we have another precious boy! henry jonathan, 7 lbs 10oz, 20", born around 4:30am at home in the water 
i can't believe i finally got my home waterbirth
it's something i've wanted to do since i had our first child, and it's been a journey to get here! it was amazing, dh is just thrilled with the experience as well. we are on cloud nine!
the story: had my appt. monday morning, asked for a membrane check as i felt i might be leaking. test was inconclusive. i was 3-4 cm already. decided not to do much about labor yet since i was just 40+6 that day.
tuesday i was kind of crampy and miserable. so i called the midwives back and asked for them to drop off some labor tincture. they stopped by and also brought me some gelsemium 200x because we all felt my nervousness about labor was what was holding me up.
contracted fairly regularly all day, but they were mild so i knew it didn't mean anything.
3pm felt a little wee gush. hm. thought about it for an hour or so and then called them to let them know i was sure my water was broken, i'd do some more labor tincture and try to go to bed on time. i was grumpy and frustrated and not really with it all day. kids were home and they were so good all day, i was so thankful for that! our ds2 is always very in tune with mommy and he knew something was up - was a bit weepy and clingy.
had dinner, had some good close contractions, got a little excited. they petered out through the evening as we settled the kids down. i had cleaned the house, gotten our room ready for the birth, etc. dh and i set up the birth pool just in case i woke up in labor.
i went to the drugstore at 10 pm to get some pads and to distract myself - i was definitely NOT in labor and kind of annoyed about it
went to bed with dh at 11. i slept; he didn't. i woke up at 12 and knew - okay, this is for real now! contractions 2 or 3 minutes apart, 45 seconds long...i headed for the rocking chair while he filled the pool. paged the midwives at 12:30. they showed up just before 1 am and checked me; i was 4-5 and so i hopped in the pool.
bliss! i can't believe how great that warm water feels. we had the made in water pool - i think there is a different name for it? anyways, fabulous. inflated floor, nice big pool I could stretch out in (I'm 5'9) and deep, too.
i had in my head that i'd have the baby by 3:30. i have no idea why. wasn't great; because he definitely wasn't born by then! i labored fairly quietly, which was very unusual for me. just breathed thru it at that point. i think the water made a huge difference for me. by 3:30 i was feeling a bit of pushy pressure, and was really happy about it because i thought i was close to done. we decided to do a check ... to my extreme frustration i was just at around 6 cm. i knew and the midwives reminded me that at this point i tend to go very quickly, but i was realllllly annoyed i kept my cool though. and of course, that's when transition really started and things got more intense. i knew i was holding him up with my tension, so we did some more gelsemium, which helped me to relax and know that - this is going to hurt more before it's over, so just let it! so i did.
finally really pushing at around 4:15. i've never pushed like that before. i would push and could feel that he was not moving and i was so done with being in labor. so i just gave it all i had for that 15 minutes - took no breaks, just to inhale. it was what my body needed, apparently, but i've been paying for it with some seriously sore muscles. changed positions 3 times, from kneeling to squatting and finally semi reclined which seemed to work best. turned out - henry's head came out a bit sideways which explained my difficulty.
no tearing! i am so fortunate to be 4 for 4 on that.
kids slept thru it, mostly - ds2 was out a couple of times and dh settled him down. around 4 am he was really awake but lying down quietly in our room (we were downstairs). dh got him after i was settled on the couch and he was so, so happy to hold his baby brother! it was just so special. we decided to let the other two sleep and get their surprise later that morning.
dd woke up first and came and checked out the baby - "mine!!" she was a little shy at first but was kissing him and loving on him in short order.
ds1's eyes just grew huge and he thanked me for a baby brother. he's been wanting one for quite awhile!
dh brought the kids away for sleepovers at friend's and relative's homes and we've been relaxing here with henry ever since.
he is doing really well, had a fussy second day but is nursing very well and sleeping quite nicely at night
as long as mommy holds him next to her. we weighed him yesterday and he was 7'7 - i still had milk from nursing dd (she weaned a few months ago) so he is a lucky guy.
