Birth Story of the Week- Barb & Myles

I'm so excited to be sharing Birth Stories as a regular feature on the N E S T E D blog! 

Meet Barb and her wonderful boys Tim & Myles as they share their story of a family-centred homebirth! Thank you for your submission!!

While I was on the fence about home birth my main concern was actually “the mess” left and after having talks with a few women I knew that did home births and my amazing midwives I knew it was a strong contender for the birth of my second babe. With my first son’s birth being quick and without any complications I was confident that at home was where I’d feel most comfortable. 

The biggest set back in choosing this option is having a lot of people give their two cents on why it wasn’t a good idea or saying things like “wow you’re so brave!” Which in my opinion was kind of a back handed compliment. I knew to follow my intuition and not to allow others peoples opinions out weigh that, and with the support of most of my family I’m so glad I followed through with it.

  

I brought home my “home birth kit” from an appointment with the midwives the week of going into my 37th week of pregnancy. I remember telling my midwife “I know I’m going to go early.” She then instructed me at least wait til 37 weeks then you can still birth at home. 

3 days later my water broke at about 3 am when I got up to pee. I immediately called my support people to alert them as my first labour was pretty quick, then alerted my midwife who told me to try and relax and when the contractions got close enough together or if there was a big change to call her. I can’t lie, I was not about to lay back down. I was up and dancing/walking my stairs and bouncing on my labour ball. I wanted this baby out! My contractions were totally irregular and not strong at all and with everyone at my house already I was feeling impatient.

With my first my contractions came fast and heavy so I thought with my water breaking it would be instant labour, it was not. The hours were passing and not much change. I wasn’t in much pain at all so I continued to dance around even though my midwife advised me to rest while I could. Finally about 13 hours after my water had broke I felt a big contraction, I immediately called my midwife and told her I was in real pain and that the contractions were regular. About 30 minutes later she arrived to a house full of overtired support and an adrenaline filled momma. 

She checked to see how dilated I was and to my dismay she announced I was only about 2cms. I felt as though I was in an episode of friends with everyone’s voices through my place saying “What? Only 2 cms??” She proceeded to do a stretch and sweep and got me to 5 cms. After that the real fun began I was rocking my hips on all fours and had the support of my midwife pushing down on my sacrum (low back) for some relief. About an hour after the stretch she checked my BP which for me was a bit high (likely from all the jumping and dancing around all day) she said if it didn’t come down we would need to transfer to the hospital. Thankfully after laying down for a few minutes it started to come back down.

   

She had called for the second midwife to come since my contractions were very close and then checked me again and said I was still around 5 cms (it was just after 6 at this point) She was going to call the secondary and tell her to wait but decided to wait a few minutes first. 

Moments later I told her I was feeling pressure and sure enough baby was crowning Being a single mom, with my sister on one side of me and my best friend on the other, each one holding my hand, a friend watching what was going on, my midwife with her supports and a nervous mother outside the room (with a nervous soon to be big brother) I felt so supported and I was ready and so was he.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually about 20 mins) I was holding my baby boy for the first time. To my friends suggestion I was covered up and big brother cane in and cut the cord! Once checks were done and I had showered I joined my family (brother, sil, niece, mom and dad) in my living room with my new little huddle of love.

It was magical and I was so grateful to have experienced it all in the comfort of my home with an amazing team of people and get to sleep in my own bed that night with my sweet little boy. 

 I wouldn’t change a single thing about my birth story and am forever grateful.

I'm so excited to be sharing Birth Story of the Week as a regular feature! 
This project is about bringing our stories together and providing a wonderful resource for new and expecting families in our community. All births are wonderful and should be celebrated, no matter what type of birth (home, hospital, midwife/ OB, doula supported or not) if you would like to share your birth story please email it to info@nestedbirth.com a photo or two would also be great.

Stories will be featured on my social media platforms and blog. My hope is that we can educate families on the options available in our community, provide healing and empowerment through sharing and of course CONNECTION.