this pregnancy was supernatural — my first two pregnancies were really hard - tons of morning sickness and honestly, I did not know how to nourish my body. After my second son, I developed postpartum preeclampsia and that was what I needed to make significant changes in my diet. I learned how to fully nourish my body with whole foods and focused on minerals + hormonal balances (check out the freely rooted podcast for more info on that). I got pregnant in the season of healing my body + a dairy allergy! I had some aches and pains but overall this pregnancy was one of the best (I think most of the aches came from being pregnant a third time in 3.5 years & chasing 2 toddlers around!)
My previous labors were pain-free & extremely fast, so my prayers were that this would be the same. I wanted a peaceful supernatural home birth. My last two labors were at a birth center but I had some things I didn’t love about that which is why I switched to having a home birth with a midwife. I interviewed tons of local midwives and found one that I absolutely loved. She would do home visits throughout my pregnancy and always took such good care of me.
I did not expect to go past 40 weeks — I thought this baby was going to come early (just like my others) but this baby was different. We did no ultrasounds during the pregnancy and we did not know the gender. As July was coming to an end and 40 weeks passed I thought I might go as far as 42+ weeks. I was okay with that but I was certainly getting tired and ready.
as I was approaching 41 weeks, I began having prodromal labor-light contractions in my lower back/pelvis - this lasted for about 4 days. this was so strange for me as I had never had this before - I had no pre-labor with my first and very little with my second.
It was a Saturday morning, July 30th - I woke up around 6 am with light contractions - this was typically the last few days but this was different. I couldn’t fall back asleep, I was uncomfortable & decided to get up & eat something. so I had a big glass of raw chocolate milk + a muffin & went outside to let everyone else sleep. I decided to pick some flowers from my garden + make an arrangement in order to “distract” myself thinking these contractions would probably just go away. they weren’t so I began tracking them. They were about 8 minutes apart and not slowing down.
I decided to go get Danny & let him know that I thought labor was starting. The boys were all just waking up and we were trying to get breakfast made and things prepped. I called my midwife and we discussed things and I told her I’d keep her in the loop as things changed. My birth photographer couldn’t make it (which made me cry because it was the one thing I really wanted) but my friend came to help with the boys and ended up helping with photography. I had a hard time being around my kiddos and focusing on the surges coming in pretty strong. I decided to head up to our studio where I would be birthing and prep things (like my speaker + Christian hypnobirthing tracks) + spreading out the tarps etc. I labored up there for a bit by myself while Dan got the kiddos situated.
I called my midwife and asked her to head towards us (she’s an hour away) she arrived around 10:30 am & we began filling the tub up. My contractions were to the point that I needed Danny’s support through each one, making me feel like this baby was going to come quickly.
But as I labored and got in the pool things surges were close together (about 2/3 mins) and I started to feel like I needed to breathe him down. I followed my intuition and just keep focusing on my breath work and movements. I desired to catch my baby and as things progressed I thought my bag of waters was bulging - so we were all prepared to meet the baby.
My contractions stayed close together and then began to get inconsistent. Each surge was intense but I started to get discouraged because he still wasn’t coming and I didn’t know why. something felt off. I tried moving around in lots of different positions and around 3 pm - I decided to get out of the tub and try a few different positions in the bed, on the floor and on the toilet. I didn’t like any of that but at this point, I was exhausted so my team suggested I lay down to rest while they gave me some space. As I lay there I cried out to the Lord to deliver me and this baby. I was exhausted and discouraged and just wanted Holy Spirits’ peace to calm the chaos in my mind. I began to relax and feel his peace over me and one surge came. I began to drift off to sleep and with a second surge, my water popped! It was about 3:45 pm and I yelled for everyone to come back (Danny was making a sandwich because he hadn’t eaten all day) and the contractions continued to be intense surges. I wanted to get back in the tub which took some time since the water got cold. So as my birth team filled the tub again - Danny held me as I labored through intense contractions. I mentally struggled to relax through the contractions and was getting frustrated with myself knowing I needed to let go and breathe. I still wasn’t convinced my baby was coming at this point. My mental state was stuck in discouragement — despite the obvious that I was indeed transitioning.
Once I got in the tub again the surges and urge to push were hard to tell apart. I threw up a couple of times (which was totally normal for me) & I began bearing down — It felt like my fundus was doing all the work and as I was pushing baby’s head started to come out. I had my hand on baby and he began to be pulled back inside of me (this is called turtle-ing) I knew something wasn’t right- I was holding his head and usually, their body comes out easily. I looked at my midwife and asked for help. She assessed and immediately helped get his shoulder out from my pelvis. His cord was so short and tightly wrapped all around him that it was kinked and he had no space to move. She maneuvered his arm to give space for his body to come forth. This all happened in less than one minute. At 4:30 pm he was there on my chest, blue and crying. I didn’t know he was a boy for about 10 minutes until we checked - it really was no surprise, three boys.
As he cried on my chest, it began pouring down rain outside - we live in the desert so this monsoon was quite unexpected. There was something so incredible about the rain pouring down in the desert as he was born. I began shivering from the adrenaline and the water not being very warm so I asked my birth team to help move me to the bed where I would deliver the placenta when I was ready. We lay together and rested. After about 30 minutes I delivered my placenta and then after about an hour, Danny cut his cord.
We nursed and rested.
After resting for a while, my midwife did his newborn exam & went to weigh him. We all thought he was about 7lbs. She weighed him once and said, “hmmm maybe my scale is off.” So she weighed him again. Lo & behold he was 8lbs 13oz & 21 inches. My biggest baby yet. I couldn’t believe he was almost 9 lbs!
My birth team took such good care of me.
My midwives began cleaning things up. I was able to take a shower and snack. I sipped on some oxtail bone broth and rested with our newest son.
Evening approached & everyone went home & we stayed in our bed till morning. He had a lot to tell us that night as the ending of the birth was a bit traumatic with him getting stuck.
By morning, we all rested and were at peace.
This birth was way more intense than my previous labors and was certainly not pain-free this time (well the ending wasn’t but overall was very peace-filled labor) — but His peace + presence was with us and his birth was still a miracle. He had no issues from the shoulder dystocia, he didn’t need any resuscitation — he was and is perfectly healthy and growing like crazy. I mourned being unable to catch him the way I had envisioned and wrestled with the disappointment. I decided to do an herbal bath with him when he was about a week old and that brought a lot of healing for me. Birth is always unpredictable but it is so important to feel heard, valued, and cared for. I certainly had an incredible experience and would home birth a million times over. I wish I had birthed my others at home + actually researched it back then.
Overall, I pray that as you read my story you will be encouraged that even though birth is unpredictable — His presence is always with you and He is always surrounding you. All of heaven is with you as you bring this new life to the earthside and you are a badass for being so strong! Birth truly is the miracle of not only birthing a child but birthing a mother - you will be transformed by the experiences of bringing your children onto this earth.
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation. With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation, and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name!”
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