Homebirth

I was just reminiscing about Benjamin's birth, and decided I should blog his birth story. It was a really special event in our household, and I would hate for time to erase the details.


For those of you who don't know, we had Benjamin at home. If you had asked me before, if I would be a homebirth candidate, I would have had the same reaction you get from most people - uh, no, I've never considered it - but I believe the comfort and safety of the hospital is just fine for me. I'm a rule follower - and the general consensus is that birth happens in hospitals. My first two children were born in the hospital - and we had textbook labor and delivery.


When we decided to have a third baby I started down the traditional birth route. But, was trying to figure out how to make our costs as minimal as possible considering we didn't have maternity insurance. That's when I first considered homebirth. I researched online, talked to people who had done homebirth, interviewed midwives, and talked to my OB. My OB told me in no uncertain terms that homebirth was for selfish parents who didn't consider their child. I don't really fault him for his view - after all he's probably seen some things that would have gone really badly if they hadn't been in a hospital. But, considering my history of easy pregnancy, fast/easy labor and equally fast/easy delivery - I felt like I was a good candidate. So I proceeded with my search. I knew IF I was going to deliver at home, I wanted a really good "back-up" plan in place. So I went to my regular doctor in our small town - who also delivers babies. She was all for homebirth and agreed to be my "back-up" if needed. So then I had to choose a midwife.


I found one I liked who had delivered more than 3000 babies. She came to our home for all the prenatal check-ups - and the pregnancy stage was uneventful. I did continue my constant research on homebirth and joined an online homebirth group - afterall, this was new territory.


About mid-October I started have some contractions. My due date had been estimated sometime around November 22. But I thought that was a little late - so I hoped the contractions were real. But nothing. I was on the phone with my midwife several times during the next few weeks with contractions. She told me it sounded like our little one had "a hand up." His little hand was making contact with my cervix - which started contractions, but since there wasn't anything to make a good connection nothing more would happen. She checked me a few times and said the same thing.


Finally on November 7, I started having regular contractions again - not painful, but regular. I called Leah, our midwife, and told her I was ready to have a baby - what could we do. She agreed to come up and see if she could move the baby's hand, and then, if he was ready, things should get going. It was a Wednesday - so I went with Nolan to youth - he got everything going with the back-up team. Everyone was excited to hear the news. It was kind of surreal to be in labor - but walking around visiting with everyone.


A friend of mine agreed to bring the older boys home after children's church - to give us time to get the "hand moved" and see how things progressed. So we went home and met our midwife around 7:45 p.m. She moved the baby's hand - which was indeed very uncomfortable - but not painful. Leah then left with her husband to go to dinner and visit some friends. She agreed to check back in a couple of hours to see if anything was happening. I took a nice bath. And, around 8:30 I could start to tell the difference in contractions. They were getting closer together and began to pinch a little. As long as I was seated - nothing was to uncomfortable. A couple of girls from our youth group stopped by - eager to see a lady in labor. I'm afraid I may have disappointed them - no screaming or fast breathing. I told them they could come back in a few hours for the real show - they declined.


Leah came back around 10 p.m. and checked me - I was dilated to about a 4. She figured we'd go all night and have a baby in the morning. So after we visited for a little while, she went out to her suburban to grab a nap. Nolan and I went to bed around 11:30 - our older boys had been in bed for a couple of hours already.


I laid in bed 'till 12:30 a.m. having contractions but not feeling like I was making any progress. I decided to get up and walk around and get things moving. Sure enough as I made laps around my living room the intensity picked up. I turned on the tv and watched HGTV until 1 - while still doing laps. I thought I'd have Leah come in at 1 and check me again - but lo and behold House Hunters came on - normally I don't really like that show - but amazingly I actually knew the buyer on this episode - he was an old high school friend, and I wanted to see the show. So I waited to call Leah. During the next 30 minutes - I knew we were getting close. I moaned and groaned - quietly - I didn't want to miss the show - and continued walking - interspersed with leaning against the wall and getting on my knees leaning over a chair. The episode ended at 1:30 a.m. I woke Nolan up - we called Leah. She came in and checked me - I was a 10. Nolan and Leah flew into action getting the supplies ready. I continued to walk and moan. Finally I sat down on the bed and the baby shifted and away we went. I started to push - and yell. About that time our youngest son woke up and came in - Nolan picked him up and he went to sleep on daddy's shoulder. I didn't want Nolan to be distracted from Isaac so instead of yelling for my husband, I yelled for my mommy - how embarrassing - I love my mom - but you should NOT yell for your mommy during labor. Benjamin's cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times - Leah calmly said, slow down and unwrapped the cord. Then I pushed and out he came - born at 2:03 a.m., Thursday, November 8, 2007.

We did the traditional cord cutting, weighing, feeding....but I can't really remember what order. I do know that Benjamin nursed like a champ - it's amazing how much better he nursed since I didn't have an epidural.

Leah cleaned up - and for those of you who are wondering about the mess - everything is draped in plastic shower curtain liners and you just fold them up and throw them in the trash - although the trash does have to be hauled to a special place - hasmat or something.

I took a nice shower/bath to clean up. Then I got back in bed. Caleb (our oldest was up by then), Isaac, Nolan and I enjoyed our new little one. The older boys were pumped - you couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces. Then we proceeded to choose a name. We were planning on naming him Bo - but it just didn't fit. Caleb had suggested Benjamin. Nolan and I agreed. And he was named Benjamin John. Benjamin means Son of Good Fortune, and John means Beloved. So far, we have chosen Bible names for our children's first names and family names for their middle names. John is after both my grandad and Nolan's grandad.

Leah was gone by 4 a.m. - The boys were back in bed. And Nolan and I made a couple obligatory phone calls and went to sleep for a couple of hours.

We were both amazed at how much better my recovery was at home. I had some post-partum depression issues with my first two - nothing like that with Benjamin. I'm not saying it was because of the homebirth - but it was very nice to be in my own bed, in my own home.

All in all it was an amazing experience! One I hope to have again.

BTW - Benjamin measured in at 7 lbs. 8 oz and 20 1/2 inches.

As I write this post Benjamin - also known as Ben-Jammin' is 8 1/2 months old. He is the most laid-back baby ever. He started sleeping through the night (8p.m. - 6:30 a.m.) at 9 weeks!! And never lacks for attention from his big brothers!