Rachel’s Home Birth, Accidentally Unassisted & Precipitous!
Autumn James Jolean
40 weeks, 3 days
8lbs, 3oz
21 in long
(Took us 3 days to name her after her birth!)
She waited for NO ONE!
During my pregnancy, I:
-Saw a Webster Certified Chiropractor regularly
-Did Spinning Babies® exercises regularly
-Walked most days
-Received acupuncture by someone trained in women’s health
-Saw a holistic care provider who helped me with supplements, herbs, & homeopathy
-Chose a wonderful care team who fit my values
At 34 weeks pregnant, I was having issues with my current midwife (also, COVID lock downs happened). I contracted under her business, but she ended up dropping me because she didn’t want to honor the financial agreement we came up with, and she was very afraid of COVID.
It was stressful at first, but became a blessing in disguise! I ended up choosing a Christina midwife who fit my values & views on health MUCH better than the previous one. AND provided the BEST postpartum care!
Around 10:30am on the day of the birth, I lost my mucus plug, but was not having contractions. I called my husband around 11 to let him know, but told him I was going on a walk with the kids and he didn't need to come home yet.
Boy was I WRONG!
After the walk, I was having contractions, but they were no different than the ones I had been having for 2 weeks, so I played a game with my oldest and rested, listening to a meditation script.
Around noon, I went to the bathroom for the 20th time and decided to call some of my care team. My contractions were short and still 5 min apart, but I was having pressure with them so I wanted to give them a heads up.
After about 20-30 min, I decided it was, in fact, real labor and told my husband to come home. I then went to the bedroom to call the people who needed to know, while I labored on my hands and knees.
I got through my mom and best friend, my water popped, I rushed to the shower, and realized I WAS ALREADY PUSHING!
I called my oldest inside and let a few people know they needed to HURRY (including the midwife, whom I then hung up on)! I had the younger kids call the neighbor inside because I was the only adult in the house (and they had already shouted out the front door that my water broke), and started pushing!
I was mostly calm, just breathing her down, leaning on the side of the tub with the shower running. But I definitely shouted "why the f*ck is her head so big" because I could feel that she was bigger than my other kids!
The neighbor was taking pictures, my other daughter was calling the list of people from the fridge, and my 9 year old son (at the time) was in the tub with me, ready to catch!
My husband walked in 5 minutes before she was born, while her head was crowning, to direct the kids and help my oldest catch the baby!
After her head was out, I could feel that something wasn’t quite right. I told my husband and son to NOT touch her, and asked if her head turned (a sign that birth is progressing normally). They said NO, so I knew her shoulder was stuck; a shoulder dystocia!
Instinctually, I easily went from hands & knees(ish) to more like a runner’s pose, with a knee up toward my chest. My body instantly felt better, my husband told me her head turned, and then she was born into his & my son’s hands within seconds, at 1:08pm! Less than 3 hours of labor!
The midwife, my doula, photographer, & mom still weren’t here, and my friend had JUST walked in. It was crazy, but perfect. The other 3 kids were in the room for the whole thing, and just stared at her in awe, as my sweet neighbor kept taking pictures.
Everyone eventually showed up (30 minutes later) and helped with the placenta, moving me to the bed, checking on me and baby, and more! And we all took turns burning the umbilical cord, a time-honored process.
She was my biggest baby, longest pregnancy, and fastest labor BY FAR, but the accidentally unassisted home birth was perfect!