Our sweet, gentle baby who is practically her father’s girl-twin turns nine months old today, and in celebration of that grueling exciting Monday of her birth, it’s about time I share her birth story with all of you. I don’t know about you, but I love reading a good birth story. I generally end up wiping happy tears from my cheeks by the last paragraph. We chose a homebirth for our first, something that’s taboo and hard to come by here in Costa Rica.
Ten days before my due date of October thirteenth, the hubs and I headed to our quaint little bilingual church, where I bebopped through worship, hoping it might help the baby move downward, an inch or so closer to being in my arms. Lunch following the service was spent around our square dining table with friends and family, one of whom brought along a special gift: a book for filling in important milestones in baby’s first year. Looking back, I’m sure he had no idea that we’d hold a pen to scrawl in those pages the very next day.
That same Sunday evening, after I managed to coerce husband to bed early for snuggles, I began to feel the slightest cramping in my abdomen. We thought nothing of it, since baby was going to be born in a couple of weeks. Insert giggles. I fell asleep for a time, waking up around midnight due to cramping. Still thinking Braxton Hicks contractions could possibly be the culprit, I walked around the apartment in the dark, waiting for the annoying pains to subside. They didn’t. Husband got up with me and Googled signs of real labor vs. Braxton Hicks, and we began to wonder if this really was the real deal. After all, movement and a change of position are generally said to take away false labor contractions, and no matter how I marched, kicked, & yoga’d through our tiny second-floor home, it wasn’t going away. So we went back to bed, determined to get some zzz’s whether the baby was coming or not. Praise God, I did manage to sleep on and off until 3 a.m., when the contractions increased in frequency and I began shivering hard.
We called our midwife, who lived in the mountains two hours away. She assured us that I was indeed in labor, and that she’d be on her way once things sped up a little more. Around 7a.m. we let her know it was “time” and I had a bowl of oatmeal. Mrs. Midwife began her long drive, and sent the doula over, who thankfully lived a little closer. Ms. Doula was an amazing help. This little lady massaged my back for a good part of 2.5 hours as I sat at the kitchen table gulping down juice and swaying back and forth, the only position I found mildly comfortable at the time. Her potions bag included peppermint essential oil, which was helpful to curb the urge to hurl, which happened twice, and lavender for calming my nerves. I swayed and swayed reading over Scripture notecards I’d penned as Husband and the doula prepared the birth scene around me while worship tunes filled the sunlit room.
At long last, Mrs. Midwife arrived on the scene around 9 a.m., toting along an inflatable birthing pool. As it filled, she declared me at 7cm dilation, which surprised me, since I wasn’t in too much pain. I stepped into the tub, anticipating huge relief from the warm water. It was relaxing, but I hate to break it to you that it didn’t reduce the pain. I stayed in the little pool set up in our living room for hours, mostly on my knees holding on to Husband’s strong arms . I can’t say I wasn’t grumpy as the contractions surged on, but I was much more polite than I’d expected. Maybe Husband would say differently? I only remember shouting for juice and water, and a cool washcloth to refresh my sweaty face. As the two hours of pushing pressed on, large pots of rosemary water boiled on the stove. At some point my water broke, but I only know this because Mrs. Midwife told me so. I never felt a thing…besides those whomping contractions. Ouch!
Our sweet baby took her time coming to meet us, as I spent a long, very painful 45 minutes getting through crowning to birth. She was born in the water “super-girl” style, as Husband calls it, with one tiny hand touching her face at 1:20 p.m. No wonder that took seemingly forever! Mrs. Midwife gently placed our girl on my chest, and my husband and I gazed at the tiny princess God had blessed us with. I may remember saying something regarding a little purple alien, but that’s probably inappropriate to mention. We revealed our name choice for a sweet girl (we’d chosen not to know the gender) and she was whisked away by Ms. Doula for a wipe-down as I was placed on the birthing stool and cleaned up. Summerbeth weighed in at 7 lbs & was declared healthy. I spent the rest of the afternoon chugging gallons of coconut water, hot cocoa, tea, and juice. Our pastors visited in the evening to pray with us, the birth assistants gathered their articles and said “Toodaloo” and there we were…a family of three!
Natural post-partum recovery tricks, tips, and recipes coming soon.
I’d love to hear about your birth stories. Please add your links in the comments.
So sweet! Love this story. I had that shaking too on my second which didn’t happen with the first and it kinda unnerved my hubs. LOL! Her 9 month pic is ADORBS!
Yep, the shivering definitely freaked us out a little. I’d read up a lot on pregnancy and birth, but it still caught us both off guard. Thanks for visiting!
Wonderful story…eager to read more about natural ways you noted at bottom. Baby is sooo cute and you look incredible!!
