18d • 💪Birth
My birth story
Just had my second baby at home last week! It was also my second homebirth and was a wonderful experience. It was different from last time... always new things to learn!
In the afternoon I started getting some contractions, but I didn't think much of it because I've been having lots of contractions off and on. After several hours they were still coming though, whether I was sitting or standing or laying down, so I started to wonder... is this it? There was an event at church I didn't want to miss so I went. I kept having contractions but they weren't getting stronger. When we got home I showered and that still didn't take them away, but they still weren't getting stronger or closer.
Then around midnight I woke up from a more intense one. I showered again and that still didn't take them away. I woke up my husband and we timed them at 7 minutes apart lasting 1.5 minutes. I got in the shower again and swayed my hips and it felt good. While in the shower they went to 3 minutes apart lasting 2 minutes. We called the midwife at 1:30 and she arrived at 2:15. While I was waiting for her, my contractions got pretty intense. I was hands and knees on the kitchen floor while my husband pumped up and started filling the birth pool. (We have a very small house so the kitchen is the best option for the pool.) I got in the water when there was only a few inches in it as I was really hoping for some pain relief!
Contractions were strong and frequent, but manageable. I moved my body and with each contraction would open my mouth and focus on relaxing my face and jaw. Eventually I was hanging onto my husband for support. At 2:30 I asked the midwife to check me. I was 6 cm and my cervix was very stretchy. I felt really encouraged because at my last birth, I went from that point to holding my baby in about an hour. So I looked at the clock and thought, "At 3:30 I'll have my baby!" But it was not to be.
One nice thing about this labor was the breaks in between the contractions. It really helped me to catch my breath and relax again. My first labor was like one long contraction, I think because I had induced with castor oil.
I started feeling almost like I could push, but I couldn't. This lasted until 4:45 or so and was the worst part of labor. I kept saying, "I can't push!" It was super frustrating and I finally asked the midwife to check me again, where she discovered the issue. I was almost to 10 cm but had a bit of an anterior lip, and the baby was slightly posterior. I tried some different positions but nothing seemed to help, so finally my midwife tried holding back the lip for 2 contractions but I still couldn't push, so she then suggested breaking my water. At that point I was ready for anything so I agreed. She broke it and held back the lip again while I made a weak attempt to push. (She later told me she felt him come down when she broke my water.) Meanwhile my husband was squeezing my hips, which not only felt amazing but was helping open my pelvis. I got back on my knees in the birth tub. With every contraction I was yelling, "Squeeze! Harder!" to my poor husband (he thinks we need vice grips next time =). I ate a little bit of honey since I hadn't had anything to eat since supper the night before and had been throwing up. Suddenly I felt the urge to push. Finally! So much better!
I moved baby almost all the way down with one contraction. The second contraction I pushed him almost to crowning, then backed off because I didn't want to tear. He was born completely in the third contraction. I had my hand down there and as he was crowning I felt like I was going to split in two. I caught him all by myself and lifted him to my chest. I couldn't believe it was over! It was a little after 5 am.
He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz but that was after losing a lot of meconium so he would've been an eight pounder. Perfectly healthy little boy. Praise the Lord!
My afterbirth pains were quite bad this time. They made me shaky and feel like I was going to throw up. I downed tons of afterbirth relief tincture and even resorted to Ibuprofen. Thankfully that's gone by now and I'm feeling really good! No tearing other than a tiny graze or two so I feel pretty much normal down there. Nursing is going really well as he is a champion latcher and my milk coming in wasn't as bad as last time. I am so grateful for this amazing experience and our precious little son!
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My birth story
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