Contractions started picking up, first to 2 an hour, then to like 4 an hour. I called the midwife on Saturday around 8 pm to let her know what was going on, and she told me to call if my water broke, or if contractions started getting a lot closer together. Saturday nite was pretty much about 4 contractions per hour. Sometimes more, but on average I would say 4 an hour. Around 9:30pm I noticed my mucus plug had came out, and so I knew that was a for sure sign that this was really the real thing! The baby was really coming!!

Saturday nite was not very fun to sleep. Juan came home late, as he always does on Saturday nites and we went to bed. Well, I tried all that I could, but these contractions were not letting me sleep! I would nod off for a few minutes, just to be woken up to the next contraction. They were not super bad, just annoying that I would wake up during them. I was really hoping that I would be able to just sleep thru them. Oh well. It was weird because even though I didn’t really feel like I got sleep saturday nite, I know that I did because I remember that I had a few dreams, even in the short amount of time that I was sleeping at that given point (example– since I was writing down the contractions and their times, I knew that the last contraction had been at say 2:12 am, and then during that short time of sleeping, I would remember a dream, and the next contraction would be at like 2:21 am or something like that) anywayz, so then Sunday came, and I called the midwife in the morning to let her know about the mucus plug, and how the contractions were the nite before. We had already had planned that she was gonna come over that day for just a visit anywayz, but now when I was in labor, obviously it was not gonna be just a visit this time! So, knowing that the baby was coming very soon, Juan & I (more him though) started getting things ready for the birth. We wanted to make sure that we had everything available and not hiding in the closet somewhere. He got the kiddie pool and filled it with air, not water yet because I wasn’t really progressing that much so it was no use to have the water yet. It all felt so surreal to me. I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening! I was finally in labor! I was so excited! I didn’t really know what exactly to be expecting, but I knew I was sure excited!

I made sure to call my friends that were going to be present for the birth so that they knew that it would be sometime probably later that day that they should come over. At that point, I didn’t know how far along I was, so I just really told them to be ready. Nia went to get some food for us at Trader Joes as our fridge was pretty much empty (we were planning on going to get food that day anywayz!!) but it was nice of her to go get the food because I dont’ think having a contraction in the store would have been a good place!!

The midwife came over after the world cup game for our “visit” to see how far along I was, and how I was doing. At that point I was 3 cm dialated and 80% effaced. She said that I was doing great, and that really there was nothing she would be doing if she stayed (although she said she would have if I would have wanted her to) I told her that I was fine at that point, and that I would call her if anything changed.. Luckily, she decided to stay in Chicago and not go all the way home (she lives like an hour away) I checked in with her at 6 pm, and again at 8. When we talked at 8, contractions had been getting stronger and closer together, so when she asked if I was ready for someone to come be here with us, I said for sure.. so at that point, Juan started to fill up the pool with our EXTREMLY hot water (most people worry about running out of hot water.. we only worried about melting the kiddie pool) anywayz, so he started filling that up as I just was going thru the contractions. The midwife had let me borrow a nice birth ball to help for the contractions, and it was wonderful!

Around like 9 or so, The midwife J and the apprentice midwife came over It was so comforting to see them! They were just so calm, and everything was so natural and normal.. I really felt at ease with them there. A little while later the other midwife arrived. (ok, I really felt like a queen to have 3 amazing midwifes at the birth. I had crappie prenatal care thru my other midwife, but switching to these 2 amazing woman was the best thing that I did and it was amazing having them all 3 there!) Anywayz, the funniest thing was when C touched the water in the pool and was like OH MY GOSH! because it was so hot. The whole time, Juan had been telling me how he should put some cold water in it also.. but I insisted on him just putting hot…

Shortly after the midwifes came, they told me just to get in the water. I figured I should maybe wait to get in, but then I was just like.. what the heck! It’ll be a lot nicer. So, I got in, and it was sooo amazing. Wow the water helped with the contractions so much. It was wonderful. It was just so comforting to me!

The midwifes made sure that I was eating a bit and drinking, more than anything drinking to keep hydrated. That was really important because sometimes I would feel that I should drink, but until they said to me to drink, would I drink. So that was nice.

Leana was the first friend to show up. She brought a fan and a flashlight since at one one point I didn’t know what happened to our flashlight. It was really nice, the room that the birth took place in, because it was very cool. It was a pretty cool nite, and having the fans on really helped a lot. After a little bit, Nia showed up also. Chelsea showed up a lot later, but at that point I dont’ even know what time it was, or anything. Time was the last thing on my mind!

Contractions were fairly hard at this point, and I just felt like.. is this baby ever gonna really come!! I was feeling kind of discouraged because I felt like I hadn’t even made any progress at all! When C asked me if I wanted her to check how far along I was, I gladly agreed just because I wanted to know if I was even progressing! At that point I was 6 cm. dialed and my water still hadn’t broke. I couldn’t believe it, but they told me that i would know when the water broke. Its so weird because so many times you see on tv that the “start ” of someone’s labor is when their water breaks. This is sooo hardly true in real life!!!

So, contraction after contraction, my friends and Juan helped get me thru them. They all put a LOT of pressure on my back to help ease the pain. It felt amazing when they pushed! WOW! Juan was funny too, he did get in the pool with me, but he wouldn’t take off his shirt or his hat! I was like.. can’t you just take them off! It was like he was nervous to be half naked in front of all those woman! HA! It was funny, and here I was completly naked! haha.

One point when I really remember was I had a strong contraction and instead of being in the same position as I had been in most of the time, I just went to Juan and just hugged him, and then I started crying. It was like.. they were tears of pain, but also tears of joy! I was just so excited that the baby was coming.

I don’t know what time it was or anything, but I think it was C asked me if I felt that I needed to push yet. I tried pushing and it felt kinda alright, but at that point the water STILL had not broken! I couldn’t believe it! They told me that is shouldn’t be many more contractions and that should break. It was like.. we were all just waiting on that water! Finally, I heard/felt this thing kind of pop. I was like.. I think the water might have broke! They were checking things, and Juan was like “yeah it did” but i was like.. how the heck does he know! But when C did the check, she confirmed that yeah, it had broke! I was so happy because I felt that to reach that point, it took sooo long!!! Well, that was a big hurdle that I had finally crossed, that meant the baby was coming soon!

After the water broke, things went quite a lot faster. It was just contraction after contraction after contraction.. C then asked me if it felt right to push, at that point it definatly did. At first though, I started pushing and definatly pooped! I felt so embarrassed but was thinking about some of the books that I had read that said that is completly normal. I still felt so embarrassed! But anywayz, the midwifes were happy that I had pooped and they were like.. that means the baby is coming soon! they were really encouraging me and everything.

I started pushing then and after I dont’ know how many pushes, I started to feel the head. It was so cool because I kept my hands down there and really was kinda guiding it. It was soo cool to feel the head as it was crowning! I still kept thinking like.. is this really the head, what is this!! because it felt so weird at first! It was really nice for me though to be able to feel the head as I was pushing it out. I kept getting so discouraged though as it would go back in there instead of staying out like I wanted it to. It was so weird too these urges that I got to push! I didn’t really think it would be like that! that is how mom had described them, but I was like.. how will it be such an urge to push! I didn’t think it would be true. Boy, it sure was!

Most of the time during the contractions and pushing, I was in the same position. I don’t know WHY, but I just was. Finally during the pushing, one of the midwifes was like, why don’t you try leaning back on Juan. At this point, the head was almost crowned, so I think that leaning back really helped. A few more pushes after that, there was a definate head that was out for good! My friends were all just like OH MY GOSH! they were so happy and so amazed! Leana was taking picture after picture! I was soo glad for that because I really wanted pictures!!

