The day before my son was born, my mom was in town to be there for the birth and all signs showed that we were close. We walked around IKEA and did some last-minute shopping. Around 6:30 pm my contractions came on and I tried to focus on other things so I wouldn’t get my hopes up in case it wasn’t labor. By 9:30 pm my water broke so I knew I needed some rest before the more serious contractions picked up. Around midnight my contractions really picked up and I knew it was almost time to call Amber and Katie so I could labor in the water since my contractions were getting much stronger and closer together. By 3:45 am, I was definitely ready to get into the water! Around 5:45 am the sun started to rise and I could feel myself getting discouraged as the strength of contractions grew strong and stronger. Amber and Katie bother cheered me on and encouraged me while also give me the space I needed to process and focus on each contraction. A few minutes after the sun began to rise, I could feel the fetal ejection reflex start to set in and I tried everything to stop the pushing, but with each wave it got stronger and stronger! This went on for a while and suddenly I felt like I needed to get out of the tub and use the restroom. As I was getting out, another contraction hit and amber got down on her knees with me and held me through the entire contraction until I could get up again to get to the restroom. Around 8:30 am, Katie and Amber knew something must be off since he hadn’t come yet, despite all the pushing. They moved me to the bed to check my cervix and found that I had a cervical lip. Unfortunately for me, this means one of the midwives would have to physically move my cervix out of the way as I pushed to get his head further down. Once this was discovered, our sweet, precious (team green) red-head, blue-eyed boy came into the world just 30 minutes later! The slow postpartum was exactly what I needed to bond with my baby and was encouraged by the midwives. My last postpartum appointment was the hardest to handle, since they had become like family over the 10 months of care. I knew when I left the office that day of my last pp appointment that it wasn’t a “goodbye” but a “see you later!” I will definitely use them again with my next baby! (Yes, I’m already dreaming of the next one!) All in all, my whole birth experience was calm, empowering, and completely natural. Although I didn’t get the water birth I had hoped for, I wouldn’t change a thing about it! My baby was here! Delayed cord clamping, completely natural, pushed-how-and-when-I-felt, completely calm birth I’d always dreamed and hoped for was completely respected! I can’t stop talking about my birth and everything about it even more than a whole year later! The competency and respectful authority that Amber and Katie carried with them is everything a midwife SHOULD be. I felt advocated for, respected, encouraged, and empowered through the whole process from my consultation to my last postpartum appointment. I would HIGHLY recommend considering Sacred Song Homebirth for your next birth and prenatal care!
