I had big plans for my due date (the 27th), and was very happy that the baby obliged and stayed in that long!
The morning of the 28th, I woke up early… just couldn’t sleep. My bowels cleared which made me wonder if labor might be near.
At 7:45 a huge contraction rocked through me. It felt familiar - like the real thing. Then 10 minutes, and another one. Okay… this is going to be slower than my last (which was a 45 minutes). The contractions were SO strong though. I tried squatting through one, hands and knees for another, the bath for another, and finally found a semi-comfortable spot on the toilet.
I checked myself and felt a very bulgy bag of waters. It felt like a water balloon. At that point my husband opened the door and asked me if I needed anything - I said no - just leave me alone. He did, which I’m so grateful for. He closed the door and I could hear him busy with the kids and dog. I had originally thought I’d want my kids around me, but I didn’t want anyone anywhere near me… just to be in solitude.
Another contraction and I had the urge to bear down, so I did a bit, and the waters exploded. I pushed a bit more, until the urge went away. I checked myself again and felt a head about an inch inside. I didn’t really want to have a baby in the toilet, but my body wouldn’t let me get up. There is a window over my toilet, and I grabbed the sill, and with the next contraction, my body pushed HARD. I felt a head come out and hit resistance (which I later learned was the toilet seat). I pulled myself up to a squat as I pushed the rest of his body out. Since his head hit the seat first, his butt splashed down into the water and he instantly screamed very loudly. I picked him up and sat on the floor, just as my husband opened the door and said, “It was just that easy, huh?” I said yeah… just like that! He asked what we had, I looked and said, “A boy, and he’s peeing all over me!”
We sat there, breathing together. I noticed meconium in his hair but he was beautiful, alert, and very pink. My best friend arrived 5 minutes later and brought my kids in to see. We sat there, on the bathroom floor, staring and breathing together. Ginger wanted to see the placenta, which hadn’t been birthed yet. This whole pregnancy she’s been SO excited to see the placenta!
We moved to the bed and called my midwife. I think I woke her up… It was about 8:30 by then - another 45 minute labor! The kids, my husband, friend, the baby and I sat in bed and checked him over. He was covered in poop - just a mess. He nursed right away, on both sides for almost an hour.
My midwife came an hour after his birth and gave him the once over. She weighed and measured him, and started a load of laundry. My husband made breakfast for everyone so we sat in bed, eating together.
The placenta finally came after I squatted and pushed. We put it in a bowl and took it to the bath with us to wash off the birth mess. I cleaned him and myself, and the placenta floated in the bowl next to us. We got back in bed and nursed more. After about 3 hours, my husband cut the cord. I handed him over to his eager 8 yr old sister, and took my 5 yr old out to the back deck to make placenta prints.
I made 5, with both sides of the placenta. I let Ginger touch it and check it out - she had so been looking forward to it but was a bit disappointed it wasn’t heart shaped. We looked at the veil, touched the veins, felt it’s weight. She really liked the cord and how it looked like the tree of life.
We washed up and stuck the placenta in the fridge, and went to cuddle more. After a while we went outside. It was warm and sunny and the air was sweet.
It took us 2 weeks to name him, Sorren Michael. He has a head full of hair and is a great breast feeder. 8 lbs, 3 oz, 19 inches, and a 14 inch head. I’m so happy with this little guy!