Friday, May 28, 2010

The Birth Story of my Sweetheart


Our baby boy is finally here! As most of you know, I decided to have a home birth this time around. I'll quickly tell you the story so I can get back to my beautiful boy and Sweetpea.

Since I was uncomfortable in the hospital with Sweetpea, and since I'm part hippie, I had to try a home birth with my second child. I went to bed that night having some contractions and had a feeling that I would go into labor soon, but knew I needed to rest. I woke up a few times that night with contractions, but went back to sleep. At 3:00 am I woke up and the contractions were strong and close together, so I got up without waking anyone, and decided to do my hair and makeup since Sweetface said he was going to video tape. I was in the bathroom for about 20 min washing my face and breathing through the contractions and finally said, "forget the hair and make up you vain girl you, it doesn't matter, this baby is coming soon!" I ran into our bedroom and shook Sweetface and said, "lets do this! fill the birthing tub!" He jumped up and got the hose and had to run it from Sweetpea's bathroom because it wouldn't work in ours. I called the midwife and told her the contractions were 2.5 min apart. She said, "are you sure? drink and eat something and I will be there soon." Sweetpea woke up and was totally confused and started crying. I got her out of bed and laid with her in our bed for a few min but had to focus on the contractions. My mom was visiting, so I got her up and told her to lay with Sweetpea and take her somewhere. I locked myself in the bathroom and got in the bathtub which really soothed my pain. The midwife arrived and I was already 7 cm dilated! Whew, that was a relief. Then Sweetpea calmed down and my mom took her to my in-laws and that helped me relax more. In between contractions I quickly walked to the living room where the midwives were setting up and where the birthing pool was. Everyone spoke softly to each other and let me do my thing (on my knees, rocking back and forth, and taking deep breaths). I visualized the baby moving down and kept telling myself, "you can do this, just a little bit longer, and you get to see your little boy." It was more of an overwhelming feeling than a painful one. Like something so big was happening to my body, that I couldn't control it. It was doing what it was made to do. The sun started to rise and I could hear birds chirping outside and I thought, "this is special, and would be a nice time to meet this precious little baby." I could feel burning and pushed his head out in the water. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck! The midwives had to clamp and cut it because it was wrapped so tight. They told me to stand up so they could do that. Then they said, "PUSH!" and I said, "but I'm not having a contraction!" They said, "PUSH!" So I did, and he was born at 6:19 am. They had to give him some puffs of air and stimulate him to get him to cry.

So now it is 2 weeks later and his temperament seems very sweet and easy going. He doesn't fuss or cry much and is a good eater and sleeper. Sweetpea loves him to pieces. If she is upset about something and sees him, she will stop crying and kiss and hug him. I feel so blessed to have such an easy labor this time, and extremely happy when I see my two babies together. Right now, he is going through his 2 week growth spurt, so I have to go feed him again!

2 comments:

  1. That is AWESOME!!! I'm so glad you had such a great experience, especially after Sweet pea's birth! I wish I had the guts to try it, but I'm so chicken!!

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  2. It's wonderful hearing you describe your home birth. I'd love to try a home birth! It sounds so relaxing and un-hospital-like...very much what I'm desiring when it comes to the process of labor with family around. love ya, A. :-)

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