I was so ready to have the baby. I knew it would happen in the next day or two. That morning I had a few contractions. Very irregular, only lasting like 20 seconds and no pain whatsoever. I took a solid 3 hour nap that morning! After that, I didn’t experience any more contractions the rest of the afternoon. ​
Around 8:30pm my husband and I had sex (which is very important to the story!) Fast forward to 10pm: a few odd cramps (maybe contractions) that didn’t last long again and weren’t painful at all. I text my friends and said, “Maybe labor will start tomorrow! I’m going to sleep.” (My husband had 1 request, that I wouldn’t go into labor overnight, so we could get some rest first).
10:40pm: first hard contraction hit and took me to the floor next to the bed. I clearly wasn’t going to sleep. I saw a little bloody show on the bed. I woke my husband and told him I thought this was the real thing. He started timing. After 3 contractions the app said go to the hospital (jokes on them!)
Contractions were immediately 3 minutes apart, lasting 1 min each. We called our friends who just had their baby cause we didn’t expect it to happen this hard or this fast. They said call the midwives. Our first call to them was at 11pm.
Kyndall gave a suggestion of timing for around an hour to see how they were. As first time parents we weren’t sure if the sex just sparked a serge that would die down and not progress and we didn’t want the midwives to come if it was just false labor.
I turned on my Christian hypnobirthing app to focus on my breathing and keep me grounded and calm. My husband called my mom to come over. 11:30pm I said he needs to call the midwives. He said let’s keep waiting till we get to an hour like they asked. 11:40 I demanded he call, and now they are on their way!!
I labored in the living room on the birth ball for most of it at this point with walking around in between contractions. My husband was great about making sure I stayed active and stood up and moved after each contraction, as well as drank water and ate when I could stomach it. There wasn’t much time to eat between contractions as they were already only 2 minutes apart.
We went outside for a few minutes so I could cool down and labor on the front stairs. I rotated between being so cold and extremely hot, sometimes from one contraction to the next. Then he began counter pressure which was amazing!
Kyndall got there first, then Aly and Rebekah at 12:30am.
Rebekah asked if I was interested in being checked at around 12:45am. I said yes and we moved to the bedroom so I could lay down for a check. I was 5 cm dilated and 90% effaced, and she could feel my waters were still intact.
Labor gets more intense. At this point my eyes stayed closed for most of the labor. My husband coached me through breathing. Focusing on deep low tones pushing my voice down. When I would not be focused and my voice would raise he was great about calmly explaining how to change my tone and even moaned with me so I could hear the difference.
Around 1:45am they were so intense (going through transition), but I needed to pee. My husband’s job: make me drink, eat and pee every hour and help me through labor and contractions. He basically carried me to the bathroom while they were filling the birth tub in the bedroom. I mentioned several times at this point that it felt like my butthole was going to explode! I sat down, peed then felt my body pushing. I verbally said “umm I think I need to push”. Kyndall comes around the corner and in the softest, sweetest toned voice says, “Ok then push!”
My husband helps me up, and walks me out to the bedroom. He said he couldn’t hold me up because he was tired so he said whatever I do, don’t go down to my knees like I had been. Then the hardest contraction hits and takes me to one knee! Then when he helped stand me up, Rebekah, who was like a clairvoyant, said “someone needs to put a pee pad under her”. Literally right after that I heard a loud pop and my water broke all over my husband’s leg and on the pee pad!
It’s now 2am and I get in the birth tub. I started pushing but nothing intense. The tub felt relaxing and warm. It took pressure off me so I could rest more. I was kind of on hands and knees draped over the side of the tub.
Kyndall was checking baby heart rate every other contraction or so. She suggested I turn over onto my side for a few contractions. Baby heart rate increased too high then would drop too low for her comfort. She explained what was going on and asked that I get out of the tub for the safety of the baby. I wanted a water birth but knew and trusted the midwives more, so after another contraction, they helped me out of the birth tub.
It’s now 2:45am when they helped me into my bed. First I labored for a few on my hands and knees but I was so tired. My pushes weren’t very substantial at this point. They were intense but not strong or hard on my part. Like I wasn’t really pushing well or with any real effort because I was so tired.
They asked if I would like to switch to laying on my side at around 3am. I started with the left side, pushed there for around 15 minutes then switched to my right. My husband held my legs. And they encouraged me to really bear down with each contraction. This is when they got really hard and more painful.
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I was so tired that I would push for part of each one then just stop. She encouraged me to keep pushing through the whole thing. A few pushes like that and I felt the ring of fire burning. It was so intense I can’t even describe the feeling. Then with a few bear down through it pushes I felt her head come through. I opened my eyes and saw her head. Kyndall asked if I wanted to catch my baby! I said yes so she guided my hands to where I needed to hold. Then she coached me through the next contraction with soft small gentle pushes and Lorelai was born at 3:33am in the comfort of our bed in our home.
I brought her to the middle of my stomach. I tried to pull her up closer then felt this pull at my vagina. They said wait to pull her up because the umbilical cord was so short, but I was about to deliver my placenta. A few minutes after she was born, I birthed her placenta and they placed it next to me.
Lorelai latched onto my right breast almost immediately. We bonded in bliss for around an hour after birth with my husband laying next to us in bed. Then my husband came to the other side of the bed and cut the umbilical cord. Rebekah took the placenta to clean and prepare it for my encapsulation! She then gave us a tour of it which was so cool. She showed us this really cool spot where the original egg’s yolk sac was created that you don’t always get to see in placentas but ours was perfectly round and visible.
Then it was time for Aly to weigh and measure her as well as conduct the newborn exams. Lorelai was 5lbs 12oz, 19 inches long!
Kyndall helped me to the bathroom to pee and help show me how to clean myself. While doing that, Rebekah and Aly cleaned up the bed and prepared it for me to come back. After that they inspected where I might need stitches. I did not tear my perineum thankfully! I did have some labial tearing so Rebekah went and stitched me up.
Lorelai came back to me and I snuggled her! I held her while Aly administered the vitamin K shot in her thigh then my mom held her.
The midwives packed up all their gear and sat down with us and talked about postpartum care, and went over a form with us about how I should be healing, and when or who to call if certain scenarios occurred. They also left us the paper because they knew we were tired and wouldn’t remember everything!
Everyone was gone by 5:30am and it left Lorelai, my husband, my mom and I home peacefully to sleep.
Labor was around 4 ½ hours total with around an hour and a half of it pushing. Labor came on fast and strong but I’m so proud of my body for doing exactly what it was designed to do. Rebekah, Aly and Kyndall were incredible and I’m super thankful for their support during my delivery.
My husband will say that his part was minimal compared to what I went through, but I truly believe he worked just as hard as I did supporting me, loving me, coaching me and caring for me throughout my entire fast paced labor.
My mom was such a rockstar for helping comfort me during labor but more importantly her role after delivery staying up with Lorelai so my husband and I could get sleep! (Seeing as how I did not follow my husband’s wish of not being in labor overnight lol). After I fed her for the second time, my mom took her to the living room and held her and rocked her and my husband and I slept so soundly.
My goal throughout this pregnancy was a home birth. I am so proud of myself for accomplishing that. Whether you had the birth of your dreams, or an outcome that was different than you planned: whether it was vaginal, medicated, unmedicated, home birth, hospital birth, planned c-section, emergency c-section, no interventions, all the interventions. No matter which category you fall under, you are a strong mama. You birthed your baby. You did the work and you should take all the credit. Because you brought your baby into this world and you should be so proud of yourself.