After the head was out, C had to rotate the baby as she didn’t quite rotate herself, and then it was like one more push, and woooshhh, out came the baby! It was so neat because I was the one who caught her. The midwifes asked me if I wanted to catch her, or if Juan was going to. I really wanted to catch her, so I am glad that I did. juan was in back of me holding me up and helping from behind. So, I caught the baby, and brought her up to the air. Right away, the baby took the first breath, and was just looking around.. It was so cute! I was just amazed. THere was this beauty in front of me that I had birthed! It was a feeling so amazing. Also, even after the long labor, even after the hard contractions, seeing this little creature for the first time made me forget about the contractions.. I can’t remember how painful they were or anything.. I just know that it was all worth it!

So, I brought baby up to me as much as I could. The cord made it hard to pull out of the water more… so, everyone was like.. well is it a boy or girl.. I felt and I was pretty sure a girl, and so I was like.. a girl.. I think.. then Juan felt.. and he felt the CORD instead, and was like.. I think boy.. So we had to lift her out of the water, and sure enough, mama was right, a little baby girl! Wow, it was amazing, seeing this beautiful baby for the first time being brought up to the world in such a gentle wonderful way!

After that, the midwifes helped me out of the water (I thought I would never be able to lift my legs over the edge! I felt like JELLO!) and then I sat down on this thing (and boy it hurt to sit!!) so that I could birth the placenta. I just wanted to get it out of there and be done! I had NO energy left! It was funny because like 1 or 2 minutes after I got out of the pool to sit down, my phone rang. The midwifes were like.. who is calling you at this hour! i figured it was my sisters, or someone from my fam, and sure enough it was Amzi, so her and Andrea were the first to hear the news, they were so excited.. i was like.. um, its a girl.. i will call ya back later i am too worn out to talk. hehe.

So, the placenta came out after like 5-10 minutes. It was a weird feeling when it came out. It was like just a weird sensation! I don’t know how to describe it. At that point, the midwifes were showing me how to breastfeed but I didn’t have the energy to hold the baby up on my own at that point when I was sitting. We got it when we were laying in bed though.

After that, I was just in awe of everything. I didn’t know what to think! Time just went by so fast it seemed! THe midwifes made me so food which I gladly ate, and then after awhile me and the baby took an herb bath. I think that was at least an hour after she had been born, maybe longer. I don’t know. Everything blended together. It was at that point that the cord got cut. It was so cool to keep the placenta attached that way she would get all the good blood.

The herb bath felt amazing. Then what sucked is that I couldn’t pee. They were like, you need to pee. But I could not! So they told me that either they should catherate me, or they might have to do that the next day. I was pretty scared of that, but I told them to go ahead and do it. It was pretty gross, but I am glad that I had it done.

Juan had already passed out during all of this. I was like.. sheesh, I am the one who just had a baby, you should not be passed out.. but I just let him sleep. The midwifes did all their stuff and did their check on the baby and everything.. thats when I found out she was 8 pounds, 22 inches long. What a nice sized baby!

Ok, so I am thinkin’ thats about it for my birth story! It was an amazing time, I am so glad that we had a homebirth. It was 100% worth it.

Oh, another thing I should mention is that we had put my cat in the closet so that she would not interfere with everything… then after the midwifes left at maybe 5 or 6 in the morning, I knew I needed to go lock the door after them.. and thats when I let ceviche out of her closet.. I tried to wake Juan up to go lock the door and let the cat out, but I couldn’t get him up, so I just wobbled over there to do it myself. Ceviche got let out and was acting WEIRD.. she started making this weird meowing noise that I cannot even begin to describe how weird it is! She is still doing it a little now, but not as much as she did at first..

Anywayz, homebirth is definatly the way to go, and moreso, WATERBIRTH. I definatly recommend it, and if not actually pushing in the water, at least having the water there for contractions. It was an amazing experience and I am sooo thankful to have had the midwifes that I did, and the friends that I had there with us. Of course I am thankful for my husband, Juan also and his help thru-out the labor.

This is a thought that flashes through my mind quite regularly. I only work with women choosing homebirth, and for what it’s worth, most of them are choosing ultrasound.

I find it to be a hard situation; for me, that is.

I support the use of ultrasound when it is for a real reason… and wanting to find out the sex of the baby is not a “real” reason to me, although I understand the rationale.

But, I want the women I work with to be educated and make their own choices, whatever the choices may be. Even if they go against what I would personally do.

That said, most women I work with do choose to get an ultrasound. But it has yet to be chosen for a diagnostic reason (i.e. something seems not quite right with baby, pregnancy, etc.).

How does this change or affect the course of empowerment that comes with pregnancy and birth?

Maternal Intuition - the sense that starts to develop as soon as we become mothers, which is as soon as we become pregnant.

It’s my goal to draw this sense out of some women, encourage it in others.

But often times, I am faced with the fact that in some instances, the mother does not want to fully take advantage of this skill that we all have, hiding somewhere.

Or she doesn’t realize that in choosing ultrasound, she could wind up shortchanging herself. Our pre-ultrasound meetings are exciting and somewhat mysterious as we wonder about this little being together.

For the few that do not choose ultrasound, we continue in this way for months, with the excitement really building up to the birth. Truthfully, it has it’s share of ups and downs–this “not knowing.”

For some women it is really simple, and the trust they have in their bodies and their babies is overwhelming. Other women worry from time to time, is the baby “normal” or is the baby developing OK?

Ultrasound puts an end to these normal fears that all women have, by offering the (sometimes false) reassurance that pregnancy and birth are predictable and what you see is what you get. Ultrasound not only tells us who this baby is way too soon but disengages the mama in a certain way.

Technology offers the reassurance but takes away the journey that maybe the mama needs to go on to continue her transformation. It deprives her, in most cases, of having to truly connect with herself and her baby to reassure herself, or to be truly worried.

I wholeheartedly believe that a woman who uses her intuitive sense WILL KNOW that either everything is fine, or that something is not fine.

I experienced this phenomenon personally in the last few months during my fourth pregnancy. This baby was “different,” that I knew, but exactly how was a mystery.

There were several times during the pregnancy that I was tempted to sneak a peek, and make sure that the baby was “OK”. Each and every time I struggled with this decision, I learned a valuable lesson and strengthened my inner sense.

I faced all kinds of issues within myself–my feelings and thoughts about something being wrong with the baby, if the baby were to be really sick or not make it through labor.

Each and every thought I had was real to me, and I had to process all the scenarios I could be faced with. And each and every time I had to get calm, get centered and talk with my baby. To talk with myself about my fears and how in birth, life and death, there are no guarantees.

Sometimes it took longer than others, but each time I used my intuitive sense as a mother I was reassured. For me, more reassured than I could ever be by a machine.

I wasn’t looking for everything to be perfect, just for the ability to make peace with what IS, not with what I thought it should be.

So, although we are all different and all make different choices as we come from different places, I still believe in the power of our intuitive sense. Using our intuition doesn’t mean that everything always turns out the way we want it to. It means using our power to grow and change and accept things the way they are.

Lots of emotional crap came up throughout the pregnancy, much processing of both Jet and Indy’s births was done (Jet‘s birth was a VERY traumatic hospital birth, and Indy‘s an elective caesarean), contact was cut with my mum, and then later on, when we hit the home straight we hit a bump in the road with our midwives. We had conflicting ideas on how certain things should be handled and the decision to freebirth was made. We were concerned that the person who was going to be the boys’ support person wouldn’t be comfortable with the new plan, and although she was at first okay with it, our feelings were confirmed when at 40wks she pulled out, saying she couldn’t handle it. By this stage however we were not fussed at all and felt confident with our ability to cope with it being just us and the boys, and my good friend Lith who I had become quite close to over the course of Sunny’s pregnancy and whom we had asked to be present (if she could make it in time from 5hrs away and being dependant on public transport!) as our doula.


Despite ending care with them, the midwives still let us hang onto their birth pool which was handy and eliminated another potential stress point.



38wks on the day, I began having regular contractions, some needing to be concentrated on and breathed through, but eventually dying out as I went to bed late that night. Over the next few weeks I continued having cramping and contractions on and off, on a few occasions thinking it was ‘the real thing’, only to have it stop hours later. Between 40 and 41wks I struggled with the stigma of being overdue, as well as being fed up with being pregnant and having contractions that were leading nowhere (well, I know they were, but it was frustrating that they continued to stop and then start again…and repeat) and feeling frustrated and embarrassed that I had called my doula to travel for 5hrs for nothing, although the company and distraction of having her here were very welcome! As I reached 42wks I hit a level of calm where I was able to just be pregnant and let everything else go, feeling that I could go to 43wks and beyond without feeling panicked about it.


Jamie and I noticed that day that the shape of my belly had changed heaps, the baby was no longer sitting to the right side of my belly, instead being smack in the middle and giving my belly a very pointy look. We joked to Lith, who had only returned home from our place the day before, that the baby was sizing up the exit and thinking about making its way out.



In the early hours of Wednesday morning I had some cramping but it didn’t last long so I thought nothing of it…until Jamie and I had a fight over nothing, LOL, and as we climbed into bed still shitty at each other contractions began yet again. Having had so many ‘false alarms’ already I didn’t think too much about it, but managed very little sleep being woken up by them and needing to breath/moan my way through them. It wasn’t until I got up around 5:30am that I thought that perhaps this was ‘it’, because the contractions weren’t stopping with me moving around, as they often had previously and my discharge looked different. Still not wanting to get my hopes up I waited and waited until by 7:45am I decided this was it, the discharge continued and I was needing to concentrate my way through all contractions and so I sent Lith a text message telling her to catch the midday train, that I was having a baby today.



I struggle from now to remember how things happened and when exactly they did, while there were clocks around and I was aware of what time it was, I didn’t look at the clock and immediately think, oh I have been in labour for X number of hours, nor did I look at the clock and remember that stuff happened at that time.


Around the middle of the day I started to get tired and was struggling to find ways to deal with the contractions, I had a cry to Jamie that I sucked at labour and after that I managed to have a power nap. According to Jamie it was only for about 15mins, it felt like an hour to me!!! After the nap I stood up and felt a little gush, nothing Hollywood about it, LOL, and realised that my waters had broken. We rang Lith to let her know, her train had just left the station and she was on her way!
We carried on as we had been throughout the day, I did what I could to get through the contractions…bounced on the birth ball, sat on the couch, sat on the bed leaning over a chair, stood at the bench, leaned against a wall etc, went online to JB and facebook to play scrabble and scramble LOL, my vocalising ranged from panting, to ‘owing’, to moaning. The boys carried on their day like normal, sometimes coming in to see what I was doing, sometimes playing with my necklace, sometimes hugging me, sometimes rubbing my back, sometimes trying to bounce on the ball with me, LOL. Often they made me laugh while contracting which was a really odd feeling, but a welcome distraction as well, on very few occasions (only 2 that I can recall) were they a hindrance…once when Indy headbutt me in the belly mid contraction and the other when they tried to steal my blanket mid contraction.



Lith arrived around 5pm, I know only because I had memorised the train timetable in the weeks before, and we just carried on as we were before. The contractions came in waves, they were irregular and I often had breaks which I welcomed because they usually came straight after particularly intense contractions. I had to change positions and try different ways to get through contractions often, but for the most part labour was filled with lots of laughter and I even felt bored at times. Several times I ask Lith stupid questions like how much longer she thought it was going to take, just to be a smart arse and keep us amused…I also blurt out stupid stuff mid contraction which she took great pleasure in taking notes of…for example, me saying something like ‘this labour thing is pretty easy until a contraction hits’…and another time when a contraction hit and Jamie was taking his time to get to me I stammered frustratedly something like ‘Get. Here. Now. Arsehole!’



Nearing midnight I realised that I wasn’t having a baby that day at all and that it was more than likely that I was going to labour for longer than 24hrs, I was frustrated and had another teary moment with Jamie about how I was sucking at it, and we decided to try and lie down and rest. I managed to sleep for a little while but not as long as I had hoped…I had fantasised about waking up and pushing out a baby rofl. Indy woke up around here somewhere and joined us for a few hours before flaking it on a mattress in front of the heater…I labour on.



Somewhere around 4am it feels like nothing I do is helping anymore, I am exhausted and really over it, I start thinking about getting in the pool but am afraid of getting in too early and slowing things down. By 5amish, I think, I don’t care anymore and want the pool, NOW! So of course when Jamie brings the pool out we realise that its not inflated enough, and if that wasn’t enough to piss me off, Jamie can’t remember where he put the tap connection…despite putting it somewhere he declared he wouldn’t forget…I find it and resist the urge to kill, LOL.



Then he fills the pool…a disappointingly lukewarm temperature…and we run out of hot water, doh! I am thinking just fuck it, and get in anyway as Jamie and Lith boil the kettle and pots on the stove. Despite being too cold and making me shake uncontrollably, getting in the pool was bliss, having the pressure taken off my aching legs and feet…just bliss.



The pool was soon at an acceptable temperature and I continued to do my thing in the pool, frequently having to change positions as the effectiveness of one wore off. In the pool I began puking, at first it was quite horrible, but towards the end of labour I had begun to welcome it because it took the contractions away for a little, LOL.



At around 7am I jokingly asked Lith when she thought the baby would be born, and she joked back that we would have time to get brekky from Maccas. Not long after things really intensify and I start to feel like I am struggling to cope with the contractions, nothing helps anymore and I begin to really yell and SCREAM my way through contractions. I yell stuff like, fuck, get me out, make it stop, help me and in between contractions I start begging Jamie and Lith to get me out and make it stop, that I’m not coping anymore and I don’t want to do it anymore.
Transition sucks, LOL. This was the toughest part for all of us and it felt like it went on forever even though it was only about an hour, by the end Jamie was nearly in tears because there was nothing he could do or say, and Lith pissed me off by being uber calm and telling me how awesome I was etc and I whined and yelled that they weren’t listening to me.


Strange things went through my head during this time, I wondered if this was transition, but didn’t care because it was so hard, LOL, and I also pondered ways to escape…at one pointed I toyed with the idea of saying that I thought there was something wrong with my c/s scar but couldn’t bring myself to because a- it meant lying LOL, b- I had a feeling they would see right through me and c- the thought of getting up and getting out of the pool, then having to try and deal with the pain in a moving vehicle was too much to bear. So I didn’t…instead I went on to say that I wanted to die and would they please kill me. (This reminds me…I had really good manners despite the pain, I often said please and thankyou when asking for and receiving counter pressure on my back, how fucked is that!?!)



When it really seemed too much I was kneeling and leaning over the side of the pool in despair when I felt like I might need to poo…I had pooed often while screaming through contractions already so I didn’t really think it might be a baby, and I was so pissed off at Jamie and Lith for not killing me that I decided that I would just poo in the pool again on purpose ROFL. I started to push gently and my body just went WHOOSH! and took over, I couldn’t have not pushed if I wanted too. After a few pushes I pondered that maybe I was pushing too soon, I couldn’t possibly be pushing a baby out already because I was going to labour forever…I curiously had a gentle feel inside my vagina and was surprised to find that there was something in there! I silently pushed on and within minutes there was a head at the opening! I kind of knew at this point that I was going to tear, I can’t explain it, I just knew there wasn’t enough give and as much as I tried to push gently and slowly, my body took over and pushed like mad.



With just a few pushes the head and shoulders were out and it was a really bizarre feeling having just his body inside, I felt like I couldn’t tell where to push because I wasn’t so stretched and full.