i can't believe i finally got my home waterbirth
it's something i've wanted to do since i had our first child, and it's been a journey to get here! it was amazing, dh is just thrilled with the experience as well. we are on cloud nine!the story: had my appt. monday morning, asked for a membrane check as i felt i might be leaking. test was inconclusive. i was 3-4 cm already. decided not to do much about labor yet since i was just 40+6 that day.
tuesday i was kind of crampy and miserable. so i called the midwives back and asked for them to drop off some labor tincture. they stopped by and also brought me some gelsemium 200x because we all felt my nervousness about labor was what was holding me up.
contracted fairly regularly all day, but they were mild so i knew it didn't mean anything.
3pm felt a little wee gush. hm. thought about it for an hour or so and then called them to let them know i was sure my water was broken, i'd do some more labor tincture and try to go to bed on time. i was grumpy and frustrated and not really with it all day. kids were home and they were so good all day, i was so thankful for that! our ds2 is always very in tune with mommy and he knew something was up - was a bit weepy and clingy.
had dinner, had some good close contractions, got a little excited. they petered out through the evening as we settled the kids down. i had cleaned the house, gotten our room ready for the birth, etc. dh and i set up the birth pool just in case i woke up in labor.
i went to the drugstore at 10 pm to get some pads and to distract myself - i was definitely NOT in labor and kind of annoyed about it
went to bed with dh at 11. i slept; he didn't. i woke up at 12 and knew - okay, this is for real now! contractions 2 or 3 minutes apart, 45 seconds long...i headed for the rocking chair while he filled the pool. paged the midwives at 12:30. they showed up just before 1 am and checked me; i was 4-5 and so i hopped in the pool.
bliss! i can't believe how great that warm water feels. we had the made in water pool - i think there is a different name for it? anyways, fabulous. inflated floor, nice big pool I could stretch out in (I'm 5'9) and deep, too.
i had in my head that i'd have the baby by 3:30. i have no idea why. wasn't great; because he definitely wasn't born by then! i labored fairly quietly, which was very unusual for me. just breathed thru it at that point. i think the water made a huge difference for me. by 3:30 i was feeling a bit of pushy pressure, and was really happy about it because i thought i was close to done. we decided to do a check ... to my extreme frustration i was just at around 6 cm. i knew and the midwives reminded me that at this point i tend to go very quickly, but i was realllllly annoyed
i kept my cool though. and of course, that's when transition really started and things got more intense. i knew i was holding him up with my tension, so we did some more gelsemium, which helped me to relax and know that - this is going to hurt more before it's over, so just let it! so i did.finally really pushing at around 4:15. i've never pushed like that before. i would push and could feel that he was not moving and i was so done with being in labor. so i just gave it all i had for that 15 minutes - took no breaks, just to inhale. it was what my body needed, apparently, but i've been paying for it with some seriously sore muscles. changed positions 3 times, from kneeling to squatting and finally semi reclined which seemed to work best. turned out - henry's head came out a bit sideways which explained my difficulty.
no tearing! i am so fortunate to be 4 for 4 on that.
kids slept thru it, mostly - ds2 was out a couple of times and dh settled him down. around 4 am he was really awake but lying down quietly in our room (we were downstairs). dh got him after i was settled on the couch and he was so, so happy to hold his baby brother! it was just so special. we decided to let the other two sleep and get their surprise later that morning.
dd woke up first and came and checked out the baby - "mine!!" she was a little shy at first but was kissing him and loving on him in short order.
ds1's eyes just grew huge and he thanked me for a baby brother. he's been wanting one for quite awhile!
dh brought the kids away for sleepovers at friend's and relative's homes and we've been relaxing here with henry ever since.
he is doing really well, had a fussy second day but is nursing very well and sleeping quite nicely at night
as long as mommy holds him next to her. we weighed him yesterday and he was 7'7 - i still had milk from nursing dd (she weaned a few months ago) so he is a lucky guy.
Happy BabyMoon! 
: )
