It was pretty awesome to get to work with Anne, because although we had never met before she interviewed with me, it turns out that her baby and my children are third cousins once removed. Pretty crazy huh?
Here is the story of her homebirth in her own words.
Here is the story of her homebirth in her own words.
~ Suzanne
The birth of Axel
On Friday April 3rd around 1 am, I started having mild cramping. I thought they were braxton hicks and was kind of excited because I always wondered what those felt like. I remember not really feeling exactly when they started or stopped and they felt more like period cramps. I got a couple hours of sleep and then they woke me up about 3 am. I dozed in and out until morning barely getting any sleep. I had an appointment scheduled and tea with a friend that I ended up canceling because I was so exhausted and thought I should stick close to home since I was still having the cramping. I called my doula, Suzanne, around 9 am to let her know what was going on. She told me they might not be braxton hicks, they could be the real thing! She told me to get some rest and call her back around noon.
So I laid down, at that point the cramping was coming about every 5 minutes. I slept for a couple hours, waking up every 30-45 min from a contraction and recording it. I was sure they were just braxton hicks because they were very manageable pain wise, they didn’t feel like what I thought “real contractions” would feel like. The contractions slowed down after my nap and I called my doula back to let her know. She said to call back at 3 to check in, but call her if any major changes. At this point they were coming about every 15-30 minutes lasting about 25-35 seconds. My grandma came over and we took a trip to Fred Meyer and Target, I needed some things and thought it would be a good idea to get out and do some walking. I called my midwife around 2pm to let her know and she told me to ignore them as long as possible and get some rest and call her back when the contractions were lasting longer than 45 seconds and about 5 minutes apart.
So I quit keeping track and over analyzing every cramp and laid down again. After resting for a couple hours, I got up and walked around outside. Mike had been at work all day and I had been keeping him updated. My sister and her boyfriend came over and brought me food while we waited for mike to get home. He had a work meeting after work so he was out later than normal. Called my doula around 8pm and she told me to lay on my left side for 20 minutes (I had been walking around and it was hard to keep track of my contractions) and record the contractions. They started coming every 2-4 minutes and lasting 40-50 seconds. It seemed like things were only progressing, the contractions were becoming stronger. So I called Brandy and let her know and she gave me the go ahead to order my birthing tub. I called mike, who was still at his work meeting, to let him know I had ordered the tub and he left his meeting right away. I also told my mom to head on over. The labor tub arrived around 9:30pm. The lady was hesitant to leave it because I didn’t seem like I was in very much pain and she was worried it would be left there for a couple days. At this point I don’t think anyone really thought I was really having the baby. Now it was just a waiting game!
Suzanne told me to just call when I felt like I needed her, that happened around 11pm. When she got there we realized I wasn’t as far progressed as we thought because the contractions weren’t consistent, they changed when I got up and moved around. They started getting stronger eventually and I started to get the shakes which was a sign I was progressing so around 2 am we called Brandy to come over. When she got there she checked me and told me I was all the way effaced (at this point I was only 1 CM dilated but thank goodness she didn’t tell me that, and she pushed me to 3 CM). I ended up laboring through the night, my sister, her boyfriend and my mom slept on the couch and my midwife slept on the floor. My midwife's assistant was the one checking on me and the baby. She monitored his heartbeat during a contraction every 20 minutes. I always looked forward to that. Those contractions didn’t seem to be as painful because I got to hear my little man’s heartbeat.
I ended up laboring through the night in and out of my birthing tub while everyone else slept. My mom and Suzanne were with me the most between laying down and resting. There was no point where I specifically remember the contractions changing, they just gradually got stronger. By the morning I got checked again and was at 4-5 CM. Brandy, my midwife, gave me some kind of sugar pill. I had lots of contractions on the toilet, not fun and they had me walk around outside, up and down the stairs. When I got back from walking my water broke, around noon. I took a shower and then got in the birthing tub. The contractions were very strong at this point and it wasn't long until I felt the need to push. When it came time to push Mike got in the tub and sat behind me. I was so sick of contractions that it felt good to push. It felt more like when I have to poop so bad and it feels good to do it. Mike was behind me holding my legs.
I kept an eye on my midwife, eventually she got out gloves that sat in her lap, that was a good sign that things were getting close. I was so relieved when she finally put them on. I pushed for a good half hour, every time telling myself that my baby was only a couple pushes away. It felt like a bowel movement until he reached the end of my vagina and then I felt the ring of fire. It still felt better to push than not to push. In between the last couple contractions things were like normal, we even joked around a little bit, I remember giving my nephew a high 5 and joking about the poop (I pooped a lot and I did not care lol) I could smell it too. I sounded like a cave woman but again did not care. I pushed as hard as I could with every contraction, I couldn’t believe this was real life, the amount of times I had seen this happen on tv and the couple times in real life, and I was actually experiencing it for myself! I was exhausted, it had been almost 36 hours. There was so many times I wanted to give up and thought I couldn’t take it much longer.
But every time I thought to myself “I can’t” I turned it into “I can, I will and I am” Those last 3 contractions were magical. The first one, half of his head came out and I felt it, it was squishy and hairy, with the next contraction his head came completely out! and I felt him again. It was so weird sitting there in between contractions with his head just chilling outside my vagina. And with the next push he was out and in my arms.
