Sadie Opal was born at 7:45 am on Feb 17th (40w 5d) weighing 8 lbs 14 oz and measuring 20.25 inches. Her head is 13.75 inches, chest 14 inches. Completely perfect!
I am so soooo happy. This birth could not have been more perfect. This was my third baby and third home waterbirth. She (we didn't know the gender) decided to come 17-21 days later than my other kids. It was frustrating to wait, but given how easy this birth was....I forgive her!
I had lots of cramping on Feb 16th and small amounts of mucus tinged with pink. Went to bed late (dumb). Woke up to ctx at 12 and 1, but went back to sleep. Woke again at 2:20 and got up for a bit to see what was happening. By 2:45, the ctx were 5-8 min apart. They were strong enough to be convincing, but quite easy to handle. I hung out in the dark and played with the computer for a while. Ate some toast. Visited the bathroom. Climbed back in bed and told DH I thought this was it but wanted to rest. By 4, I was ready to get back up cause things were a bit uncomfortable. Called the MW and gave her the heads up that I was in early labor.
Walked around for a bit while DH set some stuff up. Decided to rest again. Got a nice break in ctx for about 12 minutes, but then hit with a really strong one at 5:45. Waited for one more strong one then called the midwife back and asked her to come at her leisure. Ctx were about 3-6 min apart but definitely getting stronger. DH started filling the birth tub and called our other support team members (photographer and helper for our 2 older kids aged 3.5 years and 21 months).
By 6:30, all ctx were 3 min apart and I was feeling pushy at the peaks. DH called MW back to tell her to come right away. She was parking in the driveway. I just kept dealing and waited for the tub to fill. I really wanted to get in! Sat on the toilet for a bit and got several more pushy sensations. Climbed in the tub at 6:45. I LOVE THE TUB. Water is awesome. "Aquadural" is totally right. Everything was easier in the tub.
Second MW arrived and support team all arrived by 7. I started getting scared of pushing. Pushing was the hard part for me with my other two births, even though it was really fast (18 min and 3 min) and had no complications. I felt pushy but resisted. Just focused on breathing the baby down. It was so much easier this way! Almost painfree! I did some gentle pushes at times, but mostly just let my body do its own thing. Pushing was about 14 minutes, but some ctx had no push involved - just breathing. MWs checked the hb a few times - always perfect. I let the head crown for as long as possible to try and prevent tearing. DH caught the baby. Pushing the chest out was harder than the head - it was much bigger. Despite being by far my largest baby, no tears!!
Baby didn't breath right away, so the midwives had to do a few minutes of gentle stimulation while she was resting in my arms. All was fine though. I was very thankful to be at home with my midwives at that time. I feel certain the baby would have been whisked away if in the hospital. Cord was still pulsing and intact too, so all was good. Baby was looking at me the whole time, so I knew she was okay. After she was breathing and we were good, I finally peaked to see if it was a boy or girl. GIRL!
Placenta was out in minutes. DD helped cut the cord. Total labor - 5 hours. EASY easy labor. The worst part was the anticipation. The actual experience was great, and far less pain than I remembered or expected.
I am so soooo happy. This birth could not have been more perfect. This was my third baby and third home waterbirth. She (we didn't know the gender) decided to come 17-21 days later than my other kids. It was frustrating to wait, but given how easy this birth was....I forgive her!
I had lots of cramping on Feb 16th and small amounts of mucus tinged with pink. Went to bed late (dumb). Woke up to ctx at 12 and 1, but went back to sleep. Woke again at 2:20 and got up for a bit to see what was happening. By 2:45, the ctx were 5-8 min apart. They were strong enough to be convincing, but quite easy to handle. I hung out in the dark and played with the computer for a while. Ate some toast. Visited the bathroom. Climbed back in bed and told DH I thought this was it but wanted to rest. By 4, I was ready to get back up cause things were a bit uncomfortable. Called the MW and gave her the heads up that I was in early labor.
Walked around for a bit while DH set some stuff up. Decided to rest again. Got a nice break in ctx for about 12 minutes, but then hit with a really strong one at 5:45. Waited for one more strong one then called the midwife back and asked her to come at her leisure. Ctx were about 3-6 min apart but definitely getting stronger. DH started filling the birth tub and called our other support team members (photographer and helper for our 2 older kids aged 3.5 years and 21 months).
By 6:30, all ctx were 3 min apart and I was feeling pushy at the peaks. DH called MW back to tell her to come right away. She was parking in the driveway. I just kept dealing and waited for the tub to fill. I really wanted to get in! Sat on the toilet for a bit and got several more pushy sensations. Climbed in the tub at 6:45. I LOVE THE TUB. Water is awesome. "Aquadural" is totally right. Everything was easier in the tub.
Second MW arrived and support team all arrived by 7. I started getting scared of pushing. Pushing was the hard part for me with my other two births, even though it was really fast (18 min and 3 min) and had no complications. I felt pushy but resisted. Just focused on breathing the baby down. It was so much easier this way! Almost painfree! I did some gentle pushes at times, but mostly just let my body do its own thing. Pushing was about 14 minutes, but some ctx had no push involved - just breathing. MWs checked the hb a few times - always perfect. I let the head crown for as long as possible to try and prevent tearing. DH caught the baby. Pushing the chest out was harder than the head - it was much bigger. Despite being by far my largest baby, no tears!!
Baby didn't breath right away, so the midwives had to do a few minutes of gentle stimulation while she was resting in my arms. All was fine though. I was very thankful to be at home with my midwives at that time. I feel certain the baby would have been whisked away if in the hospital. Cord was still pulsing and intact too, so all was good. Baby was looking at me the whole time, so I knew she was okay. After she was breathing and we were good, I finally peaked to see if it was a boy or girl. GIRL!
Placenta was out in minutes. DD helped cut the cord. Total labor - 5 hours. EASY easy labor. The worst part was the anticipation. The actual experience was great, and far less pain than I remembered or expected.
:
