A healthy baby boy born at home with the help of a midwife and doula. Mother took a Hypnobabies childbirth class and hired a doula to support her during birth.
I pretty much thought that I would go over my "guess date" because I've never gone into labor with any of my other babies early. My guess date was June 18th. Secretly I wanted him to be born on a even number (or even better the 28th) since all of our birthdays are even numbers. I guess I'm just weird like that! When my due date came and went we were trying everything under the sun to get him to come. We ate at Pepper's Cantina a few times, always ordering their spicy salsa and sauce over my enchiladas. That night I would feel more pressure waves start, but they always stopped when I got up to go to the bathroom. I really felt like I might be pregnant forever!
I felt a lot of Braxton hicks throughout my pregnancy and really wondered what REAL pressure waves would feel like. I knew what labor induced pitocin pressure waves felt like because I was induced with all my other babies. I even wondered if my body even knew HOW to go into labor on it's own, since I never did with any of my babies. Though, I didn't wait until my babies were past due more than 7 days to give in and say, "Okay, I've been pregnant long enough, let's get started artificially." What was I thinking?! This birth was going to be completely different from my others because we planned to have him at home, in a birthing pool, using hypnobabies to help me have him with no pain medication. My whole mindset of birth changed throughout the course of my pregnancy and my eyes were opened to all sorts of things that made me feel completely at peace with having my baby at home naturally. I really think it's because I was surrounded by an amazing birth team. Which consisted of my wonderful husband, midwife DyAnna, hypnobabies instructor and doula Kelly, and family and friends that experienced the same thing I was going through. I was so blessed to have these people to help me.
The day of the 27th (yes, 9 days after my guess date) I started having some pressure waves that made me have to stop and bend over and breathe and relax through them. They would come and go throughout the day. Robby and I decided to go on a walk around the track a few times before we went to bed. My Mom was in town with my sister and she offered to come over and make sure the kids didn't wake up and be home alone, but it was almost 9:30 and I figured they were fast asleep and we would only be a few minutes away. I was pretty uncomfortable and felt lots of pressure as we walked, but nothing too bad that I couldn't handle it. They weren't stopping me in my tracks like earlier in the day. We got home and I felt like things settled down and that it was just another night.
We went to bed around 10 pm and I started having pressure waves. They were little so I tried to rest and see what happened. I turned on my hypnobabies scripts on my phone and had them playing softly. The pressure started getting more intense that I couldn't sleep, so around 12:30 I got up and got in the warm shower. It felt so good to have the warm water pounding my back. When I got out of the shower I thought the pressure waves were so intense that I knew we needed to call my midwife and doula. I woke Rob up and he told him I thought it was time to call DyAnna and Kelly. He was like, "Really?! You think it's time?!!" YES it's time! He called DyAnna and I texted Kelly and they both said that they'd be here in 30 minutes. My doula, Kelly, would be bringing her 5 week old baby girl, Jane, with her. It turned out to be a miracle that Jane slept the entire time in the other room and Kelly was able to help me the whole time. I got on my birthing ball (just my big blue yoga ball) and rested my head on a few pillows on my bed. My hypnobabies track, "Birthing Day Affirmations" was playing in the background. When a pressure wave would come I tried "Ahhhhhing" it out and the breaks between them were so welcoming! I started to feel nauseous and told Rob I was going to throw up. He quickly grabbed the throw up bag that came in my birth kit. Good ol' birth kit! :) After I threw up I hoped I wasn't going to be doing THAT again since that was worse than the pressure waves in my book!
Rob started pushing on my lower back and soon I heard DyAnna and Gina come in my room and begin setting up the birthing pool and getting everything ready. I was thinking, "Wow is this really happening?!" It was 1am. I think that's the last time I glanced at the clock. Kelly arrived and she began saying hypnobabies scripts to me and massaging my back during the pressure waves. Rob was helping set up the birthing pool now, too. Soon I heard our little 2 1/2 year old come trotting in and he started "helping" set things up. :) The Pressure waves would start in my back and move forward and down to my cervix. It was very intense. I couldn't completely turn myself "off" like I had learned in my hypnobabies classes, but I was relaxing my cervix during the waves so I felt like I was doing great just staying in center. Finally I heard DyAnna say that I could get into the pool after I emptied my bladder. She helped me up and into the bathroom and there I had some really intense waves. I was hanging onto DyAnna for dear life during the waves. I finally got into the birthing pool and it felt SOOO good!! I leaned over the side and held onto Rob as each pressure wave came. Little Knox was now in the living room watching Toy Story. He would come in and out to see what was going on. Kelly and DyAnna helped push on my back and pour warm water on my back. Soon I felt my water break. I felt a "POP" and gush of fluid come rushing out and I told everyone what had just happened. After that the pressure waves came stronger and closer and I could feel Jax's head moving down and my body stretching. It started stinging and the pressure was SO intense!!! Finally, his little head came popping out and I reached down and felt his head and all his hair! I use the word "pop" because it really felt like that! DyAnna said that his little hand was up by his face. The pressure was like having a HUGE bowel movement. My body was pushing him out without me really doing anything. It was Amazing! I was very vocal saying "Ahhhhh" through all the waves and keeping my focus on relaxing. I needed Rob right there in front of me. I thought I was going to wake up the other kids because I was so loud. :) I kept saying, "Oh my goodness!" DyAnna told me to now close my mouth and push him out. I felt his body slide out and DyAnna was telling me to reach down and pick up my baby! I looked down and saw him in the water! I picked him up and put him to my chest. He was perfect. His round little face, chubby little cheeks and dark head of hair. "Look at you!" was all I could say, over and over again!! I couldn't believe he was here. He had THICK white vernix (white creamy good stuff) all over his back. He was born at 3:20 am on the 28th!! My favorite number and the day Knox and I were born! :) I thought it was special that his little brother Knox was there to see him be born!
I got up out of the pool to deliver the placenta. I kept holding Jax and he was so happy to be in my arms. He was grunting but never screaming or crying. I was helped into bed and DyAnna checked me to see if I had any tears. NO TEARS!! Just a tiny little paper cut on the side where Jax's little hand was up by his face. It was amazing! Jax was still attached to my placenta while DyAnna showed us how big it was! It was a huge, healthy placenta. After a while Rob cut the umbilical cord and Jax was already trying to make his way to start nursing. He was so alert. He started nursing and was doing so well. Awhile later, he was weighed and measured and checked out by DyAnna. He was perfect as can be! 10 pounds 2 ounces and 22 inches long! Such a big boy!
I was able to get up and get in the shower really quick to get cleaned up. Kelly made me a yummy egg salad sandwich that I gobbled down. It was so good! Everyone had everything cleaned up and put away and said they'd be back to check on us soon. We all were able to get a few hours of sleep before the older kids came into our room and were excited to see their new baby brother! The rest of the day we had family visitors and lots of resting! I was still in shock that Jax was finally here, healthy and happy and I was already at home in my own bed. I never felt so good! I never knew how far I was dilated or effaced because I was never checked throughout my pregnancy or during my birthing time. I am thankful for that, too! It was an amazing experience and I am blessed that during the whole thing I never felt nervous or scared. I was at peace and was able to relax and let my body do what it was designed to do. I wouldn't do it any other way!