Such a beautiful birth story!!! Congratulations and God bless!
Audrey Lynn - HBAC
Audrey Lynn
April 5, 2004
7:39 am
8 Pounds, 19.5 Inches
On Sunday, April 4th, I was having more frequent braxton hicks contractions, but they still didn't feel like the real thing. We went to church Sunday morning, and it was a Communion Sunday. During a prayer with the entire congregation holding hands, I felt the physical presence of the Holy Spirit over my body, and had a small contraction. I felt very peaceful and very excited that it would be soon. After church we went to town and got lunch, then did some grocery shopping so we'd have plenty of food in the house. Later that afternoon we went for a brisk walk. I had a number of contractions during the walk, but they were still just braxton hicks, and stopped when I stopped walking. I told DH that night, Let's get a couple hours of sleep and then wake up and have a baby. Well, we got a little bit of sleep, then got up for DH to throw up at 11:00, apparently from a bad Wendy's hamburger the day before.
We got back to sleep, then I woke up at 1:00 am with the first "real" contraction. It was different, and I knew immediately it was the real thing. Second one came at 1:16. After that, they went to 5 minutes apart. Exact same pattern that I had with both Thomas (v/b 11/20/97) and Daniel (c/s 6/25/01). I tried to stay in the bed and rest in between, but I couldn't. They were too strong to stay lying down. So I got up and walked around the house during contractions. I got my birth ball and sat on it at the foot of the bed between contractions. It was so peaceful to be laboring in my home with my husband asleep in our bed, and our two boys asleep in their beds down the hall.
At 2:00 am I decided it was time to call Michelle (midwife). I called at 1:57 according to my phone. Michelle answered saying "what's going on?" in a very sleepy voice. I said contractions started about an hour ago, and they're 5 minutes apart. She said "Ok, I'm on my way." At exactly 2:03 Michelle called back saying she was in the car on the way, and had a few questions for me. She wanted to know how strong contractions were, if I had bloody show, if I was feeling the baby move (which I was), etc.
The phone ringing woke DH up. He took my hand and said a prayer asking for God's presence and blessing over the birth. Then we got a shower and just hung out together. DH put a pot of coffee on for himself and Michelle, which I don't think anyone ever drank. He called Tiffany (my cousin across the street) and his Mom. They both wanted to know when I went into labor. Tiffany and her husband got up and prayed for us. DH's Mom decided not to come. She thought she wanted to be here, but when it came time, she decided against it. Then DH laid down on the couch with me beside him on the birth ball. He would rub my back during each contraction. We had "Driving Miss Daisy" playing on the TV. Contractions were pretty painful, but I was handling them with no problem. I was amazed at how active the baby was the whole time. It was a very special time just DH, me and our baby, with our boys asleep in their beds.
Michelle arrived at about 3:15. It takes me an hour and 20 minutes to get to her, but she made it in 1 hour, 15 minutes, and even stopped for gas. She sent DH to get her bags out of the car, and proceeded to set up the bedroom. She checked me and I was only 1 cm dilated. She checked the baby's heartbeat, which was very good. Then she laid down on the couch to get some rest, and told us to try and do the same. I could not stay in the bed though. I had to be up or I couldn't handle the contractions. DH would stand and let me lean against him or hang around his neck, that was the best way to deal with them. He would remind me to breathe and to relax. Then I would sit on the birth ball and try to rest between contractions.
At about 6:00, Michelle was watching me during a contraction and I looked like I was pushing. She asked if I was and I said I was trying not to. She checked me and I was only about 3 to 4 cm. I didn't feel pushy during any more contractions at that time, only that one. She suggested I get in the bathtub for a while. Michelle went back to the couch and DH laid back down in the bed, and he shut the bathroom door. I was ok for a few minutes, but then I started not being able to handle the contractions well. I kind of paniced when I was by myself. Michelle came in and talked me through a couple. I asked her to call my friend Mary (who was expecting to deliver with Michelle a few weeks later). She had to go out by the front door to get a good signal, which left me alone again. DH came in and I asked him not to leave me again, and he didn't. I got out of the tub about 6:45.
Sometime while I was in the tub, DH called my Mom and asked her to go ahead and get ready for work, but then come to our house so she could take care of the boys when they woke up (she lives next door). She arrived about 6:45, as I was getting out of the tub and Daniel was walking into the living room. So we didn't have to worry about anything, Daniel was being taken care of, and Thomas was still asleep.
