Fast, First Baby, Homebirth

By Judith

About a week past my due date, I lumbered out of bed at 2:15 a.m. to use the bathroom. I returned to bed, lay down and felt something. Maybe it was a contraction? It felt like a tight squeeze, not really painful, just unusual. And not like my Braxton-Hicks contractions.

I lay there waiting for the next one, and it came about two minutes later. They continued to come every two minutes for about 20 minutes. And while I wasn't in pain, I didn't want to be in bed. I had things to do! Housecleaning to get done before I could call the midwives! Bathtubs to clean!

I woke up my husband, who said, Can't this wait until the morning? I went to clean the kitchen while he went to get the tub ready. It wasn't really like I expected. The contractions were every two minutes right from the start but were not painful, just strange.

I called my girlfriend, who would be giving me labor support (also is a midwife), and she said, Every two minutes? Are you sure? And you're fine? We hung up, with her thinking I'd call her in the morning when I needed her. Next I called my midwife and got pretty much the same response. And I was fine! She suggested I get into the tub to try to relax and possibly go back to sleep.

So my husband filled the tub. The second I sat down in the tub, I had the most excruciated rectal pressure. Since both of us were assuming I was in very early labor, we guessed I was very constipated. My husband offered to get an enema (thank goodness he didn't). The pressure was so intense, unlike anything I could ever imagine. I felt like screaming at him. But still the pain from the contractions was tolerable.

I told him to call my girlfriend and tell her to come over for support. I could tell he was a little disappointed, because it was still so early in my labor. It was maybe 4:30 a.m. Well, I was now in the bedroom, burning hot and trying to cope with the pressure. I couldn't find a comfortable position.

My friend arrived and immediately demanded to examine me, as she said I was bearing down. I said I was still in early labor and couldn't possibly be ready to push! She insisted, and I was truly shocked when she told me I was 7 centimeters dilated. (Later she told me I was really 9 centimeters, but she was so surprised and wanted to call the midwives, etc., she told me less.) Once I knew I was so far along, I felt a big sigh of relief.

My husband called the midwives. My water broke with a huge gush, with some meconium, and I immediately needed to push. I was never really worried about the baby because I felt her kicking throughout the labor, and I felt confident that we were both fine.

Well, I pushed as gently as possible because I really didn't want to have the baby before the midwives got there. Even though my friend was a midwife, she had never attended a homebirth and didn't have any supplies. Sure enough, the midwives arrived at 6:03 a.m., and I was ready to go!

I wanted to push on my hands and knees or my side, but my midwife insisted I squat. I was a little annoyed by this, but as soon as I did, my daughter flew out and it was all over! She was born at 6:14 a.m. I did tear quite a bit, but it was worth it.

Having a homebirth was a dream of mine, and I got a lot of criticism for it. I was so happy it was successful and that I can now share a positive first baby birth story with my friends and clients. The key is to have faith in your body. You can do it! It was one of the most empowering experiences of my life, and I will never consider anything but home for birthing my future babies.