You've heard Alec's birth story. You've heard Sebastian's. Bet you can't guess how Emmett's went. đ I sure couldn't.
Emmett's birth was in a lot of ways my hardest and definitely my longest. Maybe the most traumatizing, too, although that could just be because it's the freshest in my mind. Since this is the most recent birth, itâs also the most detailed story, so be forewarned. You might feel your skin crawl a time or two if you continue reading. Okay, probably not, because it's not actually graphic, but . . . proceed with care. đ
I feel like Sebastianâs birth definitely set the stage for Emmettâs birth, just not in the way I was hoping. Sebastianâs birth had been as wonderful an experience as it seemed birth could be, and I was actually kind of looking forward to doing it all over again.
But I made a big mistake. I let my mind wander, and I let it imagine, and I of course imagined good things. Another speedy labor, maybe with even less pain and even less pushing. Maybe a delivery so fast that my midwives just caught the tail end of it or didnât even make it in time. Maybe a birth in the middle of the night while my boys slept peacefully. How I wanted them to wake up to a new baby. Or maybe a birth breezy enough and quick enough that it happened over nap time, with my boys snug in their beds.
I walked every day, often just back and forth through my house since it was so cold outside, and as I walked I would pray and I would imagine, and more and more my thoughts closed in on that birth that was coming. A lot of my friends were expecting babies around the same time I was, and I would pray over their pregnancies and their births, and I would especially pray over my own. Again and again, I would ask for it to be quick, and beautiful, and that my boys could be home but contained in their room, either during the night or at nap time.
I prepared myself for Emmettâs birth as well as Iâd prepared for both of the ones before, maybe even better, but there in the back of my mind was this assumption that it would be quick. Maybe even easy.
I remembered how so, so long ago I had wished that with my first pregnancy I could somehow disappear for the first half of it and then walk into church with a bump that no one knew about and no one was expecting. And then we got pregnant with Alec, and we went to Australia for two months, and when we came home, I walked into church with that unexpected bump, just like Iâd imagined. And I donât know, but I think I was dreaming up this perfect birth in the same way, and remembering how that unlikely wish had come true, and thinking maybe just maybe I could get another unlikely wish to come true.
It was all fun and games and actually really pleasing to imagine until it came down to it, and it just didnât happen that way.
You know, I even thought maybe he'd come early. Earlier than my usual the-day-before-the-due-date, that is. I'd gotten really big really quickly, and it sure seemed like he could be ready to come weeks before he actually was.
But he didn't come early. Thirty-six weeks came and went. Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight. And finally, thirty-nine.
This was my first pregnancy where I thought the baby might be coming a few days before he actually came. His due date was April 17, and on Monday the 11th I had low abdominal cramping accompanied by the longest and hardest contractions Iâd had yet. I really thought he might be coming. But by the next day, everything had basically stopped, and I had very few contractions all day. Then again a few days later, on Thursday the 14th, I got that same shaky adrenaline surge Iâd had on Monday, the same hard contractions, the same low pressure. I was convinced I was going to have the baby that night, but I didnât tell Eric because I didnât want to get his hopes up. It was a good thing I didnât, because a hot shower and lying down in bed made the contractions go away, and once again, no baby.
Then Saturday, April 16, dawned bright and early, for me at least. I woke up at 5am with low cramping and a hard contraction about every fifteen minutes for an hour. Third timeâs the charm? I wasnât sure, especially when after that first hopeful hour everything died down again. From about 6am to 7:30am, I didnât have any contractions.
It was the day before my due date, and both my other boys had come on the day before their due date, and I was hoping for the same thing to happen again of course, but there was a slight problem. Not actually a problem, but kind of a sad inconvenience. My main midwife Liz was out of town, and I really wanted her to be there for the birth. Sheâd gone to some sort of conference, and sheâd told me before she left that she knew I had my babies on the day before their due date but maybe I could wait this time till the day after the due date so that she would be home again.
Alas, it wasnât to be. I was of course glad to just get the show on the road, but I did miss her being there. Thankfully, I have not one, but two, amazing midwives, not to mention the wonderful student Hannah as well. Iâm getting ahead of myself though.
Like I said, the contractions started again around 7:30am, but I was still very able to do the things I regularly did. I dressed Alec and Sebastian, made breakfast, read to the boys, did a load of laundry, filled the dishwasher, and then folded that load of laundry Iâd done. I figured if the baby really was coming itâd be nice to at least be caught up on the laundry and dishes for the last time in a while.
At some point I thought of that 5am wakeup, so similar to Sebastianâs labor, and I calculated when the baby might come based off Sebastianâs birth. Mistake. I thought maybe Iâd have the baby by noon, if not sooner. Note to self for next time: donât even try to predict how fast itâll happen. Disappointment isnât that delectable.
