It was finally my first day of maternity leave! I was 40+6 and decided to take some time for myself before the baby was born. I had spent the day napping, getting the best pedicure of my life, visiting my chiropractor, and wandering around Target.
Our doulas had stopped in around dinnertime, so we could meet our new backup. One of our doulas was battling hyperemesis gravidarum and the other would be out of town for a couple days. I wasn’t having any signs of labor and didn’t think we would need a backup, but better safe than sorry!
Around 10pm, my partner and I decided it was time for bed. I walked into the room after getting ready and he was already fast asleep. A little jealous and ready for another restless night of pregnancy sleep, I turned the tv on and laid down. As soon as my head hit the pillow, the first contraction hit me. I had been having Braxton hicks for several days, but this one felt different. The contraction was strong, and I was unable to distract myself. Several minutes later another one hit me. I woke my partner and he sweetly reminded me to get some rest like we learned in our birth class. I was NOT going to lay down for another contraction!
I got out of bed and began swaying through contractions. I immediately felt I needed to vocalize. Within 30 minutes, the contractions were starting to show the pattern of active labor. “This is not supposed to be how this works,” I thought, “I’m supposed to have hours of early labor to rest and prepare!” My partner found me a “fashionable” outfit to change into (an old tie-dye t-shirt and men’s basketball shorts). At this point, I began to lose track of time and the following times are our best estimates.
We called our doula at 1:30am, and she headed to our house at 3am. The doula helped find what positions worked best. By 5am, our doula called our midwife to come over and my partner began to fill the pool. I snacked on almond butter and honey and drank plenty of water and Ultima. I developed a ritual of wrapping my arms around my partner’s neck and slow dancing during every contraction. We laughed and joked between contractions, but every time my ritual changed the waves were less manageable.
By 11am, I was beginning to become exhausted and slightly discouraged as the waves spaced out. I tried to eat some oatmeal and lay down, but I felt too uncomfortable in bed. I decided to take a shower and I instantly felt re-energized. I labored around the house doing lunges and laps up and down the stairs, squatting, and bouncing on the ball.
Around 2:30pm, I finally felt it was time to get into the pool! As I entered transition, I began to feel fearful that the intensity would continue to increase. I thought to myself, “I can’t possibly do this. I will just take a nap and try again later.” I struggled to think of a way to get out of it, but I surprisingly never thought of the hospital or an epidural. My doula reminded me that the contractions would not get stronger, but they might get closer together. I switched positions several times as contractions began to double-peak. I felt an intense amount of pressure and my water broke! Relief!
I started to get tired and my contractions began to space out again. Trusting my body knew what to do, my partner and I both began falling asleep between contractions. My doula brought me a glass of lemonade and my energy returned. It was finally time to push!
After less than 30 minutes of pushing, the baby’s head was born. He had a nuchal cord, so our midwife quickly slipped it over his head. He turned his whole body, one last push, and our midwife pulled him out of the water. At 4:11pm, I held and talked to him for the first time and all of the pain washed away. I was nervous as we waited for his lungs to fill with air, but his curious, blue eyes looked around and he took his first breath.
After the placenta was delivered, I started to hemorrhage, so my midwife gave me a shot of Pitocin. All three of us climbed into bed, and I ate a big serving of blueberry pancakes as our midwife did our exams. He was the most perfect baby at 22” long and 8lb 12oz! I felt incredible and overcome with joy!
Still on a birth high, I began talking about a second baby as I made my way upstairs to our bedroom! Our birth team cleaned up and headed home. The three of us were finally tucked into bed as a family of three!
A few notes:
- Everything did not go perfectly (atypical progression, nuchal cord, hemorrhage), but I felt safe and my blood pressure and baby’s heart rate remained in a normal range the entire time. Our team trusted and never rushed the process.
- We had a birth team of three (midwife, assistant, and doula), and they made our experience with homebirth the most empowering and amazing experience we could have asked for!