I spent most of last week recovering from my first half marathon. I only ran twice and they were pretty easy 3 milers... So I had some time to finish my birth story about the sweet little babe I had 8 months ago. 3 babies in 3 1/2 years is HARD on the body. Throughout my pregnancy with Tyler I knew once he was out I would hit the ground running...which is exactly what I did. Here is the story of the home birth of our sweet little nugget.
Tyler
Joseph Andrews
January
28, 2013
9 Pounds,
6 Ounces, 20 Inches
Born at
home.
There are so
many ways I could start this story. It
could begin on May 11, 2012…the day I KNEW I was pregnant but everyone said I
was overreacting to a little slip up my husband and I had the night
before. It could begin on May 19th,
the day I started habitually peeing on a stick and examining it for two pink
lines…taking pictures with my phone and adjusting the brightness, contrast, and
adding special effects because I KNEW there were two lines even if everyone I
showed it to said I was still overreacting!
But it should probably being on May 21st… My husband Dana,
our oldest son Zack (2½) and our youngest son Max (9 months) were going to go
out for breakfast and to the park on my husbands morning off work. He knew of my habitual stick peeing on
problem I had been having... so to put my mind at ease he said I should stop at
the local pharmacy after breakfast and get a digital test. That way the words NOT PREGNANT would be clear
as a bell instead of playing the pink line guessing game. I agreed and when we were finished eating we
picked up a digital test which I of course had to go home to use before we
ventured to the park. I ran in the
house, peed on the stick, and within a minute it was blinking PREGNANT. My husband, who truly thought I was
completely crazy about this whole thing was waiting in the car with the
kids. I brought the test out to him, had
him get out of the car, and showed him my findings. He laughed, hugged me, and said “here we go
again!”
We had always
wanted 4 children so finding out we were pregnant again wasn't a bad
thing. It was just happening a lot
sooner than we had anticipated. However,
this pregnancy was going to be very different.
Our two other boys were born in a wonderful hospital that was very
supportive of natural child birth. We
choose hospital birth then for two reasons, fear of the unknown and I was a
teacher and had great insurance. My
husband is a chiropractor so we knew we were going to have unmedicated births
and choose a group of midwives that were associated with the hospital to birth
our first two boys. Our first son was
an 8 hour labor with 50 minutes of pushing and our second son was born after
only 6 hours of labor and 1 push. So
when we found out I was pregnant with this baby I knew what my body could do
and really wanted to experience the peace and power of a home birth.
We found an
amazing midwife, Stacia Profrock, and our journey to home birth began! We met with Stacia once a month, we heard our
little beans heartbeat on July 17th, had our first and only
ultrasound on August 30th but didn’t open the envelope to find out
if we were having a boy or girl until the next day when all of my siblings and
their significant others were here for our annual siblings reunion. On the night of August 31st in
front of our wonderful friends and family we opened a huge box of… BLUE
BALLOONS!!
I coached
volleyball throughout the fall and continued to be very active chasing our two big
boys around. Around the holidays I began
to have a lot of lower back issues. My
body hadn't had much time to heal between pregnancies and it was starting to
show. I got progressively worse and by
the time I was 32 weeks pregnant I could hardly walk without needing
support. This made it incredibly hard to
meet the needs of our other babes and really wore on me emotionally.
39 weeks 2 days...the day before I went into labor.
As we
approached my due date I would go from overjoyed to terrified in the same
conversation. I could not wait to not be
pregnant and be able to be a fun mommy again, but I was also very scared that
because of the state my body had been in for so many weeks I would really
struggle with labor and having this baby at home. My husband continually reassured me that my
body knew what to do and when the baby was out it would be over! The pain would
be gone and I could begin the road back to normalcy!
On Sunday,
January 27th my midwife came to my house to strip my membranes. I was 39 weeks 3 days pregnant (which is the
exact day I went into labor with other two) and so very ready to meet this
little man. She left our house around
4:30p.m. and said if my body was ready there was a 50% chance I would go into labor
in the next 48 hours. The countdown was
on.