We were blessed with J coming early-planned c-sec as he was breach, but I ended up getting the flu (after caring for hubby who had it) which landed me in ER dehydrated….about to send me back home and then they decided I needed to be knocked out completely for emergency C section. I was so sick I don’t remember much at all….it was a hard few weeks…but my baby boy was here!!!!!!!! Was blessed for outstanding doctors and healthy baby! 🙂 Michy
Pretty sure they’d have to put me out for a C-section too. I have an insanely ridiculous dislike of needles. Thanks so much for sharing a part of your story, Michy. I cannot imagine what it must be like to go through labor sick.
Love reading birth stories! I think it is so awesome that you did a home birth xoxo!
Glad to find a fellow birth story reader. We really prayed hard about the decision to birth at home, especially being that it’s not the norm here at all. Midwives in Costa Rica aren’t licensed or allowed to practice, but we had a great one with an overload of promising credentials, who also happened to be American. The fact that she spoke English was a real comfort. She was great! And the doula…now don’t get me started on how much I owe her for her massage and relaxation help!
Thanks for sharing your story! I always love reading birth stories too. It’s such a beautiful and personal thing, but I always appreciate sharing stories with other moms. Here’s the link to ours:
http://sweetgrass-christi.blogspot.com/2011/05/michaels-birth.html
Woo hoo! Thanks for sharing, Christi. I can’t wait to read this. It is an art, isn’t it, trying to write a birth story so that it’s not too detailed but not too general. There’s a fine line, and I hope I’ve done an okay job.
I love reading birth stories, and yours is truly wonderful
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind comments.
Kerry @ http://www.oh-so-amelia.blogspot.co.uk
Also here’s my birth story… No where near as interesting as yours though 🙂
http://oh-so-amelia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/amelias-birth-story.html
oh wow! beautifully written, beautiful story.
Oh how I love birth stories! That was beautiful 🙂
Thanks! I really had a good time remembering it all as I wrote. I had notes, but the little things sort of flooded back to me as I typed. Have a great one, Delilah!
Awww congratulations!
Ahhhh… look at that little face. It’s pretty cool that you did a natural home birth.
Such a wonderful story 🙂 Isn’t it an awesome day to look back on? My story is two part-er..one being the lead up to birth with a pregnancy full of surgeries and kidney stones! http://spoonfedbaby.com/epidural-during-childbirth/
Hi Sarah, thanks so much for sharing yours! I almost wrote this in 2 parts, as the post-delivery story is a little traumatic, but I figured I’d make it all sound lovely and perhaps save part II for another post…or not. Still deciding. Can’t wait to read yours!
Awww great birth story! Your daughter is adorable. I admire you for having an all natural home birth. I have had c-sections with all 3 babies. Thanks girl for stopping by my blog. Following you too 🙂
I loved this! I wanted a waterbirth [my mother had one with me], but it wasn’t available in the area we were in at the time. Also, looking back, not sure if I could have handled it.
http://jakintheb0x.blogspot.com/2011/07/adeleis-birth-story.html
I questioned my ability to handle it too, but since I’m a little terrified of the public hospitals here, it made the homebirth decision a lot easier. The way I look at it is that God designed women for birthing, so my body could deal with anything labor had in store. the fat that my midwife toted along a stash of emergency tools was reassuring too! Looking forward to reading your story.
YAY! I’m number 100! This story is amazing. I want a homebirth for our next one, so I loooove reading other people’s stories!
Thanks, Heather! I’d definitely recommend homebirth, especially for someone who’s already been through labor and knows what to expect. It’s a really relaxing way to bring a baby into the world. I’d recommend reading “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth.” It’s a helpful tool!
wow! love this and that verse!
visit nichollvincent.blogspot.com
happy fourth!
Wow what a great birth story! It sounds so peaceful! As peaceful as labor and delivery can be at least! 🙂
Amen to that, sister! I didn’t find it nearly as painless as many people said it’d be, but that’s not stopping me from praying for another sweet baby. The way I see it, if labor is SO terrible, then families probably wouldn’t have more than one child. That’s not the case, so I know I can get through it with God and my amazing husband at my side.
OH MY GOSH! Your are amazing and you look dang good for just giving birth!!!!! I am a jealous women. I am visiting from the Red. White and YOU Follow Fest and wanted to stop by and say hi! I am a new follower! Hope you will stop by http://garagesalesrus.blogspot.com/ and do the same.
Robin
Thanks Robin. I obviously chose the most appealing photo. I can assure you that there are a handful of them in the “archives” of me with a face that lets you know just how draining birthing really is. Thanks for visiting.
LOVE birth stories and you are a ROCKSTAR!!!!
Found you thru the Blog Hop! Looking forward to following your adventures!
