Our Home Birth Story: Rosalie Vera

Here we are, six days since we welcomed our second little girl into the world and I am so excited to share our birth story! It is amazing how different my two pregnancies and births have been and I am so thankful for that, as I have learned so much from both experiences. The second half of my pregnancy I dealt with a lot of pain from symphasis pubis dysfunction (you can read more about what that ishere). This made it really hard for me to be mobile and it was pretty impossible to find much relief. Despite this, the pregnancy progressed wonderfully and at 36 weeks I started showing clear signs of impending labor. These signs and false starts came and went for the next four weeks, having us always "at the ready" in case that day was the day. I was so happy when at about 37/38 weeks baby girl's head engaged and my pubis symphasis pain disappeared! Finally I could walk and move around and I took full advantage of this newfound freedom during those last weeks of my pregnancy. As June came and went, we started joking around telling baby girl to avoid being born on the 4th of July. Sure enough, she decided to keep us on our toes and join us on the 3rd. I spent Saturday, July 2nd hanging out with my mom and daughter, going to the park and running errands around town. I was feeling good and honestly not anxious at all. We sat down to a lovely dinner together as a family and went to bed as normal thinking it would be just another night. After about one hour of sleep, I awoke suddenly at 10:50pm to a very intense contraction. I found myself already unable to talk through the contraction due to its strength and length. I immediately woke up my husband and let him know what was going on. Within about 2 minutes there came another, and another. I knew this was definitely it and that it was coming on strong! I woke up my mom and she was able to support me as my hubby called our midwives and doula and started to get the house and tub set up for the birth. We were both pretty alarmed by how fast it was all going, seeing as my last birth was over 30 some hours long! I threw all of my plans to get the house all set up and labor downstairs for a while out the door and got down to business. I could quickly see that there wasn't going to be any early labor happening and that most of the comfort measures that we had practiced would probably not be used this time around! I found myself comfortable in only one position, kneeling on the floor while leaning over the bed (this happened to be the only position I felt comfortable in during the last month of my pregnancy as well except using the birth ball). With each contraction I would rise up on my knees and fold over the bed, as my body rode the wave.

Within twenty minutes the first midwife arrived and within one hour the other midwife, our doula and

our birth photographer were all there. David started filling up the tub and everyone cozied into our bedroom. Being at home, I had the luxury this time of really setting the atmosphere of the room. We lit candles and kept the lights low - it was such a peaceful and calming environment which really helped me to feel safe and secure during my labor. I was SO happy that I didn't have to get in the car and drive anywhere as it was all happening so fast! My birth team was amazing; everyone stayed so calm and just loved on me reassuring me gently that everything was looking and sounding good and that I was doing wonderfully. During our last birth, my husband and I were left to ourselves the majority of our time at the hospital and we felt really isolated and alone. This time, everyone was there, right there with me throughout the entire labor. The reassurance and calm nature of the midwives and my doula really helped my husband to stay calm and he was such a rock throughout the whole labor. I loved that everyone really let him lead the show with regards to support.

The labor progressed really quickly which again was alarming to me. The pain was intense with each contraction and I felt like I never really got a break as the contractions were back to back. We tried a couple other positions to get me moving but nothing else felt right. I was able to move into the tub and lean over the edge. The warm water felt amazing! I had my husband on one side holding my hand and my doula on the other holding my other hand. I had entered transition. I surprised myself with how vocal I was during this labor, seeing as I am normally a fairly quiet person. Deep moaning helped me get through each surge. I tried staying quieter with a few of the contractions but it seemed to hold me back and make me tense up. I felt in control and I felt safe and able to do and say anything without any judgement. With each contraction I focused on passages of Scripture that I had been meditating on during my pregnancy, reminding myself that my strength comes from the Lord and that I was safe in Him and powered by Him. Any time I felt a sense of hopelessness or discouragement, I made myself speak the opposite out loud saying things like "I can do this." Saying these things out loud and then hearing those around me repeat the affirmation was so encouraging.

