Thank you for sharing your story, Crystal!
There I was, four days past my “due date” on a very hot August night. My husband was working in the room next to me, and I was bouncing away on my exercise ball. I stood up and had a twinge of pain that stopped me in my tracks; I had no idea that was the start of my labor.
We began to eat supper while watching our favorite show. I was so distracted, I could not sit still. I still didn’t think I was actually in labor at this point. Fast forward to 9 o’clock that evening. My contractions started getting closer and closer, so my husband suggested we let our midwives know. We gave them a call, and I hopped in the bath. All I could think about while I was in the bath was a package that UPS had mistakenly dropped off at our house, and how I NEEDED to get that package to this lady’s house tonight because I was getting ready to have this baby. The midwives arrived at our house at about 11 o’clock pm (they came straight from another birth, bless their hearts). At this point they went ahead to check me and I was already 7 cm, that was very exciting to me!
My husband and I went upstairs, took a shower and tried to lay down. That did not last long for me, however, I had to keep moving. I finally told my husband I needed to get in the water. Thankfully, I was far enough along I was able to get right in. I spent the rest of my time in the water. I felt so much better in there. I labored throughout the night into the next morning.
At 9 am on August 21st, 2015, my sweet boy was earth side. After 45 minutes of roaring and pushing, I reached down and pulled my baby to my chest. I remember when Frankie was finally here my husband said, “Are you going to see it what it is?” The look on his face when I cried, “It’s a boy!” will forever be embedded in my memory. I felt like the strongest woman in the world!
I feel like I could not have had such a great birth experience if it wasn’t for my sweet husband and awesome midwives. They continually asked if I needed food or drink, encouraging me to eat and stay hydrated. They allowed my husband and I to labor mostly alone, only coming in to check baby’s heart rate, and my blood pressure. Because of them, I felt so empowered! We are expecting our second little babe to be born in the next couple of months, and I can say I am excited for labor and delivery because I was able to birth how I felt I needed to. Choosing a home birth was the best choice I have ever made.
