Countryside magazine is wanting home birth stories so I finally wrote out Tyrel's. This is it after I sent it to my editor (aka Mom) to fix it up a little.
Now to get it in the mail to Countryside.
Full CircleI was born at home, my Mom's first homebirth of four, after two hospital births. Her home births included breech twins. I have heard how much more relaxed and easy her home births were in comparison to the hospital births. I have never been a big fan of doctors myself. I know they have their place, but it seems to me that many doctors just want to prescribe a drug for a quick fix rather than actually finding out what is causing the patients problems. If there is one thing I learned from my Mom's home births, it is that a normal pregnancy is not an illness nor a medical crisis.When I became pregnant with my first, and so far only, child, I knew I did not want to go to the hospital. I never really even considered the hospital as an option for childbirth. Thankfully, my husband was 100% supportive of my desire to have our baby at home. A friend recommended a midwife to us, Carol, who fortunately didn't mind that we lived way out "in the boonies". Our house is on my husband's parents property, 40 miles from the nearest hospital. It is more than 3 miles from the nearest paved road, through two gates, and could be difficult to find in the middle of the night. We are at the end of the power lines, more than two miles, as the crow flies, from our nearest neighbor- with the exception of my husbands parents, who live next door.The midwife and her assistant Kelly, a nurse-midwife in training, made several visits to our isolated ranch, assuring they would be able to find it if I did happen to go into labor in the middle of the night.I tend to be a person who worries- a lot!- when I don't know what is going on with my body. I called the midwife on many occasions just to be sure all the changes my body was going through were normal. I called my Mom at times, so that I wouldn't bother the midwife too much. All in all, I had a wonderful pregnancy. I had no morning sickness to speak of, and no swollen feet or ankles.It was so neat to watch the midwife feel around on my belly, and be able to tell me what position the baby was in, and all of the parts she could identify by feel. The midwife made sure my husband and I knew what to expect during labor and the birthing process. She made sure I was eating properly and getting enough vitamins and protein. I was told to call her once I my labor had progressed to the point I could not talk through a contraction.I had false labor about a week and a half before the real thing started. The midwife and her assistant came out and were as convinced as I was that this was really labor. We called my parents in Arkansas... and they started out on the 10 hour drive to west Texas almost immediately. Just before they arrived, my contractions stopped. The midwives went home. My Dad had to go back to work in Arkansas after a few days, disappointed. Mom stayed with us and made sure I was exercising. She had me walking around the property twice a day, and marched me up at down the stairs at my In Laws house next door.Finally, on the 24th of July, my labor really started. My husband, a short-haul truck driver, had been called out on a load that afternoon. When he left, I seemed to be no closer to being in labor than I had been all week. I wanted to be really sure I was in labor this time, before calling the midwife out. I didn't want her making the hour and a half drive for nothing. She had said, call her when I could no longer talk through the contractions... and I was still talking just fine. Thankfully, Mom didn't think we should wait quite that long... and called the midwife about midnight. My husband arrived home shortly after the midwives did. By then, I COULD still talk through the contractions, I just didn't much feel like it. Not long after that, we moved to the bedroom where I wanted to have the baby. My mom, husband, mother in law, and the midwives took turns holding warm wash cloths on my lower back because that seemed to help ease the pain somewhat.
Sometime during the night...well early morning, everyone went to take a nap as I didn't seem to be progressing very fast, and I went to soak in the tub for a while. My sweet husband sat beside the tub and napped there. After I don't know how long, I got out and wandered back into the bedroom. The student midwife, Kelly, was in the bedroom. She helped me back into my shirt.
I told her that I felt like if I could go to the bathroom I would feel better. She told me to go ahead and try. So I headed to the potty and she scurried off to get Carol, my midwife. Carol came and checked me, said I was fully dilated and pushing. She asked if I wanted to have the baby right there on the bathroom floor or could I move to the bedroom.
I wanted to move to the bedroom, so I did. At the foot of the bed, I squatted over some towels and absorbent pads while holding on to my husband. The rest seemed to go by pretty fast. A few weeks before, Carol had told me that the baby had his hand up by his head, and she hoped he would move it ...but he didn't. My son was born head and arm first at 9:45 AM on July 25th...my grandpa's birthday.
Carol was a little worried about my bleeding and gave me a herbal remedy to help with that. My husband cut the cord and I moved to the bed. I nursed my sweet little guy, and took a long nap with my husband and new son. My mom fed people a snack while my mother in law went to town to get lunch and pick up her younger children from friends.
It was very stress free and we are planning on having home births with all of our children.
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And some cute ones from the other day. Cousin Raylee and Tyrel.
Checking stock in the trailer
Helping Mama soak her feet after she stepped on a nail the other day
eating an apple on the way to town