I’m so excited to share my homebirth story as encouragement for families preparing for the birth of their babies. Whether you’re planning to give birth at home, a birth center, or the hospital, hearing positive birth stories is a wonderful way to get excited for your beloved birth experience. I hope you enjoy my story and birth photos!

Photo Credit: Erin Heuser Photographer LLC

In the weeks leading up to labor I had a lot of labor signs (contractions of various length and strength, engagement starting around 35 weeks, losing mucus plug, nagging low backache, nesting urge, etc.) The afternoon before I went into labor I had an appointment with my midwife Rebecca at home, and due to all these labor signs, I was curious to see if any cervical ripening was taking place. I was 2cm dilated, 75% effaced, and baby boy was already at 0 station (that is very low). I asked Rebecca to perform a membrane sweep and during the sweep she stretched me to 4cm.

After the sweep I had lots of cramping and some stronger contractions for the next 12 hours. Around midnight I was woken up by regular strong contractions. I let my birth team know and everyone was at my house by 3am. Thankfully earlier that night I was having some sporadic contractions so I asked my mom and sisters to stay the night with me in case I went into labor during the night. I just had a feeling labor was going to start soon and it was a fun excuse to have a sleepover with them. I loved having my sisters with me in early labor before everyone else arrived. They helped string up lights and just generally get the house ready. I labored on the birth ball with the TENS machine on my back, which helped relieve my back pain. Thankfully I wasn’t having a ton of pain in my back, but it was a great way to cope in early labor.

I had such incredible support from my birth team. One of my doulas Paige, who was my chiropractor for the whole pregnancy adjusted me and did a round of acupuncture to get things moving. Kahla, my primary doula did hip squeezes, helped suggest different positions, and so many other incredible comfort measures throughout the labor.

After 5 hours of laboring I finally asked Rebecca to check me to see where I was at. I was 7-8cm, 80% effaced, and +1 station. I was happy that I was making progress, but I wanted to try and get contractions to pick up more, so I got on the birth ball again. I thought it would be fun to dance and do hip circles to music. I played the dance music playlist from our wedding. It was fun and hilarious to dance while moving on the ball, and I think it did help to get some stronger contractions going for a little while. Eventually I started getting tired, so I enjoyed a cup of coffee in my “milf” mug (my husband chose this mug haha) and Kahla suggested doing a side lying release. Being 5’10” the only tall enough surface to have my leg dangle was on the kitchen island countertop. We also tried a dangle squat with the rebozo through a few contractions, as well as straddling a peanut ball to have a more restful squat position.

When our toddler Ellie woke up in the morning around 7:30 I was able to give her a huge hug and it really hit me that it was our last moments as a family of three. Watching her eat breakfast so timidly with everything going on made me very emotional. It was the only time during the labor I cried.

I let Rebecca know that I’d like her to check me again because I had a feeling the contractions were not strong enough anymore to progress things. Sure enough, around 3 hours after my first check there was still no change from the first cervical check so I asked her to break my water. I was worried the contractions would instantly double the pain, but thankfully my body eased into more intense contractions. I sat on the toilet to let the amniotic fluid gush out, and I could tell that with each contraction they were getting much stronger. I moaned/vocalized in a low pitch and it helped tremendously. Brian came in the bathroom after I had labored in there by myself for a little while. He said it was crazy that it was the only time throughout the whole labor where we were alone.

Contractions were finally strong enough that I wanted to labor in the birth pool. I felt really hot in the water so everyone was great about fanning me and putting cold cloths on my back, neck, and arms. I also had an incredibly calming music playlist going. Shortly after getting in the water I started having back to back contractions. I went very internal and vocalized as long and loud as I could. The vibration helped relax my whole body and gave me a sense of control during the contractions.

About an hour after getting into the birth pool I instinctively got into a deep squat in the middle of the birth tub, holding onto the side of the pool in front of me. I started to feel intense pressure and felt baby boy coming down. I don’t recall feeling the “ring of fire”, but just intensity as his head emerged slowly. Once his head was out I no longer felt the urge to push. Rebecca was keeping a close eye on him since there was an increasing gap of time between his head being born and my body wanting to push his body out (it ended up being 2.5 minutes - but it felt like an eternity). I was a little worried and asked Rebecca at one point “do I need to do anything?” She said he was doing good and I had some more time before I needed to start pushing again.

Kahla suggested I lay back on the side of the pool instead of squatting. Shortly after the position change the urge to push came back. I had to muster up the courage and strength for that final push, it was the most intense feeling I’ve ever felt. It was so beautiful though because as soon as he was born, I instantly went from feeling the most intense sensation to feeling pure joy!

Baby boy was coming out with his hand next to his head, so Rebecca tucked his fingers back in just before his body was born. Brian then guided baby Daniel out of the water and onto my chest, and Daniel let out a good strong cry. It was absolutely perfect to hear him cry, and then he calmly laid on my chest and looked up at me. He even gave me a smile!

Throughout the labor we listened to a lot of worship music. The song that was playing during the birth of his head was the same song that I gave birth to my daughter. It was a happy accident that it was the same song. His whole body was born to the song “Thanks Be To God Who Delivers Me”, which could not have been more perfect. It was the meditation of my heart to hear those words and just be in prayer and worship while he was born.

After I was helped out of the birth pool I got to lay in my bed. Delivering the placenta turned out to be pretty difficult. We didn’t know at the time, but my placenta was large and had some abnormalities. I first tried to get into a deep squat to try and deliver the placenta, but it didn’t want to come out still. I had a massive blood clot come out that looked to be as big as the placenta. I laid back in the bed and gave another big push and it was born. Once it came out I felt so much relief. About 30 minutes after delivering the placenta I received a shot of Pitocin to help stop the bleeding.

I was able to take a shower, but with all the blood loss I had, it was refreshing and exhausting. Once I got settled back into bed after being cleaned up and tucked in with Daniel, Ellie, and Brian - I was in heaven. Daniel nursed well, and we celebrated the birth with mimosas and brunch! I could not believe the birth experience that had just unfolded. It was everything I wanted and more. Being able to do it all from home was so special and empowering. I was able to make my own decisions and choices throughout the entire process. I was surrounded by so much love and encouragement, and I will never forget Daniel’s beloved birth!