Home Water Birth with Great Pictures!

This is such a great birth story. This mama is an inspiring example of what our bodies are designed to do. Warning…the pictures are graphic…in an awesome kind of way! ~Mrs. BWF

The Water Birth of Noah

Well, my due date was April 29th. Apparently, Noah had made note that we were super excited to meet him, because…well…he came early. Two weeks early. On April 15th, we went to the store, got some steaks and corn on the cob for dinner, came home, cooked, ate, then I showered and got Cody ready for bed. I climbed in bed with the hubby, turned on a movie, and just relaxed. Around 10:30 or so, I thought I felt a small contraction in my lower belly, but kind of just ignored it since I went past my due date with my first. I definitely didn’t expect to be having a baby the next morning.

I leaned over to grab my water off the nightstand, when I felt like I peed myself. I knew I didn’t, because I just know that sensation and this was different. It didn’t gush, but I said to Nate, “Uhhh, I think my water just broke”. He told me not to be so paranoid, but I knew something was different!.

I got up and it started leaking down my legs. I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet where I leaked even more. I checked the fluid in the toilet, and saw that it was clear, with some vernix in it, and knew it was my water that had broken. At this point, Nate was kind of getting really nervous…I could tell. I didn’t have any contractions, but knew they would soon follow.

We tried laying down for awhile, but then the contractions started. Nate got up, dressed, and started pulling out our homebirth supplies, (rough the pool to the living room, etc.). I set up the playpen in our room for when he was born. Contractions were never “sporadic”. They had been sitting around 3-4 minutes apart, and lasting 35-45 seconds.

I called my midwife on call around 12:30 and told her what was up. She said she was packing up her car,and she’d be heading over. Both midwives arrived at the same time- shortly after 1. They set everything up and we all kind of just hung out and got some rest in between contractions.

They kept having me sit on the toilet, backwards, so that it would help him drop more, and open me up. My lord, I had SO MUCH back labor, I nearly cried a few times. This was way more intense when sitting on the toilet, but I knew it would make things go faster, so I hung out in there for awhile. Nate sat by me the entire time, was always asking me if he could help me at all, bringing me my drink, etc. I KNOW he was mildly freaking out and had NO idea what to expect. Needless to say, he was absolutely amazing from start until end.

Finally, around 4:30 or so, I was having constant pressure, so they started to prepare the pool. Nate boiled some water to add to the pool since we had filled it way early! I was finally able to get in around 5, maybe a little later. It felt SO amazing to get into the water. I had been wanting to get in ALL night, lol. I was getting a little worried, because my contractions *seemed* to slow down,but then they got really intense. I had this horrible, horrible pain, and was still in HORRIBLE back labor.

At this point, Nate stood back a little, since he is really queasy about blood/ placenta/ etc. They had me feel how close his head was, and I didn’t even feel like I was dilated, but I felt his head. Then, LOTS of pressure. The midwives were so far away from me, I was thinking “what do i do??!!” inside my head. I felt his head coming, and just pushed down really hard. Then even more pressure, and I kept pushing.

His head came out, and I could not even believe I made it that far. They had me guide him out all by myself, which was THE most amazing feeling in the world. I guided his shoulders out, and then caught my angel. His cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times, but he had a really long cord, so they just slid it right off. The only thing I could say was, “oh my god, oh my god”.

He was born sunnyside up, which was why I had back labor, and my contractions were MUCH more painful than I remembered with Cody. I saw his face right when his head came out, and felt like I was in a dream. My baby was looking at me as I birthed him- what a wonderful feeling. I’d say it was a lot more memorable than I could have even thought.

After he was born I bonded with him, then we got out of the tub. I delivered the placenta and went to my bed. I didn’t tear at all. Just a few minor cuts. I nursed him, he latched like a champ and nursed for a good 35 minutes before getting weighed and measured. He weighed 6 pounds 5 ounces and was 19 5/8inches long. He was born at 5:45am, and guess who walked out right after? Big brother. I was so glad he slept through the actual birth. He was SO excited to see his baby brother. He kept saying “Baby Naoh come out in pool?” (he calls him nay-oh, lol).

After the midwives packed up and left, Noah and I rested, and poor Nate was stuck cleaning up the bloody mess. He had the hardest time emptying the pool. It was awful. I felt so bad and I was freaking useless, lol. Cody *was* at the neighbors, but the guy left his door open, and Cody saw Nate when he was taking stuff to the dumpster, and came back home. Thanks, neighbors!

Overall, this was an absolutely amazing experience and I am so lucky I was able to do it. It was painful, I will not lie, but it was SO worth it. It’s still so unreal to me. Noah is absolutely perfect.