More Babies Prefer Home Birth

The Birth of Myles Kade Johnson - My first birth!

February 9th, 2011 3:50am

7lbs 2oz and 21in





On Tuesday, February 8th, I woke up and was feeling a little “off” and kind of crampy, not a big deal or something out of the ordinary when your 41-43 weeks pregnant! Around 11am went to the bathroom and discovered I had lost part of my mucous plug. I texted my midwife to let her know but did not think much about it since you can lose it multiple times and it really had no indication of when labor will start. A little after lunch my crampy feeling started getting more intense and figured it was my body preparing to start up labor. I went outside at 4pm and fed the horses grains so I was up for about 45min walking around in and out of stalls and riding on the bumpy ground in the Gator going from barn to barn. I went inside and started doing some laundry and realized were pretty regular and started wondering if my “crampin” was easy contractions. They did not feel like the contractions I had been feeling for weeks with prodromal labor so I just brushed them off all day.



Around 6pm I decide to time them even though I did not think they were contractions, I did noy want them to be contractions and them get too close before I relized it. I sat on my birthing ball and rocked my hips during my “cramps” and it relieved some of the preasure I was feeling. Between 6pm and 6:30pm I had 7 “cramps” putting them at 5-6min apart and lasting about 40 seconds. I decided they were really contractions but that since they were so easy that nothing was happening anytime soon or that like they had in the past several weeks that they would stop.

Mark came in from work and we decided to go to the Chuckwagon to eat dinner. We shared Jalapeno & Rib Meat Potato “Nachos” for an apitizer and I had a Chicken, Onion & Pepers Quesadilla. I had contractions all through the meal and they stayed pretty consistant and seamed to get a bit stronger in intensity.



We got home a little after 9pm and jumped in the bed and tried to encourage my contractions (if ya know what I mean)… of course having to stop every few min for contractions!! After we were done I went to the bathroom and lost more of my mucos plug and had some bloody show. It was around 10 and I decided to start timing my contractions again, 4min apart!! I was trying not to get too excited because for weeks I had contractions (some as close as 4min apart) and these were not as bad as those so surley it couldnt be labor, right? I also figured if it was labor it was just starting and this being my first child it would be a while before my labor was in full swing and he was born. We went to bed to try and get some sleep and I was guessing that everything would cool down a little bit. I was having trouble falling alseep so a little after 11pm I decided to get into the bath tub and try to relax to help me go to sleep, I listened to a few of my hypnobabies tracks and started fe! eling tired so I went back to bed hoping to get some sleep because at this point I knew I was in the begining stages of labor and needed to rest up.



That did not happen! At midnight I started feeling my contractions MUCH stronger and quiet often so I woke Mark up and told him he needed to wake up because I was in labor for real and I was not going to be up all by myself! For some reason it was irritating me seeing him asleep peacefully while I was having contractions. It took a good 15min for him to get up and he was a bit annoyed! My contractions were 3min apart at this point so we pulled out the birth pool to get it blown up, I totaly forgot we did not have a wall plug for the air pump so Mark had to take the birth pool outside to his car and plug it into the lighter plug in the freezing cold to blow it up. While he was blowing up the pool most likely was the most stressfull part of my labor because all I wanted to do was get into the water. I was going back and forth from laying in the bed, being on my hands and knees leaning over my birthing ball, snugling my pillow on the floor, and walking from room to room. He st! arted filling up the pool around 1:30am and I texted one of my midwifes because I couldnt talk through my contractions and they were right at 2min apart from begining of one to the begining of the next. They both live about an hour away so I knew it would be a little while before they got there but I had no worried because I thought I was still at the beginning stages of labor because the pain was not that bad at all. I decided to wait until they got there and we saw how things were going to text any family members and let them know he was coming.



I got into the tub and it was instant relief on my back, the water felt so good! Our hot water from the house ran out and we started boiling more on the stove. I wanted to be completely submerged in the water so we kept adding more. During contractions I got on my knees and leaned over into the water, in between them I leaned my back against the birth pool and stuck my legs straight out. I was talking with Mark and laughing in between contractions.



My midwifes, Aimee & Desiree, got there at 3:10am and I was in the pool and decided to get out to let them check me, I was going to ask not to be told how far dilated I was. The minute I got out I felt like I had to go poop so I sat on the toilet and tried to use the bathroom but nothing was happening, got on my hands and knees and tried, squated and tried but no poop! My midwifes told me it was the baby I was feeling so I stopped trying to poop and layed on the couch for Dessire to check me. My contracting were so strong and often that before she could check anything I had to roll off the couch and get on my hands and knees because my contractions were coming so strong. I kept telling them, “I seriously have to shit so bad” and they said no that it was babys head making it feel like I needed to. I continued to go through contractions on the floor hugging my pillow and leaning forward onto Marks chest. I was pushing in different positions (trying to go poop) for about 10min.! 