Every Sunday
night we take our boys swimming at a local hotel. So at 5:30 we left the house and headed out
for our Sunday night swim. I felt a
little crampy but nothing exciting and was ready to get in the water…that was
the only place I could move without pain.
We swam for about 2 hours and by the time we were headed back home a
winter storm had settled over our area.
This was my biggest fear throughout my pregnancy…what if my midwife
can’t get to us because of the weather?
My husband once again reassured me that everything would be ok and I
just needed to relax. We got back to our
house at about 8:30 that night, put the kids to bed, and sat down to watch a
movie. I was having contractions about 6
minutes apart but nothing intense…just more like Braxton hicks…which I had been
dealing with for months. At 11:00 we
headed up to bed.
At 12:15 I woke up to a decent
contraction. Again…nothing new I had
been having them for the past 2 weeks sometimes lasting as long as 2 hours
before I could go back to sleep. I began
timing them and they were 1 minute long and 2-5 minutes apart. I text my midwife at 12:57 and let her know
what I was feeling. Stacia responded
immediately and said she was coming out just incase. She lived an hour away and the roads were
horrible by this point. I called my best
friend Chelsea who was also going to be here for the birth at 1:07 and told her
we might be having a baby tonight…But I wasn't sure. She said she was going to stay in bed and to
call her when my midwife got there…See…I was not in labor. I called my sister next who lives 6 hours
away and gave her the heads up. They had
the same winter storm we were getting and I knew it would take them a while to
get here IF I was in labor…IF…I still wasn't sure yet. Next I called my mom and had a contraction
while I was on the phone with her and she said she was going to pick up my
sister and they would be on their way…this was it. I was still not convinced. I
forbid my husband from posting anything on Facebook or telling anyone because
again…I wasn't in labor. I asked him to
help me to the bathroom where as soon as I stood up a trickle of water ran down
my leg. Holy shit I’m in labor. After a
trip to the bathroom and observing the excretions from my body I knew this was
actually it. We went downstairs and I
began to get into a zone. Well sort of a
zone. I went from “I can do this” to
“Holy shit I’m scared to death” to “Stacia won’t make it!” to “Thank God we’re
not driving to the hospital in this weather.”
I was most comfortable leaning on
our couch on my knees and my husband did an amazing job of calming my fears and
continually reassuring me that he would not let anything bad happen to me. Throughout my pregnancy that was the one
thing he could say that would calm me and bring me from my crazy, over dramatic,
completely irrational thoughts. My husband wasn't a huge vocally supportive
part of my labor but I know without a shadow of a doubt that this amazing man
would never let anything bad happen to me and our baby. Every time I would get scared and hit a wall
of fear I would look into his eyes and find comfort, love, and trust. I could do this. We could do this.
I continued to labor on my knees
leaning over our couch. Stacia arrived just before 2:00…It took her twice as long as usual to get to our house thank you
ice storm…She came into the room where I was laboring and I immediately started crying. It was happening. I was having our baby. In our house. With the people that I love most in this world surrounding me. She started to talk to me about how strong I was. How I was so ready and this baby would be here soon. The most amazing thing about Stacia is how calming she is. I knew as soon as she was there everything was going to be ok. Our baby was going to be born safely into our arms in the comfort of our home.
Shortly after Stacia, our photographer Mary Bortmas of Unforgettable Photos arrived. Mary has been a close friend of our family since we moved to our little town 6 years ago and when I asked her if she knew anyone that would be comfortable photographing a home birth she said she knew she was the one for the job. I said as long as she could handle my lack of filter she was in!! Mary had come to meet Stacia the day before so as soon as she walked in the door she got to work...
I called my Mom, Sister, and Chelsea to tell them I was really having a baby and decided it was time to get in the water. My other babies were born with me laying on my back on a hospital bed so the birth pool was a new experience for me but as soon as I sank into that warm water the pressure and pain was instantly eased and I could relax. Dana turned on the playlist I had chosen and I tuned out of reality and into my body.
At 2:00 a.m. Chelsea walked in....Took a quick picture to send to my sister and mom to let them know I was REALLY in labor...and got to work. Chelsea was my tell it like it is... sorry sister you're not going to the hospital no matter how much you beg...voice of reason. Some of my favorite quotes from the night include:
Chelsea: "Ok did you think that one hurt?"
Me completely breathless after a big contraction: "YES!"
Chelsea: "Well get ready because the next one is going to be worse."
AND
Dana: "Come on hunny...It's like running a marathon...or pledge period."
Chelsea: "Seriously Dana? I should hit you for that."
AND
Chelsea: "You want the ambulance right now don't you"
Me through clenched teeth and tears. "YES!"
Chelsea: "To bad...by the time they would get here you'll have the baby. We'll just keep going."
If I wouldn't have had her there that night I don't know what I would have done. Like I mentioned earlier, Dana isn't very vocal during my labors and from the time Chels walked in the door until the moment Tyler was born she was talking me through every contraction, every thought, and every fear. I am beyond thankful for not only her support through this amazing home birth but for our friendship.
Shortly after Chelsea got to our house, Cynthia, Stacia's assistant, arrived. Cynthia was such a sweet, caring, gentle, motherly woman that also brought a feeling of security and strength with her arrival. My birth team was complete.
The first time I let Stacia check me I was 7 cm dilated I remember her saying I was almost there and I would have the baby in the next hour. Not to long later I could feel the change in contractions. They were doing more. The baby was moving down. The sounds I was making I had no control over. It was just what my body was doing.
For the last few weeks before I went into labor I had a strange feeling that the baby was in a odd position. I wasn't sure what but I knew it wasn't quite the "ideal". While I was in labor with the other boys I was most comfortable laboring laying on my side. This time if someone had tried to move me from my hands and knees I would have had Chelsea lay down the law. So as I neared what I knew was transition I asked Stacia if I should sit rather than kneel When she said no I knew it had something to do with how the baby was coming out. I pushed 3 times and his head was out. I waited for another contraction and pushed again and I could feel that he wasn't coming any farther down. He was stuck. Next contraction...big push...loud scream...Stacia wiggled him free and at 4:45 a.m....Tyler Joseph Andrews was born into a room of strength, happiness, and love. All 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and 20 inches of his POSTERIOR self. Just 4 short hours after I called Stacia saying I MIGHT be in labor..
Both our big boys slept through the entire thing. Max woke up for a few minutes right after Tyler was born but went right back to sleep and didn't wake up again until 10:30! That's a record for him! And Zack woke up around 5:30 while I was in the shower and comes running in and says, "MOM!! Baby Tyler is here! You HAVE to come see him!"
Stacia and Cynthia came into our room and did the newborn exam right there on our bed. Stacia gave me some instructions and said she would be downstairs for a little while if we needed anything. We were left to enjoy our sweet little man all by ourselves.
This is the look my hubby gave me when I said, "The next baby we will FOR SURE be having at home!" He's thinking...what next baby?! :)
At 6:30 a.m. another great friend came to pick Zack up so we could have some quiet time with our new little man. She said there were candles burning, laundry washing, and not a single sign that we had just birthed a child in the comfort of our home less than 2 hours ago.
Stacia left around 8:30 a.m. and would return later that day to check on us again.
My mom and sister got to our house at 9:30 a.m. and we all settled into a peaceful day of new baby snuggles, naps, and home cooked food.
If we do decide to have another baby I would without a shadow of a doubt have another home birth. It is the single most empowering moment of my life. I know there are many details from that night I forgot but what I remember most is being surrounded by love, support, and strength as I worked to bring our little babe into the world.
Now Ty Guy is 8 months old...crawling...laughing...smiling...jumping...snuggling ball of sweetness. Thank you God for this incredibly unexpected blessing.