After he was out I turned to look and the first thing I saw was his penis…my first words to my newest little man ‘oh my god, you have a penis!’ During the pregnancy I was sure that I was having a girl, to the point where the baby was referred to as she and often by the name we had chosen, so I was really shocked to see that penis!


And we realised that he had indeed been born in time for a Maccas brekky, LOL.



I sat down in the pool to check him out and snuggle, contractions started again and for a brief moment I thought to myself, ‘oh fuck, here comes the girl’ ROFL. I didn’t really have any urge to push but gave a few little ones to see what would happen and to my surprise the placenta came out. It was a bit weird at this point because it seemed to get stuck 3/4 of the way out, we didn’t want to pull on it for fear of tearing or damaging it, so I spent a while trying to push/move it out. It didn’t budge. In the end I stood up and manoeuvred what I could into the waiting colander where Jamie and Lith checked it out and declared it intact, even though it seemed like I still had some stuck on the way out.



I sucked on the placenta just as a precautionary thing and jumped into the bath to suss out what was stuck…it turned out that some blood clots that were coming out with the placenta had gotten stuck in my pubic hair ROFL. And I also discovered that I had indeed torn, though not where I had thought, and it was declared tiny and fine to leave unstitched later by one of the midwives who I had called after the birth to see if she would take a look.



The intensity of transition left me reeling for a few days, straight after the birth Jamie said ‘why would you do it anywhere else?’ to which I quickly replied, ‘why would you do it at all?!’ LOL.


I am so glad that we freebirthed and I am so grateful to Lith for travelling so far, she was a fabulous presence at the birth and I think things could have been disastrous if I had had different support people trying to get me through transition. 



It has blown me away though after 2 attempts at breastfeeding went pear shaped just how big a difference having a non drugged, born when they are ready, baby makes to getting it established. I was anxious to say the least and it has really been quite easy. He latches on well, there are no struggles with attachment, he is happy and calm and he poos like you wouldn’t believe!!!


February 12, 2007 7:00 PM Snow fall begins
“We are probably timing gas pains.” my mother giggled when I came into the room at a whopping 39 weeks pregnant. “Yah, probably.” I thought because of all of the previous preparatory cramping and false calls. We had been timing cramps for about an hour and they just disappeared, ending with no labor. I went to bed and woke in the middle of the night with more cramping. I refused to call my son’s daddy, Willie, to come home from work or my mother or my midwife until there was some type of rhyme or reason with the cramps.

February 13, 2007 6:00 AM Snow and ice accumulating
The snow turned into a blizzard and my cramping turned into contractions and I called my mother. She arrived and called my midwife and Willie. I had five hard contractions and my twelve year old dreamer woke up and came to me. I told him that we had plenty of hours left before the baby would arrive. Thirteen minutes later, I stood up, my water broke and my baby crowned. With urgency in my voice, I started ordering Izayah around to find a blanket, find the Rescue Remedy, and find the phone to call Willie again. He had sleepy but wild eyes and dutifully started running around the room to find the things I was asking for. My mind couldn’t catch up with my body. With the next contraction, his head was out. The pain stopped and the world stopped. I looked out of the window at the snow and ice and was seeing the sun peaking over the mountain. My mind was racing, but everything was so still, so silent. I felt like I was watching this unfold on a movie or reading about it in a book. I quickly said to my mom, “He’s coming now! Catch him!” I was standing up and she was behind me. Prayers went up and hands went out. With the next contraction, he exploded into the world, posterior, just in time to see the sun rise.

February 13, 2007 6:13 AM Snow and ice accumulating
“Mom, do you have him?” I shouted. With a slow, hushed voice she said “Yes, I have him.” Somehow, I got turned around and was sitting on my bed, holding this familiar stranger. I rubbed him, talked to him and poured Rescue Remedy on his feet and forehead until he was no longer blue and was breathing. He slowly looked back and forth, alert and stimulated, temporarily gazing in my eyes. No better time could have been planned for my new baby to invite me into undying, selfless devotion. He barely uttered a sound and began to nurse. I had this little secret lying on me. No one knew he was born, except those present, until I chose to tell them.

February 13, 2007 6:25 AM Blizzard
Willie came rushing through the door, after a 25 minute drive from work, thinking that I was in labor. He busted in the room only to find me lying there nursing our brand new little boy. My step mother arrived and forty five minutes later she talked me through the delivery of my placenta. A few hours later Willie cut the cord and buried the placenta. Since then, we have planted a blueberry bush over it. My four year old son awoke and then returned to sleep for a bit, not quite understanding the extent of what had just happened. We had breakfast and a birthday cake as my family trekked through the snow and ice to visit us. My baby didn’t cry for thirty hours. My midwife told me later that he didn’t have a reason to cry. We did not whisk him away to a plastic container. I realized that we deserved this type of bonding, skin to skin, no rubber gloves and no bright lights. He wasn’t washed of his protective covering and his cord was allowed to continue pumping the oxygen that rightfully belonged to him. I realized things were supposed to be like this. I was connected to women, from thousands of years past who delivered their babies without unnecessary medical intervention. I was proud of my body, in awe of my baby and so thankful that I was now lying in bed with my family watching the snow fall.

I had the great privilege to be present at your birth. Your mother and I met at a picnic in the summertime and she invited me to come to your birth as a doula (labor support person). We met up later in the season and talked about ways I could be of help. Your parents were planning to use HypnoBirthing again but this time at home and I was delighted to be a part of what promised to be a gentle, beautiful, natural birth. And so it proved to be…

During the week before your birth your mother experienced periods of practice labor – surges that get the body ready for birthing. On Tuesday, September 20th in the afternoon the surges began to get stronger, longer and closer together. Your mother tried to reach me but I didn’t find out it was time to come until almost eight o’clock in the evening! I rushed over and arrived by about eight thirty.

Your birth team was assembled and ready for you. Your mother was in the birthing tub in the living room with your father right behind her. Your sister moved about the room, expectant and impatient to meet you. There was a mirror placed so your mother could watch you emerge. Your mother’s friend, Martina, was by her side helping her relax with calm, encouraging words.

The midwife, Dale, greeted me at the door with a smile saying, “No baby yet but almost.” The midwife’s assistant was also there, as was a third midwife that your mother graciously invited. Your grandmothers were in the kitchen.

The energy in the room was strong. Your mother was clearly in the second stage of birthing – she was concentrating on breathing you down and out into the world. She greeted me warmly and asked me to get the video camera ready. I did my best to get it working but try as I might I wasn’t able to get it going! Your mother became a little distracted at this point by the video camera and by your sister’s growing impatience. She had waited a long time to become a big sister and this was taking longer than she expected (and bedtime was approaching).

It was taking longer than your mother expected, too. With Martina’s help your mother increased her effort to keep her concentration on each breath, let go and release into the power of her body. It was a challenge. At the advice of the midwives she took a short walk to the bathroom and worked with her surges with Dale and Martina in there for a while. Then she took another short walk to the bedroom. We all tried to calm and comfort your sister but she was very upset and your father put her to bed.

It was late in the evening at this point and your mother settled down on her side in the bed to regain her concentration, get a little rest and move deeper into her birthing. She did this beautifully. A calm, quiet energy came over the house as your mother lay in semi-darkness with Martina by her side providing calming, soothing words and a healing touch. In the kitchen your father provided a great service to the rest of us by making coffee and plying us with snacks and jokes.

A little before midnight Dale and I returned to the bedroom to offer support and encouragement. Your mother was on her hands and knees now breathing you down and out. She had rested and was ready to meet you. All her concentration was on her efforts. Martina showed me how to gently massage your mother’s shoulders and back. Your mother’s body was alive like no other I had touched before. She was not shaking or trembling but her whole self seemed to radiate and pulse from the inside out. Her breath was slow, calm and deep. Her eyes were closed, her attention turned inward. Martina stepped out for some minutes and your mother worked through her surges skillfully, calmly, beautifully. Dale and I were on either side encouraging and supporting her when she wanted to rise up onto her knees.