They then told me if I wanted to have a water birth Id better get back into the tub so I started crawling back into the kitchen and on my way back to the tub my water broke and there was a huge decrease in pressure. I got back into the tub and got on my knees leaning against the edge of the pool holding onto Mark and biting his hand with every contraction. I kept telling (im not sure who) that I wanted pictures and videos, my exact words were “Im not having a water birth and not having video proof”. But things were moving too fast for anyone to worry about getting video or pictures! When I felt his head starting to crown I said something about was this seriously it, I couldn’t believe he was about to come out! I told Mark to hurry and grab my phone to text my Mom and Dad because they would be mad if I had him before calling, I promised my Mom I would not wait to call until after he was born, oops! He sent a text that said, “Kade is on his way, dont call please” because I kne! w she would be calling and we were a little far into labor to be talking on the phone. My body then took over and started pushing itself and after 5min of being in the birth pool his head emerged, I was so excited for the pause in between birthing the head and the body that I always heard people talk about but my midwifes said to keep pushing because he had opened his eyes and was looking like he was about to take a breath and they did not want him to breath the water in. I gave two pushes and his body was out. I started pushing at 3:35am and he was born at 3:50am.



I think my mind went blank for a second out of shock that he was here because I was in my own little world and it took me a second to capture my thoughts, they told me to reach down and bring him up out of the water. I pulled my little boy from the water and snuggled him to my chest and was speechless. It took him seconds to cry but his eyes were open and looking at me, it was a wonderful quiet moment where I connected with my son. I sat back but could not sit down because his cord was too short to keep him out of the water unless I was squating. Mark came behind me and had his arms around us and I was in pure heaven. My first words were “That’s it? Im ready to have another one”. I had to get out of the water after a few minutes since I could not keep him out of the water and did not want him to be cold. We layed on the couch and he latched on wonderfully and nursed for a good 30min before I got on the birthing stool to deliver my placenta. After it was delivered we wrapped ! it up in a chux pad and laid back down on the couch and he continued to nurse for at least another 45min while I got checked out. I had a tiny tear but nothing bad thank goodness! After about an hour Mark cut the cord and they did newborn vital checks and Mark held him for the first time while I used the bathroom and used a sitz bath in peri bottle to help with the slight stinging and swelling.



My labor and birth with Kade is by far the most amazing thing ive ever experienced. I can not believe how easy and natural it was. My body knew what it was doing and I believed in the ability I have as a woman to give birth. I feel very lucky to have felt what I thought was the “easy part” beginning of labor when I was in my last two hours and what ive always heard to be the most painful part. My birth was very minimal pain and Kade had such a beautiful passage into the world.

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}

I posted back in oct 2009 about my previous 2 homebirths right after I found this website. Now I want to add my third homebirth story.

http://morebabiespreferhomebirth.com/post/221323105/home-birth-story-two-home-births

