Asa Rhythm was born on August 5th 2010 at 11:21pm. His story starts with my first birth which took place in a hospital but was a drug free water birth. After that experience, I knew that if I ever had another baby I would be having a homebirth. Almost four years later we got a surprise positive pregnancy test and the rest is history.
I had two due dates set, an early one that was according to LMP and one a week later that was according to my assumed ovulation date. The last few weeks of pregnancy were rough and it felt as if Asa would be born at any minute. He was as low as I think humanly possible and I was dilated to about a 4 and contracting constantly. Braxton Hicks turned into cramps which presented as prodromal labor. But when my first due date came and went and still no baby, I began to think that he would never come. The night of the 4th I was up most of the night with contractions. I was able to sleep between them but they were coming every 20 to 30 minutes and would wake me up with each one. I finally got out of bed at 5am to see if they would change and they didn't. I didn't really think much of it, because at this point it was kind of a normal event. I did take note that these contractions felt like they were doing something. They were more intense then the ones I had felt before them, but still easy to breath through. I went back to sleep and got a couple more hours rest and when I woke up for good things still hadn't changed. I called my mom who would be coming to act as my doula and she said that she thought it was early labor, but that it could go on for a while. That afternoon we went to the store and walked around a bit. Contractions picked up to about 10 minutes apart while we were there but then slowed back down again when we got home. Finally at about 6pm they started to get closer together. They were about 10 minutes apart at that point. Still manageable. Still presumable 'early' labor patterns. During one contractions I thought I felt a pop but assumed it was the baby's head moving down past something. I got up to use the bathroom and had lost some mucous plug with a tiny bit of blood streaked in it. From then on out I had small amounts of bloody show, lots of mucous, and what I later concluded to be leaking amniotic fluid. It was coming out in small gushes throughout the rest of labor. Much different from my first labor when my bag of waters broke as Lyric crowned. This could have been because the baby was said to be posterior according to my last midwife appointment.
At about 8pm I decided things were getting more serious. The contractions started to become intense and I had to vocalize through them. Although they were still only 10 minutes apart, I decided to call my mom over. She has about a 40 minute drive and by the time she arrived I was pretty convinced that things were moving along. I wanted to get in the tub so I called the midwife over as we filled it and got things set up and ready. We lit candles and put on meditation music. I sat on the birth ball for a while leaning up against Jay. He was such a great support through the whole labor. We leaned our heads together during a contraction and he moaned through it with me, silently reminding me to keep my tones low. Lyric was home and in the bedroom for the most part. She came out periodically and hugged me and talked about me having contractions. My mom kept her occupied which was such a help. By 9:41 the midwife arrived. At 10pm I got into the tub. At this point I think my contractions had finally gotten to be 5 minutes apart. They were much more intense now, and I could feel transition approaching. When I got in the tub I felt instant relief followed by an instant contraction. The second contraction I had in the tub was the first contraction of transition. I said, "NO, not yet, I'm not ready to push yet." For the hour that I was in the tub I was having a very hard time dealing with contractions. Jay was right there with me the whole way. He kept reminding me how well I was doing and rubbing my back. He was running and getting a wash cloth cold in between contractions and holding it on my neck or head during them. He continued to moan with me and encourage me to keep my tones low and tell me that I could do it. I couldn't have done it without him. We were in a 'bubble', my mom said, and she would be right. But soon I needed more and I was scared and the midwife and my mom came over to the tub as well. They all told me how good I was doing. I kept asking how much longer and why he wasn't decending. Lyric's birth went so fast at that stage and so this time I felt like it was FOREVER. At some point the contractions turned to true pushing contractions and after resisting them for a while I finally gave in. I told myself that if I wanted him out I would need to work with my body to do it. I was ready for it to be over and to see my baby. I realized then what some women mean when they talk about pushing feeling good. It didn't feel good but it did feel something other then horribly painful. After several contractions of active pushing there was still no bulge, no head, no crowning. I was getting discouraged but the midwife and my mom reminded me that I had only been pushing for 20 minutes and that it was okay to do it nice and slowly. The midwife put her hand on my perineum for support but I told her not to touch. I felt like I would poop and I didn't want her catching it....lol. At that moment I realized I just needed to do something different. Nothing in the tub was working. I couldn't find the right position, nothing felt comfortable or 'right'. So I asked to sit on the toilet for a little while in some privacy. My mom walked me in and I called for Jay and demanded he come into the bathroom with me. The midwife didn't want me to shut the door so I put the door between my legs (small bathroom) and used the handles for support as I pushed. WOW!!! It felt SOOOO good compared to what I had been doing. I even said, "Oh this feels GREAT." I was able to feel somewhat on top of the contractions again and push through them with focus instead of panic. There was chaos going on around me because nobody wanted the baby to be born on the toilet. They asked me to get back in the tub and I said, "No way!!!" I basically told them there wasn't a chance I was getting off that toilet. I kept saying, "Just give me a minute, just give me a minute." I asked for the clean towels and the midwife said, "To lean on?" and I said, "No, to have the baby on." I think at that point everyone realized I was serious about not getting back in the tub and I was going to have that baby right there on my bathroom floor.
