42 hours of back labor was actually pretty awesome
I had enjoyed an easy pregnancy without many of the usual issues, but as we reached the 40th week I was ready to be finished! We had decided to go with a midwife for our prenatal care and the birth, and also brought in a doula on the recommendation of a few friends. We also definitely wanted a hospital birth, so we made sure to choose a nurse midwife who was affiliated with the best maternity hospital in the area. I run with a fairly offbeat crowd, but having the baby anywhere other than a hospital was just not for me. I was hoping to not take any pain meds, but was fine with doing so if that’s how it went.
Contractions and deep thoughts: a midwife-assisted hospital birth story
The memories are fleeting. They sink like photographs thrown into a deep lake. Lulling back and forth, the water blurs their edges until they fade entirely from view. It’s only been a week since I gave birth, and yet, perhaps as some evolutionary protective instinct, my recollection is already hazy. The experience feels more like a montage of images viewed through frosted glass, than a movie to re-play at will.
My planned homebirth turned hospital Bradley Method birth story
I’m so glad we took the Bradley Method classes because even though we planned on delivering at home in a low-risk situation, it really prepared us for a good hospital birth. The classes put a huge emphasis on learning to relax deeply, control your breathing, how to avoid unnecessary interventions at the hospital, and especially husbands being the main birth coach! I couldn’t have done this without Jordan’s strength and encouragement. Every time I opened my eyes during labor to look at Jordan, he would be smiling and gently telling me that I was doing great.
About our perfect at-home water birth
My due date of April 2nd came and went with little fanfare. I’d somehow gotten it stuck in my head that my due date was the 4th, so little surprise that I woke up at seven that morning with period-like cramps. I called my husband and told him what was going on so far, prefacing the conversation with, “Don’t freak out.” I told him to finish up his day at work as my contractions weren’t that painful.. yet.
Water birth of a third generation mermaid
As a Valentine’s Day gift my dad boiled countless pots of water to fill a tub for each of us. I feel safe in that story and in the memory of a perfect expression of love. And every splash of water I heard at that moment made me feel safe, too. The midwife smiled. She says my mom and I must be mermaid girls, the way we find such peace in the water. I thought of the next mermaid girl to come, an Aquarius baby born in water.
A Zumba-induced baby born in the caul
I always knew my baby would be “late.” I disagreed with the due date predicted by my three month scan and thought my actual “forty week mark” was about twelve days later. When I declined induction, I was referred to a consultant who was surprisingly supportive and said that twenty years ago I wouldn’t have been induced, so it was my decision. I was constantly aware of every kick in the womb, which was more reassuring to me than any scan could be.
On delivering my daughter at home, in my bed — and learning that the birth was really all about her
Olivia’s home birth was absolutely something I wanted to do in my life — part of my bucket list, if you will. I never imagined I’d deliver in my bed, but now I realize that this was Olivia’s birth — in the end I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.
Yay for midwife mamas!
I’m not sure how many Offbeat Mama readers know about my mom. She wrote a few guestposts back in Offbeat Mama’s early days, but for those who weren’t around back in early 2010 here’s the backstory: my mom Therese is a retired midwife who was first the founding president of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), and then the Academic Director of Seattle Midwifery School. In high school, I grew up grading midwifery tests.
Anyway, MANA just celebrated their 30th anniversary, and my mom went to a big gathering they had in California. I was tickled pink when she shared this picture of some of the past presidents, and thought some of you midwifery fans might be as well.