My Third Homebirth

This story begins with a surprise, a disappointment and devastation, then a renewed joy. We had felt that our family of 4 was complete and were not trying for another child when we were pleasantly surprised. 
Surprise
The day that I had tested positive on that little home pregnancy test, I thought that I’d break the news to the family at dinner that night. I invited my dad over and made a nice dinner and even had placed an open Corona in front my husband at the table (something that I have never done by the way, so he was a bit suspicious and reluctant to touch it). Well, dinner barely started and I couldn’t contain myself with the news. Everyone was excited and a lively discussion ensued at the dinner table and finally my husband drank the beer.
Disappointment and Devastation
Since I wasn’t planning another pregnancy I didn’t have a clue what date was my last period so we went for an ultrasound. It showed that we were very early and the tech couldn’t accurately date it yet. It was a bit disappointing but still ok. Then about 4 weeks later, I started spotting blood. I called my midwife and we discussed a plan. A few days later, I had a miscarriage. The ER experience was horrible. I was devastated. I knew that I didn’t want to go through that again but I was not sure what I wanted. 
Renewed Joy
After a couple of months, out of the blue, I told my husband that I wanted another child. At first, he thought that I was joking, but when he saw in my eyes how serious I was, he was overjoyed. A couple of months later, we got that big fat positive home pregnancy test.
Pregnancy
It was a pretty normal pregnancy so I won’t dwell on it too much. I met with my midwife that had for our second child and she was just as awesome as before. We did however have a slight moment of uncertainty in the beginning. Our midwife was not able to hear the fetal heartbeat on the first visit. She knew how insecure I was since having gone through the miscarriage and kindly told me that I could just drop by anytime after the 14th week, no appointment necessary, and she would take another listen. Well, I got a bit busy and didn’t come back until week 15. She checked again and still could only pick up my pulse on the Doppler. So she quickly ordered the ultrasound at the local hospital and arranged an appointment as soon as they would get me in, which was 2 days later. Those were agonizing 2 days. The ultrasound went well and we saw the heartbeat and baby moving around. It was such a relief that I could not hold back the tears. My nearly 6 year old son wanted to know w! hy I was crying and I told him it was for happiness and that sometimes moms do that and it’s ok. The rest of the pregnancy, I didn’t want to know the gender so it was exciting as time got closer to the end.
Due Date
My other 2 were born rather close to my due dates so I naturally expected that this one would also. It was rather amusing listening to all of the complete strangers and friends and family that I would run into that had all kinds of predictions on gender and when I’d give birth. All of them were wrong. I did however expect to have back labor this time, since I had it with both of my other 2 and during the miscarriage. That prediction was correct. 
The Next Day
The day after my due date, at about 3am, I started to have contractions, in my lower back. They were quite painful right from the start so I naturally assumed that baby would be here soon, perhaps later that day. I made some calls to the midwife, my sister and my mother and then tried to go back to sleep to get some rest knowing that this was going to be a long day.
I was relieved to know that despite the back pain, I was able to get some sleep. I laid on a heating pad and let my husband sleep after I let him know what was going on. I knew that I would need his help later. All through the day, the contractions were quite sporadic. I tried timing them several times and each time I was disappointed when they were not consistent or getting stronger or longer. They did reach a point when I needed my husband to massage my lower back to get through each one. So all day long, he helped me get through them and we tried to have a semi-normal day. 
As evening approached, I had the feeling that things were going to pick up so I called my friend that was going to watch the kids. I timed the contractions for an hour and still no pattern. We watched a movie for a distraction. When the contractions still had not changed, the midwife called for an update, she recommended rest and suspected that things would pick up later that night. So, I sent the kids to bed and our friend home for some rest and she promised to return when we needed her.
I decided to lay down in bed in kind of a lunge-like position, half on my left-side, half on my belly with my right knee up as close to my chest as my belly allowed possible. I labored through a few contractions when suddenly, I had an uncontrollable persistent pain and had my husband come in and help me up out of bed. I went to the bathroom and then to the living room to sit on the exercise ball. Since my husband was at the computer I sat near him so that he could massage my lower back through the contractions. It didn’t take long and they were coming one right after another. He barely had time to make the 3 phone calls in between my contractions to get our friend, my sister (the doula) and my midwife to come.
Our friend was closest, so she got here first. I never bothered to time these contractions because they were so strong and fast and long that all I could do was rock on the ball and lean onto a chair in front of me with my husband behind me massaging. Then, I felt a small gush of water and the membrane moving down the canal. I stood up bent over and screamed, “The baby is coming now!” I asked my husband to help me get my pants off, but they were stuck. After he tried a bit to get them off, to no avail, I told him to just cut them off. He did and then went back to massaging me. I went to my knees and leaned on the computer chair. Our friend called the midwife to update her on this new development and she said that she was only 5 minutes away. I knew that I had to start pushing and prayed that the midwife would get here in time.
The midwife, her assistant and my sister all arrived at the same time and they quickly worked together to get the birthing supplies together and ready. My sister then took over the massage with counter-pressure right where and when I needed it most. That almost took the pain away, well, at least the back pain anyway. The baby’s head was quite large so it took a few contractions to get it out and when it hit the half-way point, the contractions paused long enough to allow the perineum to stretch naturally. Once the head was all the way out, just one more big push and the whole body came out. Not a single tear. Only 27 minutes of pushing out of 1 hour and 17 minutes or active labor. Our big baby was lying behind me while the midwife suctioned out his lungs so I couldn’t see what we had until I asked. My husband said, “It’s a boy.” I could tell that he was big but it wasn’t until we were settled in bed and the midwife weighed him that we got the shock. He was 10 pou! nds and 4 ounces, 22 inches long and head circumference of 35cm. Somehow I knew that he was going to be that big. At some point near the end, I don’t recall exactly, I gave our friend the OK to wake up our son to be a part of things and we let our daughter sleep until baby and I were in bed. 
The kids were quite excited and had lots of fun taking pictures of the baby and everyone there. They almost didn’t want to go back to bed.
Out of all 3 labors, this one was by far the hardest and the easiest. I know that doesn’t make much sense, but I feel wonderful and grateful and blessed to have had the support and love and the strength to carry out this one life-altering event in the safety and security of my home. This story is just the third installment of my homebirth journey that began several years ago. I cherish every moment of it and the family that we have become.

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}

God ALWAYS Answers Prayers!

As a woman enters a pregnancy, she starts down a path that will present her with many opportunities for learning and personal growth. Miriam’s birth was no exception to this. As this was my fourth pregnancy, I wasn’t new to this journey and was eager to see where this one would take me.

