The day I went into labor, I was completely oblivious. I was having too much fun completing the “To Do list” I made for getting ready for my birth at home. My mother was in town to help. That day we went to Lowe’s to pick up some more landscaping materials and spray foam to patch up the sidings of my roof (I was only helping hold the ladder my husband climbed onto, I did not climb up!). After going to Lowe’s, my husband, mother and I went to our local park and played 18 holes of disc golf, then went to Stone brewery across the street. We ordered food and sadly I could NOT eat my favorite meal, a spicy, jack fruit crunch wrap with avocado. I couldn’t even handle eating the salsa! That should have been the second sign I was nearing active labor. The first, was while we were at Lowe’s my low back kept aching, but was quickly relieved with light stretching. Later that evening, we hosted a neighborhood bonfire, catching up with other new parents and friends. I couldn’t stay comfortable sitting in one place and eventually called it quits and wrapped up the party. At 11:23PM I woke up with a huge ache in my low back that moved forward towards the front of my pelvis. “THIS,” I thought, “was go time.” I got out of bed and found my self stretching my back and hip flexors, for that’s where the contractions became most evident and any kind of movement and light stretching helped relieve or soften the aches. I had absolutely no wish to listen to my birth playlist I spent the last 9 months making. I only wanted silence, to focus my breath into where I felt the contractions. I must have been on the floor for a few hours, because the hair on my knees got rubbed off and my arms were tired from holding myself up on the birthing stool, loaned to me by my amazing midwife, Kristin Adams. 

I finally woke up my husband, saying, “it’s happening,” with a groan as another contraction kicked through my body. He set up the birthing tub, which felt like an eternity before I was allowed to get in. I don’t know when Kristin showed up with her assistant and daughter, Lucy Adams. 

 

The contractions got stronger and my body shook as the adrenaline coursed through me. I breathed deeply, focusing on softening my hips. I wanted to push, but I had to wait. I was not dilated enough to make it safe to not tear. I wasn’t making any further progress outside of the birthing pool, so I was finally allowed to get into the warm water. There, I relaxed. The bouncy of the water holding us softly and my curvix continued to dilate.My husband held me, my mom drummed my Shaman drum over my head and brought me watermelon juice to stay hydrated. With every contraction I kept thinking of my birth mantra, “ I can, I will, I must.” Though I drew near to allowing negative words leave my lips, I caught myself to stop short. I had to stay positive. As the contractions got to the point where I felt I didn’t have the energy to keep going, reached down and I felt my daughter’s head crowning. With the support of my birth team, my midwife coaching me through, “Push now…okay, her shoulders are out…YOU have to push her out,” and so pushing with all my might, not waiting for the next contraction allowing my instinct to push take over, [Bloop!], the rest of her body came swimming out. I reached between my legs and caught my daughter. Her tiny red body, splashing out of the water, her cries immediately coursing out her lungs. She was perfect. Pushing out the placenta was simple after pushing my 7lb daughter out. We relaxed in the pool for a moment more and then transitioned into our bed. The comfort of being in my own bed, holding my sweet daughter with the coziness of the room soothed my exhausted body. Anastasia was born at 5:14AM. Crazy to think she was here! And had that really been the time? That felt much longer than 6 hours from when I got out of bed the night before. But, there she was. My husband got to cut the umbilical cord and weigh her, and then we all laid down for a much needed nap. I was and am so grateful for the experience of being home to deliver my daughter. She is thriving and we are so blessed to have the coaching of Kristin Adams during the birth and helping us prepare for the birth. We definitely aim to have another home birth when the time arrives.