Luka’s birth at home.
2012
Fifth birth
Lived in: Kerikeri, Far North
WHERE WAS YOUR PLANNED PLACE OF BIRTH?
Home Birth
WHERE WAS YOUR ACTUAL PLACE OF BIRTH?
Home Birth
LUKA'S BIRTH
On Friday the 20th of July me and my husband decided we would sit down with our 3 boys and explain to them the birthing process to prepare them for whatever they may see if they walk into the room. We had already had quick talks and read a few books but this time we explained to them the possible noises they may hear and that there will be blood and about what the placenta looks like and its job. They asked many questions and seemed content with the information we gave them even though my 5 year old did ask if all my blood was going to come out and if I was going to die.
At 3:30am the following morning (Sat 21st) my husband got up to go to work and asked me if I was alright as I was already awake for no apparent reason, yep I was fine but I did insist he take the only cell phone that we have just in case and off he went. I wasn’t experiencing any discomfort at all but decided that I needed to go toilet at some point during those early hours and did a pretty good job of clearing everything out, I think it was about 6am (in hindsight I should have known something was a bit fishy about the time). I went to bed all relieved and ready to get some more sleep...
7:30am
I started to get little cramps around my tummy which caught me by surprise, it felt like a slight upset tummy, warm and tingly which I thought might have been related to having loose stools earlier on, it went away and I tried to sleep in until it came back.
Slightly excited I lay there and waited to see if it would keep coming back and surely there it was over and over, I thought "cool now let's find a clock and time these pains to see where we are at", but to my disappointment some were 10 min apart and others 5min, they lasted only 10 to 30 sec each and seemed all over the place. Dammit so now I had to decide if I was to ring my husband or wait and see what happens, he was suppose to come home at 12, maybe it will stop but maybe not hmmmmm (this was a hard decision to make) but there was no point calling the midwife for irregular mild contractions that I could move and talk through just fine.
8am
I rang my husband because I decided he had the right to know something was brewing but told him not to rush home or worry because it’s not that uncomfortable and probably nothing anyway, but he decided he would come home anyway he just had to wait for someone to replace him in Whangarei before he could leave.
So I tried going back to bed but couldn’t get comfortable, the pains hadn’t changed and still had no pattern apart from that they kept coming back so I got up and came to the living room to sit with the kids who were watching cartoons on TV. My eldest who was 10 asked me if my tummy was hurting and I said yes, we both knew what that meant baby was on his way. I still couldn’t get comfortable anywhere but started to get hungry, it was a strange feeling of hunger like a hollow rock in my tummy but the only thing I could stomach was 2 Arrowroot buscuits which I had in the pocket of my dressing gown and was taking little nibbles from.
9am
My husband rings to tell me that he is able to leave but asks me if he has time to go to the toilet “haha of course, I’m fine but I think something is starting. Please don’t rush it’s only the start of labour and you have plenty of time. I’ll ring the midwife just to give her a heads up and I will call you back”.
So I ring the midwife and she answers, I tell her that I woke at 7:30 with light cramps but nothing major, very irregular…… she asks me if I had a show or waters breaking “No nothing that exciting” ok well call me back if anything changes. I go toilet and there is a tiny pin sized spot of blood, YAAAAYYYY I was so excited and rang my midwife back to tell her my exciting news.
She asked if I ever had a show with the other births and I said no not till I was pushing them out. She decided she was going to get dressed and come around to check me. My contractions were a little stronger but not enough to make me stop and still not regular (I thought that I was only embarrassing myself calling the midwife with these and she was going to tell me that I was not dilated at all). I rang my husband with the update that the midwife was coming to check me out.
9:30am
The midwife arrives and I go to the door but get a stronger contraction that stops me in my tracks in the kitchen right next to the door, I rock side to side and breath through it wow that was intense…..the midwife lets herself in and sees me. We go to the bedroom where she tells me that the only sure way of knowing where I’m at if if she does a vaginal examination and asks me if we should do one, sure yep I didn’t mind.
As she had a feel her face went blank, she looked at me seriously and asked how far away my husband was, I said he left Whangarei at 9, she shook her head and asked me if it was a problem if he isn’t here on time because I was 8cm with bulging waters! What???????? But I am not in proper labour yet?!?!?!?!?
Confused I went to the bathroom because that’s where there was lino and I didn’t want my waters breaking on the carpet (silly the things I worried about) all of a sudden the contractions got stronger and serious almost like the midwifes words made them real and proper I rocked side to side with each contraction as the midwife was yelling out to me from the bedroom telling me that I’m doing a great job and if I feel the urge to bear down to go with it coz baby was high up and not engaged. I gave a couple of little pushes to test but really didn’t want to because in my mind labour had only started and I was not ready to do this. The midwife got everything ready for me and called a back up because we were having a baby real soon she said on the phone. Bloody hell this is it and I missed labour, my husband is not home, the kids are alone in the living room not fussed at all, and it bloody hurts now.
9:45am
I moved into the bedroom and got down on all fours at the end of my bed, I grabbed the sheets real tight with my hands during the contractions which were strong, very strong but all I kept telling myself is please don’t rip the sheets.
I was having a completely coherent conversation with the midwife in between contractions but during all I could get out was this really hurts, these contractions were different from my others……I could feel a pain inside my pelvis which I don’t remember, it felt like a stretching/leg cramp pain deep inside my pelvis, with the others I had incredible back pain were my husband spent the whole time massaging my back during contractions and this time no back pain at all its all inside me. This scared me a little as it was unfamiliar but didn’t feel wrong I thought I could really feel the baby moving down, he was positioned perfectly so there was nothing that was wrong.
The midwife said if I wanted to push that was fine, I had no urge but decided I was going to anyway and I pushed twice, two big pushes and felt baby move down the midwife said yep he is on his way so the next contraction I gave a big push but decided that that was it and I couldn’t do it.
The midwife said his head is right there and one more push would get it out so before the next contraction I gave a push and there it was OUT!! Holy moly that hurt but at the same time it’s almost over, next contraction I gave 2 more pushes and he was born at 10am. I didn’t move just put my head on the bed and concentrated on breathing I remember the midwife nicely asking me if I wanted to turn around and hold my baby, of course I did and turned around and held him close to my chest while they gave him a rub and he squirmed around.
I looked at the doorway and there was my husband standing staring at us with wide eyes and confused expression on his face “he is here…..” I said and the kids came in and had a little look but decided that the TV show was slightly more interesting then the baby. The midwife had a quick check to see what my placenta was up to and asked me to give a little push and out that came at 10:10am. Before I jumped into bed I had a shower while my husband had skin to skin with Luka, then the 3 of us jumped into bed and cuddled to our hearts content, the kids came to join us and cuddle the baby.
Luka was 3.8kg (8’ 6”) and perfect in every way, I had no tearing but did have the most horrific after pains which required pain relief.
Things you would do the same?
I am glad we had a homebirth.
Things you would do differently?
If I could, what would I change with this labour / or next time around…umm I would tell my
husband to get home ASAP so that he wouldn’t miss the birth.
What advice would you recommend to other Northland mums / families?
Just go with it!!!!!!!! No matter what you think is or isn't happening just let go and let it happen.