By about 9am, I was certain it was the real deal and that the baby was coming, but Eric had already had some work-related plans that he really wanted to get out of the way before the baby came. So at 9am he left with Alex to go do that. I wasnât thrilled, but I knew if it didnât happen before the baby came, it would have to happen after the baby came, and I didnât want another reason for Eric to have to leave. I knew there would be plenty of those. Kind of the cost of having your own business.
Anyway, Eric left, and I had two very, very grumpy little boys who had gotten up too early. Half an hour after Eric left, I had my first counter-leaning contraction, and from then on out, they were pretty much all so hard and painful that I had to lean on something and sway to get through them. In the middle of all that, I managed to feed the boys lunch and put them to bed early at 10:30am. I just couldnât handle taking care of them much longer, and theyâd gotten up so early and were so grumpy that I figured an early nap couldnât hurt.
I remembered my hope that the baby would come during their nap time, but it didnât seem anywhere close to that yet. Besides, Eric was gone. I got another shaky adrenaline surge right after I put the boys to bed. I took a quick shower before calling Eric and asking him to come home. That was at 10:50am, and he was about forty-five minutes from home. In that forty-five minutes it took him to come home, I was having contractions pretty much every ten minutes, and they were lasting almost a minute. It seemed pretty hopeful.
But then I laid down, right before Eric got home. That slowed everything down, which was a welcome relief, but it was also very unwelcome because I knew if things werenât happening, that baby wasnât going to come.
Eric got home at 11:35am, and he was in touch with Liz, who was of course out of town, and with my other midwife Julia, who was actually attending a birth in Salem at that very moment. It was nice to know she was so close, even if she was busy with someone else.
The boys got up from their naps. Iâd been tentatively planning to have either my mom or Dora or both come over to be with them while I had the baby, but Dora was working, and I was realizing that any lying down was out of the question if I wanted to have this baby. I wanted to be able to walk the length of my house without having my boys there, so Eric called his mom to come pick them up. I had their bag all ready to go, and Eric tried to have them quietly leave the house without disturbing me, but I wanted to tell them bye.
After they were gone, I bounced on my exercise ball for a while, but even that seemed to make the contractions slow down. At some point while I was bouncing I just burst into tears, and I told Eric I was so afraid. I donât think Iâve ever been afraid of birth quite in that way before. I just knew the pushing was coming, the part that I dreaded, and I didnât think I could do it. Itâs kind of strange to me now that I was suddenly so afraid when my last birth had been smooth and quick and even relatively easy, but thatâs how it was.
I gave up on the bouncing fairly soon after I realized it was making the contractions slow down, and from that point on we walked and walked and walked. Eric shut all the curtains, and we had just a few lights on, and we turned on James Last radio on Pandora, and we walked. That quickly sped up the contractions again, and before long I was pausing at the end of the hall and at the high chair and at the counter, just to grab onto something to get through contraction after contraction. Eric walked with me the whole time, bless his heart.
I knew I could lie down and get a break from the contractions, but at some point I thought of my little boys at their grandmaâs house, and I thought of how much I wanted them to be able to be home and sleep in their own beds that night, and I knew it was up to me to get their little brother out so they could come back home. So I walked.
Julia messaged to say she was done at the Salem birth and that she was headed back to Albany unless we needed her. That was so, so discouraging to me. I actually wished Eric hadnât even told me. By this time it was after noon, and the labor had already been going on much longer than I had expected it to, and I was dreading what was yet to come. Having my midwife drive off in the opposite direction meant she didnât think I was close to having the baby yet, and honestly I didnât think I was either.
Eventually the contractions became too strong to even sway through, so I got in the tub. I was bound and determined to have this baby in the water to hopefully prevent the tearing that had happened with my other two babies. Not having to get stitches would be a dream come true. The water helped stave off the contractions a little, but Eric called Julia and asked her to come. We were maybe, finally, getting close to the end.
Julia and Hannah arrived while I was still in the tub, around 2:30pm. I was so glad when they came. I knew they couldnât get the baby out for me, but it was comforting to have them there finally. They were quiet and calm, and I can still picture them both just kind of sitting on my bathroom counter being there for me but not saying much, just being there. Free birth seems like an amazing thing, but man, I love my midwives too much for that. (Midvalley Birthing Services, in case you forgot.)
By the time they arrived, Iâd been in labor for nine and a half hours, which was as long as I'd ever been in labor before, but it wasnât the end yet. I started feeling like I needed to push, but I was so scared to. For being on my third baby, I felt surprisingly like I didnât know what to do. I asked Julia how I should be pushing in the tub, and she told me to just stay how I was, and I pushed and pushed and pushed. It was awful, every bit as awful as I thought it would be, and even worse. It really felt like I was doing every bit of the work to get this baby out.
My water broke at some point after I started pushing, but other than that, I didnât seem to be making much progress, so Julia checked me to make sure I was fully dilated. I was, and she told me the babyâs head was still a couple inches up yet. That was hopeful, but I also was getting desperate. It felt like I would never be able to actually get this baby out. Julia also said that Emmettâs chin was up. We had already known he was posterior, and that combined with his chin being up was why I having such a hard time getting him out.