Very soon after that I started getting pushy again. Michelle made me get off the birth ball and onto the bed because of course the baby couldn't come out on the ball LOL. She checked me and I was fully dilated, about an hour after being only 3 cm. I got on my hands and knees on the bed, but that was really hard on my body. Contractions were coming so hard and so fast that I was really hurting my arms, hands and wrists by pushing too hard on them (my left wrist hurt for the next 24 hours). Michelle encouraged me to try something different. I sat on the bed, leaning back against pillows stacked by the headboard. Immediately contractions stopped for a couple of minutes and I got a little rest. It didn't last more than a few minutes, but it was a much needed break. When they started again, I was terribly uncomfortable in that position, and I was hurting my hands and wrists again when I would hold onto the headboard. Michelle asked if I wanted back on my hands and knees since I had wanted to stay that way before, despite hurting my arms. But I didn't want back that way either. So I flopped to the side. DH adjusted the bed to make it a little firmer (Select Comfort). Michelle told him to give me a pillow to lay on, but he just put himself there instead. I had my head in his lap, and I wrapped my arms around his leg, and used it for leverage to push. Michelle propped one leg on her shoulder and the other against her hip and told me to push against her. I reached down and touched the baby's head as she was crowning, which really encouraged me. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I said several times "I can't!" Michelle calmly said, "You can't do what, sweetie? You're doing it." I didn't have anyone telling me I was doing it wrong (which the nurse did during Thomas' birth, and I hated that). Michelle and DH were just gently encouraging me and reminding me to relax in between contractions. DH asked if Michelle had checked the heartbeat lately. Michelle later told me she knew she wouldn't really be able to hear the heartbeat with the baby so close to delivery, but she didn't tell DH that. She knew it was a concern of his because of Daniel's loss of heartrate which led to a c-section, and she didn't want him to be worried. She just grabbed the doppler, listened for a quick second and said the baby was fine. She could see a nice pretty pink scalp and knew the baby was fine. I thought I was tearing, but Michelle kept assuring me I was fine. She used hot compresses with ginger that she had soaking in a crock pot to help keep me from tearing. The baby came out all at once with little to no break after the head delivered. Michelle placed it on my chest and immediately covered us with a warm towel that she had waiting on a heating pad at the foot of the bed. She looked at the clock and it was 7:39 am.
We had agreed that DH would announce if we had a boy or girl, but I didn't wait. He was still somewhere on my left side, but not where he could really see anything but the baby's head. I lifted the towel and peaked and said "It's a girl, it's Audrey!!" She wasn't interested in nursing right away. She cried gently for about 45 minutes, clearing her lungs and spitting out mucous. We didn't even have to use the suction thing, she cleared it all herself. Then she nursed like a champ.
Mama said Daniel sat on the couch with her the whole time, snuggled up against her. When the baby came, Mama thought she heard me say it's Audrey, but she wasn't sure, so she just told Daniel we had a baby. She said he jumped up and threw his arms around her and was so excited. Then the phone rang, it was DH's Mama. My Mama and Daniel poked their heads in the bedroom and confirmed it was girl, and asked if we wanted to tell DH's Mama, or if DH wanted to. Mama told her it was a girl and she screamed Hallalujah, thank you Jesus!
DH went and woke Thomas up, who is not a morning person. DH had to ask him to stop fussing and listen. He was so excited when he heard the baby crying. Then DH, my Mama (Bamma), and our sons were with me and Audrey in our bedroom. It was so special and so wonderful.
Then Michelle said it was time to cut the cord. She showed me it was limp and white and had stopped pulsing. She asked DH if he wanted to cut it (in case he changed his mind since he told her no before). He still didn't want to, so Michelle did. Then she sent everyone out (they went to call everyone) for the placenta to come. She wrapped up everything in the waterproof pads she had under me, put fresh ones down, and everyone came back in to a clean room.
Tiffany came and brought a gift for Audrey that she had bought just in case it was a girl. Bamma (my Mama) fixed breakfast for us. I had grape juice, scrambled eggs and toast in bed, which was delicious. Then Michelle got me up to the bathroom while DH took Audrey into the living room to visit with everyone (his Mom, Mimi, had gotten there by then). I had a hard time trying to pee, but finally did. I got a shower to rinse off, put on a nursing gown and got back into bed. Then we took a few pictures, weighed Audrey, and Michelle did the newborn exam. It was really neat to know what she was looking for and why during the exam. Doctors and nurses never tell you what they're doing. Audrey was perfect. Everyone left around 10:30 or 11:00, and DH, Audrey and I settled in for a nap (Mimi had taken the boys home with her). We had a lot of visitors that evening, but we enjoyed most of the day alone.
Michelle said Audrey came out "military style" with her head upright at attention instead of with her chin flexed. This meant the largest part of her head came first instead of the smallest. I didn't tear, but I did have a couple of small abrasions that took a couple of weeks to heal. But I still felt fabulous after her birth.