Probably the strangest part for me this whole labor was the fact that I stayed very aware of my surroundings during its entirety. I never felt like I entered the "labor zone" as I did during my first labor. I was always aware of who was around me and what people were saying, as well as fully in control of my own thoughts, emotions, and words. My husband has commented on how I was even "cracking jokes" during transition and I clearly remember doing this! I feel like I owe this in large part to feeling so comfortable in my surroundings and feeling so supported. There was nothing that I wanted to tune out like I did in the hospital; there were no distractions. After what seemed like forever in transition, my midwife gently suggested that I flip over and that we maybe try a cervical check just to see where I was at and to give me some encouragement. The key here was that she "suggested," she did not force and when I vehemently said no, she would say that was fine and wait another contraction or two before bringing it up again. I barely let her examine me but she was able to check enough to find that my water was bulging and that this was likely why I was saying that I was feeling a bit stuck. After some more gentle suggestions, I finally agreed to get up out of the tub and make my way to the toilet to see if I could get my water to break. The short trip from the tub to the bathroom seemed like a million miles away and almost immediately after stepping out of the tub another strong contraction came. My husband supported me from the front and my midwife and doula grabbed either side of me, holding me up. We quickly walked to the bathroom and within seconds of sitting on the toilet my water broke. Hooray! I knew at this point that there was no way that I was going to make it all the way back to the tub for the birth and instead just got down onto my knees and draped myself over the bathtub. Now, our bathroom is really small, like really REALLY small! We were all laughing inside realizing that I was going to give birth in the smallest space in the house. The urge to push came on quickly and with great strength. My husband quickly hopped into the bathtub (at least he was going to get a "tub birth," ha!) and my midwife crammed herself under the sink so that she could be positioned behind me. Everyone kept telling me that I could take breaks if I wanted but the urge was so strong I knew that I needed to just keep pushing. I felt the ring of fire last a looong time and it seemed like those last few pushes were really hard. Note that I never really felt the urge to push with my first child so this was a whole new sensation for me to experience! I pushed long and hard with the last few pushes and after 30 minutes of pushing, out came our beautiful baby girl at 3:05am! She emerged with both of her hands up by her head, which explained why it was so hard to get her to move through, why I felt so much pressure, and why that fire pain seemed to last so long!

An immediate sense of relief passed over me as I kneeled back and pulled my baby girl to my chest. She was absolutely beautiful and I was so happy to have her finally here. Right away, we had my mom go wake up my daughter so she could meet her sister during her first few minutes in the world. My oldest was extremely excited when my mom told her what was going on and she joined us in the tiny bathroom to meet her sister. I had been preparing her for witnessing the birth for the past couple of months by showing her pictures and video and modeling what it might look and sound like so she felt really comfortable with everything, which was wonderful. After a few minutes hanging out on the bathroom floor, we made our way back to our bedroom.

That first uninterrupted hour as a family was absolutely magical. A quick assessment showed that baby and I were both doing well and after the placenta had been delivered, the midwives were able to stay hands-off and let us bond as a family; no huge teams of care providers rolling equipment in and out of the room, no bright lights, no distractions. David announced her name, Rosalie Vera and our sweet girl took to nursing within those first 30 minutes. After some time had passed, our oldest daughter went back to sleep and we were able to do a quick exam on Rosalie and myself. She was as healthy as could be, weighing in at 9lbs 1oz and 22inches long. I had a second degree tear, but after having a third degree tear with my first this really didn't surprise me. After receiving stitches for the tear and resting for a bit, my midwives poured an herbal bath for me and Rosalie while my doula prepared tea that I had made ahead of time for after the birth to help with the after pains. The bath was magical!! Rosalie loved it and it was so special and surreal to be holding her there with me realizing that this beautiful healthy girl was inside of me just an hour or so earlier!

Six days later I look back at the birth and can't help but smile. I felt so empowered by my birth experience and will always remember it as a peaceful and joyful experience (my two words that I focused on those last few weeks of pregnancy and set as an intention for the birth). The support and the love that I received during the labor and after Rosalie was born was just incredible. Our first week has not been without its issues (latching issues and pain, pain from the tear, a dislocated tailbone, etc), but our spirits have been high throughout and we have all felt such peace and joy in our home. My sense of empowerment comes from following my gut throughout the pregnancy and the labor and making choices that were right for me, which sometimes meant standing up for myself. I am so glad that I made this birth my own and will cherish the memories forever.

https://vimeo.com/175745585

Thank you to Megan Hannon Photography for the beautiful images, the ladies at New Moon Midwifery and Sierra of Ann Arbor Family Doulas