June is now 7 weeks old (9/27/09), but I never got down to posting our beautiful home birth:
After 5 days of Braxton hicks of my uterus/body getting ready to have my baby the day had finally arrived. I woke up very grumpy and my lower abdomen was extremely sore from having a lot of mini warm up contractions. We went about the day like normal running errands and taking care of our 2 children.
At about 4 o’clock I called my midwife Emme to talk to her about my sore abdomen. She suggested I take 1000 mg of calcium to help with muscle soreness, which I did immediately.
After dinner I called my sister and a friend to see if they could come over and help with the kids. Neither could come right away and I was feeling like labor was imminent and was overwhelmed that my kids wanted my attention and I needed time to myself.
At about 7 o’clock I began having mini contractions that lasted about 10 seconds. I called Emme telling her I was not in active labor, but having some short contractions and feeling abandoned and alone. I asked her to come over. She arrived at 8 o’clock. I did not have ONE contraction the entire time she was here. She left at 8:30 and gently said, “Kristy, you could have this baby in 5 days, you may have this baby tomorrow, or you could have this baby in an hour, but you are not in active labor.” Which I knew, but I intuitively knew all along that I was going to have a fast labor and birth, and I was feeling that it was going to happen tonight.
We have two family beds and my daughter sleeps with me. We have a small house and I was anxious about how this was going to work when I actually went into labor. Well, I finally told my daughter it was time to go to bed and we lied down. As we were lying there, I had 2 contractions and I am lying very still, not making any noise so I would not to scare my 4 year old, Maxine. I was thinking about the Robert Bradley book talking about how women should lie perfectly still and quiet to relax through the contractions, yeah right, as if he has ever had a contraction!!
During my 2nd contraction while lying in bed with my 4 year old, my water broke (I felt a strong crack / pop that while lying on my side actually shifted me). I jumped out of bed and went running to the bathroom telling everyone my water had broken. No water leaked, not one drop!! The babies head was so low that I did not leak one drop. Let the labor party begin!!
My labor was incredibly fast and intense; all said and done my active labor lasted 47 minutes. Luckily, Maxine had fallen asleep and had not heard me when I jumped out of bed. My 2 year old was still awake and shushing me from his bedroom while I moaned through contractions, my husband Brad ended up calling our neighbor to come get him after trying to wrestling him to sleep for 20 minutes then my mom wrestled him for 10 minutes.
My other births had been an entire entourage of people cheering me on and emotionally supporting me throughout my labor. I was completely on my own while everyone was helping set up. My mom who had dinner with us and was helping with the kids started to fill up the pool immediately after my water had broken. We had brought the tub in after dinner and put it in the kitchen in place of the table.
Emme arrived at 9:30 and I was in complete transition. I never had a vaginal “check” of how dilated I was, I know from my emotional state where I am in labor. My contractions were never longer than 45 seconds, but they were only about 45 seconds apart. So I was yelling, “Help me, Help me,” during my contractions toward the end. Unfortunately, it seemed that I was doing this on my own. I was in labor never-never land and was handling the intense labor perfectly. I was completely drenched in sweat and at one point I was thinking, “At least I won’t be pregnant anymore” and at another point I thought, “I am not going to say I can’t do this. I can do this, I can do this.”
Well, when I said, “I CAN’T DO THIS!” I knew I was almost done. I felt the baby slip into the birth canal. I said I needed to get into the water (Emme had checked the water when she arrived she said it was too hot and my mom was adding cold water to cool it down). Emme checked the water again and said it was a bit too hot still, but OK for me to get in. As I approached the tub I was asking for a pot, I urgently asked, “I need a pot, I need a pot to poop in.” Everyone is standing around somewhat dumbfounded and so I squat because I figured I could poop on the bath rug in front of the birthing tub. Miraculously as I squat someone puts a cooking pot right under my butt. As I sit there for a moment my midwife Emme says, “Kristy are you sure that’s not your baby?” I pause for one second and say, “Yup, it is” and get into the water.
I have a small pushing contraction and the head is crowning. I am pushing very small pushes, while I feel the babies head starting to emerge. While I am in the water and the kitchen is dark, I am giving everyone play by play of what is happening.
The baby’s head emerges and I am holding its little head in my hand. I am feeling the baby’s ear and face and lots of soft hair floating in the water. As I am touching the baby’s head I also touch my midwife’s hand as she is checking for the cord. I never have had the “burning ring of fire” sensation, I think there is so much happening when pushing a baby out that that sensation is secondary to the intense pushing. After this incredible fast labor, once the babies head is out, I have no urge to push for almost 3 minutes. My mom is telling me “OK, honey, just push the baby out…” She was incredibly anxious about the baby’s head in the water and that the baby might drown. After she had asked me to push baby out 3 different times, I tell her I can’t push the baby out until I have a contraction.
Emme asks, “Kristy, what are you feeling right now?”
I respond, “I feel lots of hair.” Of course she wanted to know what I was feeling with regards to my labor, but I knew that the baby would come when it was ready.
I have the start of a very small contraction. I take my hand off of the baby’s head and grab the side of the birth pool and bear down and hard as I can and the baby slips out into the water. Emme gently pushes the baby from my back side, between my legs and the baby floats up out of the water. The baby was a little white angel floating up out of the dark water. I pick up the baby and hold it. My husband Brad cuddles around us and we are consumed by love. After about a minute I look and see that we have a beautiful perfect little girl.
I have had two previous natural hospital births. My first labor lasted 52 hours and my second labor lasted 6 hours; each of my births was perfect and extremely rewarding. I recovered faster after my home birth and I can truly say that it just seemed right, having 3 natural births was the most empowering events in my life.