Having Audrey at home was the most wonderful and amazing thing I've ever done. DH, who was very nervous about the homebirth in the beginning, has told everyone how wonderful, stress-free and peaceful her birth was. He has even used it as a testimony to several people, telling them how we felt the presence of the Lord through the whole event. I love to hear him tell the story of her birth
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April 5, 2004
7:39 am
8 Pounds, 19.5 Inches
On Sunday, April 4th, I was having more frequent braxton hicks contractions, but they still didn't feel like the real thing. We went to church Sunday morning, and it was a Communion Sunday. During a prayer with the entire congregation holding hands, I felt the physical presence of the Holy Spirit over my body, and had a small contraction. I felt very peaceful and very excited that it would be soon. After church we went to town and got lunch, then did some grocery shopping so we'd have plenty of food in the house. Later that afternoon we went for a brisk walk. I had a number of contractions during the walk, but they were still just braxton hicks, and stopped when I stopped walking. I told DH that night, Let's get a couple hours of sleep and then wake up and have a baby. Well, we got a little bit of sleep, then got up for DH to throw up at 11:00, apparently from a bad Wendy's hamburger the day before.
We got back to sleep, then I woke up at 1:00 am with the first "real" contraction. It was different, and I knew immediately it was the real thing. Second one came at 1:16. After that, they went to 5 minutes apart. Exact same pattern that I had with both Thomas (v/b 11/20/97) and Daniel (c/s 6/25/01). I tried to stay in the bed and rest in between, but I couldn't. They were too strong to stay lying down. So I got up and walked around the house during contractions. I got my birth ball and sat on it at the foot of the bed between contractions. It was so peaceful to be laboring in my home with my husband asleep in our bed, and our two boys asleep in their beds down the hall.
At 2:00 am I decided it was time to call Michelle (midwife). I called at 1:57 according to my phone. Michelle answered saying "what's going on?" in a very sleepy voice. I said contractions started about an hour ago, and they're 5 minutes apart. She said "Ok, I'm on my way." At exactly 2:03 Michelle called back saying she was in the car on the way, and had a few questions for me. She wanted to know how strong contractions were, if I had bloody show, if I was feeling the baby move (which I was), etc.
The phone ringing woke DH up. He took my hand and said a prayer asking for God's presence and blessing over the birth. Then we got a shower and just hung out together. DH put a pot of coffee on for himself and Michelle, which I don't think anyone ever drank. He called Tiffany (my cousin across the street) and his Mom. They both wanted to know when I went into labor. Tiffany and her husband got up and prayed for us. DH's Mom decided not to come. She thought she wanted to be here, but when it came time, she decided against it. Then DH laid down on the couch with me beside him on the birth ball. He would rub my back during each contraction. We had "Driving Miss Daisy" playing on the TV. Contractions were pretty painful, but I was handling them with no problem. I was amazed at how active the baby was the whole time. It was a very special time just DH, me and our baby, with our boys asleep in their beds.
Michelle arrived at about 3:15. It takes me an hour and 20 minutes to get to her, but she made it in 1 hour, 15 minutes, and even stopped for gas. She sent DH to get her bags out of the car, and proceeded to set up the bedroom. She checked me and I was only 1 cm dilated. She checked the baby's heartbeat, which was very good. Then she laid down on the couch to get some rest, and told us to try and do the same. I could not stay in the bed though. I had to be up or I couldn't handle the contractions. DH would stand and let me lean against him or hang around his neck, that was the best way to deal with them. He would remind me to breathe and to relax. Then I would sit on the birth ball and try to rest between contractions.
At about 6:00, Michelle was watching me during a contraction and I looked like I was pushing. She asked if I was and I said I was trying not to. She checked me and I was only about 3 to 4 cm. I didn't feel pushy during any more contractions at that time, only that one. She suggested I get in the bathtub for a while. Michelle went back to the couch and DH laid back down in the bed, and he shut the bathroom door. I was ok for a few minutes, but then I started not being able to handle the contractions well. I kind of paniced when I was by myself. Michelle came in and talked me through a couple. I asked her to call my friend Mary (who was expecting to deliver with Michelle a few weeks later). She had to go out by the front door to get a good signal, which left me alone again. DH came in and I asked him not to leave me again, and he didn't. I got out of the tub about 6:45.
Sometime while I was in the tub, DH called my Mom and asked her to go ahead and get ready for work, but then come to our house so she could take care of the boys when they woke up (she lives next door). She arrived about 6:45, as I was getting out of the tub and Daniel was walking into the living room. So we didn't have to worry about anything, Daniel was being taken care of, and Thomas was still asleep.
