Jackie’s Home Birth
I had Braxton Hicks contractions starting at 17 weeks with this pregnancy. I was taking a lot of tinctures to keep them calm. (My first baby was born at 33+1, 9 hours after my water broke. My second was born at 35+5, 11 hours after my water broke and my third was born at 37+4, 15 hours after my water broke). At 37 weeks they randomly calmed down and I didn’t even need the tinctures anymore. But on Saturday, February 20, at 37+5, I did have a lot in the evening. Went to bed around 10pm. Woke at 11:30pm to pee, which was pretty typical. Right before I pulled my panties down my water broke. Water was clear. Took me a second to figure it out but then I was so excited! I get to meet Jemma today!!! I called my mother in law who was out of town to let her know. Texted everyone and put depends on and went to bed.
Random contractions. Got up around 1am to pee and change depends. Water was pink. Drank coconut water.
Slept from about 1-3am.
Got up to pee and change depends. Water was pink. Drank coconut water. Contractions are more crampy and down low and also in back. Almost like a band around my waist. 3:30 baby had hiccups.
4:30 peed. Some blood but not crazy. Had apple, peanut butter and glass of milk. Moved to couch-couldn’t sleep. Contractions 7-10 minutes apart. (Hazel woke to potty so I got to tell her I’m in labor).
5:45 am water leakage slowed down, went potty.
6-7:30 nap on couch
8:30 cocoa and supplements
9:45am eggs and toast, vit c drink
12:45 chicken salad on piece of bread
4pm bath and worship music
5pm family dinner
7-8:20pm nap
9-1am seep (woke several times for one big contraction each)
1am drank milk, sat on ball doing figure 8’s and bouncing trying to get contractions going since I couldn’t sleep through them.
1:40am back to bed. I had tons of contractions when I was in bed but once I was up the fizzled out.
3am have been woken by contractions approximately every 15 minutes until I got up at 6:45.
7am cocoa. Jemma has the hiccups
7:30 💩
9am smallish bloody show
11am chicken salad
12pm pork, apple, Mac n cheese
12:10-12:45 nap on couch
1:30pm 💩
1:45pm adjustment and acupuncture
2:45 💩 My girls were with Nana for the chiro appointment and Justin dropped me off at home afterward while he ran to the gym to drop off some packages. So I was home alone😳. I couldn’t even get my pants back up because my contractions were so strong. So I decided to get in the bath. Some might have been afraid to be alone with contractions 3 minutes apart, but I told Jemma to come on out! I would be happy to birth her alone 🤣.
I did nipple stimulation in the tub and listened to music.
Once Justin came home I was moaning through contractions and told him to call the doula.
Doula arrives around 5:15pm when I had just gotten out of the bath to sit on the couch. She could tell things were progressing so she stepped outside to tell my midwife to come. My girls were with Gammy out to dinner. I kept saying they needed to get Laila here. She wanted to be there for the labor so badly and I knew that this baby was coming soon. So they got their dinner to go and raced here. They arrived around 5:40pm.
Midwife arrives around 6:30pm. I was in the tub and really feeling it. She encouraged me to try to go potty and sit on the toilet, which I did. After the toilet (I could not go pee), I said I wanted to lay in my bed.
Moved to the bed where I had to have someone (mostly my doula) hold my leg up for comfort.
Around 7:10 My midwife asked if I wanted her to check me and I said that was fine. She could tell I was struggling mentally and wanted to encourage me. I was 8cm dilated. I was in a lot of pain and was fighting it and feeling very vulnerable. So I asked if everyone would leave. I just didn’t like my friends and family seeing me so out of control. Some people stepped out which I appreciated. Thankfully they didn’t wait for an invitation to come back in and came in on their own (quietly 😉).
I pushed some on my side. I tried getting up in a runners position hanging on my husband but didn’t like it so went back to my side. Then I switched to all fours but on my elbows with my face smooshed into my pillow. That’s when she really moved down and was born into Daddy’s hands at 8:20pm. All of her sisters were present and Laila and Hazel cried tears of joy. The placenta came quickly. Big sister Laila cut the cord.
Baby Jemma Lynne weighed 7 and a half pounds and was 20 in long at 38 weeks gestation. It was almost 45 hours from the time my water broke but about 7 hours of active labor. It was my toughest labor by far and the hardest part was the mental challenge of labor starting and stopping so much.
