My Home Waterbirth Story

Lydia Kate was due to be born on or around February 18^th. I expected that I might go a few days over, since my two other children had been 4 days and 8 days late. However, when the end of February came and went and I found myself still pregnant at the beginning of March, I became very nervous. Since I had my heart set on a homebirth, I worried that if I went any longer I would end up with a hospital induction. My husband and I prayed and analyzed every possible scenario for our child's birth before deciding to consult our midwife about how to use castor oil. Am I glad I did! She gave me a recipe for castor oil including orange juice, ice and baking soda mixed in a blender. I took it at 4:00PM and by 6:00PM I was in labor!

I decided to stay home from church that evening to take it easy and concentrate on my labor. Since I had experienced false labor in the weeks leading up to Lydia's birth I was concerned that things would stop suddenly and we would be disappointed again. Contractions started out 4 minutes apart and were mostly painless. I wrote in my journal, called my sister and mom and willed my labor to keep going. I also called my midwife to let her know that I might be in labor. She was concerned that I might progress too quickly for her to make it in time, but I assured her I would call her in a half hour. By 7:00 contractions were coming every 2 minutes and I called my husband to come home from church. A few minutes later he was home with our two other children and my mother in tow.

At 8:30 I noticed a dramatic change in my contractions. They were still coming every two minutes, but they were lasting longer and had a definite bite to them. I called Becky, the midwife, and asked her to start the 30 minute drive to our house. My husband and I put our other children to bed and told them they would have their baby sister when they woke up!

My husband went to work creating the environment that I wanted for the birth. He lit candles, started classical music and left me to myself-all exactly what I wanted. It was snowing outside and the evening was truly beautiful.

When Becky came into our house she found me draped over an exercise ball humming during contractions. I asked her if she wanted to check for dilation, but she said only if I wanted to-that we would just follow my body. She commented that the contractions were close enough that we needed to get the birth pool set up. I thought it might be a little too soon but I trusted her instincts. I'm so glad I did. When I went into transition at 10:15, we were still trying to get that thing full of water! As it turned out, the water was too warm and we ended up throwing buckets of cold water in to get the temperature to the 99-101 degrees necessary for a waterbirth.

I knew transition had arrived when I started to shake during contractions. It was amazing to me that I knew I was in transition. During my other births I had always followed whatever the nurse told me regarding the progress of my labor. This time I followed my body and really understood what was happening. When I started to feel the pressure of the baby coming down, I stripped down to a nursing bra and stepped into the pool. The water felt wonderful! For a moment I forgot that I was about to give birth. It felt more like I was just enjoying a nice bath! For a few minutes after I got in the tub I didn't have any contractions and I worried that maybe my labor had stopped. Becky assured me that this was a normal part of a water birth and soon they started up in all of their intensity.

At about 10:45 a very strong contraction broke my water. It was such a great moment. Becky put her hand on my knee and prayed, thanking God that March 2^nd was the day He had ordained for our baby's birth. We all rejoiced and prayed with her.

Soon the pressure in my perineum became very intense. I wanted to push, but when I started I could feel burning and so I quit. After a very difficult contraction I remember sitting back in the pool and announcing "Self-doubt signpost!" I had been conversational and completely in-tune mentally throughout labor, but some of that faded near the end. As it turns out, I only pushed three times. The rest of the time I let the contractions bring Lydia down gently. In fact, I wasn't even pushing when her head came out. It took us all by surprise that her head was out. I waited for the next contraction and then pushed while her shoulders and chest were born.

What a beautiful, awe-inspiring moment. Lydia was handed directly to me and laid in my arms. She was so calm and serene. She didn't even cry. She just looked around and then fell asleep in my arms. I guess being born in a pool of warm water surrounded by candlelight must be the way to go for a baby! A few minutes after she was born my 2-year-old daughter, Evelyn, stumbled sleepily into the living room. She brightened up considerably when she realized I was sitting in a pool of water holding a baby! We cut the cord after about twenty minutes and when we weighed her she was 7lbs, 14oz-my biggest baby by a pound.

Giving birth to Lydia at home has definitely been a mountain-top experience in my life. To be at home, in my element, surrounded by my closest family and able to allow my body to work as God intended, was more than ideal-it was sublime.