Very soon after that I started getting pushy again. Michelle made me get off the birth ball and onto the bed because of course the baby couldn't come out on the ball LOL. She checked me and I was fully dilated, about an hour after being only 3 cm. I got on my hands and knees on the bed, but that was really hard on my body. Contractions were coming so hard and so fast that I was really hurting my arms, hands and wrists by pushing too hard on them (my left wrist hurt for the next 24 hours). Michelle encouraged me to try something different. I sat on the bed, leaning back against pillows stacked by the headboard. Immediately contractions stopped for a couple of minutes and I got a little rest. It didn't last more than a few minutes, but it was a much needed break. When they started again, I was terribly uncomfortable in that position, and I was hurting my hands and wrists again when I would hold onto the headboard. Michelle asked if I wanted back on my hands and knees since I had wanted to stay that way before, despite hurting my arms. But I didn't want back that way either. So I flopped to the side. DH adjusted the bed to make it a little firmer (Select Comfort). Michelle told him to give me a pillow to lay on, but he just put himself there instead. I had my head in his lap, and I wrapped my arms around his leg, and used it for leverage to push. Michelle propped one leg on her shoulder and the other against her hip and told me to push against her. I reached down and touched the baby's head as she was crowning, which really encouraged me. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I said several times "I can't!" Michelle calmly said, "You can't do what, sweetie? You're doing it." I didn't have anyone telling me I was doing it wrong (which the nurse did during Thomas' birth, and I hated that). Michelle and DH were just gently encouraging me and reminding me to relax in between contractions. DH asked if Michelle had checked the heartbeat lately. Michelle later told me she knew she wouldn't really be able to hear the heartbeat with the baby so close to delivery, but she didn't tell DH that. She knew it was a concern of his because of Daniel's loss of heartrate which led to a c-section, and she didn't want him to be worried. She just grabbed the doppler, listened for a quick second and said the baby was fine. She could see a nice pretty pink scalp and knew the baby was fine. I thought I was tearing, but Michelle kept assuring me I was fine. She used hot compresses with ginger that she had soaking in a crock pot to help keep me from tearing. The baby came out all at once with little to no break after the head delivered. Michelle placed it on my chest and immediately covered us with a warm towel that she had waiting on a heating pad at the foot of the bed. She looked at the clock and it was 7:39 am.
We had agreed that DH would announce if we had a boy or girl, but I didn't wait. He was still somewhere on my left side, but not where he could really see anything but the baby's head. I lifted the towel and peaked and said "It's a girl, it's Audrey!!" She wasn't interested in nursing right away. She cried gently for about 45 minutes, clearing her lungs and spitting out mucous. We didn't even have to use the suction thing, she cleared it all herself. Then she nursed like a champ.
Mama said Daniel sat on the couch with her the whole time, snuggled up against her. When the baby came, Mama thought she heard me say it's Audrey, but she wasn't sure, so she just told Daniel we had a baby. She said he jumped up and threw his arms around her and was so excited. Then the phone rang, it was DH's Mama. My Mama and Daniel poked their heads in the bedroom and confirmed it was girl, and asked if we wanted to tell DH's Mama, or if DH wanted to. Mama told her it was a girl and she screamed Hallalujah, thank you Jesus!
DH went and woke Thomas up, who is not a morning person. DH had to ask him to stop fussing and listen. He was so excited when he heard the baby crying. Then DH, my Mama (Bamma), and our sons were with me and Audrey in our bedroom. It was so special and so wonderful.
Then Michelle said it was time to cut the cord. She showed me it was limp and white and had stopped pulsing. She asked DH if he wanted to cut it (in case he changed his mind since he told her no before). He still didn't want to, so Michelle did. Then she sent everyone out (they went to call everyone) for the placenta to come. She wrapped up everything in the waterproof pads she had under me, put fresh ones down, and everyone came back in to a clean room.
Tiffany came and brought a gift for Audrey that she had bought just in case it was a girl. Bamma (my Mama) fixed breakfast for us. I had grape juice, scrambled eggs and toast in bed, which was delicious. Then Michelle got me up to the bathroom while DH took Audrey into the living room to visit with everyone (his Mom, Mimi, had gotten there by then). I had a hard time trying to pee, but finally did. I got a shower to rinse off, put on a nursing gown and got back into bed. Then we took a few pictures, weighed Audrey, and Michelle did the newborn exam. It was really neat to know what she was looking for and why during the exam. Doctors and nurses never tell you what they're doing. Audrey was perfect. Everyone left around 10:30 or 11:00, and DH, Audrey and I settled in for a nap (Mimi had taken the boys home with her). We had a lot of visitors that evening, but we enjoyed most of the day alone.
Michelle said Audrey came out "military style" with her head upright at attention instead of with her chin flexed. This meant the largest part of her head came first instead of the smallest. I didn't tear, but I did have a couple of small abrasions that took a couple of weeks to heal. But I still felt fabulous after her birth.
Having Audrey at home was the most wonderful and amazing thing I've ever done. DH, who was very nervous about the homebirth in the beginning, has told everyone how wonderful, stress-free and peaceful her birth was. He has even used it as a testimony to several people, telling them how we felt the presence of the Lord through the whole event. I love to hear him tell the story of her birth
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