I was afraid to push with everything I had, and it all felt so forced. Iâd had to keep labor going by walking, and now I had to keep pushing without being sure I was ready to, and I just wanted my little chin-up, posterior baby to help me out somehow, but he was being very unhelpful.
Soon after Julia checked me, I felt a really sharp, sudden pain down low. I looked kind of accusingly at both Julia and Eric, and they both said they hadnât touched me, and Julia later said it was probably Emmett turning into a better position to get out.
Even so, that didnât make the pushing any easier. I kept trying, all while feeling like I couldnât really give it everything I had, both from being afraid to and from being kind of scrunched up in the tub.
Iâd been thinking it in my head for a while, but I distinctly remember looking at Julia and saying it out loud. âI canât do this.â Iâve gotten to that point with every one of my births, but it felt so clear this time, and it felt like I shouldnât be saying it yet, that I wasnât actually in transition, but of course I was. Thatâs when you say such things after all.
And the only way to the other side was through the pain and through the pushing, so I kept trying. It was just so desperate and awful. I was bound and determined to have that baby in the water, and I wasnât going to get out until there was a baby getting out with me. But it just wasnât happening. I wasnât comfortable. I was afraid. I couldnât give it all I had.
And finally Eric said, âLetâs go to the bed. Thatâs where you always do it. Letâs go to the bed.â
I think it took a couple times of him suggesting it to finally change my mind. I was just desperate enough to try anything at that point, even if it meant tearing as usual.
He and Julia helped me get out of the tub, and I took a few steps and just kind of fell into a squat, and I remember telling them to hold me up cause I felt like Iâd fall, and I went a bit limp and pushed with everything I had for what felt like the first time. I did that twice on my way to the bed, and I really think thatâs what did the trick. It felt like those were the first pushes that actually did something.
And then I was back in my familiar old bad pushing position, but it was mine, and it was what I always did, and it definitely felt easier to push there, but it hurt so, so much. And finally at the end it all kind of happened at once. My posterior baby finally flipped himself all the way around and crowned. I pushed his head out, and then the rest of him, and I just couldnât believe it when they gave him to me.
My little Emmett.
What a relief. What an incredible relief. And what a sweet, precious baby boy. Oh, he was darling.
Iâve cried every time Iâve written this story, both when I wrote it soon after he was born and when I fleshed it out for this blog post. It was my longest, hardest birth, when Iâd been hoping it would be my quickest, easiest one. It didnât help that he was posterior, but my frame of mind going into it also didnât help. But he was finally here, after almost twelve hours of labor, including one hour of pushing.
He was born at 4:43pm, the day before his due date, just like his big brothers before him. He weighed 8lbs 10oz, and he measured 19 ½ inches.
(No, he was not foaming at the mouth in that last picture. He'd just had his Vitamin K oral drops, that's all.)
Emmett seemed much too blonde to be one of my babies, and every picture I saw of myself with him at first hit me a bit strange. Whatâs funny is I had specifically asked beforehand if my midwives could wash his hair for me before they left, and then he ended up with basically no hair to wash. (My other babies had a lot of hair, and a lot of gunk in their hair from birth, and it was hard for me to know how to get it out. Not to mention it was one of the last things I felt like doing right after giving birth, and I just wanted the midwives to do it for me.)
I got the shakes really, really bad a couple times, and I was just so cold. And after all that pain, the pain still wasnât over. There was the placenta to get out, and the stitches to get in, and somewhere in there a belly-kneading or two to make sure everything was out that was supposed to be out, and of course that after-birth cramping that they say gets worse the more babies you have. Pretty sure whoever "they" are is right.
Julia wanted to explain to Hannah what she was doing while she stitched me up, but I just couldnât handle it. I didnât want to hear what she was doing. I just wanted it all to be over. So she respected that, and they whispered about it a little, but I didnât hear much.
I was so tired, and so cold, and I just wanted to sleep. At one point I asked when the midwives had arrived, and when they said 2:30pm and I realized that the baby had come two hours after theyâd arrived, I couldnât quite believe it. It had felt much longer to me.
My midwife Liz was the first person I texted after Emmett was born. It seemed fitting since she really shouldâve been there.
Julia and Hannah stayed with me while Eric went to get the boys a little before 7pm. Alec and Sebastian were overjoyed to meet their new baby brother. I think with my other births I wouldâve been excited enough to let family come meet the new baby right away, but I was exhausted and spent, and I told Eric I didnât want to see anyone till the next day.