The first decision we made in regard to this pregnancy was to give birth at home without a midwife or doctor in attendance. In the “birth world” this is referred to as an unassisted birth. Most people you visit with will find this idea extremely dangerous, but there is a small group of people who see the value to this way and of course there are some who even think it’s the only way to give birth. After our journey through this pregnancy and birth, I can honestly say I actually fit in the middle of the road on this issue.

Our prior births were wonderful! Each was vaginal, natural births. The first was at a hospital with one of the midwives on call. Our second and third births were at home with a midwife. Each experience was life changing. As we prepared for our fourth birth, it was time to evaluate how we wanted to do it. After much soul searching and prayer, we came to the conclusion that it was time to do it on our own. By choosing to give birth unassisted, we knew that many people would not understand and ever sadder yet, wouldn’t want to try to understand. Because of this, we kept our decision quiet.

Thankfully this pregnancy was a normal one because the mental battles it provided were enough. At the end of pregnancy, I found myself quite swollen due to poor nutritional choices earlier. While I was uncomfortable because of this, I learned much about how the body reacts to the foods I eat. Each discomfort provides an opportunity to learn and to grow!

Around the eighth month, I decided to write my baby’s birth story as if it had already happened. It was a fun project to do and I found myself really sinking into the story and believing it. But then I set the story aside and forgot about it. As the weeks rolled by, normal mom fears about birth started to sink in. The problem with this for me was that I teach childbirth education, I am a doula, I am a student midwife, I basically preach a trust birth message to all I meet because I feel so deeply that birth is safe. Fueling these deep feelings that birth is safe, is a deep faith in my Creator. He created me, He created birth, He didn’t make any mistakes. What you put your energy into, you will create. If you put it into worry and fear, you can create the very thing you are worried and fearful of. I did not want to be in this state. I did not want to allow those worries and fears to drive me. It’s ok to have some fear and worry, it motivates you to learn more, to be better, to grow, but you can not allow yourself to “live” in that state.

I reached a point in my fear where I could no longer see the birth past the labor. I could not imagine a baby at the end. If I dared to picture the baby, I could not picture the baby breathing. It was a terrible place to be. And yet, in spite of being in such a crummy place, I recognized that I had a huge opportunity for growth here. I knew that this birth was going to be amazing and I knew that it would prepare me for my next big adventure in the birth world. Because of this, I needed to tackle these fears and I needed to exert dominion over the enemy who was trying to control me. I was in the car one day; near the end of the pregnancy, really feeling overwhelmed and knew it was time to put an end to it. I told myself, “I TRUST BIRTH AND I TRUST BIRTH’S CREATOR!” Mind you, I didn’t just think it; I chanted it out loud in the car as I drove, over and over and over again. With tears streaming down my face I started to believe once more in my body and in birth. That night at home in my office, I pulled out the birth story I had written about 4 weeks prior and read it again. There it was! My baby was born! My baby took a breath! My baby was healthy! By reading my story again, I was able to once again see beyond my fears and my worries! I was able to believe in myself, my body, my baby! I found out later that several friends, who had already committed to pray for me and my baby, had been prompted that same evening to pray even more for me. God knew I needed a little extra boost that night to get over the hump of my battle.

The thing is, as I was walking through this battlefield of doubts, worry and fear, I knew deep within me, that this was a good thing. That if I did it right, I would come out on the other end stronger and more prepared. Knowing this didn’t necessarily make the journey an easy one, but maybe a tad easier to understand. While I was going through this, unknown to me, my husband was battling with some doubts and fears himself. He is a man of great faith and trust in the human body. While he was fighting this, God spoke to him and told him it wasn’t his battle to go through, it was mine. I was the one who needed to go through this. God’s plans are so great and so much bigger than any of us can envision and He knew I needed this opportunity.

After I conquered my fears that night, the last two weeks of my pregnancy went by relatively well. I was tired, I was swollen, I was ornery, I was ready for my baby, but these are normal end of pregnancy discomforts. The battle I had to fight had been conquered. I was ready for the labor and birth to begin!

For several years I had been reading about pain free birth. It is completely possible for a woman to have a pain free birth. Naturally, I wanted one! The problem with pain free births is that in our society, we literally grow in the womb of a woman who doesn’t believe or even know of a pain free birth. From that moment until the moment we give birth, we are surrounded with the belief that birth is painful. Because of that deep belief, it generally is painful. Some women are able to break that pattern of belief and achieve the pain free birth that I was praying for. In other societies, pain free birth is the norm and it is from them, that women have begun to dream of this possibility.

