Team Green Homebirth Story

MissAmber23 · December 2011

Started having contractions on my way home from DH's office Christmas party Tuesday night (around 7:30pm). Around 10:30 I had one very long contraction and during it she kicked quite hard. I *think* my water sprung a leak at that point. Called my midwife around 11pm to let her know that I was having what I thought were real contractions, and had had some bloody show.

MW told me to try to go to sleep and call her back in 30-45 minutes if they hadn't gone away. Called her at 11:45, and she got to our house around 1am. My sisters arrived at 1:30 and 2:00 to be on big brother duty (he doesn't sleep well on a good night, and definitely wasn't going to sleep through me in labor!).

By the time they all got there, I was kneeling on the floor, laboring over my birth ball and vocalizing through each contraction. In the meantime, DH was filling the birth tub. I got in the tub around 2:30am. The contractions were getting quite close together (less than 2 min apart with some double peaking), and getting harder to work through.

I had studied hypnobabies (homestudy) but didn't find it very helpful in getting through the contractions. I just couldn't put myself into self-hypnosis well enough. The only thing that really helped was the vocalizing, trying really hard to keep the tone low.

I stayed in the tub about two hours. DH kept adding hot water, but it was still getting too cold for the baby to be born in the water. By 4:30 I was feeling discouraged and saying I couldn't do this anymore, couldn't handle another contraction, etc. I knew logically that I was in transition, but at the time that didn't help at all.

The MW thought I probably just had an anterior lip left. She told me she thought I needed to get out of the water, and asked if she could check me and try to move that lip out of the way. I had not been checked the entire pregnancy, nor at all during labor. In the midst of transition I was not excited about having to lie down in order to be checked.

Finally I got out of the tub at 4:45 and onto the bed, and she checked and found I was at a 9. After 2 awful contractions on the bed, I got up and stood next to the bed, bent over at the waist with my head and shoulders on the bed. After a few contractions in that position, I started pushing involuntarily.

From that point on I don't remember much. Just that I pushed for about 20 minutes, and did a lot of yelling. It was totally self directed pushing; the MW never told me when to push or for how long. Crowning was intense, and even after her head was out there wasn't any relief. Turned out her head circumference was 13.25 and her chest was 14.5!!

She was finally out at 5:29am and the MW got us both up on the bed and laid her on my chest. She had immediately wrapped her in a towel, and none of us even looked to see if it was a girl or a boy. A few moments later the MW checked and announced she was a girl! She stayed on my chest about 30-40 minutes and had her first nursing session before the MW took her to weigh and measure her.

During labor, I did not want to be touched AT ALL - my shoved DH away several times when he tried to hold me hand or pat my back. Once I asked him to put pressure on my back during a contraction, and then immediately yelled at him to stop! I also didn't want people talking to me during contractions. While I was pushing he said something like "you're doing great" and I told him to shut up and stop talking to me!

She weighed 8lb 14oz and was 21 inches long. Bigger than my first (who was 6lb 14 oz and 20 inches) but he was induced 3 weeks early. After a terrible birth experience with DS, this birth was incredible. I wouldn't say it was "easier" per se! But definitely a much better experience. Giving birth at home, and going straight to my own bed with the baby was amazing.

I had no tears, but a LOT of postpartum bleeding and some really big clots so the MW left me with a day's worth of Methergen to help my uterus clamp down better. The first trip to the bathroom left me feeling extremely dizzy and light headed, and I was getting tunnel vision by the time I got back into bed. Now 12 hours later, I'm feeling much better - just sore and weak.

We called all of the grandparents and DH's brothers around 7am. My parents live 1500 miles away and won't be able to get here to see her until December 23. But DH's mom came straight up to the house and ended up staying here ALL day long. Luckily she mostly stayed downstairs and left me alone. DH's dad and stepmom are here now, and they brought dinner.

My sisters were amazing - they dealt with Avery all night. At one point he woke up and was freaking out so they took him for an hour-long car ride, then brought him back and got him to sleep again. They both stayed through the morning to help keep him out of my hair.

Everyone is really happy to have a healthy baby, and I am SO glad we chose the homebirth option.