The homebirth of Freyja Naunet Agape, born at 4:15 a.m. on 10/15/05, a little baby, just 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long, 5 days before her EDD.
I had painless prodomal labor for days, sensations that were definitely different than BH; these were lower down, like menstrual cramps. One appt. w/midwife 1.5 cm dilation & 50% effacement; 3 days later 2cm & 80% effaced. This was exactly what I’d visualized; a long, gentle ripening and opening in preparation of birth, rather than all progress being made in one long, painful labor like my previous birth.
My mother was possibly going to be able to make it up to my birth on the weekend, and I hoped my baby would come on the weekend to minimize the days DH would have to take off of work. Friday the 14th, the waves were stronger, more regular and definitely changed, but still not painful. I helped intensify them with nipple stimulation on & off all day while walking, hanging laundry & cleaning house. Hanging laundry they were coming every 3-4 minutes and it felt really good to go into a wide squat during waves.
DH came home from work & we went on a long walk/hike (mountains). He timed the waves, they came every 2 min- still not painful to me, but getting stronger. I just breathed & relaxed through them. Called the midwife around 8:30 p.m., she suggested I drink lots of water & try to sleep. I drank, ate & the waves spaced out. I decided that a good night’s sleep would certainly be a good thing, so off to bed we went. Woke up around 1 a.m. I’d slept, but DH hadn’t – he was antsy and didn’t know why! As soon as I woke the waves started more strongly, with a sharper edge. They came every 1:30 or so. Called the midwife & she said she’d head over.
Still, the waves weren’t painful despite the frequency. DH set up the waterbirth tub and the slow process of filling it. I finally got up- laying or sitting down was painful- and puttered around the house getting food ready, baby stuff ready, clearing space for the midwife’s gear. Walking and squatting felt great- I just stopped and leaned on furniture to breathe or squatted. I built a little wedge of pillows to have under my butt while kneeling on the floor at the foot end of our bed, chest and arms resting on the bed during waves. During every wave I visualized her head nudging open my cervix, and I talked to her, encouraging her to help nudge me open, that I was so excited to meet her…
Midwife arrived at 2:45. Checked my temp, BP etc., set up her equipment, then checked my cervix at around 3:25; 4.5 cm dilated, 100% effaced and she could feel the bag bulging. I was starting to have to focus during waves, but liked being up & about in between. DH was running around trying to get things arranged, the tub filled. He was down to heating water on the stove as we’d emptied the water heater twice already. I sat on the toilet frequently, emptied my bowels for sure! I called DH to hold onto for a while on the toilet while I had waves and cried- not from pain, just from emotion. It was very sweet. Things went so fast that it turns out that was the only time during labor that he and I just sat & connected with each other!
Waves now required my full attention and there was little break between, so I headed to my favorite spot at the foot of the bed. Midwife did a 20-minute fetal heartbeat check, I just breathed, relaxed, and focused on letting my pelvic floor muscles open. They made me drink water, which made me nauseous. Then chamomile tea to help with nausea- that made me vomit hard. Just minutes after vomiting, I felt a pop and gush but all I could gasp was, “something happened!” because instantly the intensity of the waves hit full-on painful, just POW! Midwife told me my water broke (duh) and that things were going to get very intense and for me to prepare for that. I couldn’t even answer, because I was already there. The pain-waves just took over all reality. Everything disappeared but those sensations. There was no break between at all, just one peak after another. I could feel my lower abdomen & pelvis tense in response to the pain and talked myself through them with, “it’s okay, I want this opening, come on baby, nudge me open” and forced myself to push ever so slightly downward to counteract the tensing and open my pelvic muscles instead. I felt movement inside, I could feel her head move through my cervix and thought, “good, because I can’t handle this intense pain much longer” and instantly made myself change that thought to, “good, but I can handle this for as long as it takes to birth my baby.” I couldn’t talk, but felt some pressure heading toward my rectum, then suddenly the pushing urge surged through me and bam! I felt her head slam into my rectum, boy did that hurt! I started making a lot of sounds, groaning, grunt-yelling with the non-stop pushing surges. DH sat behind me and rubbed my back- he had no idea that the sounds I was making meant the baby was coming, and I couldn’t talk as I was just an animal, pushing. The midwife snapped her gloves on, DH realized I was pushing & got up to turn the video cam on. Her head was crowning and I tried to stop the push-surge and stretch (saying to myself “open like a flower”) but, as with my two previous births, my body was on automatic and I felt some skin give/tear as she pushed through. When DH turned around, she was out, caught from behind by the midwife. I never made it in the tub until two days later. She latched on right away.
I tore slightly in the same place as before, no stitches req’d. The birth video starts off with a view of my butt, the baby squalling in the midwife’s hands behind me, and me repeating, “OMG, OMG, that was so fast, OMG…” I went from 4.5 cm to birth in 50 min, with, according to my midwife, a record 3 minutes of pushing. Which is how long it took w/my 2nd; my first took 5 minutes – which is probably why I always tear!