Two days after my due date, on a Friday, I left by myself to run some errands. I returned home at 5pm and went to use the bathroom. As I was finishing up, the thought ran through my head, “I wonder when I’m going to lose my plug”. With the previous births, I had lost my plug just prior to going into labor and so for me, this is a sign of labor approaching soon. As I stood from the toilet, I felt something release and a gush of fluid! How ironic the timing of that thought followed by that release! When I looked at the “goop”, however, it looked yellowy-green. I had always read that green fluid is a sign of meconium and is not a good thing. While this wasn’t dark like the green I had envisioned, it made me concerned. I showed Jon and we talked about it. I had prayed very hard that if a reason arose for the need to go to the hospital, that God would really hit me over the head with it, because it was going to take a big thing to get me to leave my home. I know that if we went in because of this, it would lead to an induction which leads to a lot more pain which can frequently lead to a cesarean which can lead to NICU for baby…simply a road I wanted to avoid. I started to believe that this was simply another test for me. In the end, I was correct, it was nothing more than the mucous and when baby came out there was no sign of meconium at all.

Within thirty minutes of the water rupturing, the contractions began. Nothing wild and crazy, nothing overly demanding, but they were there and they were consistent. While we did not intend on having a midwife at the birth, we did have two friends committed to helping us. One was here to help with the boys and all the other little miscellaneous things that crop up at a birth and the other to video the birth for us. The first one had an hour drive, so it was hard to know when was the right time to call these ladies to come. Each of my births have gone faster, the last being only 5 hours, so I didn’t want to stall too long in calling them.

By nine in the evening, 4 hours after the water ruptured, both friends were here, everyone waiting upon my body and the baby’s to get to work! But nothing really happened and at ten the kids went to bed and Jon and I laid down in the living room to take a nap. The friends were supposed to rest, too, but they had more difficulty! Jon spent the time praying, I dozed in and out trying not to dwell on things I have little control over. During the next two hours, the contractions slowed down even more and even felt like they had stopped. I found myself wondering if I was really in labor or if I had made a mistake.

Two hours later, at midnight I awoke to use the bathroom. When I finished, I went into the toy room where one of the friends was waiting. She was simply doodling and waiting. She said she was too excited to sleep. This was the first birth she had even been to that didn’t include her own births. As we started to chat, the contractions started to come. This time they were stronger and sharper, lasting a full minute and returning about 3 minutes later. It was nice to know that I hadn’t been fooled by my body, that I was really in labor! Within a few minutes of joining the first friend, the other one somehow knew we were up and she joined us as well. By a quarter after midnight, Jon was up and sitting in our circle as well. We sat and chatted quietly, though I have no memory of what we were talking about. As a contraction came on, we were quiet as I worked with it and then conversation would return. It didn’t take long before I was moving around trying different positions to work through the contractions because they were getting more and more uncomfortable. I sat on the futon; on the futon with my feet raised; leaning forward, on my squatting chair; on the squatting chair leaning on the exercise ball; seated on the ball; kneeling on the floor, resting on the ball…yep…I tried everything I could think if. I finally came to the conclusion, nothing was comfortable and it wasn’t looking good for my pain free birth.

Around 2:30 in the morning, I decided I was ready to get into the pool. Jon had prepared it hours before and it was ready for me! It was actually still too warm and had to be cooled down, but I was able to slip into the warm comfort and get a short breather with the contractions. The transition into the water caused my body to skip a contraction, so instead of them being two to three minutes apart, I had a six minute break. That was nice! Our oldest son was brought down shortly after that. He was eight at the time and was very excited to be a part of the birth and was well prepared. He came down, sat quietly and took a few pictures for me. He’s a very caring boy and knew to be still for me. His presence, which was at the birth of his siblings, has always brought me peace in various ways. I held his hand through one contraction and squeezed it hard at one point…partly because I needed to, partly to show him the intensity of what I was feeling. At the end of the contraction, he looked at me with wide eyes and said, “You were really squeezing hard!”

I stayed in the pool for about 2 hours, until the baby was born. Like labor outside the pool, I had to try all the different positions, struggling to find the right one. Somewhere along the way, I asked Jon to get into the pool with me. He sat in front of me and as a contraction started in, we would grasp hands and I could squeeze his hand and sort of pull with it. It looked an awful lot like we were arm wrestling! But it worked well. There were two distinct moments where I recognized the baby was pushing from the inside. I could feel the little feet pushing off from the top of the fundus, helping with the birth! At 4am I asked that the other two brothers be woke up. Jon wasn’t sure it was the right time, but I could sense we were getting close and I needed to know everyone was where they were supposed to be. I didn’t want anyone to miss the moment.

