(We had 2 midwives that practice together and a student midwife attend the birth). Madison (age 4) was present for the entire thing.
On Saturday October 3rd, around 5pm I started having contractions. They were about every 5 minutes apart. I really didn't think I was in labor though. I had been having false labor contractions for weeks. I was able to talk through them and everything. I even took Madison to the park and was talking to my neighbors. Around 7:30 or 8:00pm I called my midwife and told her what was going on. I was still able to talk through the contractions so I didn't think it was really time. She suggested taking a bath. She said that if that didn't stop the contractions or slow them down, to call her back. Well sure enough, they didn't stop or slow down. They were getting a little more intense. So I called her back. I was still able to talk through the contractions though. She said she was going to come over and that I should go ahead and call the labor tub people and have them bring the tub over and set it up. I did just that, but kept thinking that I was going to feel stupid if this was just a false alarm.
Shortly after that is when it got really intense. The contractions were really close together and I was unable to talk through them. I started crying at one point and wondered if I really wanted to do this at home without pain meds. But I told myself that I wanted to have this homebirth and that what I was feeling was something very natural, and that it was my body doing exactly what it needed to do to give birth to my baby. I told myself that I just had to work with the contractions and soon enough I would have my baby in my arms. After that, I felt confident in my ability to birth my baby naturally and even felt excited to do it.
The contractions were intense. I would get on the floor on my knees and lean on my birthing ball and rock. I would also moan through the contractions, that was a big release for me so that I wouldn't tense up. Instead of tensing my belly to deal with the pain, I would relax my belly and moan instead. I found the moaning really helped. I had to have Gabe (my dh) by my side the whole time. He did great and really talked
me through them and helped a lot. He would rub my back and apply pressure during the contractions. Instead of focusing on the pain, I would focus on his touch.
The midwives got there and checked me around 9:30pm or so and I was already 8cm! I was so happy. The tub lady was still filling up the tub but they let me get in anyways. It helped a lot with the pain once I got in. My sister arrived (I wanted her there for the birth) and woke up Madison. Madison came downstairs and was excited.
Very shortly after getting in the tub I started to feel the urge to push. She checked me and I was able to start pushing. My water then broke as I started pushing.
His head came out after a little while (not sure how long). The midwife included Madison and had her come over near her so she could see. Maddy was excited and said "it's the little baby's head."
Then I started to push more and his shoulders wouldn't come out. They had me then get on my hands and knees and push and still he wouldn't come out. I knew something was wrong. They had me get right out of the pool and lay on my living room floor. At this point the midwife put her hand in and had to turn him slightly and push his shoulder down to get him out. His shoulders were stuck.
Finally he came out, but he wasn't responding. It was so scary. His heartbeat was 140 but he didn't cry or move. He was blue and limp. The student midwife called 911 while the midwives suctioned him and gave him some oxygen. He started crying shortly after that. He cried a lot. Poor little guy was traumatized by the whole thing. Luckily he was fine after that.
Maddy ended up not wanting to cut the cord like had been planned, but Gabe did it.
I had no episiotomy, and I didn't even tear.
The paramedics arrived a little after being called. The baby was fine at that point and did not need to be transported. They walked into the house and saw Gabe holding Joseph who was screaming, Maddy sitting there watching Joseph scream, me sitting on the edge of my daughter's step stool pushing out the placenta, and my sister videotaping it all. I'm sure it was all quite a sight.
Joseph Luis was born at 10:56 pm on October 3rd, 2004. He weighed 10lbs 6oz, and was 21 inches long. His head circumference was 14.5cm. His chest circumference was 16 inches (normal is 12 to 13 inches). I was 122lbs at delivery (normally I am 95lbs) and I am only 5'2, so it was a shocker to have such a big baby!
The midwives later told me that a lot of times after a shoulder dystocia the uterus will "give up" and stop contracting and a manual extraction of the placenta is needed. They also told me that many times a woman may have some hemorrhaging after. Luckily none of that happened to me. I didn't even have that much bleeding.
I got to hold Joseph and nurse him. Gabe and Maddy got to hold him as well. Then I went upstairs and got into bed.
The midwives then did a newborn exam, and gave him the vitamin k (I wasn't going to give this to him, but since his birth was so difficult and his whole forehead was bruised from coming down so quickly, I decided to), and sat with me while I started nursing him again. They helped me with nursing since he was not latching on very well. Then they left shortly after that. It was so nice to be at home. When they left I was already laying in bed with Joseph nursing him.
I am so glad we chose a homebirth. Even though we had a complication, it all turned out well. Joseph is such a blessing in our lives.