Kristy
Active labor started at 8:58, baby born at 9:45.
After 5 days of Braxton hicks of my uterus/body getting ready to have my baby the day had finally arrived. I woke up very grumpy and my lower abdomen was extremely sore from having a lot of mini warm up contractions. We went about the day like normal running errands and taking care of our 2 children.
At about 4 o’clock I called my midwife Emme to talk to her about my sore abdomen. She suggested I take 1000 mg of calcium to help with muscle soreness, which I did immediately.
After dinner I called my sister and a friend to see if they could come over and help with the kids. Neither could come right away and I was feeling like labor was imminent and was overwhelmed that my kids wanted my attention and I needed time to myself.
At about 7 o’clock I began having mini contractions that lasted about 10 seconds. I called Emme telling her I was not in active labor, but having some short contractions and feeling abandoned and alone. I asked her to come over. She arrived at 8 o’clock. I did not have ONE contraction the entire time she was here. She left at 8:30 and gently said, “Kristy, you could have this baby in 5 days, you may have this baby tomorrow, or you could have this baby in an hour, but you are not in active labor.” Which I knew, but I intuitively knew all along that I was going to have a fast labor and birth, and I was feeling that it was going to happen tonight.
We have two family beds and my daughter sleeps with me. We have a small house and I was anxious about how this was going to work when I actually went into labor. Well, I finally told my daughter it was time to go to bed and we lied down. As we were lying there, I had 2 contractions and I am lying very still, not making any noise so I would not to scare my 4 year old, Maxine. I was thinking about the Robert Bradley book talking about how women should lie perfectly still and quiet to relax through the contractions, yeah right, as if he has ever had a contraction!!
During my 2nd contraction while lying in bed with my 4 year old, my water broke (I felt a strong crack / pop that while lying on my side actually shifted me). I jumped out of bed and went running to the bathroom telling everyone my water had broken. No water leaked, not one drop!! The babies head was so low that I did not leak one drop. Let the labor party begin!!
My labor was incredibly fast and intense; all said and done my active labor lasted 47 minutes. Luckily, Maxine had fallen asleep and had not heard me when I jumped out of bed. My 2 year old was still awake and shushing me from his bedroom while I moaned through contractions, my husband Brad ended up calling our neighbor to come get him after trying to wrestling him to sleep for 20 minutes then my mom wrestled him for 10 minutes.
My other births had been an entire entourage of people cheering me on and emotionally supporting me throughout my labor. I was completely on my own while everyone was helping set up. My mom who had dinner with us and was helping with the kids started to fill up the pool immediately after my water had broken. We had brought the tub in after dinner and put it in the kitchen in place of the table.
Emme arrived at 9:30 and I was in complete transition. I never had a vaginal “check” of how dilated I was, I know from my emotional state where I am in labor. My contractions were never longer than 45 seconds, but they were only about 45 seconds apart. So I was yelling, “Help me, Help me,” during my contractions toward the end. Unfortunately, it seemed that I was doing this on my own. I was in labor never-never land and was handling the intense labor perfectly. I was completely drenched in sweat and at one point I was thinking, “At least I won’t be pregnant anymore” and at another point I thought, “I am not going to say I can’t do this. I can do this, I can do this.”
Well, when I said, “I CAN’T DO THIS!” I knew I was almost done. I felt the baby slip into the birth canal. I said I needed to get into the water (Emme had checked the water when she arrived she said it was too hot and my mom was adding cold water to cool it down). Emme checked the water again and said it was a bit too hot still, but OK for me to get in. As I approached the tub I was asking for a pot, I urgently asked, “I need a pot, I need a pot to poop in.” Everyone is standing around somewhat dumbfounded and so I squat because I figured I could poop on the bath rug in front of the birthing tub. Miraculously as I squat someone puts a cooking pot right under my butt. As I sit there for a moment my midwife Emme says, “Kristy are you sure that’s not your baby?” I pause for one second and say, “Yup, it is” and get into the water.
I have a small pushing contraction and the head is crowning. I am pushing very small pushes, while I feel the babies head starting to emerge. While I am in the water and the kitchen is dark, I am giving everyone play by play of what is happening.
The baby’s head emerges and I am holding its little head in my hand. I am feeling the baby’s ear and face and lots of soft hair floating in the water. As I am touching the baby’s head I also touch my midwife’s hand as she is checking for the cord. I never have had the “burning ring of fire” sensation, I think there is so much happening when pushing a baby out that that sensation is secondary to the intense pushing. After this incredible fast labor, once the babies head is out, I have no urge to push for almost 3 minutes. My mom is telling me “OK, honey, just push the baby out…” She was incredibly anxious about the baby’s head in the water and that the baby might drown. After she had asked me to push baby out 3 different times, I tell her I can’t push the baby out until I have a contraction.
Emme asks, “Kristy, what are you feeling right now?”
I respond, “I feel lots of hair.” Of course she wanted to know what I was feeling with regards to my labor, but I knew that the baby would come when it was ready.
I have the start of a very small contraction. I take my hand off of the baby’s head and grab the side of the birth pool and bear down and hard as I can and the baby slips out into the water. Emme gently pushes the baby from my back side, between my legs and the baby floats up out of the water. The baby was a little white angel floating up out of the dark water. I pick up the baby and hold it. My husband Brad cuddles around us and we are consumed by love. After about a minute I look and see that we have a beautiful perfect little girl.
I have had two previous natural hospital births. My first labor lasted 52 hours and my second labor lasted 6 hours; each of my births was perfect and extremely rewarding. I recovered faster after my home birth and I can truly say that it just seemed right, having 3 natural births was the most empowering events in my life.
Kristy
Active labor started at 8:58, baby born at 9:45.