Sometime after I got into the pool, I finally had to acknowledge that the pain free birth I had been praying so hard for wasn’t going to happen. I was mad! I had wanted that pain free birth so bad and here I was, going through the exact same labor I had with my last child. In my last labor, at one of the final contractions, I was literally biting my hand because the contraction was so strong! I didn’t want his labor all over again. Needless to say, I was pouting and unhappy. But then I realized, just like when I had to tackle my worries and fears prior to labor, I had to tackle my bad attitude about the labor. I remember one distinct break between contractions, when I chose to turn inward. My eyes were open and I was staring off into nothing. In my head, I was giving myself a very stern talking-to. I told myself “You need to stop moping about not getting a pain free birth. God is with you right now! He is holding you up and supporting you! You are not alone! This is the last baby you are going to have and this baby deserves a dignified birth, just like it’s brothers received! It’s time to grow up and stop whining!” The funny part is, from the outside, it look like things are going great, that I had a good handle on the situation. The reality was, I did not! But after that two minute “mind-lashing”, I was much better!

Leading up to pushing the baby out, I had been seated forward, facing Jon, in a position that would be convenient for catching the baby (I had done this the last time and wanted to repeat it with this birth). But at the last moment, I decided to turn around, and rest at the wall of the pool on my knees. I had never pushed on my knees before, this was new to me, but was right for this baby. I could feel it was time to bear down, hard! I could feel from deep within me that this baby will be here very soon! And I was right! The head crowned and while my brain kept saying, feel your baby’s head, I couldn’t get my hand to obey. Jon suggested that I reach down and feel the baby’s head and I am very grateful for that, because I was able to obey him. There was the sweetest, softest, little head at my fingertips. I had waited nine long months for this first touch of heaven! With barely a pause, I muttered to Jon, get ready to catch the rest. I knew the contraction wasn’t going to let up and that the baby was ready to burst out. I could feel the burning and wanted to push gently with it, but the baby was ready to be with us now! One friend thought I was pushing without a contraction and was worried I would tear. Jon wasn’t planning on catching so I when I said to get ready, his response was confused. Within moments, the head was out! I had a moment to catch my breath and then I was pushing the shoulders out. They seemed like more of an effort to release, but then they were out and the rest of the baby slithered out. Jon’s hands were there and without actually catching, he pushed the baby between my legs and I looked down to see my baby “swimming” towards me. I scooped the baby up and leaned back with my prize on my chest!

Within moments, the baby started to take its first little breaths and start crying. When I was confident baby was fine, I prepared to take a peak at the gender. While I envisioned a little penis, I discovered there was none! It was our first girl, Miriam Rose! She was perfect! The rest of the postpartum was just wonderful. Prayers being answered left and right! The placenta came with ease, but strong enough to let me know it was coming. We did the breast crawl with baby and allowed her to find the breast on her own. Nursing was successful! The big brothers were filled with joy! And Jon and I, we were stunned and elated over the beauty of this birth and its journey!

I prayed for a pain free birth. What I received was a fear free birth. It took me a few days to recognize this, but it’s true. God could have given me a pain free birth, but I don’t know what one looks like or feels like. I would have been lost. What He gave me was a birth I KNEW! I knew what was happening with this labor. I knew what would come next because I had already walked this labor before. Because of this, while there was pain, there was no fear. The greatest gift, beyond the baby of course, came after the birth. As I look back up the births of my second and third sons, I generally felt pain and an overwhelming sense of discomfort. We like to say that women forget the pain of birth after the birth and while some do completely, many of us hang on to parts of it. I certainly did with those two births. But I discover with this last one, within hours after the birth, I could look back upon the birth, the contractions, the pain, and feel nothing but joy. God took away the pain AFTER the birth! What a beautiful gift to receive!

About six weeks after Miriam’s birth, this verse was mentioned at church.
(James 1:2-4) Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
I felt it best spoke of all I learned and gained through Miriam’s pregnancy and birth! It was well worth the mental battles that we walked through!

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}

Our life’s journey begins in the womb. It is a time that should be respected and honored for its life impact. We each undergo this at least once, more if we’re parents through our children. We honor our children by accepting their journey through all its joys and challenges. By honoring their journey we honor ours.

My husband Jon is a chiropractor. I teach Bradley® childbirth classes and study midwifery. Together we have three wonderful sons! With all we know of the body and birth, we are humbled with each of our sons’ birth journeys. We recognize that there is something greater than ourselves and we lean on God as He asked in Proverbs 3:5.

This was my great lesson with our second child. When our first was only ten months old I found myself pregnant with child number two. We were so excited! I was actually eager to experience labor and apply my instructor training. We were also excited to experience our first homebirth.

Soon we were sharing our news with all we encountered! We found the midwife in our area and visited with her about homebirth and her role with us. As I taught weekly Bradley® classes, the words I shared with my students took on a stronger meaning. Our journey with Simon had begun!

The pregnancy progressed like all pregnancies do. Nap time was my favorite; our oldest and I took lazy naps and cuddled, savoring our last months of just being two. I think Stephen, though very young, had a sense of change. He may not have been able to tell me what was happening but I think a part of him knew it was something big.