On Saturday October 3rd, around 5pm I started having contractions. They were about every 5 minutes apart. I really didn't think I was in labor though. I had been having false labor contractions for weeks. I was able to talk through them and everything. I even took Madison to the park and was talking to my neighbors. Around 7:30 or 8:00pm I called my midwife and told her what was going on. I was still able to talk through the contractions so I didn't think it was really time. She suggested taking a bath. She said that if that didn't stop the contractions or slow them down, to call her back. Well sure enough, they didn't stop or slow down. They were getting a little more intense. So I called her back. I was still able to talk through the contractions though. She said she was going to come over and that I should go ahead and call the labor tub people and have them bring the tub over and set it up. I did just that, but kept thinking that I was going to feel stupid if this was just a false alarm.
Shortly after that is when it got really intense. The contractions were really close together and I was unable to talk through them. I started crying at one point and wondered if I really wanted to do this at home without pain meds. But I told myself that I wanted to have this homebirth and that what I was feeling was something very natural, and that it was my body doing exactly what it needed to do to give birth to my baby. I told myself that I just had to work with the contractions and soon enough I would have my baby in my arms. After that, I felt confident in my ability to birth my baby naturally and even felt excited to do it.
The contractions were intense. I would get on the floor on my knees and lean on my birthing ball and rock. I would also moan through the contractions, that was a big release for me so that I wouldn't tense up. Instead of tensing my belly to deal with the pain, I would relax my belly and moan instead. I found the moaning really helped. I had to have Gabe (my dh) by my side the whole time. He did great and really talked
me through them and helped a lot. He would rub my back and apply pressure during the contractions. Instead of focusing on the pain, I would focus on his touch.
The midwives got there and checked me around 9:30pm or so and I was already 8cm! I was so happy. The tub lady was still filling up the tub but they let me get in anyways. It helped a lot with the pain once I got in. My sister arrived (I wanted her there for the birth) and woke up Madison. Madison came downstairs and was excited.
Very shortly after getting in the tub I started to feel the urge to push. She checked me and I was able to start pushing. My water then broke as I started pushing.
His head came out after a little while (not sure how long). The midwife included Madison and had her come over near her so she could see. Maddy was excited and said "it's the little baby's head."
Then I started to push more and his shoulders wouldn't come out. They had me then get on my hands and knees and push and still he wouldn't come out. I knew something was wrong. They had me get right out of the pool and lay on my living room floor. At this point the midwife put her hand in and had to turn him slightly and push his shoulder down to get him out. His shoulders were stuck.
Finally he came out, but he wasn't responding. It was so scary. His heartbeat was 140 but he didn't cry or move. He was blue and limp. The student midwife called 911 while the midwives suctioned him and gave him some oxygen. He started crying shortly after that. He cried a lot. Poor little guy was traumatized by the whole thing. Luckily he was fine after that.
Maddy ended up not wanting to cut the cord like had been planned, but Gabe did it.
I had no episiotomy, and I didn't even tear.
The paramedics arrived a little after being called. The baby was fine at that point and did not need to be transported. They walked into the house and saw Gabe holding Joseph who was screaming, Maddy sitting there watching Joseph scream, me sitting on the edge of my daughter's step stool pushing out the placenta, and my sister videotaping it all. I'm sure it was all quite a sight.
Joseph Luis was born at 10:56 pm on October 3rd, 2004. He weighed 10lbs 6oz, and was 21 inches long. His head circumference was 14.5cm. His chest circumference was 16 inches (normal is 12 to 13 inches). I was 122lbs at delivery (normally I am 95lbs) and I am only 5'2, so it was a shocker to have such a big baby!
The midwives later told me that a lot of times after a shoulder dystocia the uterus will "give up" and stop contracting and a manual extraction of the placenta is needed. They also told me that many times a woman may have some hemorrhaging after. Luckily none of that happened to me. I didn't even have that much bleeding.
I got to hold Joseph and nurse him. Gabe and Maddy got to hold him as well. Then I went upstairs and got into bed.
The midwives then did a newborn exam, and gave him the vitamin k (I wasn't going to give this to him, but since his birth was so difficult and his whole forehead was bruised from coming down so quickly, I decided to), and sat with me while I started nursing him again. They helped me with nursing since he was not latching on very well. Then they left shortly after that. It was so nice to be at home. When they left I was already laying in bed with Joseph nursing him.
I am so glad we chose a homebirth. Even though we had a complication, it all turned out well. Joseph is such a blessing in our lives.
Afterwards I kept thinking how glad I was that I was at home because I shudder to think what wouldv'e happened at the hospital.