Julia and Hannah left soon after Eric got back with the boys, and then Eric put the boys to bed. When he was closing up the house for the night, he saw that our cat Tiger had had her kittens on the back deck. My cat and I had babies on the same day. Help. đ I named her kittens Emmy and Metro, after Emmett, and I had high hopes of one day getting a picture of all three of the babies together, but that didn't happen before both Emmy and Metro disappeared. đ Thankfully, we still have Emmett. (Sorry, bad joke. I couldn't resist.)
The next day both of our families came to meet Baby Emmett. My sister Dora brought us lunch and was the first to see and hold him. Then Ericâs parents and siblings came, then my parents, and finally my missing midwife walked in the door.
Liz and Hannah came in the evening for my twenty-four hour checkup. I asked Liz if she wanted to hold Emmett, and she said she would love to hold her fake nephew. And then we did something that we didnât really do after any of my other births, and we sat in my living room, me and Liz and Hannah, and we re-lived the birth.
It didnât really feel like the birth needed redeeming, hard as it was, but there was something sweet and redemptive about that conversation. It felt like we were just friends, not midwives and client. Hannah and I filled Liz in on all the details, and I told Liz she missed out on a lot of noise. Hannah said she didnât think Iâd been that loud, which was sweet of her. Iâd hate to hear what loud is if I wasnât loud. đ
But you know, for how hard it was to get him here, Emmett definitely made up for it by being the easiest, chillest newborn I'd ever had. I enjoyed him so much, more than I had even thought was possible.
And there you have it, the last of my birth stories. Good thing too, because the funny thing about birth stories is they produce a baby, and those babies get bigger and bigger and have to be taken care of, and I canât spend all my time reliving their birth stories or I wonât have time to take care of them.
Maybe some day Iâll have another birth story to share. Hopefully. I am maybe now just starting to be ready to think about doing all of that all over again. Maybe. đ
I think the moral of these stories is this . . . If you've had a hard birth, take heart, your next one might be easier. And if you've had an easy birth, don't assume the next one will be the same.
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My friend Liz Lapp still has one more birth story to share on her blog! If you havenât read the two sheâs already posted about the births of her daughters, go read them now. đ
http://truthhunter4god.wordpress.com
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And one more thing . . . I thought it'd be fun to do a little giveaway at the end of this series. So if you made it all the way through, here's how to enter.
Leave a comment with your birth story, as long or as abbreviated as you like. Length of labor, how early or late your baby was, size of baby, hospital birth or home birth, number of births, whatever you like! Feel free to leave more than one comment. đ
OR
If you don't have any birth stories or aren't comfortable sharing the ones you do have, tell me which of my stories you most enjoyed reading!
I'll draw the winner a week from tomorrow, on June 15th. The winner will receive a pack of Alec's rose cards (pictured below) and an Amazon gift card. If the winner doesn't have a US address, I'll send the gift card via email and will not include the rose cards.
If you leave more than one comment, I'll enter your name more times. đ And if you'd rather email me your story, my email address is michaylabaer@gmail.com.
Liz Lapp, I'll be entering your name three times since you've been doing this with me! If no one else comments, you will be my guaranteed winner. đ
And I'm excited to hear from the rest of you!
Rina
I've only had one labor and birth, but it was memorable. đ After days of false starts, and finally letting my midwife check to see if I was dilated at all (I was! 5 cm, which was shocking to my midwife, Lindsay. ). If I remember right, i went into labor the day after I got checked. Around 10:30 pm on Feb 20, I started having consistent contractions. Lindsay told me to try to get some sleep, so I did. A few hours later I was having to focus more to get through the contractions, so Lindsay said to head over to the birth center. In the quiet of night, we carefully made our way there (it was cold and a bit icy out.). My birth team had the room all ready and peaceful and I just sat in the rocking chair an labored peacefully while Brandon slept on the bed. The apprentice midwife, Janella, would come in every now and then to monitor baby's heart and my vitals. They brought me food and made me keep drinking water. It's all kind of a blur and I don't remember clearly the order of things, but I think it was about 1130 or so in the morning when I was ready to push. At some point, Lindsay broke my water. Still the baby wouldn't come. They could see his head but he was being stubborn. We changed positions and all sorts of things but nothing was helping. Lindsay told us that we might have to end up transferring to the hospital, which was my worst fear. At this point I was in so much pain, but I did not want to go to the hospital. I asked Lindsay to pray with us, which she gladly did. And on we labored. I believe I pushed for 4 long hours at the birth center before the decision was made to transfer to Silverton hospital. Praise God, it was less than 5 minutes away, because I don't know if I could have made it much farther. Despite the pain I was in, I managed to walk in on my own 2 feet, with Lindsay supporting me. My room was all ready and we went straight there. We were blessed with the most wonderful L&D nurse and she was with us through it all. I got an epidural and I was so thankful for the relief it brought and the ability to think clearly again. They started me on pitocin in hopes to make the contractions more effective and I was able to push. Again. They let me push for 2 more hours, and by then Kyson's heartrate was starting to slow a bit with contractions and he still wasn't progressing, so they wanted to do a c section. I was devestated, but also knew it was best for me and Kyson at that point. We asked if Lindsay could be in the OR with us, and the surgeons were agreeable, so she got to be there with us, which was incredible. (She got to cut the cord, because Brandon absolutely did not want to. đ) The OR was bright and cold and I just lay there shaking. But the anesthesiologist was a nice guy, and brought me warmed blankets. The surgery went quickly and soon Kyson James was out, letting his displeasure be heard. He was a healthy 8 lb 15 oz, and 21.5 inches long, with a head full of dark hair. Back in our room, our amazing L&D nurse stayed with me for quite awhile doing charting and keeping an eye on me. I think she was the first to snap a picture of me and my new little boy. Recovery was so long. My body was exhausted from labor and then a major surgery on top of that. But I made it. I have wrestled so much with this birth story in the years since. Basically, everything that I didn't want, happened. I've had to remind myself again and again that I did not fail. This birth is still valid. And it's our story. And when I look back to the very beginning, to how I found my midwife, I can see God's hand over it all. And so, I choose to be grateful.
