My Home Birth…

So, I have a lot of thoughts and details I’ll organize into other posts down the road, but for now, here’s the general story. I wanted to get it all down in words before I started to forget!

I guess I can say my “labor” started Saturday 7/25. I taught a barre class as usual. Came home and passed my mucus plug, went on a 3 mile walk with a friend, and then went out on the boat to go to the local bbq for “one last lobster roll before baby.”

I had been adamant about not wanting to be pregnant in August, and at this point I was pretty certain I wouldn’t be.

The next 3 days included very mild contractions that never seemed to form a pattern, and eventually tapered off… I ate only spicy food, and snuck a dash of Tom’s hot oil into every single meal.

I taught yoga on Sunday, reformer on Monday, and finally, barre on Tuesday. Tuesday morning I felt different. The contractions were stronger but still mild enough, and I figured all the squats and hip circles I threw in my barre class would speed things up.

After barre I went home, had my smoothie, and drove to my prenatal appointment. I continued to have mild contractions the whole way there. At the appointment she confirmed 1. My blood pressure was fine 2. Baby was head down and 3. I was about 2cm. She said, “you could have the baby tonight, you could go until your due date!”

I went to one of my naturopathic doctors around 3pm for acupuncture. On the way there I really considered pulling over twice to lean on the side of my car for the surges, which were now noticeable and definitely not gas pains!

After being on the table for about 5 minutes, my water broke everywhere. This didn’t happen with my daughter and I was shocked at how much “water” it really was!

I considered driving home. Decided against it. I had dan pick me up, notified my midwife, mom, and jaimee, and we went home. My dad picked Charlotte up from preschool, and she walked in the house so excited. Her only feedback was she, “didn’t like the noises mommy made.” Other than that, she was such a trooper and so interested in everything that was happening.

My dad went to fix a light bulb and honestly I think I birthed the baby in the same amount of time. It was that fast.

I took a quick shower. Then I came downstairs and leaned on the yoga ball as surges kept happening. At this point I’m very thankful we have a waterproof floor in our living room.

Then I went to the bathroom to labor on the toilet. By the time my midwife got there, I told her I may just have the baby right there, on the toilet. This is hilarious and ironic because I was joking with my brother about this maybe 3 hours prior.

She convinced me to get in the birth tub. I labored on all 4s and my mom and Charlotte rubbed cold towels with essential oils on my back and head.

Two big pushes, about 5 minutes, and boom. There was my little Silas Michael. I knew this birth would be fast but holy cannoli!

It was so serene to labor and give birth in the water. I am so much less sore, the swelling is not nearly as bad as it was with Charlotte, and I was HOME. If you’re thinking about a home birth, I can’t recommend it enough. I had a lovely hospital birth with Char, but nothing can beat being in your own space, and being able to pet your dog while you’re in labor!

This was truly my dream birth. He came on the exact day my mom and I guessed he would. He came at home, in the water, quickly and efficiently. I’ve been having such bad anxiety over all the things that could go wrong, hence why my blood pressure started acting a little whacky. And as I drove home from my first appointment today, I thought, “what if everything goes just fine?” And it did… in fact, much better than fine ❤️

Thank you to the amazing support team I had before, in the beginning, middle and end of this pregnancy…

Jaimee Mansfield photography & lotus flower birth services (Currently in CT, coming to mid coast Maine soon!)

I will link everyone’s services once I have energy! Give them a quick google if interested, or message me!

3 Responses to “My Home Birth…”

Postpartum Anxiety & Experience | Not All Big Girls Drink Wine August 2, 2020

[…] See my previous blog post for a list of my pregnancy support professionals in CT: https://notallbiggirlsdrinkwine.com/2020/07/29/my-home-birth/ […]

LikeLike

Reply
tanssityttö April 29, 2021

I would not dare to give birth at home. It doesn’t always go as well as you did. I may not be able to. My mother also had to give birth to me and my brother by caesarean section. At the time of my brother (1974) it was still an emergency section. By my time, it had already been determined in advance that I would not be able to come normally. We were both big babies! In any case, congratulations to you!

LikeLike

Reply
Not All Big Girls Drink Wine April 29, 2021

Thank you for sharing. It’s definitely a very personal choice, and of course everyone has to do what is safe and what is right for them. Of course it doesn’t always go as planned, which is why having trained professionals is wonderful 😊

LikeLike

Reply