First let me start off with thanking you all for being so patient with me while I got myself more set in a three child home! It has taken a little while to write this due to the hectic life that is a newborn, six and four year old. So without further delay, my homebirth story.

I had what would be my last prenatal on February 23rd. Everything was checking out great. My Iron was on point and I was feeling great. My midwife Hannah needed to be gone up north two hours for a certification program February 26th-2nd. We were taking things extra easy in those days and no one was worried about me going into labor since I typically go overdue, no one that is but me. I had a feeling this baby would come earlier than my due date but I was the only one feeling and thinking this, that is until the evening of March 3rd.

Enjoy some newborn photos as I don’t have any photos during this portion of the story

I felt nauseous all day long that day and I knew my body was up to something. All day long every task I did I kept getting this feeling like “this is the last time you’ll do this pregnant”. Also earlier in the day I had felt two incredibly mild period cramps. I relaxed and tried to watch a movie with my husband that evening tossing and turning and telling him ” I am DONE being pregnant” I was fed up, grumpy, exhausted and just over the whole situation.  I hadn’t felt like this since the first trimester so I knew labor was just around the corner. Still no matter how much I said this, I was the only one thinking it.

I went in and took a bath while my husband hung out in the bathroom talking with me and relaxing. I went to bed at around eleven thirty trying to escape the nausea. Comfortably nestled into my bed I woke at midnight to the feeling of warm water trickling out of me. I woke my husband telling him my water had just broken. We quickly shot up out of bed headed upstairs to the bathroom and called our midwife, photographer and doula. My water was not gushing or anything dramatic just trickling and I had zero contractions. After talking with my birth team everyone agreed to sit tight until things picked up. I was told that rest would be best and heading to bed and sleeping would be the best thing for my body at the time. My husband and I readied our birth area, blowing up the tub, setting up our twinkle lights and having the birth supplies at hand. This moment was so sacred to me and one of my favorites of my whole birth.

My husband easily dozed back to sleep, I, on the other hand, laid in bed awake, excited and shivering from the rush of hormones. One thirty, still awake. Two thirty still awake and contraction-less. Now I began to worry a bit as my other labors hadn’t progressed like this. So to google I went and was reassured I had nothing to worry about and this was common. Still too excited to sleep I lay awake, thinking and planning and giddy at the same time.

Finally at 4am my contractions started and were about every ten minutes so I called everyone again to update them and they decided to head over. The contractions were easy at this point to breathe through with slight back pain.

From this point on I don’t have much recollection of time at all but things progressed and then the contractions moved to transition and the back pain was much worse, no position really made anything any better. My doula offered me flower essences, essential oils and positions all intended on helping labor progress smoothly.

The tub was ready for me around that same time and I got in, the contractions were so intense but the back pain was unfamiliar and so painful.

I cried, I sobbed, I begged to quit, I told them it was gonna take forever.

I told them I didn’t want to do this anymore. My back was killing me, something I hadn’t felt in either previous birth.

I decided I hadn’t had any vaginal checks yet and would check myself. I could get to the second knuckle before feeling babies head and then I realized that if I wanted this feeling to get better I needed to push and push harder.

Once I started pushing the pain was so much more tolerable. Pushing really is so much easier I think than contractions alone. Once I was pushing more and more I started to panic a bit remembering once you get to a certain point in the pushing stage there is no turning back, despite knowing that fact I pushed on. I remember thinking this is it, this is the point that if you tear it’s going to happen right now. The next contraction and another push, finally his head was out. I bled a bit upon the exit of his head which the water dramatized some.

Onto the rest of the body, my midwife asked if I was feeling another contraction and I honestly just couldn’t feel anything anymore from all the pressure so I told her I wasn’t sure. She asked for another big push and I did but to no avail. Hannah had me move to standing so she could better asses the situation. Once she felt inside she noticed he was stuck due to his arm being behind his back. Once she freed his arm from behind his back he slid right out.

He was healthy and breathing but he was a bit purple in color and a little limp as well so Hannah did a couple breaths to help him pink up quicker.

Our sweet little one let out a cry and I peeked to find out that we had ourselves a little boy! Hannah calmly let us know that I was bleeding a bit more than she wanted in the water and wanted me to get out so she could better asses the bleeding. Once I got to my covered couch I was given a shot of piton to help stop bleeding and was getting very attentive care and uterine massage all the while holding loving and kissing on my new miracle.

We left baby attached to his cord for over two hours before doing the newborn exam right next to me on the couch. My oldest son was able to put on baby Link’s first diaper with the help of our midwives assistant. All in all I felt my home birth was absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t have changed any of it for the world and although this will be my last baby if I was continuing to have more they would all be born within the comfort of our home.

Lakota

I am a stay at home mother of two, who loves to create in every form, from cooking, to henna, to painting or sculpting, creating with my hands is my passion! I love to dance and let loose when the music flows right. Being outside is a special kind of therapy I think humans need more of as well as mindfulness! I love all things new and adventurous and am always looking to experience more of life 🙂