A little bit after midnight Dale got a flashlight to peek at your mother’s bottom so she could get a sense of what was happening. When she did so she immediately said in surprise, “Oh! There’s the baby! Get Dave, get Dave.” I opened the door and soon the room was filled with people getting ready for your arrival. Your head emerged like a great, white, full moon, for you were born inside the bag of waters – a very rare state to enter the world in, completely cushioned by the waters in which you had grown in all those long months. Seconds later we all watched as the moon became a human baby’s head and face, perfect and new. I will never forget the sight. Your body followed quickly after and you had arrived. It was 12:18 am September 21st. You took your first breaths on your parents’ bed lying between your mother’s legs while she sat back and took in the sight of you.

Your sister was woken and brought to your mother’s side. In wonder and sheer joy she greeted you. After cutting the cord your father made delighted phone calls and your sister told all the world that she had a baby brother. The birth team was all smiles as your cord blood was collected and your mother birthed the placenta. The house was all bustle and celebration as you and your mother were cleaned up and made comfortable. You nursed right away while your sister opened your birthday presents and your father broke out the champagne. Your mother was up and around searching for the video charger and setting things right with you perched on her shoulder. We finally convinced her to rest after she had a snack and used the bathroom. Your father and I put the
house back together as best we could.

When I climbed in to my car at almost three in the morning the house was still ablaze with activity but things were showing signs of slowing down. Martina had left and the midwives were packing up their gear and finishing paperwork. The night sky above us was clear and full of stars. The air was cool with just a hint of the coming autumn. I rode home with a rekindled belief in the birth process. You were birthed in the comfort of home, with your family joyfully gathered around you, without any medical intervention and without any injury to you or your mother. Yours was truly a gentle, natural birth and I will be forever grateful for the gift of being allowed to witness it. Thank you Lukas and your family. May you know joy, may you live with ease.

In gratitude,

Anna

We enjoyed a normal uneventful pregnancy with no doctors appointments, tests, or scans. I sensed that my baby was in the posterior position at the end of my pregnancy, but I felt strongly that this was not something I needed to worry about. I felt that my baby was telling me she either wanted to be born sunny-side up to greet me, or she would turn in her own time during our labour. Either way, I instinctively knew she would be born safely in her own time.

Gentle pre-labour began on the weekend, but I didn’t realise that’s what was happening. I told Andrew that it felt like the baby was doing break-dance moves on my pelvis, but well aware that these early stages can last for weeks, I also knew not to start counting down the hours until we would meet our baby.

Monday night during dinner the sensations in my uterus became slightly stronger. We had friends over that night and quite often I would jump up in the middle of conversation, without thinking, and begin swinging my hips from side to side. I didn’t get much sleep that night as the sensations became like very challenging menstrual cramps.

Tuesday Andrew went to work and I laboured gently throughout the day. At times I felt overwhelmed by the realisation that our baby had begun her journey. Other times I felt at peace with her timing, but most of the time I was excited. At last it was my turn to join the company of my esteemed friends who had homebirthed before me.

When Andrew got home that night things started to gather momentum. We went to the supermarket for dinner supplies and I would stop when a surge began and gently swing my hips, breathe, and close my eyes, right there in the isles of food. Back at home Andrew began taking photos of me labouring away in my underwear. As he watched me he had a look in his eyes that I knew only too well after so many years of friendship – it was his “I’m falling in love again” look.

We turned off the lights and lit candles which we had placed all around our lounge room and kitchen - where I had felt this birth would take place. We began to wonder if we should call our doulas to the house? Things were moving along, so we decided to call Julie.

Julie arrived just before midnight and took Andrew ’s place by my side so that he could rest. Hours later Jo joined us, so that Julie could rest. My labour had slowed down by this stage, so Jo helped me get into bed beside my sleeping partner. She knelt by me and massaged my back to help me relax and get some sleep. Jo encouraged me to surrender to birth, concerned that the slow down was the result of emotional issues holding me back. I released a lot of those issues all over her shirt, covering her in tears and mucus during a much needed hug.
I couldn’t sleep, so Jo, Andrew and I went for a walk outside to help it pick up again.

Wednesday was the most challenging day of my three day labour. On again, off again, it went all day, but it was never “off” enough for me to get a decent rest. In the afternoon Jo and Julie asked my permission to leave for a while and give us some privacy, which we were both very grateful for. Andrew had been hanging around in the background, allowing Jo and Julie to be my primary supporters, and we both wanted him to play that role. At any time we could call our doulas back, but we didn’t do so until half an hour before midnight. Until then Andrew and I fell more deeply in love as we laboured in privacy. When the surges became so intense that I started to fear, he would confidently whisper “you are doing it”, and I was so grateful that he never said “you can do it” as if I wasn’t already! When he held me in his arms the pain would literally ease. Between surges he massaged my lower back which was aching, and during surges he would cuddle me from the front. Eventually I got frustrated with him having to move from front to back and asked him to call Jo and Julie back. In particular I was begging for Jo’s amazing massaging hands!

They arrived at midnight, by which time I was calling out “WHERE ARE THEY!?!?” It had only been twenty minutes between the phone call and their arrival, but deep in my labour haze it felt like a couple of hours. For a while the three of them took it in turns to either massage my back, sit by me with my bucket (I was nauseas a lot of the time, but didn’t vomit, the bucket was there for security) or cuddle me.

It was now very early Thursday morning. Once again my labour slowed down so we went for another walk, which I was very resistant to. A crisis of confidence was beginning, and I began trying to test the strength of my support circle. In my hazy mind I thought that my birth support team had the power to switch labour off like a light bulb, and all I had to do was convince them it was a good idea! After begging them to make the birth stop and to save me from the pain I gave up.

This was a turning point for me. At this moment I went from girl to woman. I had been waiting and seeking for Jo or Julie to give birth for me, for them to tell me how to do it. At this point I stopped doing that and chose to listen to my body and do what came naturally to me. I gave birth to myself as woman.

My support team were suggesting we walk further from the house, but now that I was tuned into my instincts I felt with every fibre of my being that this was wrong and I said so.

When we returned to the house labour slowed down yet again. With my blessing Jo went home and Andrew and Julie took turns being with me. I was beginning to get tired and impatient. I felt foolish for having rung Jo and Julie so early, and I felt guilty for robbing them and Andrew of their energy. And I began to doubt my ability to see this homebirth without medical attendance through! I knew just where to go to get the pep-talk I needed. I went to Julie, who had been resting in our spare bedroom and I released my fears to her. She calmed and reassured me, helped me cast out the guilt. She reminded me what an honour it was for her, Jo and Andrew to bear witness to my birthing goddess and not one of them cares how long this birth may take. “It will take as long as it takes” she said. Best of all she said “you are doing it! You may feel like you’re not, or that you’re failing, but you are doing it right now, and you are doing it beautifully!”

We returned to the lounge room and to labour. I was only comfortable standing up at this stage, but I was exhausted and struggling to stand, so Julie suggested I lie on my side and she sat beside me. When a surge swept through my body she would whisper “just relax, breathe through it” and I would.

My body began to shake, I knew that this was the body’s normal reaction to all the great birthing hormones, but it really pissed me off. The shaking made my body feel rock hard, and I struggled to relax, I felt out of control and unsteady. Julie massaged my legs, helping me release all the tension. And when I shook she would place a hand on either side of my body and hold me tightly. It was glorious! She made me feel steady and calm. I went to the toilet and was comforted to see lots of thick blood streaked mucus. I could no longer doubt my perfect body’s birthing ability - it was a sure sign my cervix was dilating beautifully. I returned to the lounge room where I hurled the contents of my stomach into my security bucket, and it was satisfying to get rid of the nausea!