After 40 weeks, my due date finally arrived…and then it passed, as due dates often do. Knowing that a due date is only an estimate and that only five percent of women actually birth then meant nothing to me. I was like all pregnant moms, uncomfortable and ready for labor. Little did I know I had three more weeks to go.

I cannot express the wait of the following weeks. Moms who have waited for labor to naturally begin may understand, yet few moms are allowed to wait as long as I was blessed to. Yes, I do mean blessed, though I didn’t realize it at the time. Wisdom often comes after the fact! Jon, Simon and I were to wait until hours shy of 43 weeks. Gasp! There are so many fears and misunderstandings about waiting this long, but it wasn’t my journey, it was Simon’s and I wasn’t the one in charge, God was. So we waited.

It wasn’t an easy wait. I was a lot more uncomfortable this time. I was tired. I thought I would never get to meet our child. The birthing pool was inflated then deflated several times as we waited. And my husband was bombarded with, “you have the baby yet?” literally every five minutes! We were ready…Simon was not.

Only about three percent of babies go past 42 weeks. Few are allowed to wait 42 weeks before either the attending or the mom demands an induction. Studies done in 1982, 1989 and 1996 have shown “no significant increase in neonatal mortality rates after 42 weeks and only a slight increase after 43 weeks.” The 1996 study even showed “no increase in complications compared to the births of babies born on-time, between 38 and 42 weeks.” (Wagner, 94-95)

So we waited. We had many prenatal visits and found the baby and fluid fine. I will admit that I tried nearly every “natural” way to induce labor, but Simon said, “Not yet.” Even the castor oil at the very end of 42 weeks had no effect. It was simply not time, though my cervix was dilated four centimeters and effacing rapidly. When things started it would be fast!

The day before 43 weeks, things finally began. I was in denial; I wasn’t capable of going into labor, this must be something else! After four hours of contractions increasing in intensity and duration, I was forced to conclude that it was time! By five o’clock everyone we needed had arrived.

The labor itself was really simple. I spent some time laboring on our sofa watching a movie and playing computer games, stopping only for contractions. When that got to be too much, I moved to bed and laid there, eyes closed during contractions and visiting quietly between. Finally I was ready for the pool. Ah, sweet relief. Once in the pool I found a new sense of comfort. My energy was renewed. It’s like getting an extra life in a video game!

We labored in the pool, joking and having “fun.” Transition hit about 30-45 minutes before Simon was born. I remember thinking “this is so intense!” Naturally I didn’t recognize transition at the time! Jon was sitting in front of me ready to catch, midwife over his shoulder to guide and keep an eye on things. At 8:04pm Simon reached a full crown. The midwife told me to feel his head but I couldn’t, I felt unable to let go of Jon’s hands. Mind you, his hands were ready to “catch,” mine were behind me, supporting myself. Wow, amazing how much support my husband offered me simply through his presence!

Almost three minutes after crowning, Simon’s head came out, with only a moment’s pause when the rest of him shot out into daddy’s hands. Almost immediately he was in my stunned arms. Here was the child I was convinced I would never meet. His birth journey wasted no time. He lives his life the way he approached his birth; difficult to start, but when he does, get out of his way, he acts fast!

He was born covered in meconium; though it wasn’t fresh, as if he passed it many days earlier. I often wonder about the castor oil I took a week prior. Experts say it doesn’t affect the baby, yet I wonder. And in spite of the meconium, he was alert and vigorous. At an even 9 pounds 21 inches, he was perfect! The due date was concluded as accurate.

What an amazing journey that I am pleased we honored and traveled together. I look forward to the days ahead when I will be witness to the journey of other babies and their families.

*Wagner, Marsden. Born in the USA. University of California, 2006.

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}

The day leading up to Micah’s birth was like many others, except it wasn’t, it was almost his birth day! We had a prenatal appointment that afternoon and had to have the conversation about what would happen if I were to go past 42 weeks. This is something each client covers at this point, but our history with Simon’s 43 week pregnancy made it even more relevant. I had stated frequently throughout the earlier prenatals that I was not going to do anything about it if I go late. No castor oil and more importantly no panicking. Everything was looking great. I allowed a vaginal exam to see if I was making any progress and was pleased to know that I was 3cm dilated and 50-60% effaced and the head was engaged.

After the appointment, I grabbed my headphones and went for a walk. The music was exactly what I needed to hear and it really lifted me up and filled me with renewed joy. The walk was quite short but I definitely was feeling contractions off and on and when I tried to explain them, I found they felt “real”.

We had dinner, a nice venison stew/soup that Jon made, hung out with the boys for a little bit and then they went to bed. Jon told them they needed to get their rest because mom was going to have a baby soon and they might have to wake up in the middle of the night. He seemed so confident that I was going into labor that night. Jon and I sat down to watch a movie, The Transporter and I hooked up to the breast pump to try and get things to start. After about 20 minutes it was quite clear I did not need the pump to maintain the contractions so I turned it off and let them run their course.

