Pamela's Story- 9 lbs.- Home

9 lbs.

21 inches

Mother's Height: 5' 4"

I had a completely normal and uneventful pregnancy.  My belly was enormous on my 5'4" frame but I was lucky to have a strong body that was able to weather the pregnancy with very little discomfort.  My pregnancy was a very peaceful and relaxing time in my life.  I spent a lot of time reading, relaxing, hanging out with friends, eating good food, and enjoying my last few months of being child-free.  At the same time, I could not wait to meet the new little person my husband and I had created.  I remember feeling very little anxiety throughout my pregnancy.  I had a good feeling that everything was going to turn out alright. 
 
I chose to have a homebirth after we visited the hospital and I discovered that they cut the cord soon after the baby is born.  To me, this felt like an invasion. What right did they have to deny my child the precious blood that he or she needed to be strong and healthy?  I was struck by how much of your power you give up when birthing in the hospital.  People kept asking if I felt nervous about birthing at home.  I never felt one bit of nervousness or anxiety.  I knew that I was in good hands with my midwife and I felt that my body would be able to easily do what it was made to do.  To prepare, my husband performed a lot of perineal massage and I did a lot of kegels prior the the birth. 
 
I was 10 days shy of my due date when I began to feel contractions around 2 am.  I wasn't sure if this was true labor.  The contractions were light and not extremely regular, but they did not go away.  I waited until my husband woke up at 7 and we determined that, yes, I was in labor.  The contractions weren't that painful, I was able to walk around, make quiche to freeze, talk on the phone, and clean the house.  We called the midwife.  She came over around 9 am and was surprised to find me at 7 cm dilated.  We had planned a water birth so we quickly set up the tub, knowing that there was a chance it wouldn't be filled all the way before the baby came. 
 
My husband frantically filled the tub.  The contractions were coming stronger and I felt most comfortable in the warm water.  It helped tremendously.  All the midwives were assembled, I was laying against my husband in the tub, and my best friend was snapping photographs when I felt the urge to push around 12:30.  I placed my hands on my vagina to feel my baby's head.  As his head crowned, I gently pushed the skin of my vagina down around his head and eased his head out.   Suddenly he slipped into my hands.  Yes, it was a boy, just as I had thought.  I allowed him to remain under water for a few seconds and then placed him on my chest.  The midwives were all just sitting at the edge of the tub with their chins on their hands watching.  I couldn't believe that I birthed my baby on my own!  We lay together in the water for a little while while I birthed the placenta.  After the cord stopped pulsating we cut it.  We got out of the water and and relaxed together.  Soon after my son was weighed.  He was a 9 pounder on the nose!  He was 21 inches.  I don't remember his head circumference.  I wasn't cut and I didn't tear.  We had chosen the name Lukas.  I wondered how big Lukas would have been if he'd gone to term, or beyond
 
After the birth Lukas and I relaxed together.  Breastfeeding was a challenge for us.  He didn't want to eat at first.  I pumped and we fed him the colostrum with an eyedropper.  This was the biggest struggle of the whole pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience.  About four days after he was born he was eating like a champ, and didn't stop for three years!  Physically I felt great.  My midwife suggested a two week laying in period.  I was ready to be up and about, but knew that it was important for me and my baby to take the time to get to know one another and important for
Lukas to get used to the world.  
 
My body healed very quickly.  There wasn't much to heal as I didn't rip or tear.  I remember feeling sore and a little wobbly for a couple of days but that quickly subsided.  My son's birth was the most empowering experience of my life.  It increased my confidence in and my respect for my body.  It made me feel that I could do anything I wanted.  My words of wisdom: trust your body, don't make decisions out of fear, and remember the mothers and grandmothers who came before you.  If our bodies were not meant to birth naturally, we would not have survived as a species.  I also highly recommend getting your hands on your vagina when your baby is coming out and helping the head come out.  You'll know where you need to pull and stretch.   Your body will tell you what to do and your vagina will thank you in the end!  Also, it's awesome to catch your own baby!