Kristine from TheFoleyFam – Unedited
Wow! Thanks for sharing! I thought about doing a at-home water birth, but my OBGYN at the time scared me out of it…maybe next time (if there is a next time!). I truly applaud you for doing this, and thanks for sharing and linking up. You have a lovely blog, now following 🙂
My husband has Dr.s in the fam who definitely advised us against homebirth. We had peace with the idea, after loads of prayertime spent on the subject and went for it anyway. In fact, one of the Dr.s told us that he’d not even allow his wife to birth naturally b/c it scared him too much, that she’d only have the C-section option. That’s really unfortunate that medical pros don’t have faith in the incredible abilities that God has blessed our lady bodies with in labor and birth. Hoping you check out all your options second time around. Thanks for visiting!
What a beautiful story! I love birth stories. You are a strong woman. I am hoping for a natural birth next time, with the tins I needed an emergency c section. I am your newest follower and look forward to following your story.
Me, strong woman? I can’t imagine what birthing twins must be like, let alone raising them. You rock, Miss Mary! Thanks so much for visiting.
OMG!!!! Amazing
Hello,
Beautiful Blog, I’ m a new follower, Pls follow back 🙂
Winnie
http://dawnandwinniebookreviews.blogspot.com/
Beautiful. I love reading birth stories!! 🙂
Beautiful!
I love birth stories and really enjoyed yours. We had a water birth with our daughter as well. It was amazing.
http://www.minikonomia.com/p/birth-story.html
Awwww…what a sweet story! I wish I had a homebirth…and if I had waited a little longer I would have had an unintentional home birth…haha! My daughter was born with her hand by her face too, and it took a loooooooong time to get her out. If we have another baby, I want a water home birth!
Here’s my natural birth story: http://faithhopelovehappiness.blogspot.com/2012/02/madalyns-natural-birth-birth-story.html
Wonderful story! I love birth stories. 🙂 So glad you linked up to the Mixer! Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for next week! 🙂
Your birth story is not only beautiful but downright impressive!! 45 minutes of crowning!! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful experience!
Nine months old. What a cutie! Time goes so fast. My oldest is 10 and the youngest is 4. It just seems like yesterday when they were 9 months old.
http://www.practicallyperfectprincess.com
I love, love, love this idea…isn’t it what motherhood is all about. I’m your newest follower and found you over at The Things We Find Inside Blog Hop. I’d love for you to stop by.
Kimberly @ mypinterestreality.com
I love birth stories as well, I need to take the time to write all of mine down. Someday! Nice to meet you for the mixer!
Great story! I love reading other people’s birth stories- they are all so different. By the way, your “last day of pregnancy” photo, is beautiful. I’m stopping by from the Mixer. Have a great day! 🙂
Laura
http://www.strollerparkingonly.com
Such a beautiful story! I admire everything about it 🙂 I’m currently pregnant with my 3rd, and am planning my first out-of-hospital birth. You can read my first two birth stories here: http://theharmonbabyfarm.blogspot.com/p/the-making-of-this-mama.html
Thank you for sharing, and a new happy follower from the mommy mixer!
Ahhh.. i love birth stories too!! Unfortunately I’ve had to had c-sections with all 3 of mine, but I still was in labor with 2 of them so I definitely have stories to tell!! lol. Linking up from Cassie’s blog!
http://lifeonmavenue.blogspot.com/2012/08/week-of-lasts.html
ah, im so happy for you!!! home births seem truly amazing:)
What a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing
Happy Little Feet
Thanks again for co-hosting, sweet friend! Let me know if you want to it again sometime! 🙂
Jelli, I LOVE your birth story! I don’t know if it’s the fact that you played worship music and meditated on Scripture (specially Is. 26:3!)–both of which I did as well…or if it’s that you did all this in Costa Rica (I spent a year in San Jose, and my hubby lived there two years–and that’s where we met!), but I just LOVE this story! Thanks for linking up…you will be one of my featured posts!! 🙂
Just poking around your blog today and really loved reading your birth story! It’s basically my dream homebirth! I had to deliver in the hospital each time due to complications but I was also chugging juice and water all throughout labor, it’s exhausting and I was so thirsty, ha! What a special day for you guys 🙂
What a beautiful experience! I have only delivered one of my 3 children naturally and I am planning to deliver #4 naturally (any day now). I must admit, I am scared to death because I remember how much it hurts, but I also remember the endorphins and out of this world experience that follows immediately.
The way I figure it, God designed our bodies to deliver, so you can get through it, no matter how arduous the labor. I wasn’t ready for the intensity of the pain, but miracle of miracles I somehow made it through. Focusing on the end result was my prime motivator. Can’t wait to hear all about your new birth story soon!