(Writing this out was surprisingly emotional for me, and perhaps proof that it is still a healing process)
Chayli
Post authorThanks so much for sharing this! You poor thing, that is such a long time to push. đ I'm so sorry! You are very right, a c-section is every bit as valid as any other birth. You were very brave and strong, and sometimes things just don't go the way we wanted them to. Hugs to you. I know sometimes writing something like this out can help us see the beauty in it and maybe bring some validation and healing to the hurts we feel about it. I hope it did that for you!
Destinie
Wow, what an experience. Itâs hard when âeverything that I didnât want, happened.â But to look back and be able to see Godâs hand thru it all is such a treasure!
Liz Lapp
Aw, you did the best you knew to do, and Kyson arrived safely. Your birth story is every bit as valid as anyone else's! I can't imagine how much longer it takes to heal from labor AND a c-section, plus all those post-partum hormones! You are an incredible mama, and you did a good job!
Anna
I have loved reading all of these beautiful, hard, emotional birth stories! It is all so fresh in my mind with my little Malcolm being born almost 4 weeks ago. How is it going so fast?!
I guess Iâll share his birth story:
This pregnancy was by far my hardest, puking night and day for a few months and feeling like my baby would not be able to grow correctly because I was hardly putting anything in except coke, peach flavored body armor and an assortment of breads (hello hemorrhoids and constipation, my old friends).
I grew larger than with my others and had chronic back/sciatic pain, but who doesnât?
My pelvic floor was at an all-time low đ . Walking felt wrong in the last few months because I felt like my insides were going to see the light of day.
Fast forward to my due date! It came and went with nothing remarkable. I had âstarted laborâ 10 days before and almost called my mom to come get the boys, but then contractions stopped and baby hunkered down for a little longer.
May 10, 4 days after dd, seemed like a great day to have a baby. My midwife told me about her positive castor oil experience, and after saying I would never do it, I succumbed that evening at 10pm and sent my husband off to Walmart to gather ingredients for my rendition of âmidwives brewâ. Banana, ice cream, castor oil, ghee and vanilla all blended into an exceptional smoothie. I went to bed.
I sat straight up in bed at 1: something the next a.m. with very strong contractions. I moved to our tub and labored for an hour before waking my husband. I knew this was it!
My legs started shaking (this has always been a transition alert with my babies), but the contractions were manageable so I didnât want him to call anyone yet. I moved out to my living room and rolled around on my birthing ball. My husband got me through contractions by pressing my hips together providing glorious relief. Bless his hands. He finally called the labor line around 3:40(?) when I stopped talking completely and told them my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and about a minute long ( they were really almost back to back at that point and way over a minute, but he didnât know).
Having birthed my first two sons in hospitals, I was used to bright lights, noise, poking, prodding, checking and touching WAY TOO MUCH, that I was surprised when I looked up from my position on the floor and realized that two midwives and assistant had all arrived and were setting things up in silence, blessed silence. Lights were dim and Chaz had music playing. Was this real?
They asked if I wanted to try the pool. I did. Before getting in they checked me (the only time this whole pregnancy. Bless.) and I was basically at an 8. Praise be! I got in the pool and was able to stretch and float around. My one leg chose that time to completely seize up in the worst spasm. I started puking. Chaz was there the whole time doing hip presses and holding buckets. I knew pushing was next. I freaked out and fear took over. I knew that would make me tense up more and make things harder. I told the midwives âI canât do this! And I know when I say that, Iâm close!â I told Chaz to please pray. A huge urge to push washed over me and I mentally checked out into the pain. Peace out, world. Chaz says I made noise but I donât remember. Several pushes later and his head was out. My body completely relaxed and I was able to look down and see that his amniotic sac was still intact, and he looked like a little alien with his water helmet on. He moved his neck and looked around. I couldnât believe it! Another push, and my water broke as his body came out. I lifted him to my chest in disbelief and heard his adorable little cry. âChaz, heâs so tiny! Heâs way smaller than our others!â I said.
