Eleanor Robin's Amazing Homebirth (XP from BMB)

Mamasaurus · May 2012

Eleanor Robin--born 5/1/12 at 3:28 AM--41w 1d, 7lbz 7oz, 20 in long.

Well, it had to happen at some point! The prodromal labor turned into active labor. Everyone said that there was no way I'd miss it when it became active labor, but I did. I called the doula and the midwife to ask about it not long before I hit transition. It's a good thing I didn't wait any longer, because if I had, I wouldn't have had help for getting to the bathroom or doing my hibiclens rinse while my husband filled the birthing pool. (He was great, by the way! I couldn't have asked for anything better from him, from the time he came home from work to all the excitement after her birth.)

My transition was pretty tough since I'd been having back problems most of the pregnancy, and I could feel all the contractions in my back. The ones that double peaked were the worst, but my doula helped me into different positions so I could rest between them better. I spent a lot of time either walking or sidelying on the couch and am really glad we spent the extra money for a cushy Lazy Boy instead of getting a Target sofa! When it was time to push, the midwife and her assistant were already here and had set up the pool and a trail of chux pads to catch the blood. Apparently my bag of waters was made of steel, because when I pushed the baby to where she was about to crown, instead of her head coming out with the bag, the bag would bulge out of me and Eleanor was just staying put. Eventually, they broke it for me to help and to make sure there was no meconium in there, and even that took them a few tries. It just did not want to break! I'd been pushing for over an hour at that point and had tried a number of positions, so I was not about to say no to breaking my bag if they thought it would help. I would feel her start to crown and then slip back, and it was making me very frustrated.

After more contractions in the water, the midwife suggested that I try pushing on the couch while somebody held my legs since I was starting to get really tired. As much as I wanted to birth her in the water, I was also really desperate to just get her out already, so I sat on my husband's lap, put my knees up for him to hold, and screamed in his ear for about 20 minutes until finally! Her head was out! It took two pushes. One more push and the rest of her followed, and ten minutes later, her placenta came out with hardly any effort. Overall, I pushed her for almost exactly 2 hours, and her first order of business after breathing for the first time was to make a huge poop and do a few little cries. We were so happy to see her plumbing was all in working order, and then she tried to nurse on her father instead me of me, which was hilarious. Her apgar score was almost perfect, and other than a tiny bit of jaundice, she's one of the healthiest babies the midwife team has seen (but maybe they say that to all the girls). Stick out tongue

I am SO happy to finally have my outside baby! I got away with only a second degree tear and a few small abrasions by my urethra, and during my check today, they said I am healing very well. Other than some disputes about whether or not her fingers belong in her mouth while she's nursing, we are doing pretty well with the breastfeeding so far. I really love feeding her (but it's still early and we'll see what I think after another cluster feed or two). I feel so lucky to have my amazing little girl, I can't believe it. I actually have bad dreams about somebody taking her if my H burps her in the next room or something when I'm asleep because it seems like this is too good to be true.

Here she is at about 5 minutes old:

xnbride · May 2012

What a great experience! congratulations

robyn2201 · May 2012

Congratulations!

Bonidiebabe · May 2012

Great job mama! I love those chubby cheeks. That's crazy you were pushing on your husbands lap!

LindseyJW · May 2012

awesome story! thanks for sharing!

and i love the fat little baby! what a beauty! enjoy, mamasaurus!

FyreFlyeRush · May 2012

Such a chunky monkey! I love the part where she's trying to suck on her fingers while she eats. You have a self soother in your hands! Congrats, she's absolutely gorgeous.