The movie ended and I was tired but was afraid if I went to bed the contractions would stop…hum…if they did, then I really wasn’t in labor, if it’s real labor, they weren’t about to stop. Silly me! Anyway, we got a second movie ready and debated setting up the birth supplies and readying the house for a birth. It seemed a bit early, so I suggested we wait.

Before we started the movie, however, a bathroom break was needed and I was surprised with the passing of the mucus plug. Yea! More progress. I also found that the more I moved, the stronger the contractions got. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to bring down the supplies. By the time I brought down some of the things, it seemed a safe to bet to get everything ready. It was about 10:30 and we were debating calling the others who would be at the birth. I hated to call them if it was a false alarm and yet both of the friends joining us were moms who needed to make arrangements for their children and one friend had an hour and a half drive.

A few contractions later, I decided it was safe to call them. I couldn’t believe how fast things were progressing. Nothing was painful or hurting, just really strong. As each contraction hit, I would have to stop what I was doing, put my head down and just relax wherever I was at the moment.

Jon was simply dancing with excitement. It was so fun to watch him. He had taken the whole week off of work due to the fact that the Fourth of July was on a Wed and it seemed a good time for a break. I had hoped to give birth late the previous week so he would have the whole week with the new baby. I always envisioned calling him home from work due to labor, but not this time. I am glad God waited until he could be there to witness the whole process start.

I called my friend the furthest away first. Her response was so cute, “I’m going to cry I’m so excited!” That was the exact excitement I was looking for with this birth! The second friend was called and finally the midwife. The midwife lived close to us, so I simply let her know that when things got closer we would call her. In the meantime she could rest up!

By midnight both friends were here, the home was set and ready for a birth and we were all giddy with excitement! We tried to watch a movie but that wasn’t working so we just labored patiently. At 1:20am, while I was sitting on the couch noticing that the contractions were getting stronger, the water broke. What a surprise that was! With the previous births it happened in the pools and I never noticed. This was quite obvious. The funny thing was, I found myself wearing both my laboring mom’s hat and my midwifery student’s hat and noting that I will need to check the fluid to make sure it was clear! As the thought went through my head I chuckled at the absurdity of it. It was clear, by the way =)

We called the midwife then and moved into the pool for a bit of relief. The midwife was there shortly and we woke up Stephen and Simon. The birth party was complete, save for the baby! The midwife had me get out of the pool for about 45 minutes or so and then I returned. There was no way I could stay out of it any longer!

The contractions were very intense by this point and it took every bit of effort to stay relaxed through them. It’s curious that in between them, I was still able to maintain some normalcy with everyone. I still smiled at the boys and tried to crack a few jokes. It may have been because of them that I did that so they wouldn’t get scared. I needn’t have worried; they thought it was great fun! I don’t think my friends realized how close I was. The midwife wasn’t fooled, though and I got excited when I saw her washing up and getting her gloves on!

My goal was to catch this baby and I had made this Jon’s number one job to help me with. I also wanted to reach down and feel the baby’s head to assess how close I was. We were getting very close to the birth, the contractions were very hard and Jon told me to get off of my hands and knees so I could reach down and see if I could feel anything and prepare for the catch. I tried to tell him I couldn’t, but thankfully he didn’t let me get away with that.

I felt nothing and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. There was no need to be, though. With the next contraction, the head descended the last little bit. I have never felt anything so intense. Apparently I was biting the back of my hand during this, though I have no recollection of this. I do remember biting onto the handle on the pool and thinking that I was really acting like an animal and was kind of embarrassed, but at the same time found much pleasure in it. I noticed the teeth marks on the top of my hand after the birth! At the end of that contraction, the head was in a full crown! WOW! That was fast! After a brief break, I pushed the head out, the whole time I had my hand down there feeling and stroking my child’s head! I tried to give a little push to see if I could get the rest of the baby out, but my uterus said “no way! I need a short break before we finish this off!” So with the next contraction, he slowly came out. I remember having to give him a! good push to move him, while muttering “out, out, out” but then he was out and I was pulling him back to me in the water with my right hand, trying to get my left hand to participate in the catch as well. And then there he was! My beautiful child in my arms! 3:26am on the fourth of July roughly 5 hours after it all started.

The big brothers were so excited! Stephen was right up front with probably the best seat in the house! Simon simply circled the pool trying to see the baby from all sides. And the baby, a boy, had his eyes open, looking around, taking us all in. Gently starting to breathe and let out with little tiny cries as he said hello. A week later, Stephen said to me, “birth was cool, mom! We should do that again!”

Micah Jon weighed in at ten pounds four ounces and 22 inches long surprising us all. He has been an amazing little baby and is surrounded with love!

{If you’d like to share your own home birth story, please use the form at right to submit it.}