This birth was intense but in a different way than the others. I tribute that to the calmness and peace I felt being in my own home and freely able to move wherever I wanted AND the amazing midwives who let me do my thing. Oh, he was born at 5:14 a.m.
They helped us move to the couch and placenta was born soon after. With my first I had an episiotomy, and tore nasty with my 2nd. Malcolm weighed in at 9.12, our biggest baby! And I just tore a little.
My mom had not received Chazâs texts that I was in labor so she was not present for the birth, which was fine cause I actually loved it just being me and my husband. Our two boys slept through it all.
My hospital experiences were never bad and Iâm thankful for our nurses and OBâs there for assisting with our first two, but after having an amazing home birth experience this is where I plan to stay.
*I say that knowing that birth can go completely opposite from our plans. The birth of a baby is a complete miracle no matter what way, shape or form it takes place. These precious, intricate little babies can only point to a master designer, one that calls us to trust in Him always. And so ultimately, that is my plan.
Chayli
Post authorWow, this was so interesting to read! Thanks for sharing. đ I'm glad you got to experience a home birth and that it was such a good one. And how amazing to be able to see your baby half-born, still in his sac, looking around. Incredible.
Tori
I donât have any birth stories to share yet (I hope to someday!), but I loved Sebastianâs and the way you portrayed the beauty that encapsulates womanhood and bringing new life into the world. That said, Emmettâs brought me to tears, so not sure which one is my favorite. All three are preciousâ¨
Chayli
Post authorThanks for commenting! I love hearing what spoke to people. đ
Anna
** Shout out to Mid Valley Birthing! To Liz, Bailey and Hannah for your top notch poolside manner and everything you did before and after. Forever grateful.
*** Still BFFâs with constipation and hemorrhoids, AKA âConstyâ & âHemmaâ.
Chayli
Post authorI'm thrilled you used Midvalley. :):) I'm quite sure my births wouldn't have been quite what they were without these amazing midwives!
One of them told me to try Calm powder, as frequently as needed. It really does help with those BFFs! (Your names are hilarious.)
Mary Ann Mast
I enjoyed reading your birth stories. We have 4 boys and each one was different. Crazy but the first was the easiest and quickest. đł
Chayli
Post authorThanks for commenting! How interesting that your first birth was your easiest. đ
Summer
I love reading all birth stories! Itâs such a miracle, how babies get here. I was at my sisters two births so that kind of prepared me for my own.
I was planning on having a homebirth. we lived in an apartment above a shop with 30 stairs going up to get in it. So there I was 40 weeks came and went and no sign of any baby. I needed something to distract my mind so three days after my due date, one of my friends and I decided to go paint pottery to distract me from the fact that Baby was not coming yet. My younger sister who was planning on attending the birth came on my due date and was planning on staying we me to help until the baby was born. So she came along too! Nothing eventful happened beside some very light contraction(barely anything more than Braxton Hicks)
I was due on a Tuesday so by Saturday I was ready to get things going. We decided to go on a long bumpy drive in the mountains and maybe just maybe something would start up! We eventually got home and took a long walk. On that long walk I had a few contractions that made me slow my pace but nothing consistent. We climbed our 30 stairs to our apartment and had a relaxing evening.
We went to bed kinda late and as I am laying in bed I feel a sensation as though I need to pee. As Iâm getting out of bed I realize as a gush of amniotic fluid hit the floor that my water broke( or so I thought) turns out it was only leaking and I had a ways to go . But we didnât know that. I called my midwife to let her know what was going on and she advised me to sleep as much as I could. I was also planning on having my mom and older sister at the birth but they live 8 hrs away so to get them there in time was going to be tricky. But I called them and told them they might want to head our way . (So at 12:30am they packed up and drove through the night arriving at 7:00 the next morning) I got back in bed and tried to sleep. Contraction did start to pick up and got stronger and stronger until I couldnât lay down in bed so I moved to the chair in our room and sat there.They continued for a few hrs while Austin slept. They hurt but nothing I couldnât handle. By this time I was getting soo soo sleepy. I tried to sleep the best I couldnât in the chair and I just couldnât. I realized that the contractions were slowing down and not as painful so I tried the bed again and fell right to sleep only to wake up in the morning disappointed because nothing was happening no contractions no nothing.
I talked to my midwife again and she said she would be over at 9:00 to check me and give me some helpful tinctures and castor oil. Thanks to Idahos law on home birth we were on a timeline. We would need to transfer to the hospital after 24 hrs if no labor had started before then. I did not want that to happen. Meanwhile she advised me to go on a walk climb and lunge our 30 stairs. So I did. I walked 11/2 miles and climbed those stairs over and over.
Still nothing more than a contraction every once in a while that didnât hurt.
