The Birth

I started to feel regular contractions at about 12:30am on Tuesday morning. I had had a couple of episodes of "preparatory labour" over the weekend, so I was unsure whether these contractions were the real thing. Ben and I decided go to sleep and napped for about an hour.

I woke up at around 1:30am to use the washroom and had three big contractions in a row. I knew for sure that the labour was real! I prayed that God would help me to be calm, and would give me strength for the work ahead of me. Earlier in the week I had memorized Philippians 4:6 to encourage me during labour.

We called my midwife and she arrived in less than half an hour. Patty was surprised to see that we hadn't set out any of the supplies yet. (I wanted to be very certain that this was the real labour before we set up our things.) I walked around upstairs, hugging my large, green pillow and leaning against the wall with every contraction. The contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart and still quite manageable.

Patty checked my dilation. I was a little worried she would say I was only 2 or 3 cm along. I was amazed to learn that I was already at 8 cm!

Patty and Ben moved quickly to set up the pool in the kitchen. We would have a baby soon! I stayed in my bedroom and called my mom and sister. As Ben inflated our "fishy pool" with a hand pump, I wandered up and down the stairs and through the hallway. (Our midwife suspected the baby might be turned posterior, so she ordered me to do lots of stairs!)

As the pool was filling with water I came down to the kitchen and ate a bowl of cheerios. I was still feeling very good --- the contractions were strong but manageable when I breathed through them. I certainly didn't feel like I was in the transition phase yet.

Once the pool was full of warm water I gently lowered myself in. Heaven!! The water felt so nice. I was feeling some labour in my back, and the warm water was wonderful. I mostly laboured on my hands and knees with a warm wash cloth soothing my back. I rested my head on the cushy side of the pool.

The contractions intensified. My mom and sister arrived. We called Ben's mom and sister-in-law to let them know the birth would happen soon. I began to moan with the contractions. I consciously tried to sound like a cow, making low sounds in from deep in my chest. I think this vocalization really helped.

I needed to have the lights turned down low, and no conversation during the contractions. The atmosphere was very calm and peaceful.

Patty asked if I would like for her to break my bag of waters. She called the second midwife to come quickly because she could see that the birth was imminent. Patty checked my dilation and I was at 10 cm.

I felt that I should wait for the other midwife to arrive, but after two "pushy" contractions I asked for my waters to be broken. My midwife had me float on my back as she ruptured the membranes during a big contraction. I leaned my head against Ben's shoulder. This was definitely the most painful part of the labour.

I felt a small "pop" as the bag finally broke, and then immediately felt an overwhelming urge to push. I gave a mighty push and reached my hands between my legs. Baby's head was right there. I floated on my back and gave another push. My baby's head was born into my own hands. It was the most amazing thing I have ever felt.

I rested for a few seconds until the next contraction came. Then I gave one more big push and my baby's body emerged into the warm water. She was beautiful!

I snuggled her close and she opened her eyes right away. She was so calm and peaceful. She did not even cry. Ben cuddled my shoulders from behind as I rested against the side of the pool. I could not believe how fast the birth happened!

Ben's mom had arrived just before I started pushing, and slipped quietly into the room. My sister-in-law came just two minutes after the birth. The second midwife missed all the excitement and arrived about five minutes after our baby was born.

We waited to cut the cord until after it had stopped pulsing --- about 20 minutes. Baby pinked up very quickly and had apgar scores of 10 and 10. I am convinced that her rosy complexion can be attributed to not clamping the cord right away.

We had intended to allow our preschooler to watch the birth, but everything happened so quickly that we forgot to wake the boys up. My sister fetched my little guys from bed. My three-year-old was delighted to find his mommy snuggling a new baby in a pool in the kitchen! The boys were so cute. My eldest son immediately came and touched his newborn sister. My toddler just looked bewildered, and his face seemed to say, "Why are all these people in my kitchen in the middle of the night?"

Ben cut the cord and snuggled his new baby daughter. I delivered the placenta in the pool. I was able to take a good look at the placenta in the bowl afterwards. It was fascinating to see the life-giving organ that had nourished my baby for nine long months.

Amazingly, I did not bleed at all at that point. The pool water was almost completely clear. My midwives helped me out of the pool, up the stairs, and directly into my own luxurious shower. It felt so good to be in my own home. From the shower I went straight into my own bed, snuggled my new baby daughter, and stayed in that same spot for the rest of the day.

Everybody else cleaned up. The midwives brought a pump to clear out the pool. I was surprised at how easy the clean up seemed to be --- only one load of laundry and a couple of bags of garbage. The mess of birth seemed so much greater in the hospital.

Birth at home was simple and straightforward. It was peaceful and relaxing. Having a homebirth now seems like the most natural thing in the world. I can't imagine doing it any other way.