They brought in towels and chux and got things prepared. I felt him coming down almost right away after getting on the toilet. In just a couple of contractions I reached a finger in and felt his head. It was all wrinkly and for a minute I panicked thinking it was cord, but then I reminded myself that babies heads feel that way when they are being squished out. I announced that I could feel him. With the next contraction he moved even further down and pushed on my perineum. Everything bulged out with that contraction and I said, "He's coming." The midwife asked me to get off the toilet so I did and I knelt down on my knees with Jay behind me and the midwife in front of me. As soon as I got down there he kind of went back up a little. I think my body really wanted to be on the toilet...lol. But then with the next contraction he came down again and I felt the perineum bulge again. Jay applied some oil to help me stretch. As the head crowned with the next contraction I felt that I pooped so I turned back and said sorry to Jay and handed him a piece of toilet paper to clean it up quick. 
He was so great about it and told me not to worry it was no big deal. Another contraction hit and I felt the dreaded ring of fire. I tend to panic through the whole last part of labor and this part is no exception. Terror took over my facial expressions, but inside I was telling myself that it would only last a short time and that I could get through it. Jay supported my perineum a bit and his head came out. The midwife said that with one more push his head would be out, but I thought I had already felt his head pop out so I pushed again a little bit. I really burned then, and to my surprise his body came right after. It felt like he had a hand up by his head that I had to push through and Jay later confirmed that his arm was up a bit. Jay supported the head as it came out and caught him as his body came after it. He slipped the baby under my legs to me as if he was a seasoned baby catcher. No tears for me this time. Just a small 'nick' near the side of the perineum. No stitches and no swelling.
Asa was covered in vernix just like Lryic had been. I looked down and saw that he looked just like his daddy. He had dark hair that looked curly, and dark eyes. He didn't cry, but did make a couple noises after a bit. We sat on the floor for a little while and just looked at him and admired him. The cord was done pulsing by the time we got up and made our way to the bedroom. Once there we eventually clamped and cut the cord. Jay cut it and Asa cried a little. I nursed him afterward for a long time. He latched on right away and I was so relieved that he was an easy nurser. He nursed on both sides for about 15 minutes each. Then I got up on my knees to deliver the placenta. I had to work a little to get it out. I pushed pretty hard. It wasn't the easy/soothing experience it had been with Lyrics birth. It actually hurt coming out a little at first (as if a smaller baby was crowning again) until the warmth took over. It didn't come out all the way. It was hanging by part of the membrane which was still attached inside. I sat up on my knees for what seemed like forever pushing and trying to get that thing out. We all had a little chuckle about it and Jay said to tell my body that it was okay to release it, that it was time. It finally came out and I was free to lay back down with my baby. The placenta was small looking to me, but the midwife said it was average. It was older looking. Used to it's full potential. My mom cut me off a piece and I swallowed it whole with a celebratory glass of champagne. I have a piece for each day for the next few days and then will be switching to the dehydrated pills. We did a tree of life print of the placenta as well that turned out great.
Asa weighed 6lbs 14oz just 3oz less than what daddy had guessed his weight to be. He was 21 inches long with a head circumference of 13 inches. He got a 10/10 apgar scores. He's the most content baby and has only cried once when I changed his first poopy diaper. Lyric got to meet her brother officially early in the morning on the 6th. She slept through the big event and refused to wake up despite our attempts. But she is now in love with him and giving him all the hugs and kisses he can handle. We're all in love with this beautiful baby and excited to watch him grow. The experience of his birth was intense, and painful, and wonderful in every way possible and I wouldn't have done it any differently. I got my homebirth, and Jay got to catch just like we had planned for 9 months. Now, off to sleep next to my baby. 
