait for the next contraction.

Addison was on the stairs watching her sister be born and she was soooo excited! She was singing songs and talking excitedly “There is her head! She is coming out!! She is big enough, Grandma!” I could hear her singing.

As time kept ticking away, we were starting to look at the clock because it seemed like her shoulders were not going to rotate on their own. But we couldnt be sure until I had a contraction. So we started stimulating my nipples, Jay on one side and Peggy on the other to get the next contraction to hurry up, and Jackie and I helped her shoulders turn.

“Addie just slid out” I mused.

Isla’s heart tones were good, and her cord pulsing, but still we couldnt’ be sure how tight the cords were wrapped, and we didnt want her to be short of oxygen. Finally after four long minutes the contraction started and I pushed again. Because the cord was too tight to slip over her head, we had to summersault her out of there and unwrap them on the way up. It was interesting for sure! Half her torso came out, then Jackie had to pull her sideways so her bum popped out before swishing her the other direction to get her legs out. Then she flipped her over twice so she could reach the surface!

I was thankful she was in the water, because it was a much more gentle maneuver with the bouyancy of the water to support her weight. She just swished from side to side. So obviously I didnt really get to catch her all the way myself, but I was not dissapointed. We did what we had to do to get her out safely.

Then up she came out of the water and on to my chest at 11:40 PM! Jay was right, she was born before midnight. (All in all it was only 35 minutes from the time we broke my water (6-7cm) until she was in my arms!) There she was! My baby girl! She was pink and warm and wiggly. She croaked a little, and grimaced…. and then she WAILED!

Such a high pitched mew of a cry, but filled with so much spunk! We laughed and thought she sounded like an angry kitten. I scooped her up in my arms close to my chest and kissed her little head…. another perfect baby girl to call my own. Oh what a precious moment!

Big sister Addison was with her grandma on the stairs watching her sister be born and her little face was priceless as she saw Isla come out! SO adorable! She ran down the stairs once the baby was born, and peered over the edge of the tub to see her. She did great, she wasnt afraid at all.

I am so glad she got to share that experience with us. Also watching the birth was my grandma, my mom, Jay’s mom and dad and my sister Rosanna who was taking video. My little brother who is 14 was here too, but he stayed upstairs until everything was cleaned up. (who can blame him?) We spent the next 20 minutes or so floating around in the tub.

Isla was so alert, just looking around her and kicking her feet and waving her arms around. She was listening to everybody’s voices and trying to figure out who was who, following people faces. She really was trying to find her sister’s voice. She could hear her but not see her over the edge of the tub and it was obvious she was looking around for her. Its amazing how much newborns know when you just sit and watch them! Once my placenta came we cut the cord and let Jay take her so I could get out of the tub.

She got her newborn exam and came back to me to nurse. She latched on immediately like a pro! She nursed and nursed and nursed and nursed which was a good thing because my uterus was having a hard time staying clamped down and I was losing a little more blood than normal. But as soon as we got it to really clamp down it stopped and I was totally fine. The midwives left a few methergine tablets for me to take every four hours, just for preventative measures.

It took about three hours for the midwives and everybody to get the birth area cleaned up and all the checks done. I was happy to report I did not tear at all! I had wondered if maybe I had a few little nicks because it burned a little more than I expected when I pushed her out, and then we had to kind of pull her body out which could have caused a tear, but I was good to go! That definitely makes recovery much easier. I am very thankful for no stitches down there in my perineum!

I got a shower, the tub got emptied by my husband and everything was buttoned down for the night. Jay put Addison to bed, the extended family went home and we got all tucked in for bed. The midwives left us about 3:00 am and we went to sleep, baby Isla curled up on my chest.

It was pretty much perfect! I couldnt have asked for anything better. Isla is a great nurser, she latched on right away with no problem, and is alert and curious. She looks so wise and all knowing, and has wonderful eye contact, like she has something she would like very badly to say. Her features are completely different from Addison’s, she is definitely her own little person. It appears she will have blue eyes, they are definitely brighter than your average newborn gray!

Some thoughts
In hindsight, I think it was probably the cords around her neck that kept real labor at bay for so long, she probably had a very hard time tucking her chin enough to get in position. Even as her head came out and I was feeling the little fontanelles, I know she was coming out with her head more straight on, as the fontanelle I was feeling was very large… the major soft spot on the top of her head, not the little triangle of bones on the crown that you usually feel when their chin is tucked properly. Even the midwives commented as her head was born, Jackie thought she might be posterior because of the top of her head presenting. And in the day after her birth, you could see redness on her face, as though she scraped it along on the way out. But it all worked out and she was still born very quickly, regardless! I am very happy with the way things went and I feel very blessed to have had a super easy labor and another beautiful baby girl!

My home birth was amazing in every way, it was easy, gentle, peaceful, intimate, and joyful. Everything I hoped it would be. I am looking forward to doing it again next time!

Sharon

Isla’s  birth video is here
www.vimeo.com/sharonblueyes
Both my labor stories are also hosted at www.mynaturalbirthstories.blogspot.com