Lori ( my midwife) came at 9:00 and checked me and told me I was 4 cm! I was pretty pleased. She gave me a few herbal tinctures to try first and if nothing started up before noon then to take the castor oil. And lay down for a nap. Well nothing happend and so at noon I made my castor oil peanut butter smoothy thing and went and laid down for a nap. It wasnât but 2 hrs later I was having painful contraction. At 2:00 I was pacing in my room because I did not want to sit down. I was also expecting them to stop since thatâs what they did the night before. We started timing them and they were coming about every 5â7 min. I went to use the bathroom and as I was walking back the room I had a hard painful contraction leaning against the counter. Mom saw that and said âwhen are you going to call Lori? We decided to call her even if it was early on and she came. I labored sitting on the edge of the couch Austin and mom both putting counter pressure on my low back. Lori suggested to take a walk outside and down our steps to help things move along and oh man was that rough. I went down and up once having a few contractions on the way and leaning on Austin. I went back to the edge of the couch and the counter pressure!
I labored like that until 7:00 and decided to get into the birth tub. The water was too deep for me to relax without drowning so Austin got in to hold me up through each contractions. What a life saverâŚAt this point things were getting serious. Mom was reading bible verses to me Which helped a ton. Lots of God promises Spoken over me. Someone at some-point turned on music I didnt really mind it until a txt message came through with a very annoying notification to which I yelled, â turn that thing offâ
At this point I didnât really know how far I had progressed and Lori didnât think I was as far a long as I was.
At one point I looked at her and in desperation I yelled â why does this hurt SOOO badâ she calmly said that it was probably because the babyâs head was engaging into my pelvis! She said to push if I felt the urge. I didnât yet. Up to this point I had been trying to relax through every contraction and not be tense up but through this transition I felt my body tense up and felt the baby move back up the birth canal a little bit. That was discouraging, but Lori asked if I wanted to be checked and I said yes. As soon as she checked me and said I was at a nine I felt everything open up and I had a huge urge to start pushing what a huge relief! At least I was doing something to counter act the pain. I couldnât believe it I had went from 4cm to 9cm in a 1/12 hrs ! I pushed for 15 minutes and at 7:44 my sweet Rowan Ember was born. Just 51/2 hrs after my first painful contraction started.
We were so overjoyed and happy that she was here. We forgot to look if she was a boy or a girl, she was a girl. We had totally thought she was a boy but had no idea. What a gift! Birth is such a miracle.
I got out of the tub. They Checked for any tears and said there was one tiny tear and that one stitch would help it heal although it probably would be necessary. But ended up giving it to me anyways, which was horrible.đ they tried to numb it, but did not work. I could feel every poke. Not what you would call pleasant.
Finally after all that commotion I was handed my baby and tucked into bed ready to rest for the evening! It had been a long afternoon! But oh was I happy my baby was finally here!
Chayli
Post authorThanks so much for sharing this! I loved reading it. đ Thatâs so special your mom and sisters could be there with you. And what a quick first labor! I love your daughterâs name. đ
Bertha
Chayli, I really enjoyed reading your stories! I've had five home births and they were all amazing in their own way. When I was pg the first time, we assumed we'd have a hospital birth. I called the hospital to talk about the cost and it was way beyond our means... long story short, I ended up with "A Gentle Beginning." Dr Catherine Schaeffer was the owner there and she's one of the world's finest, I'm convinced! My first childbirth was by far the roughest, for various reasons. Dr Catherine was not on call that day and I didn't really like the other gals that attended the birth. I still think the day would have been a lot easier if the right midwives had been there, but it is what it is. We all survived. My water broke and labor didn't start within 24 hours like they supposed it would. They were scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas to get labor going but eventually it happened and we had a beautiful little 6-lb, 15-oz girl. She was born 6 days early, after 18 hours of labor, right in our own living room. At that point I was ever so grateful to be at home. Then I almost panicked when the midwives left and we were on our own with this tiny baby that we were supposed to care for.
With my second child, Dr Catherine was on call that day and I was ever so grateful! After a 17-hr labor, she was born at 11:30 pm, weighed 8 lbs, and that was the most special night! We didn't tell anybody else till the next morning, so we just snuggled that newborn and enjoyed our little secret all night. She arrived 10 days early, so no one suspected there was anything going on except the grandparents who were babysitting older sister. She was an angel baby. Calm, quiet, good sleeper, she was every new mom's dream baby!