I had two due dates set, an early one that was according to LMP and one a week later that was according to my assumed ovulation date. The last few weeks of pregnancy were rough and it felt as if Asa would be born at any minute. He was as low as I think humanly possible and I was dilated to about a 4 and contracting constantly. Braxton Hicks turned into cramps which presented as prodromal labor. But when my first due date came and went and still no baby, I began to think that he would never come. The night of the 4th I was up most of the night with contractions. I was able to sleep between them but they were coming every 20 to 30 minutes and would wake me up with each one. I finally got out of bed at 5am to see if they would change and they didn't. I didn't really think much of it, because at this point it was kind of a normal event. I did take note that these contractions felt like they were doing something. They were more intense then the ones I had felt before them, but still easy to breath through. I went back to sleep and got a couple more hours rest and when I woke up for good things still hadn't changed. I called my mom who would be coming to act as my doula and she said that she thought it was early labor, but that it could go on for a while. That afternoon we went to the store and walked around a bit. Contractions picked up to about 10 minutes apart while we were there but then slowed back down again when we got home. Finally at about 6pm they started to get closer together. They were about 10 minutes apart at that point. Still manageable. Still presumable 'early' labor patterns. During one contractions I thought I felt a pop but assumed it was the baby's head moving down past something. I got up to use the bathroom and had lost some mucous plug with a tiny bit of blood streaked in it. From then on out I had small amounts of bloody show, lots of mucous, and what I later concluded to be leaking amniotic fluid. It was coming out in small gushes throughout the rest of labor. Much different from my first labor when my bag of waters broke as Lyric crowned. This could have been because the baby was said to be posterior according to my last midwife appointment.
At about 8pm I decided things were getting more serious. The contractions started to become intense and I had to vocalize through them. Although they were still only 10 minutes apart, I decided to call my mom over. She has about a 40 minute drive and by the time she arrived I was pretty convinced that things were moving along. I wanted to get in the tub so I called the midwife over as we filled it and got things set up and ready. We lit candles and put on meditation music. I sat on the birth ball for a while leaning up against Jay. He was such a great support through the whole labor. We leaned our heads together during a contraction and he moaned through it with me, silently reminding me to keep my tones low. Lyric was home and in the bedroom for the most part. She came out periodically and hugged me and talked about me having contractions. My mom kept her occupied which was such a help. By 9:41 the midwife arrived. At 10pm I got into the tub. At this point I think my contractions had finally gotten to be 5 minutes apart. They were much more intense now, and I could feel transition approaching. When I got in the tub I felt instant relief followed by an instant contraction. The second contraction I had in the tub was the first contraction of transition. I said, "NO, not yet, I'm not ready to push yet." For the hour that I was in the tub I was having a very hard time dealing with contractions. Jay was right there with me the whole way. He kept reminding me how well I was doing and rubbing my back. He was running and getting a wash cloth cold in between contractions and holding it on my neck or head during them. He continued to moan with me and encourage me to keep my tones low and tell me that I could do it. I couldn't have done it without him. We were in a 'bubble', my mom said, and she would be right. But soon I needed more and I was scared and the midwife and my mom came over to the tub as well. They all told me how good I was doing. I kept asking how much longer and why he wasn't decending. Lyric's birth went so fast at that stage and so this time I felt like it was FOREVER. At some point the contractions turned to true pushing contractions and after resisting them for a while I finally gave in. I told myself that if I wanted him out I would need to work with my body to do it. I was ready for it to be over and to see my baby. I realized then what some women mean when they talk about pushing feeling good. It didn't feel good but it did feel something other then horribly painful. After several contractions of active pushing there was still no bulge, no head, no crowning. I was getting discouraged but the midwife and my mom reminded me that I had only been pushing for 20 minutes and that it was okay to do it nice and slowly. The midwife put her hand on my perineum for support but I told her not to touch. I felt like I would poop and I didn't want her catching it....lol. At that moment I realized I just needed to do something different. Nothing in the tub was working. I couldn't find the right position, nothing felt comfortable or 'right'. So I asked to sit on the toilet for a little while in some privacy. My mom walked me in and I called for Jay and demanded he come into the bathroom with me. The midwife didn't want me to shut the door so I put the door between my legs (small bathroom) and used the handles for support as I pushed. WOW!!! It felt SOOOO good compared to what I had been doing. I even said, "Oh this feels GREAT." I was able to feel somewhat on top of the contractions again and push through them with focus instead of panic. There was chaos going on around me because nobody wanted the baby to be born on the toilet. They asked me to get back in the tub and I said, "No way!!!" I basically told them there wasn't a chance I was getting off that toilet. I kept saying, "Just give me a minute, just give me a minute." I asked for the clean towels and the midwife said, "To lean on?" and I said, "No, to have the baby on." I think at that point everyone realized I was serious about not getting back in the tub and I was going to have that baby right there on my bathroom floor.