All of a sudden I felt like I needed to poo, which I knew from reading was a sign that the time to push had arrived, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. At that moment I felt my baby’s head turn around and drop into my vagina! My sense that my baby had been in the posterior position was confirmed, but now she had chosen to be born in the anterior position. I didn’t care which way she was facing, but her turning was what made me realise it was indeed second stage and not a poo coming out! I remember singing out to Julie so happily: “It’s not poo!”

Julie woke Andrew and called Jo back to the house as I was on all fours in the lounge room grunting. A sense of urgency had filled me and Andrew couldn’t heat the water in the birth pool fast enough! (we had filled it days ago, expecting the baby a lot sooner). My knees were sore from the floor and I felt like I might split in half if my baby was born on land. I was so relieved to jump into the luke warm pool and feel the soft padding beneath me. I spread my knees far apart and felt myself open, I felt secure and supported by the water, and confident that the last stretch of birth would come to me easily.

Second stage only lasted forty-five to fifty minutes, after fifty-eight hours of dilation! It was fucking awesome not to be dilating anymore! I LOVED pushing! It was exquisitely satisfying.

I was very calm, and giving my support team a commentary in between cracking jokes. When my body would push I would think to myself “just let it happen, don’t do anything, relax, breathe”.

I reached down between my legs and could feel my waters sac/membranes bulging out. I felt my baby’s head moving down inside me. As I announced to my captive audience “I feel a head” Jo returned. I was so happy to see her again, and the look on her face of excitement, elation, and amazement at how far things had progressed since she left was thrilling for me to see. When I saw her I realised how fortunate my baby and I were to have such a special birth team to celebrate this journey with.

My waters exploded out of me into the birth pool. The pushing urge returned again and my vagina burned briefly as it stretched further than I ever could have imagined possible, then it stretched some more. It was intense but not hard or scary.

I reached down again and touched the top of my baby’s hairy head while it was still inside my vagina. I felt connected to all the women in the world who had reached down and touched their own baby’s heads during crowning.

My body pushed again and my baby’s head was born. I calmly waited for the next pushing urge and then I felt the rest of my baby slide out of me, soft and slippery, the opposite to her head.

I was stunned! I had given birth to my baby on my knees in the pool, upper body leaning forward over the side of the pool, she was behind me in the water, Andrew was still ferrying hot water to the pool, so he was in front of me rather than behind catching our baby. But as usual we could trust our baby, she swam between my legs and placed herself right in front of me. I reached down and scooped her up out of the water and into our world. Andrew was by my side to greet our firstborn.

Time stood still as we gazed down at our wrinkly little bubba, her skin was blue. She introduced herself with a gurgled cry. She and I cuddled in the pool with Andrew by our side. And within a few minutes her skin was a healthy looking pink. Eventually she kicked her legs apart and we discovered that we had a daughter, just as we sensed throughout the pregnancy and even before.

Harriet had arrived at seven past seven Thursday morning. When the water became uncomfortably cool Julie, Jo and Andrew helped us out and we sat on the couch. Julie and Jo helped Harriet and I have our first breastfeed while we waited for our placenta to be born. A little over an hour after Harriet was born, her placenta was born.

I later wrote about my thoughts on the experience:

“I am so filled with pride and self-respect. After years of planning for this moment it has finally come, I have had the awesome freebirth I’ve been dreaming of. I did it as a first timer, I did it for 59 hours, I did it with a posterior baby. Before birth I had no idea the depths of my strength!”

My story shows that yes labour can be long and hard, but if a healthy woman is adequately supported by those around her she does not necessarily require any medical assistance whatsoever!

So we went to shops for the day and let the kids play on the play area, that night I did not have many of my usual contractions, so I stayed up surfing the forums. I finally went to bed at about 10pm.

That night I stayed up later than expected on the forums, but when I went to go to bed I still could not sleep, I also realised that tonight I had not been having my usual contractions, this annoyed me a bit. I got up like normal at about 12:00am to go to the toilet, still feeling annoyed nothing was happening. Once I was back to sleep I started being woken by contractions, these were very intense but I was able to go straight back to sleep after each one, I am sure I was dreaming of a contractions and slept through one!

At about 1:20 am I decided that that one was a little more than I was handling so I must of needed to go tot the toilet, I sat on the toilet for a while, and had no contractions but when I stood up I had another one, it had been 10 mins since the last one. So I sat on the bed and waited, thinking maybe something could be happening.

10 mins came….. and went, so I lied down and at 14 mins I had another one, how annoying they were irregular. That was at 1:45am, so I waited, I had another one at 1:55am and it was a ripper for a early labour contraction, then I had another one at 2:05… hhmm these are 10 mins apart and they bloody hurt, I better ring the midwife….

While I was chatting to her I had the next one come at only 8 mins, irregular again, dame it. As our birth pool had a hole in it (air was escaping) I was really worried about not being able to birth in the pool (we were going to replace ours the next morning!) Sonya suggested she would get dressed and bring the birth pool over, 1 ½ hours drive! And if we did not need her just yet she would go back to her mums house (10 mins away) for the night. I rung one of my support people (Kellie) and told her things were started and head over. The next contractions was 10 mins again but was were bloody strong, so I told her to come any way. Eric rung my mum to. I wanted to labour in the pool but was worried about not having enough hot water so we filled the bath first before hubby started on the birth pool.

I had one contraction in the bath, and it was strong. I did not have a clock so gave up on timing them. The next contraction I had in the bath was full-on I could not get over the peak, I started to freak out thinking there was hospitals for this sort of thing, they had epidurals, and I wanted one. As the contraction went away I was still freaking out, WTF was I doing this ****ing hurt!

I called Eric in to the bathroom in hysterics, saying “I cant do this, I need an epidural, I cant do it.” He responds with “your doing really well honey you can do it” This did not help at all and I was scared. I was so scared I started to vomit. Then the next contractions started! I hoped up on to my knees side ways in the bath and he hugged me. He made me safe, secure, loved. I don’t know how he does this but it was the same in Jeromie’s labour. I felt a lot calmer after that contraction so He went to turn to water on for the pool, but as soon as I started having a contraction I NEEDED him there.

This must have been frustrating for him. I would yell out when I started having a contraction. I had a couple more contractions in the bath, but felt I was going to poo so I hoped on the toilet but I started shacking uncontrollably. I think at this point I hoped back in the bath, but there was no relief and I still wanted to poo. So I decided to use the toilet in our room, where we were planning to birth. Its about now Kellie arrived. I was sitting on the toilet with the heater on and a towel around my back. I would call Eric when a contraction would start, he would come running and hug me and I would squeeze him until I did not need him anymore. 

I again had a freak out for a minute and I started to vomit again, but I realised I was thinking a lot between contractions about how these were not going to stop until I had to push this baby out, so I asked for my rock CD my little brother had burnt for me just for labour. It really gave me something uplifting to focus on and I often sung the songs to myself between contractions. Eric kept asking if I wanted to hope in the pool now, and Kellie kept asking if I needed anything… gee how bloody annoying, im bloody singing here! In hind-sight I was entering into transition here, as I was not able to communicate even between contractions. 

These contractions were so much more intense then any of my other labours, the only thing other than Eric that got me through them was telling my self “I can; I can; I can” over and over and over again, and focusing on the breath out.

Eventually I stopped pooing so I decide I would hop into the birth pool. (hubby recons I was only on the toilet for a few contractions- it felt a lot longer) We do not have a big room so it was in the entry with just enough room for one person to get past, in the hope that there would be enough room on the other side to fit the replacement pool when Sonya got here. Some time around now my mum showed up.