Baby number three was a surprise! She joined us when baby 2 was 9 1/2 months old. It was an easy pregnancy and I didn't know I was pg till almost halfway through, so we decided to keep it a secret! That was fun but it was getting really difficult at the end and Lindsey kept threatening to tell people. We'd been told two different possible due dates and she arrived 3 weeks before the earlier date that we'd been given by the doctor. My water broke one afternoon and just like my first birth, labor didn't start. We tried all kinds of stuff that evening and the next day. By the next evening there was still nothing going on and I was exhausted from all the walking about exercising. The midwife told us to get a couple hours of sleep and then try some stuff again. Thankfully labor started around 1:30 and really took off. My first two labors had been 18 and 17 hours, so I was really surprised when they told me I was transitioning in about 4 hours. I was fuming about being too hot, then too cold, then too hot, etc and couldn't figure out what was going on, why I felt so weird. I was still fully dressed and all at once I could feel that the baby was crowning, then to my amazement she arrived with minimal pushing, all 6-lbs and 15-oz of her! She was small but mighty! During this pregnancy, I'd told Dr Catherine about my anxiety about the possibility of the one other midwife being on call when I went into labor. She was very understanding since she'd gotten more complaints about that gal, and said I should just call her directly when labor started!
Baby number 4 came a couple days after my due date. My sister had flown out to help and was getting a little concerned that she would miss the baby entirely. One day I was suspicious that labor was starting so I made arrangements for my sis to take my other 3 girls and go visit Darlene for the evening. And sure enough, soon after they left at 4 pm, contractions started in earnest. We had a bit of time to watch "the Andy Griffith show" which was kind of a tradition for us during labor, but it was soon too intense for that. Dr Catherine was gone for the weekend, but she had a new gal working with her, named Dr Regina and I really liked her, so I was happy with the team that came to help us. Baby came after a 4-hr labor and weighed 8-lbs, 6 oz. Everything went well once again, thankfully!
Baby number 5 caused us some stress at the last minute. All my babies were breached fairly late in the pregnancy and always turned the right way. Well, baby 5 was stubborn and stayed breached past my due date. The midwife turned him one day but right after she left my house, he flipped again. So the next morning, she had me come in to her office where she could use ultrasound to see what was going on while she turned him. This time he stayed, thankfully! She called the next morning and asked how I was doing. I was soooo sick of being pregnant with this big boy, so she offered to come and strip membranes. I wasn't convinced that would start labor, since none of their other methods had ever worked for me! But I decided to give it a try. All day that day I felt cramping and had backaches, which was common since I always had back labor. It wasn't enough that anybody else could tell anything was going on. By afternoon we decided to send the older kids to grandpas overnight, just to give ourselves a break, whether or not baby was coming. Lindsey left at 5 to take them to Woodburn. I debated whether I should fill the dishwasher or do some computer work that needed doing, and decided to focus on the kitchen first. Just as Lindsey pulled out onto the road, my water broke and there were instant hard contractions. None of this messing around to try to get things going! Lindsey made it to Woodburn and back in less time than I knew was possible. I texted Dr Catherine and told her my water broke. She replied that I should let her know when I wanted her to come. I replied NOW!!! She had this thing that when a mom was in labor, and she needed to decide when to come, she'd ask to talk to the mom on the phone, and she could tell if it was time to come or not! Well this time she didn't need to talk to me! I made my way to the bedroom where I totally entered into my own world for a time. I wasn't even really aware of when the team got there. They set everything up and kept tabs on what was going on but mostly stayed out of the way. Jackson arrived at 6:50, less than 2 hours after my water broke. It took some pushing but I was still shocked to find that he weighed 10 lbs and 6 oz. Later, when it was time to get him dressed, we pushed and shoved and eventually got him squished into the newborn size sleeper I had prepared for him, but that was the only time he wore newborn size clothes! After the birth I realized there was a gal there that I didn't know. I asked Dr Catherine later who that was. She laughed and laughed as she told me it was her daughter. The nurse on call lived in Portland and Dr Catherine was sure the nurse wouldn't get there in time, so she just grabbed her daughter and came and they got the job done!
I am grateful that we had 5 boring uncomplicated pregnancies and wonderful home births. Dr Catherine and her gals came to my house for prenatals and checkups and they were a fantastic crew, (minus that one lady that had the wrong personality for her job.)
So there's the very abbreviated version of my stories! It's a great idea to write them down like you did, because the details get fuzzy. Thanks for sharing your stories!
Chayli
Post authorAw, these were a lot of fun to read! Thanks for writing them all out. đ I agree, it is special to get them written down! Itâs amazing how fast you forget. Thatâs so unfortunate that you didnât have providers you liked at your first birth, and Iâm so glad the others werenât that way. So interesting how different births are from one to the next!
Bertha
Here's a funny tidbit from my last birth. I was on our bed, in labor. On our dresser was a poster that we'd picked up at a southern gospel music concert. Those guys over there on that poster were watching me moaning, groaning, tossing & turning, and driving me crazy till finally I instructed Lindsey to turn that thing around so they couldn't see me. The midwife smirked but didn't say anything. Well... she has laughed and laughed and laughed at me ever since!! I know it sounds ridiculous but in the moment, that poster was really bugging me! đ
Chayli
Post authorThis is terribly funny!
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