This is the story of my home birth. I knew that I wanted to have a home birth from the very beginning. I wanted the comfort of my own house, the freedom from wires and drugs, and the security of knowing that my daughter would be entering the world in a safe, loving environment.
Eleven days past my due date, my contractions began ever so gently around 7:00pm on Sunday evening. We went to my Dad's for dinner and I felt irregular, light contractions the entire night. Around 8:30, the contractions began getting more consistent and a bit stronger. We walked home around 9:30 and the contractions got even stronger. By 10:30, we were certain that labor had begun (it wasn't a false alarm!).
I took a bath around 11:30 and enjoyed the relief that the water gave. Steve sat with me the entire time, feeling my belly as I contracted. After the bath, we tried to sleep, but we merely drifted off to sleep just moments before the next contraction began. My water broke around 1:30am and, with contractions getting ever stronger, I threw up around 1:40.
Steve began to get the Aqua Doula ready and rushed to my side when each contraction began (being as they were never more than four minutes apart, it's amazing that he managed to get everything ready and be at my side to comfort me, keep my attention focused, and rub my aching back).
Steve called everyone (our midwife, doula, my mom, my mother-in-Law, and my aunt) just after 4:00am. Our midwife, Melissa, arrived before 5:00. She checked me and announced that I was dilated to eight centimeters. I remember exclaiming, "No shit!?" realizing that the pain that I was enduring was almost over. I felt a surge of optimism, empowerment, and excitement, knowing that we'd be meeting our little girl soon.
Everyone helped to get the Aqua Doula ready and I finally eased into the water. I was amazed at how much it helped ease my pain; my lower back pain was relieved to a much more manageable point and the contractions seemed to lessen in intensity. Steve got into the Aqua Doula with me and, as I listened to the song that Steve had composed using our daughter's heartbeat as the main sound, I felt the urge to push.
Pushing felt incredibly good, even though it hurt. And then, before I knew it, she was here. Steve caught her and the two of us stared in amazement. I felt a surge of emotion as I touched my child for the first time. I kept repeating, "It's a baby! Steve, she's a baby!" shocked and awed at the intense realization that I was no longer pregnant, but rather, a mother.
The rest of the morning was a blur. Our doula, Jessica, did a placenta print that turned out beautifully. The midwife cleaned everything up as Steve and I absorbed reality with our new daughter. We sat together, along with our dog, in bed, as the sun shined through the snow storm that had welcomed her into the world.
I feel so incredibly happy with our daughter's birth; it simply could not have been more perfect. Being in labor was not as painful as I had anticipated it to be, and I couldn't have done it without Steve's help. My labor lasted less than twelve hours and was only intense for maybe five hours. I am so incredibly glad that we had a home birth. Our daughter was welcomed into the world ever so gently, and with tears of joy. (I know, it's corny...but true!) She was not poked, prodded, or injected.
The only time that she wasn't in my arms was when Melissa, our midwife, weighed and measured her at the foot of my bed, or when her proud daddy or other family member was holding her. It was the exact birth experience that I had wanted. I felt completely comfortable, confident, and in control. The only time that I ever doubted my ability to birth my child naturally and at home was just before Melissa arrived, when the pain was excruciating and I wasn't sure how much longer it would last. But when she told me that I was eight centimeters dilated, I knew that the intense pain would not get much stronger, and that it wouldn't last that much longer, either. I knew that the birth of my child was coming very soon, and that I had already done the hardest thing: make the commitment to a natural birth at home.
With Steve supporting, comforting, encouraging, and helping every step of the way, and with the strong faith in my body's ability to do what it was designed to do, I had full confidence in the process of giving birth to my daughter.
It was perfect, simply perfect. I am so proud to have had a home birth. It was exactly how I wanted it to be. The lights were dimmed, the song that Steve had composed for the occasion resonated through the air, and my daughter's two grandmothers were there to witness her birth. I was relaxed and felt completely free to do as I wished and I will always feel joy when looking back at the morning that my daughter was born.
Coral Ilima Buenamaria Floyd was born at our home at 6:08am on March 31st, 2008.
