A Beautiful Home Birth After Cesarean

On January 12th I woke up at 7:45 and felt some cramping in my stomach. I ate a whole pint of ice cream the night before so I thought that I might have a stomach ache.  I laid there for a few minutes to see if I could tell if they were contractions or not and determined that yes, I was in early labor. The contractions were coming around every 8-10 minutes at this point and I got excited. I went and told Jake that I was having contractions and he immediately got out of bed to prep the house for what was to come.  I called Alex my midwife around 8 and let her know and she told me to keep her updated as the day went on. I laid there in bed and rested for another couple of hours and finally got up and had some breakfast.  I lost my mucus plug somewhere around this time and let Alex know. After that I went and laid back down and I could tell the contractions were getting stronger. I really wanted to nap but they were already too intense for that.  I started to need to move around and move through them so I sent Jake to get carry out from the White Horse Inn so I could eat some lunch and go try to lay back down.  I was determined to nap because my first labor had gone around 50 hours and I didn’t nap when I should have so I wanted to be well rested this time if things were taking a while. When I tried to lay down after lunch I was vocalizing through every contraction and sleep was thrown out the window yet again.  This concerned me because my labor had been so long with my first and I was still getting over a cold as well so in my head I thought, well that is already two things marked against me.  I hadn’t texted Alex an update in a few hours and Jake told me I should because he thought things were moving quickly. I wasn’t so sure but I contacted her and she said she would check on me, come set up the birth pool and leave if it wasn’t time yet. My Dad then came and picked up my son and a half an hour later Alex arrived.  She checked me and smiled when she told me I was complete.  She said she would try to get the birth pool set up but wasn’t sure if she had enough time.  In my head I thought that we had all the time in the world because I just couldn’t believe that my baby could possibly be here so quickly. As Alex started setting the pool up the contractions really intensified and it was really hard to get through them.  I was squeezing Jakes hand so hard and nothing was giving me any relief. I kept saying that I just wanted a break. And I meant it. I labored in the bedroom for a little bit longer and then made our way into the living room bathroom so I could be close to the pool and ready to get in.  

I had a few contractions on the toilet that were really intense and finally the pool was ready.  I got in and instantly felt a tiny bit relieved and slightly more comfortable. An hour passed slowly as I felt strong contractions move through my body.  Holding Jakes hand too tightly gripping for dear life. It felt like I couldn’t do this without him.  I put my hand on my perineum and felt something happening with my contractions but it was confusing and I was getting tired and pushed to my limit. I asked Alex about checking me and decided against it because I would have to get out of the pool for her to accurately see what was going on. I requested some emergency-C and a snack and felt a little stronger.  All of a sudden I could tell I was pushing with my body differently than before. I felt myself again and could feel her coming down and back up.  Finally with one big contraction my body pushed her head out.  Jake got behind me and waited for the next contraction. It was the most amazing feeling knowing her head was out and she was finally almost here, and I had done it.  Against all odds, I had done it. All of the tension and pain slipped away and on the next contraction she was born. Out she came and she was beautiful.  Born at 6:04 pm after labor had started at 7:45 am.  I absolutely could not believe that I had done it. Sitting in the pool holding her was the most empowering feeling I had ever felt and I could not have been happier.  A half an hour went by and my placenta had not come out yet.  I was having mild contractions still but I asked Alex to help me get it out.  She put some traction on the chord and it came out easily.  I got out of the pool, dried off and started to nurse my baby.  My dad brought my son home and he met his baby sister for the first time and it was the most magical experience. A deep wound I was carrying from my first birth was healed that day and I am so glad that I chose home birth even though I was scared from my first experience.