I was 9 days past my due date, not that I give due dates authority, but that's where I was at. I felt fantastic. Great energy, no discomforts, and not a single bit of the pelvic heaviness or “lowness” that I felt towards the end with the others. In fact, I had just had a 41 week midwife appointment, and ended up calling my mom who was to be traveling from Houston to just continue living her life because that’s what we were going to do. There wasn’t a single sign that labor was imminent other than the fact that I was 41 weeks. While I was in good spirits, I was willing to try gentle things to get labor going, so my midwife gave me a homeopathic protocol to try which was caulophyllum 200 and cimicifuga 200 alternating every hour for 4 hours. I did that when I got home from my appointment and proceeded to have a normal evening until the below events transpired!
This is the story of how our sweet baby Nash came out...
It was 4am and ALL the children were in our bed. They weren’t sleeping but weren’t fully awake either…somewhere between singing songs alternating with quietness and under covers leg wars.
Gabe was right next to me and he said, “Mommy, baby borning?” Had I not been woken up by the rascals, I could have slept through these light, gentle waves happening in my belly probably for a few more hours. But, adrenaline kicked in, and naturally I went to the kitchen, made myself some eggs, and put the dishes away. Everyone else followed, and JP was bubbling over with joy shouting through the house “our baby’s birthday is today!!!!” …he naturally collected 300 pieces of construction paper and proceeded to make detailed birthday cards for baby Nash’s “birthday party.” Gabe joined him and that lasted a good 30 minutes.
We called our midwife to let her know things were moving so she could prepare, and something I love about midwives is they just know…she listened to me on the phone and based off my vocalizations, she just knew. It brings me so much peace.
I’m all about my labor flow, so that’s what I started doing next. Combinations of walking, deep sumo squats, hands and knees seemed to feel best. My remedy of choice was Arnica 200 throughout to help with pain, and Ryan is a star daddy doula by now …he just knows exactly what to do. The boys were really sweet…and hilarious. They read the room so well and participated according to their personalities. JP was all about helping whether it was with daddy to set up the pool or putting a hand on my back during a contraction. He was there. Gabe interpretive danced to my labor playlist which served as some good oxytocin boosting laughs.
I sat on my peanut ball and read through my birth affirmations, and the one that rang true thought the whole birth was,
“In the name of Jesus Christ, my baby moves down and out.”
The midwives arrived and set things up while I continued to move through contractions. I was beginning to feel a bit concerned because the baby wasn’t descending ….I was a few hours in to labor but still didn’t feel like he was “right there” like I had with the others. I got in the birth pool, which felt heavenly. The warm water and cushy edges of the pool were a HUGE relief. I continued to labor in there and really felt the need for cell salt combination. It helps with nervous system fatigue and overall stamina. I remember telling my midwife, “I feel weak, I need bioplasma.” Well, nobody could find mine, and my midwife couldn’t find hers, so her lovely midwife student just combined all the cell salts and put them in a glass of water. It helped a ton. Each sip I took just restored my energy and vigor to keep working on getting this baby out.
I made so much progress in the tub which felt very encouraging, but he still wasn’t getting low. My midwife suggested some belly lifts which definitely got things going. Each belly lift I did brought on a big ol surge! It was one of those things where I didn’t want to do it but did want to do it because it meant getting my baby out! Interestingly, I felt like I needed to be on my back. I never tell women to labor on their backs so this kind of surprised me, but that’s where I felt best. (In the water is different than on land because the sacrum is not blocked) I was in a kind of crab or bridge position and that helped the baby move past my pubic bone and descend VERY low, exactly where he needed to be. Every vocalization was met with emphatic dinosaur roars from JP and Gabe.
It was getting so real at this moment and I let out a high pitched cry which actually surprised me because I was so intentional about low vocalizations for pelvic floor relaxation. But, my midwife noticed I had a cervical lip and that sound is also associated with that. She asked me if she could administer some arnica, and I said sure …especially since I had been taking it in a 200c potency all labor. Baby’s head was delivered right after that! I took a breath of relief and then my fetal ejection reflex pushed out the rest of his body, and there we were, my sweet little family witnessing God’s miracle all together. It wasn’t until later that I learned that my midwife had given me the 10M potency of arnica….and it obviously worked! I’m totally tucking that in my back pocket if I ever have a cervical lip again!
Anyways, we sat there in the pool for a minute just taking in what had just happened. I held Nash on my chest while the midwives helped me out of the tub and into my bed.
We lived our golden hour together, and it was so anointed.
p.s. If you ask JP how you get a baby out, he will say, “You just get in the pool, chill, and take deep breaths. That’s all.”
In the name of Jesus Christ, this baby was born into our family, and may His name be praised now and forever!