It was her job to time contractions (she seems to always get stuck with that job!). Turns out at this point the contractions were 3 mins apart. I was leaning on the side of the pool with Eric squatting beside me hugging me. My back was out of the water so I had a hot water bottle on it. The pain in my back really picked up and it was now worse than the pain at the front. This I do not understand as I could clearly feel the baby at the front on the left.

The baby also kept moving between contractions and that really hurt! At some point the contractions stopped going away the pain in my back was not going away either and it was excruciating. 

I spent most of my time thinking about how if I could just go to the hospital I could get an epidural for the back pain. But I would then remember I would have to get in the car…. Dam it…. Every time the baby would move it would hurt even worse, then another contraction would start. I was still doing the “I can; I can; I can” It did not feel like I was getting any kind of a break.

At 4:35 am the midwife finally arrived, and with her was the other pool, so everyone set about to get that set-up. The first thing I said to her was “I think you need to ring Liska” (our back-up midwife) Now remember there was only space for one person to fit past the birth pool? Well Eric was in the way, so he kept moving, and he needed to help them with things, so if I needed him I would bash with all my might the drawers beside me, it got the point across and would come running! At some point the midwife wanted to check the baby’s heartbeat and I just looked at her like “WFT I aint moving” thank god the Doppler is water proof!

I could hear them setting the pool up. I also could here Sonya getting things ready for the birth but because Eric was in the way she had to ask for things, she asked for the O2 and the resus bag, and she also asked for the syntocin out of the fridge. All I kept thinking was “we don’t need that stuff, im having a baby” lol. I started to feel the bag of waters move down and I felt like I wanted to tense my tummy muscles, not so much a push but just tense them.

I knew if I stood up the water would break, but I did not want to stand up, so I had two contractions just hoping they would brake by them selves. Then I was told the other pool was ready, I was starting to have another contration so I jumped up and jumped from one pool to the other (over the walls of both pools!) and sure enough as soon as I was in the second pool, pop and I had a gush of clear fluid with vernix in it!

Not what I had expected (both my other kids had passed meconium, and I was 41 weeks 2 days). So I knelt down and realised that contraction that started in the other pool was still going to happen, I think I had forgotten about that. Eric was no where to be seen (he was behind me) so I grabbed the midwife and she held me through that contraction. During this contraction I could feel the head was moving down VERY low. When that one was finished I reached down and could feel my baby’s head just in side my yoni!

I started saying “Hello My Baby” over and over again, and everyone realised I was serious and I started hearing people talking with excitement. I looked up and could see the sun had risen and all the light around me, the adrenaline had kicked in and I realised that Tenysha was not there, so I asked for her, and it turned out they were only just going to get her and Jeromie now! When the next contraction started I wanted to push a little but that felt just wrong, and at the same moment my midwife reminded me to breath. What felt good was to pant really quickly, and then I started to feel my perineum stretching, I tried to reach down but could not reach and the midwife put the mirror there so I could see but I couldn’t.

As I panted I felt his head stretch it more and more and more until I felt it was almost out! I had just birthed my sons head, with out pain, and without pushing!!! It still felt really screeched as the contraction finished so I pushed a tiny bit and the very last bit of his chin came out. I reached down and felt his beautiful head while his body was still with in me. It felt really soft and squishy and slimy!

I was rubbing it when I realised I was right he was facing backwards. As the next contraction started again I went to push again but it did not feel right so I started panting again. I wanted to push gently on his head, I don’t know why. This bit was a little painful, then I realised his back shoulder was out, then I felt the other shoulder come out, then he slithered out. As I opened my eyes the midwife had her hands in the water and I blurted out something like “im getting him!!!!!”

I still had my hands in the water around his body so I grabbed him and pulled him up to my chest as I fell back onto the edge of the pool. I started saying over and over things like “Hello Baby,” “he’s perfect,” “He’s Beautiful” and I started to bawl my eyes out. It was the most amazing feeling! Better than anything I have ever felt!

He was born at 5:09am. He did not cry just kinda made a little squeak, then just looked around and at me. This was bliss, everything I had ever wanted at my births. 

Not long after he was born I started having 3rd stage pains. They were just like the contractions of the labour with the back pain and all. I squirmed to get comfy while trying to take in my new little man. And they seemed to last forever. For one I turn on my side in the pool and he just latched onto the boob like a pro! After a few contractions I decided that I needed to put some effete into them so I got up on my knees and pushed a little, it did not feel nice, and after the next one I did not feel like I was getting anywhere.

My midwife offered me some magnesium and phosphate to help. At this point I decided to stand up and try to birthed the placenta. They put an ice-cream bucket between my legs and I gave a little push and I could feel it in there, so with a bigger push out dropped my baby boys placenta. The midwife felt my fundus and could feel something, then explained there was something that needed to be removed, and what she needed to do. She just seemed to pull ever so gently on a piece of something that was in my vagina and out came lots of ‘stuff’ I don’t really have a better way to explain it.

 After that I hoped out of the pool and baby and I sat on the bed in full skin to skin contact with blankets wrapped around us. It was bliss I loved looking at him and smelling him. His placenta was still attached, we let Tenysha cut it when he was 2 hours old. I have since chopped it up and consume a couple of pieces each day.

Midwife checked and not even a tear.

His ’stats’ were:

Weight- 4990 grams- 11Lb 0 oz
Length-57cms
HC-37.6 cms

When we weighed and measured him i was so proud of my yoni, i had to comment “Gee i have a perfect Yoni!”

My beautiful boy Rhylan Eli Milton - 

If you have gotten through all this good on you and i hope you enjoyed it.

For the first time in five pregnancies, I didn’t have an ultrasound done. I also didn’t have many of the tests done that were offered. I wasn’t weighed. I wasn’t rushed through appointments. I sat on a couch and talked with my midwives for two to three hours at our visits, while my boys played nearby. Jen & Jill encouraged the boys to ask questions and be involved. Our midwives supported us using HypnoBirthing and having a water birth.

I spent months listening to the HypnoBirthing affirmations and the relaxation CDs. I read the HypnoBirthing book and all of the natural birth stories that I could get my hands on - almost obsessively. I finally started to believe that childbirth is a natural thing that my body is designed to do - not something to be feared. I knew that my baby would be the perfect size for my body, and that my body and baby would work together to birth. I also knew that labor and birth didn’t need to be painful.

I had dreams for most of the pregnancy about the upcoming labor and delivery—ones where I didn’t know that I was in labor, or the baby was born really fast, or the baby was born while I was sleeping and I woke to a newborn, or I would catch the baby myself. Just in case my body and/or baby were trying to send me a message, I learned about emergency and unassisted childbirth, so that we would be somewhat prepared if our midwives couldn’t get there in time.

When we were about 33 weeks pregnant, Carlos got offered a job in Phoenix. We accepted the offer, and got ready to move. At 36 weeks along, we moved from Western New York to Arizona, sadly leaving Jen & Jill behind. It took us about a week to drive out. I met with a pair of midwives in Phoenix a few days after we got here, and I left that meeting feeling uncomfortable. I talked with Carlos and let him know that I didn’t think that those were the women to attend our birth. With young children at home, Carlos just starting a new job, and only one vehicle; we didn’t have much time to shop for a new midwife.

At 38 weeks pregnant, Carlos and I decided when we did go into labor; we would stay at home for as long as we felt comfortable. If that meant for the whole birth, then great - if it meant until we decided to call for help or go to the hospital, then so be it. The hospital was 4 miles from our home, and the fire department could get here in one minute. I wasn’t worried at all…I was strangely calm. I just KNEW that it would all turn out well.

I set up a pool in our bathroom, and had the hose hooked up to the shower. I had everything ready to go…we were just waiting on baby to be ready. I continued to listen to the affirmations and relaxation CDs many times each day, and tried to be patient waiting for my baby to choose his or her birthday.

