Gentle Beginnings {Boone’s Birth Story}

Hi there!  I wanted to share my amazing Birth Center Water Birth with ya’ll.  Your website was an amazing inspiration when I was preparing for my natural birth.  I felt empowered reading all of the stories!  I’m hoping my story will do the same for other women preparing for a natural birth.  Thank you for all that you do! -Brooke

The day before I went into labor (6 days past my “due date”) my mom and I went shopping all day.  She walked me until I couldn’t walk anymore.  We were determined to get that baby started.  It was such a fun day, just me and my mom.  We don’t get to do that very often since she lives in Indiana, so it was a special day for the two of us.  That night I remember telling her how ready I was for my baby boy to be here.  After watching a Lifetime movie together in bed we said a prayer letting God know we were ready for his debut.

Our prayers were answered because my water broke at 1am that morning and I began having contractions right away.  It didn’t really break, more like leaked for the next 4 hours.  I remember it waking me up because I thought I peed myself.  I got up and went to the bathroom and went back to bed.  Then it happened again and I knew it had to be my water breaking!  I woke my husband up to let him know and went back to bed for a few hours until my contractions got too intense.  Around 4am, the contractions were getting close and more difficult to manage.  I called my midwife I let her know that things were happening and I woke my mom up (she was staying with us).  She labored with me for the next couple of hours. I used the birthing ball and did Hypnobirthing and tried to stay as relaxed as possible.  It was so comforting having her with me.  My husband was up trying to stay calm by making sure everything was packed for the birth center and timing my contractions.  At about 8am they started to become almost unbearable and were lasting a minute and a half and coming every few minutes.  I called my midwife to let her know and she said to meet her at the birth center.  It was go time!  We packed up and headed to the birth center.

Although it was only a few minutes away, it felt like an eternity and every bump in the road made my contractions even more intense.  When we arrived, I thought for sure I was a 7 or an 8 but when my midwife checked me I was only a 4!  I started to get discouraged and had a moment where I was second guessing myself that I could actually do this.  How could I only be a 4?!  Could I actually do this?!  The best position that I found to get through the contractions was standing up leaning against a bed post, my husband or my mom (they both had sore backs and bruises on their arms from my laboring!).  My husband massaged my back with a tennis ball which helped. The next couple of hours became a blur and I think I was in what they call labor land.  I finally was so exhausted that I got in bed with my husband and tried to rest between contractions.  They were coming so fast though that I didn’t get any rest.   I thought I had to be in transition because I only had seconds in between contractions.  My midwife didn’t think I could possibly be because it had only been a couple hours.  After some begging and pleading I finally talked her into checking me because I desperately wanted to be in that tub (I tested positive for GBS so since my water broke I couldn’t get in the tub until it was time to push).  She looked at me in shock and said you’re a 9+! Time to get in the tub! I went from a 4 to a 9+ in 3 hours.

The warm water was a relief, but only for a few seconds.  This was the hardest part for me- not letting myself push until I was 10cm.  That little half centimeter was almost unbearable to get through!  All my body wanted to do was push so the only thing that stopped me was doing the “Brrrrrrrrrrrrr” with my lips at every breath. I must have looked crazy, but it seriously was the best suggestion my midwife gave me. After about 10-15 minutes of “Brrrrrrring” to keep me from pushing, I was finally at 10cm! My midwife suggested sitting and leaning back in the tub but that was so uncomfortable. I immediately got on my hands and knees.  The only thing that felt right was being on all fours. The pushing part was the easiest for me and wasn’t really painful. I had been through so much that I was so excited to be able to start pushing.  My midwife coached me through the pushing and made sure I was only pushing with every contraction.  After about 20 minutes of pushing, Boone’s head was out! One small push and the rest of his body came out. My husband caught him and then pushed him under my legs for me to catch him too. It was incredible! Boone’s eyes were wide open and he let out a cry right away.  He had a full head of hair and looked just like his daddy.  I put him on my chest and snuggled him right away.  I remember looking up at my husband saying “I did it! I can’t believe he’s finally here.” and seeing his eyes filled with tears.  He gave me a kiss on the forehead and said “It’s our son.” It was a moment I’ll never forget.  My in-laws came in the room and were just as teary eyed as the rest of us.  My mom was still in shock from the whole experience.  They transferred us to the bed to deliver the placenta.  He latched on right away and nursed while I delivered the placenta.  I immediately felt the bond between us when I was nursing.

He is now 9 weeks old and I remember his birth like it was yesterday.  I wouldn’t have done it any other way.  I was able to bring him into this world the way my body was meant to – completely natural.  Just me and baby working together.  It still brings me to tears just thinking about it.

Boone Thomas Ellington was born gently on November 18, 2012 at 1:35pm.  8lb 2oz, 20 ¼ inches.