They brought in towels and chux and got things prepared. I felt him coming down almost right away after getting on the toilet. In just a couple of contractions I reached a finger in and felt his head. It was all wrinkly and for a minute I panicked thinking it was cord, but then I reminded myself that babies heads feel that way when they are being squished out. I announced that I could feel him. With the next contraction he moved even further down and pushed on my perineum. Everything bulged out with that contraction and I said, "He's coming." The midwife asked me to get off the toilet so I did and I knelt down on my knees with Jay behind me and the midwife in front of me. As soon as I got down there he kind of went back up a little. I think my body really wanted to be on the toilet...lol. But then with the next contraction he came down again and I felt the perineum bulge again. Jay applied some oil to help me stretch. As the head crowned with the next contraction I felt that I pooped so I turned back and said sorry to Jay and handed him a piece of toilet paper to clean it up quick. He was so great about it and told me not to worry it was no big deal. Another contraction hit and I felt the dreaded ring of fire. I tend to panic through the whole last part of labor and this part is no exception. Terror took over my facial expressions, but inside I was telling myself that it would only last a short time and that I could get through it. Jay supported my perineum a bit and his head came out. The midwife said that with one more push his head would be out, but I thought I had already felt his head pop out so I pushed again a little bit. I really burned then, and to my surprise his body came right after. It felt like he had a hand up by his head that I had to push through and Jay later confirmed that his arm was up a bit. Jay supported the head as it came out and caught him as his body came after it. He slipped the baby under my legs to me as if he was a seasoned baby catcher. No tears for me this time. Just a small 'nick' near the side of the perineum. No stitches and no swelling.Asa was covered in vernix just like Lryic had been. I looked down and saw that he looked just like his daddy. He had dark hair that looked curly, and dark eyes. He didn't cry, but did make a couple noises after a bit. We sat on the floor for a little while and just looked at him and admired him. The cord was done pulsing by the time we got up and made our way to the bedroom. Once there we eventually clamped and cut the cord. Jay cut it and Asa cried a little. I nursed him afterward for a long time. He latched on right away and I was so relieved that he was an easy nurser. He nursed on both sides for about 15 minutes each. Then I got up on my knees to deliver the placenta. I had to work a little to get it out. I pushed pretty hard. It wasn't the easy/soothing experience it had been with Lyrics birth. It actually hurt coming out a little at first (as if a smaller baby was crowning again) until the warmth took over. It didn't come out all the way. It was hanging by part of the membrane which was still attached inside. I sat up on my knees for what seemed like forever pushing and trying to get that thing out. We all had a little chuckle about it and Jay said to tell my body that it was okay to release it, that it was time. It finally came out and I was free to lay back down with my baby. The placenta was small looking to me, but the midwife said it was average. It was older looking. Used to it's full potential. My mom cut me off a piece and I swallowed it whole with a celebratory glass of champagne. I have a piece for each day for the next few days and then will be switching to the dehydrated pills. We did a tree of life print of the placenta as well that turned out great.
Asa weighed 6lbs 14oz just 3oz less than what daddy had guessed his weight to be.
He was 21 inches long with a head circumference of 13 inches. He got a 10/10 apgar scores. He's the most content baby and has only cried once when I changed his first poopy diaper. Lyric got to meet her brother officially early in the morning on the 6th. She slept through the big event and refused to wake up despite our attempts. But she is now in love with him and giving him all the hugs and kisses he can handle. We're all in love with this beautiful baby and excited to watch him grow. The experience of his birth was intense, and painful, and wonderful in every way possible and I wouldn't have done it any differently. I got my homebirth, and Jay got to catch just like we had planned for 9 months. Now, off to sleep next to my baby. 