Overall, a perfect homebirth. I’m thrilled, and so totally in love with my little daughter. She's nursing up a storm.
I had painless prodomal labor for days, sensations that were definitely different than BH; these were lower down, like menstrual cramps. One appt. w/midwife 1.5 cm dilation & 50% effacement; 3 days later 2cm & 80% effaced. This was exactly what I’d visualized; a long, gentle ripening and opening in preparation of birth, rather than all progress being made in one long, painful labor like my previous birth.
My mother was possibly going to be able to make it up to my birth on the weekend, and I hoped my baby would come on the weekend to minimize the days DH would have to take off of work. Friday the 14th, the waves were stronger, more regular and definitely changed, but still not painful. I helped intensify them with nipple stimulation on & off all day while walking, hanging laundry & cleaning house. Hanging laundry they were coming every 3-4 minutes and it felt really good to go into a wide squat during waves.
DH came home from work & we went on a long walk/hike (mountains). He timed the waves, they came every 2 min- still not painful to me, but getting stronger. I just breathed & relaxed through them. Called the midwife around 8:30 p.m., she suggested I drink lots of water & try to sleep. I drank, ate & the waves spaced out. I decided that a good night’s sleep would certainly be a good thing, so off to bed we went. Woke up around 1 a.m. I’d slept, but DH hadn’t – he was antsy and didn’t know why! As soon as I woke the waves started more strongly, with a sharper edge. They came every 1:30 or so. Called the midwife & she said she’d head over.
Still, the waves weren’t painful despite the frequency. DH set up the waterbirth tub and the slow process of filling it. I finally got up- laying or sitting down was painful- and puttered around the house getting food ready, baby stuff ready, clearing space for the midwife’s gear. Walking and squatting felt great- I just stopped and leaned on furniture to breathe or squatted. I built a little wedge of pillows to have under my butt while kneeling on the floor at the foot end of our bed, chest and arms resting on the bed during waves. During every wave I visualized her head nudging open my cervix, and I talked to her, encouraging her to help nudge me open, that I was so excited to meet her…
Midwife arrived at 2:45. Checked my temp, BP etc., set up her equipment, then checked my cervix at around 3:25; 4.5 cm dilated, 100% effaced and she could feel the bag bulging. I was starting to have to focus during waves, but liked being up & about in between. DH was running around trying to get things arranged, the tub filled. He was down to heating water on the stove as we’d emptied the water heater twice already. I sat on the toilet frequently, emptied my bowels for sure! I called DH to hold onto for a while on the toilet while I had waves and cried- not from pain, just from emotion. It was very sweet. Things went so fast that it turns out that was the only time during labor that he and I just sat & connected with each other!
Waves now required my full attention and there was little break between, so I headed to my favorite spot at the foot of the bed. Midwife did a 20-minute fetal heartbeat check, I just breathed, relaxed, and focused on letting my pelvic floor muscles open. They made me drink water, which made me nauseous. Then chamomile tea to help with nausea- that made me vomit hard. Just minutes after vomiting, I felt a pop and gush but all I could gasp was, “something happened!” because instantly the intensity of the waves hit full-on painful, just POW! Midwife told me my water broke (duh) and that things were going to get very intense and for me to prepare for that. I couldn’t even answer, because I was already there. The pain-waves just took over all reality. Everything disappeared but those sensations. There was no break between at all, just one peak after another. I could feel my lower abdomen & pelvis tense in response to the pain and talked myself through them with, “it’s okay, I want this opening, come on baby, nudge me open” and forced myself to push ever so slightly downward to counteract the tensing and open my pelvic muscles instead. I felt movement inside, I could feel her head move through my cervix and thought, “good, because I can’t handle this intense pain much longer” and instantly made myself change that thought to, “good, but I can handle this for as long as it takes to birth my baby.” I couldn’t talk, but felt some pressure heading toward my rectum, then suddenly the pushing urge surged through me and bam! I felt her head slam into my rectum, boy did that hurt! I started making a lot of sounds, groaning, grunt-yelling with the non-stop pushing surges. DH sat behind me and rubbed my back- he had no idea that the sounds I was making meant the baby was coming, and I couldn’t talk as I was just an animal, pushing. The midwife snapped her gloves on, DH realized I was pushing & got up to turn the video cam on. Her head was crowning and I tried to stop the push-surge and stretch (saying to myself “open like a flower”) but, as with my two previous births, my body was on automatic and I felt some skin give/tear as she pushed through. When DH turned around, she was out, caught from behind by the midwife. I never made it in the tub until two days later. She latched on right away.
I tore slightly in the same place as before, no stitches req’d. The birth video starts off with a view of my butt, the baby squalling in the midwife’s hands behind me, and me repeating, “OMG, OMG, that was so fast, OMG…” I went from 4.5 cm to birth in 50 min, with, according to my midwife, a record 3 minutes of pushing. Which is how long it took w/my 2nd; my first took 5 minutes – which is probably why I always tear!
Overall, a perfect homebirth. I’m thrilled, and so totally in love with my little daughter. She's nursing up a storm.
