Birth Stories

When I was pregnant, reading other women's birth stories was very empowering for me.  Reading about their experiences with child birth helped me mentally prepare myself and build up confidence for my own labour.  I was having my baby at home so I especially appreciated stories from other women who chose homebirth.  Their words helped confirm that having a baby at home was the gentlest, most mother/baby friendly way to welcome a child into the world.  And safe, and normal!  After Hannah was born I wrote down her birth story.  By writing it out I was able to reflect on the experience and preserve it for myself and Hannah so as she gets older I will be able to share it with her.  I also hope that by sharing it with others, it will help empower labouing mama's the same way all those birth stories I read helped me. 

Hannah Luna's Birth Story

On Halloween morning I woke up feeling a little different.  I was having mild contractions and they were immediately pretty close together.  The contractions weren't too intense and I remember at the time thinking perhaps I would be one of those lucky women with a quick easy labour.  I'm tough, if mild mannered ladies can have babies I could do it no sweat!  I called our midwife Lori at around 2pm.  We were pretty far out in the country and Lori was a good couple hours drive from our place.  Plus the weather was crazy!  It had been super windy and rainy all morning.  In the afternoon we had had a couple of breaks in the weather though and we had seen two rainbows, one on the other side of the lake, and the other in the field just across the road from the house.  Cheshire and I thought these must be good omens, the baby was approaching.  Lori said she saw a rainbow on her drive up to the farm too.  My contractions continued and were becoming stronger and stronger.  I decided to take a bath and that's when Lori arrived.  The first time Lori checked, I was about 1 1/2-2 cm dialated.  Hours later, I was still only 2 cm dialated.  That was incredibly frustrating!  I was getting tired and all I wanted to do was call a time out and lie down and take a break.  But my body wouldn't let me.  At some point I came to terms with the fact that I was not able to control the situation.  The baby was coming and I had to just be present and focus on getting me body to open up so the baby could come out.  Once the baby was born, I'd be able to rest.  Cheshire had blown up the birthing pool and it was set up in the living room.  We had a nice fire going in the woodstove.  I spent some time in the birthpool and it felt nice for a while.   But mostly, I wanted to be standing and moving around.  Gravity was making a lot of sense to me...I wanted to get that baby to move down and out.  Cheshire was with me pretty much the whole time supporting me emotionally and physically.  I leaned on him a lot and found his presence and touch helped me feel grounded.  He was supportive but stayed fairly quiet and just held space with me.  This worked really well for me.  We had agreed to have a midwifery student come and be present at the birth.  Her name was Leanne and she was great.  She was very calm, gentle and supportive.  I really appreciated how the midwives handled the whole labour.  They monitored me and the baby to make sure everything was progressing well and otherwise, they allowed me my space and just kept encouraging me through the whole labour.  Finally, after hours of intense contractions, something shifted and I began feeling a strong urge to push.  It amazed me how my body really took over and it felt like I was just along for the ride.  By this time I was 8 cm dialated so that was encouraging...finally some progress.  My water broke while I was sitting on the toilet, which was convenient!  There was some baby poop in it so the midwives were a little concerned, but the baby's heart rate was still slow and she didn't seem distressed.  Plus she was already sitting really low so Lori didn't think it would take too long for me to push her out.  Pushing was incredibly intense but finally, after all that waiting, it was nice to have something moving fairly quickly.  It took about an hour to get Hannah's head out.  I think I had my eyes closed for most of it, just trying to stay in it and focusing on opening up and the baby coming out.  When her head came out I reached down and could feel her, which was totally surreal.  Leanne said that when her head came out, one of her shoulders came out at the same time.  And all of the sudden there she was, a little person.  I couldn't really believe it.  Hannah started to cry on her own right away, really loud and clear.  My dad (who was downstairs with my mom) said when they heard the baby's first cry he had looked out the window and the sky had totally cleared and there was a big bright moon and all the stars shining brightly.    The placenta came out easily and was nice and healthy, about the size of our little baby.  Cheshire got to cut the umbillical cord and Hannah immediatley started searching for food.  After I had held her for a bit, Sarah, our second midwife, took Hannah to check her out.  She was 7lbs. 10oz, with 10 fingers, 10 toes and everything in its right place.  As it turned out, Hannah was a Halloween trick, and she was born November 1st at around 5am.  The whole birth experience gave me a much greater respect for women!  I learned that our bodies, no matter how much we think we have control over them, are programmed to perform incredible feats.  Letting go and allowing hundreds of thousands of years of evolution guide the way is incredibly humbling and gave me a greater appreciation for the miracle of life.  Being able to be home for my birth and able to labour in my own way was also something that I continue to be grateful for.  And I continue to be thankful for the lovely little lady who made me into a mama.



It takes a Village...to grow a baby

So you're gonna have a baby...

Having a baby is a unique experience for each family and individual.  Some people plan every aspect from conception to possible universities their child will attend.  Others, not so much.  I had always thought that someday I might have kids, but had never really planned when.  So when I found out I was pregnant, there was a certain period of adjustment that I had to go through in order to get used to the idea of "someday" coming so soon.  Although my pregnancy was unplanned, it was not unwanted.  I decided right away that if I was going to welcome a child into my life I would make it a positive experience from the start.  I also decided that I would make the most of my last nine months of baby-free life.  I would visit friends, go to festivals and parties, and treat myself to delicious, healthy food to nourish my body and the little life it was growing.  It was great!  I was lucky to have an easy pregnancy which made all of these things possible.  My belly was like having a special V.I.P. pass.  People offered me seats, insisted I move ahead of them in line ups, brought me food and drinks, and were eager to share well wishes and pass on love for the baby.  I know some people prefer to maintain a certain bubble of personal space around them through pregnancy, and this should be respected.  However, if you are open to recieving attention (sometimes of the hands on variety) from friends and even strangers, go for it.  For me, the positive encouragement I recieved helped me get more excited about welcoming the baby.  And honestly, I think Hannah felt all the love that was passed onto her in utero because she was such a gentle mellow soul when she arrived.  I believe children don't just belong to their immediate family.  There's the old saying, "It takes a village to raise a child."  All of us, the greater human family, play a part in each others lives.  If you are lucky enough to be in the role of a mother or a father you have the special task of caring for, and guiding a new soul to find their own place in the world.  Of course you should respect parents and their wishes for their children, but as parents, we should recognize the important role others play in our children's lives.  And this role can begin before a child is born by welcoming the sharing of love and positive energy from others.