The Birth Story of Sabine Adora

A Homebirth in Water--Part One

I realize how lucky? blessed? fortunate? I am to have had this amazing homebirth experience. I know that upwards of 80-90% of women CAN have a similar experience if they so choose, but they can't always choose.

Why? Because

they don't know all their choices, or

they are misinformed, or

they are so afraid and don't want to look their fears in the eye, or

they don't have the support that I had, or

they would just rather not feel all that there is to feel on this amazing, messy, and yet ordinary wild ride that is birth.

I share my birth story and this entire website so that you can learn about the choices you didn't know you had, so that you can look your fears in the eye, so that you can garner the support that you need, so that you can become open to feeling deep.

My greatest hope for you is that you will become an empowered woman who knows that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU OR YOUR BODY. You are not broken or defective. You don't need the medical establishment or anyone else to take over and "fix" you or the birth process. Your body works. Birth works. If we allow it to.

YOU CAN HAVE A HOMEBIRTH TOO!

Here's My Story...

The Lead In

I was 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant when labor started.For the whole third trimester of my pregnancy, I felt like baby was going to come sooner rather than later. Baby was very low the whole pregnancy and engaged at 32 weeks if not before. I felt like baby was going to fall out and my pelvis and my lower back were very sore for most of the pregnancy.

My water broke at about 1:30am. I had been having strong practice contractions for at least a week. The previous Monday I actually timed them before going to bed. but they didn't seem to be going anywhere.

I told baby that she needed to stay in there until at least 38 weeks. I really wanted her (we believed we were having a girl, even though I'd had no ultrasound) to be healthy, big and strong. I heard a little voice that said,"Mama I'm healthy and strong and I'm ready to come now!" I said,"No, you have to wait until 38 weeks" She certainly had other plans!

Every other day that week it seems that I would have strong practice contractions. Having sex definitely seemed to stimulate contractions. We had had sex Friday morning and all day Friday I had crampy contractions. They weren't painful, just noticeable.

Friday I went for a walk before work and I felt very peaceful and surreal. Everything in nature seemed extra beautiful. I felt like I was opening up and I think a part of me intuitively knew that the Baby would come soon. I remember it being tough to walk (waddle!). I was definitely feeling my belly tightening.

I went to work that evening and had contractions throughout all of my massage appointments. I had a client remark to me that it looked like I still had room to get bigger and that I probably had a ways to go..."Hmmm...really?"

I had to half-kick, half-drag my laundry basket full of sheets to my car as I was feeling so big and unable to carry them. I was thinking to myself, "Here I am 9 months pregnant, still doing massage, still carrying heavy things around! WHY?!"

The contractions seemed to stop that evening after going home.

A Funny Thing Happened

I was having trouble sleeping when I heard a loud banging on our door. It turned out that our next door neighbor had fallen and had come to us for help. I called the ambulance and while we waited for it, I got to talk to the police officers who of course wanted to know when I was "due". "Oh,in about two weeks."

We finally got back to bed after all the excitement and I was JUST starting to get comfortable and drift off when POP! My water broke. I sprung out of bed (as much as you can spring out of bed with a huge pregnant belly) and said to my Jeremy, "Oh did I get you wet?" He questioned whether it really was my water breaking and I assured him that yes it definitely was!

We changed the sheets and since I was still leaking water I put on a cloth pad. When I went to the bathroom I noticed some mucous tinged with pink. "Well, I guess that's the mucous plug" I thought.

I started to cry and said to Jeremy that I wasn't ready yet. I wanted to be pregnant longer. I had just received my belly cast kit in the mail that day and my sister was giving me a Blessingway shower that Sunday. I was finally planning on taking care of myself that Saturday. I was going to go get a massage and/or a pedicure and let myself relax. I had been working so fast and furious during this pregnancy and didn't feel that I got to enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

I had to accept that if this baby was going to come he/she was going to come, it was the right time, and there was nothing I could do about it anyway! But I was still hoping that labor would hold off a day or to and that I would still be able to get my massage. Ha!

We laid down again and shortly after that contractions started to come back and were pretty regular. They were uncomfortable enough after an hour or so for me to want to get up. I had told Jeremy that I would wake him when I was sure that this was IT.

So I went into the living room, lit candles, and laid on my side on the couch while I listened to my meditation CD. I made sure that I ate some granola bars and fruit and drank some water. Then I sat on the birth ball and on the floor while I listened to my Hypnobirthing meditations and affirmations.

As the contractions became stronger, I had to use the Long Breath used in Hypnobirthing. Lying on my side was uncomfortable. It felt best to be upright or sitting.

I woke Jeremy up to fill the birth pool around 4am. I told him that this was IT--contractions were regular and getting stronger. He stayed up with me for about an hour and a half. We called the midwife. Then I told him to go back to bed for at least an hour. My primary midwife was not going to be available before the afternoon, so she instructed us to call the back-up midwife if we needed someone before then.

The surges (Hypnobirthing term for contractions) were manageable, but strong. I was staying very relaxed in between surges and continued to use the breathing during them.

I woke Jeremy up again at about 6 am and had him call the back-up midwife at 6:30am to let her know I was in labor and that we would call her back when we wanted her to come.

Shortly after that I got in the pool and told Jeremy to call the midwife again to tell her to come as I felt like it wouldn't be much longer.

Return to Birth Stories
Return Home