Wisconsin home birth: Willis

My midwife recommended that I write out my birth story and my thoughts on my birth. I already have run over it so many times in my head that I am more than happy to oblige.

Monday morning around 3:30am I had started feeling what felt like a menstrual cramp in my  lower back turn into a charlie horse in my stomach and run all the way to the top of my belly. It kept coming every 20 min or so. I started whimpering because it was quite intense. Tom sleepily put his hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me as I started to cry that I wouldn’t be able to do this if this was early labor and it only got more painful from here on out. (As it turns out, these were my hardest contractions to manage. It was only at the very end did I think the contractions were comparable, but it might have been because I didn’t have time to breathe through these early ones and woke up in the peak of the contraction). I decided I was starving so I got up and showered and made myself a protein shake. Then I went back to bed. I had another contraction that Tom tried to comfort me through that ended up with me in the bathroom puking. I text my boss that I wasn’t sure if I would be at work today but not to count on it, then text my midwife that my contractions were 9 min apart and lasting a minute, and then went back to bed.

Rochester, MN home birth: Kyla

It all started one week ago, the morning before her due date. Ironically, I tried not to tell people Kyla’s due date, since it’s so easy to get fixated on that date and feel anxious as it approaches or disappointment as it passes. I woke up around 2 AM on Sunday, March 6th with some cramps and just restlessness. I got up every hour until 8 in the morning and then slept in. Nick and I spent the rest of the day relaxing around the apartment. My mom, my sister Dawn, and nephew Everett came to visit in the afternoon. We got coffee from the coffee shop below our apartment and went for a walk outside. The cramps and frequent trips to the bathroom continued throughout the day, but I was still in denial that this could actually be the start of labor. My midwife LeAnn called me around 6:30 pm and I told her things were fine - no noticeable pattern of cramping, but they were slightly stronger than earlier in the day.

Minnesota home birth: Summer

I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to be writing the story of my home birth. I know it's something not everyone gets to experience, no matter how much they may want to. Which is one thing I would advise anyone considering a home birth to think about. Yes, home births are safe when performed by a qualified midwife but even then, there's always a possibility for something to happen that you have no control over. You have to mentally prepare yourself for the worst scenarios. That being said, you then have to put all of those negative thoughts out of your mind when the time comes and just focus on your labor. Trust not only in your body's ability to do what it is made to do, but also your midwife to monitor your labor and step in if need be.

Basically, you better trust the crap out of your midwife! Lucky for us, we stumbled upon LeAnn and had the most perfect home birth experience!
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I had been experiencing Braxton-Hicks for a few days but nothing serious. Finally, it's Baby's due date, February 29th. I woke up just before 6 am with contractions. Days before, the contractions came and went and were almost nonexistent by late morning. I was hoping to keep contractions going so I went for a walk around the block a few times while my husband got ready for work and our son (who just turned two on Valentine's Day a few weeks earlier) snoozed in his crib. I loved being pregnant but I was getting anxious to meet our baby, to find out if my son would get a little brother or sister. The morning came and went. My husband checked in on me throughout the day. Around 3 pm I told him the contractions were hanging around but still infrequent. At around 4 pm is when I began to notice the contractions more. I wasn't yet timing them, but I was getting hopeful and decided to call my mom. The plan was for our son to stay with my parents who lived about an hour away.

My mom arrived and my husband came home from work soon after. It was nice to finally have adults around. Although he was the best, cutest distraction, my two year old wasn't a huge help during contractions. My husband started timing contractions and we soon figured out they were about 5 minutes apart. It was almost 6 pm and my mom said to my son, "Time to go! Mommy's going to have a baby!" I remember thinking, "But he's my baby!" After well wishes and hugs and kisses, off they went.

Getting my two year old ready to stay at Grandma & Grandpa's for a few days​