At one point she had me slow down a bit so that my vagina could stretch and I didn't rip, thank god. When she was doing my exam she told me I had 2 little tears but that was it and it barely looked like I had given birth, how cool is that?
I could feel my butt protruding out with every push. I could feel everything. I just kept imagining that moment he was free from my vagina and put on my belly. When that happened I didnt even know what to do, he was so tiny I didn’t even know how to move him.
They said it was one of the cleanest births they ever had.
My mom called me her hero.
Axel was perfect.
I did so great and was so strong.
I had my ideal birth.
So I laid down, at that point the cramping was coming about every 5 minutes. I slept for a couple hours, waking up every 30-45 min from a contraction and recording it. I was sure they were just braxton hicks because they were very manageable pain wise, they didn’t feel like what I thought “real contractions” would feel like. The contractions slowed down after my nap and I called my doula back to let her know. She said to call back at 3 to check in, but call her if any major changes. At this point they were coming about every 15-30 minutes lasting about 25-35 seconds. My grandma came over and we took a trip to Fred Meyer and Target, I needed some things and thought it would be a good idea to get out and do some walking. I called my midwife around 2pm to let her know and she told me to ignore them as long as possible and get some rest and call her back when the contractions were lasting longer than 45 seconds and about 5 minutes apart.
So I quit keeping track and over analyzing every cramp and laid down again. After resting for a couple hours, I got up and walked around outside. Mike had been at work all day and I had been keeping him updated. My sister and her boyfriend came over and brought me food while we waited for mike to get home. He had a work meeting after work so he was out later than normal. Called my doula around 8pm and she told me to lay on my left side for 20 minutes (I had been walking around and it was hard to keep track of my contractions) and record the contractions. They started coming every 2-4 minutes and lasting 40-50 seconds. It seemed like things were only progressing, the contractions were becoming stronger. So I called Brandy and let her know and she gave me the go ahead to order my birthing tub. I called mike, who was still at his work meeting, to let him know I had ordered the tub and he left his meeting right away. I also told my mom to head on over. The labor tub arrived around 9:30pm. The lady was hesitant to leave it because I didn’t seem like I was in very much pain and she was worried it would be left there for a couple days. At this point I don’t think anyone really thought I was really having the baby. Now it was just a waiting game!
Suzanne told me to just call when I felt like I needed her, that happened around 11pm. When she got there we realized I wasn’t as far progressed as we thought because the contractions weren’t consistent, they changed when I got up and moved around. They started getting stronger eventually and I started to get the shakes which was a sign I was progressing so around 2 am we called Brandy to come over. When she got there she checked me and told me I was all the way effaced (at this point I was only 1 CM dilated but thank goodness she didn’t tell me that, and she pushed me to 3 CM). I ended up laboring through the night, my sister, her boyfriend and my mom slept on the couch and my midwife slept on the floor. My midwife's assistant was the one checking on me and the baby. She monitored his heartbeat during a contraction every 20 minutes. I always looked forward to that. Those contractions didn’t seem to be as painful because I got to hear my little man’s heartbeat.
I ended up laboring through the night in and out of my birthing tub while everyone else slept. My mom and Suzanne were with me the most between laying down and resting. There was no point where I specifically remember the contractions changing, they just gradually got stronger. By the morning I got checked again and was at 4-5 CM. Brandy, my midwife, gave me some kind of sugar pill. I had lots of contractions on the toilet, not fun and they had me walk around outside, up and down the stairs. When I got back from walking my water broke, around noon. I took a shower and then got in the birthing tub. The contractions were very strong at this point and it wasn't long until I felt the need to push. When it came time to push Mike got in the tub and sat behind me. I was so sick of contractions that it felt good to push. It felt more like when I have to poop so bad and it feels good to do it. Mike was behind me holding my legs.
I kept an eye on my midwife, eventually she got out gloves that sat in her lap, that was a good sign that things were getting close. I was so relieved when she finally put them on. I pushed for a good half hour, every time telling myself that my baby was only a couple pushes away. It felt like a bowel movement until he reached the end of my vagina and then I felt the ring of fire. It still felt better to push than not to push. In between the last couple contractions things were like normal, we even joked around a little bit, I remember giving my nephew a high 5 and joking about the poop (I pooped a lot and I did not care lol) I could smell it too. I sounded like a cave woman but again did not care. I pushed as hard as I could with every contraction, I couldn’t believe this was real life, the amount of times I had seen this happen on tv and the couple times in real life, and I was actually experiencing it for myself! I was exhausted, it had been almost 36 hours. There was so many times I wanted to give up and thought I couldn’t take it much longer.
But every time I thought to myself “I can’t” I turned it into “I can, I will and I am” Those last 3 contractions were magical. The first one, half of his head came out and I felt it, it was squishy and hairy, with the next contraction his head came completely out! and I felt him again. It was so weird sitting there in between contractions with his head just chilling outside my vagina. And with the next push he was out and in my arms.
At one point she had me slow down a bit so that my vagina could stretch and I didn't rip, thank god. When she was doing my exam she told me I had 2 little tears but that was it and it barely looked like I had given birth, how cool is that?
I could feel my butt protruding out with every push. I could feel everything. I just kept imagining that moment he was free from my vagina and put on my belly. When that happened I didnt even know what to do, he was so tiny I didn’t even know how to move him.
They said it was one of the cleanest births they ever had.
My mom called me her hero.
Axel was perfect.
I did so great and was so strong.
I had my ideal birth.