I knew as soon as I found out I was pregnant with this baby that I wanted to have a home birth. I had 4 pretty good deliveries in hospital/birth centre but the idea of having bub at home sounded wonderful. After being told we would be moving across the country to a city where home birth was available I went on a mission to find a midwife. I ended up signing on for a hospital overseen home birth program but quickly changed my mind and hired a private midwife. Best decision I made.
The pregnancy was very uneventful; but I always said I had a feeling bub would surprise us all and arrive early. I was concerned about this as I know anything pre-37wks is a bit of a grey area where home birth is concerned.
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On the night of Feb 6th 2015 at 36+5 we decided to take the kids into the city after school as there was a big festival on and they had a mermaid tank that R had been begging to go see for weeks. We walked around for hours and finally made our way home at 9pm. I commented to my DH that I felt like my belly had dropped a bit and that I felt good but a little tired. Around 11pm we went to bed and had some *ahem* alone time ;)
Around 1:30am I was woken up by a particularly strong contraction. After a few more contractions that were a bit painful but irregular I decided to get in the shower to ease them. I did not think for a second that it was labour. After about an hour in the shower the contractions werent easing but were still irregular but a bit more painful. My moaning woke DH up who commented that he just knew Id go into labour. I still didnt think I was in labour and told him so after he asked if I should call the midwife. I said no, I really didnt want to disturb her at that time of night (morning?) for just a few braxton hicks contractions. Oh boy was I wrong! After another 30mins of contractions I finally thought I should call her and ask what we should do as I was a day off 37wks. She asked me if I wanted her to come and see me, and I said I guess so, so she said she would go past the clinic to grab her delivery supplies (seeing as none of us were expecting an early baby we werent very prepared haha) before heading to our house which would take about 45mins. I quickly told DH we needed to clean the house as it was a mess so he set about sweeping while I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Then he started blowing up the birth pool by mouth as we hadnt gotten our pump yet - that was an impressive mission I tell you :lol: After about 15mins of cleaning I told DH I needed to get in the bath tub til the pool was up and filled as it was getting a bit more painful. I ran the bath and felt better once I hopped in - until 5 mins later when I suddenly felt sick and DH barely managed to get me a tupperware container before I was vomitting. I knew immediately I was in transition and then the pushing instinct kicked in. Cue DH panicking and frantically calling the midwife who was still about 25mins away! She knew he was not at all keen to deliver bub so she instructed him to get me out of the bath and onto our bed on all fours with my head resting on the mattress and my bottom in the air to try and slow it down. I dont think she realised just how close I was to delivering! Just after I did this my birth photographer arrived and quickly realised that she might be helping to deliver bub rather than capturing his arrival into the world! They kept saying encouraging words and telling me it wouldnt be long til the midwife came while I tried so hard not to push but my body kind of did it anyway. After what felt like HOURS but was only about 20mins my midwife came through the door and I immediately told them I was pushing, too bad (but in worse language than that lol) I rolled on my side and then my back while my midwife quickly checked bub's heart rate but had trouble keeping a trace on it because he was so far into the birth canal. I remember subconsciously worrying about it but knew if she wasnt concerned or calling an ambulance then we were fine. After that I asked if I could get on my knee's to push so they helped me get up and lean over the head board of our bed where after 3 pushes our little lad was birthed onto our bed at 5:04am! When his head came out he turned to look at everyone, blinking his eyes - it was amazing to see it on the video footage after. I quickly scooped him up and we snuggled while we waited for the cord to stop pulsating and the placenta to birth. After about 10 mins both things happened so we tied off the cord after DH cut it and set about cleaning up. I couldnt believe that not once during labour were my contractions regular or that he actually came early like I predicted!
After Id showered and fed bub we decided to wake the boys up at 6:30am so the photographer could catch their first glimpse of their new baby brother. I will never forget the looks on their faces waking up to a baby!
It honestly was the most amazing birth, even in all its unprepared glory - I never felt anything but supported and respected and had complete control over my decisions. Being able to stay in my comfort zone and have the boys meet their brother in such a lovely way was fantastic. Id do it all over again in a heartbeat!
Kit Jasper Rory T.
Feb 7 2015
5:04am
6lb, 48cm long