On our estimated due date, I woke up to pee AGAIN. When I got back to the bed, I felt a familiar tightening in my abdomen. It lasted for about a minute, and I looked at the time - it was 3:15am. I snuggled in and tried to go back to sleep. Before I fell asleep, I felt more tightening. I looked at the time again - it had been about 5 minutes. I continued to relax, looking at the time when I felt the tightening…3 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 6 minutes…and the sensation would vary in how long it would last. I wasn’t in any pain or discomfort, so I figured it was not labor.

At 4am, I was still experiencing irregular tightening. I was bored with too much energy to sleep. On occasion, some of the tightening was slightly uncomfortable. I woke up Carlos. I told him that I was having a lot of “contractions”, and we chatted about life. I was standing, and began to rock my hips during some of the tightening…it was still irregular, and I wasn’t in any pain or real discomfort.

At about 4:45am, I started to fill up the pool because I felt like being in water. I lit some soy candles and got into the pool to relax. At around 5am, I asked Carlos to call my friend, Angie, and tell her that I was in the pool and that I *might* be in labor. He called and then played on his iPhone while I closed my eyes and relaxed.

After about 15 minutes, Carlos came in to hand me a drink and I asked him for a cold washcloth. I wanted a cool cloth for my forehead and the back of my neck. I had been sitting like I was in a recliner, resting the back of my head on the edge of the pool. Suddenly, I felt the need to get up on my hands and knees, and I put the cold washcloth on the edge of the pool. I felt hotter when the tightening happened, so I’d lean forward to cool my forehead on the washcloth while I rocked my hips side to side.

As I thought to myself that it was time for the HypnoBirthing CD to be put in the player, Carlos said that he would be right back. He had to go downstairs to get some cold water from the refrigerator for my washcloths, since (living in the desert and all) only warm water was coming from the faucets. It was about 5:30 am.

Within seconds of Carlos heading out of the room, my back arched like a cat, my pelvis tilted in, and my body began to bear down all on its own. I was making noises that were a cross between a lion roaring and an orgasm, which I had no control over. I had a quick break in the rush, and then another one washed over me. I felt a pop inside of me which I knew must have been my waters releasing. I finally admitted to myself that I was in labor, and that I was having this baby today.

My body continued to have these huge surges of energy, bearing down on its own, causing me to make loud primal noises. Thoughts flashed into my head… “I can’t keep doing this…it’s too much…that kinda feels good…I can’t stop…this is too intense…I still have hours ahead of me…labor just started…holy shit…is my body pushing?…where the hell is Carlos?…why can’t he hear me?…it’s too early to say that I can’t do this, that’s what women say when they are in transition, and I’m just starting…” I checked the birth canal to see if I could feel baby’s head coming down, but felt nothing. I looked to my left and there was our four year old, Spencer, staring at me with his mouth hanging open. He said, “Mom, are you having the baby?” I said, “Yes, did I wake you up?” He said, “Yes, but that’s okay, you have to make a lot of noise to get a baby out sometimes…it was in our book.” (We’d been reading a book about homebirth at bedtime for months). He asked me if I was okay, and I said yes. I asked him to go find Daddy, and he left the room. Thinking back now, I honestly don’t know how I had a conversation with Spencer at the time.

I continued to surge and roar. I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up, so I grabbed the diaper pail that we had nearby and held onto it. I didn’t vomit, but I hugged the bucket and kind of leaned on it - biting the edge at times. Our two year old, Gavin, showed up at some point, but I don’t recall when. Carlos finally came into the room and asked me what he should do. I breathlessly said something about taking care of the boys. He went into the bedroom and told them that Mama was having the baby and asked them to sit quietly on the bed.

At this point, I had somehow pulled myself up from my knees into a squatting position. By the time Carlos was back in the bathroom holding my hand, the baby’s head was out a few inches and had stopped. I wasn’t in pain during any of this; the only way to describe it is “intense”. Both my body and baby were working hard to birth, and I was along for the ride - I wasn’t consciously pushing or holding back. I told Carlos that my water broke and that I was in labor and that the baby was coming out. He said, “Yeah.” It almost felt like the baby was going back in, I rubbed the fuzzy head and said something like, “no baby, don’t go back in.” I then felt the baby kicking inside of me, and felt the baby turn. In one more surge and a huge roar, the baby was out and I scooped up the tiny body that was floating in the water near me. I vaguely recall Carlos saying something like, “There you are, baby.”

I sat back and brought the baby up to my chest. I placed receiving blankets and towels on top of Baby and over my shoulders. I kept Baby’s body in the warm water. Baby’s head was purple, it wasn’t breathing yet. I could feel a little heart beating away, but no breath. I rubbed the baby and sucked out the nose and mouth with my mouth, and calmly said, “Come on, baby…breathe.” Finally, baby started to breathe, looked at me, quietly said “Wah,” and went to sleep.

Carlos looked at the clock and said, “5:36.” Spencer and Gavin came in to meet the baby while Carlos went to wake our six year old, Nathan, who had somehow managed to sleep through the commotion. After a few minutes, one of the boys asked if it was a boy or girl. I realized I hadn’t looked yet! We peeled back the covers to see…Baby was a girl. Nathan said, “I KNEW it was a girl,” and then complained that he had been woken up.

Carlos brought the boys downstairs to get their breakfast, while I sat in the water admiring our girl and offering her my breast. She wasn’t interested in leche at that moment, she just wanted to snuggle and sleep. Carlos then came back upstairs and asked what was next. I handed him the baby and I attempted to stand. Her cord wasn’t very long, and it was difficult to figure out how to stand and climb out of the pool. The placenta was born while I was working on standing up, and we put it into a bowl. I got out of the pool and dried myself off while Daddy dried off Baby Girl. I put on some clothes and Daddy took pictures of the baby.

I cut her cord, we got her dressed, and we took more pictures. We made a few phone calls, and took more pictures. Baby and I got ready to nap and she latched onto my breast for the first time. After we woke about an hour later, I brought her to the living room and the boys took turns holding her. A few hours later, we had decided on a name, took her measurements, made some more phone calls, snuggled, and took even more pictures. Shortly after that, I made lunch and started some laundry.

Lorelai Hailey was born June 30, 2008 at 5:36am. She weighed 9 pounds, was just over 20 inches long, and her head was 14 inches around. Her big brothers couldn’t be more proud (Spencer wants to be a midwife!).

My post-partum recovery has gone really well. I didn’t tear, I have bled less than with the other births, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight within a month, I have had less mood swings, and we adapted quickly into a breastfeeding partnership. I encapsulated the placenta myself in the days after Lorelai was born. I took those pills for about a month (the remaining pills are in the freezer for future use).

Lorelai and I went to a naturopathic doctor when she was nine days old to get checked out, and that was the first time that anyone other than her brothers or parents held or even touched her. The whole family has adjusted well to the new baby. We plan on having more children…and birthing them at home. Lorelai weighs 10 pounds at one month old and is doing very well - she’s happy, alert, and she loves the water.

-Tracey L. Catanach

Unborn babies are capable of learning. They are also capable of responding to your voice as they are able to hear from the 24th week on. It is important that you constantly speak to your unborn baby…your voice is the most important sound and they need to hear you. Hearing your voice and listening to you is how your baby will begin to learn about language. Tell them how loved and wanted they are. Tell them about your day or engage them in conversation as you do light chores around the house. You are their key to the outside world, and it is through you that they will learn that the world that awaits them is a safe and nurturing place. This is all part of the bonding process that will continue once your baby is born.

When there is a healthy bond between you and your child, your unborn baby begins to learn about trust. Through you they can also gain confidence and a feeling of security. These values are extremely important and will help to shape your child’s future. Having such a positive start can certainly only continue to benefit not only your child, but the family unit as a whole.