Accidental Unassisted Home Birth Story

This is the story of our accidental unassisted home birth. It was not what we planned but was a wonderful and positive experience. And super fun story to tell!

The Pregnancy

This pregnancy was the opposite of my last pregnancy. I was so busy with the farm and with my other two girls, that I just didn’t have time to think about it. I was hardly nauseous in the first trimester, which did make me a little nervous as I had had a previous loss. But all was fine and well. Other than that, I hardly remember being pregnant. The last two months were exhausting, especially with the heat of summer, and I was definitely looking forward to being done though.

The Morning Of

Saturday morning, July 25th was busy. We had our list of chores we wanted to get done as always. At breakfast, Ben and I talked about when we thought the baby was going to come. I was convinced I wouldn’t be having our baby for another week, at least. The entire pregnancy I had felt like I was further along than my July 31st due date, so I had great hopes of having our baby before the end of July. But as my due date got closer I started to have doubts.

I left all the dishes from breakfast so I could get out to the garden before the heat was too intense. I was able to work out there for about an hour and a half and then I gave into the fact that it was just too hot for me. But it did feel so good to pull some weeds and clean up the garden a little bit.

Clara, our almost 3 year old, hadn’t been sleeping as much since switching to her big girl bed and really needed a nap. I put her down to rest around 11 am. As I was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast, I couldn’t stand how dirty the kitchen windows were. So I washed them while Lottie “washed” the other windows around the house.

The Start of Labor

Once the kitchen windows were sparkly inside and out, I cleaned the kitchen wiping down all the counters and backsplash. After a few hours of cleaning, I felt like I needed to rest for a bit. I had been feeling a lot more pressure for the past few days during my almost constant Braxton Hicks contractions. These ones were just a little different though.

I rested on the sofa and drank some water and waited to see if they went away. Around 3 pm, I woke up Clara and we all ate a late lunch. I was starting to think the Braxton Hicks contractions weren’t Braxton Hicks any longer. They seemed to come and go more regularly.

At 3:30, I finally said something to Ben. I still didn’t really believe it could possibly be happening. I decided I should start timing the contractions. Sure enough, the contractions were about a minute long and about 4-5 minutes apart.

Calling the Midwife

I thought it might be too early tell Rebekah, our midwife, since they weren’t painful or really even that noticeable to me yet. But then I decide it couldn’t hurt to at least let her know just in case she needed to “head home from the beach or something like that.” This was around 4 pm. She told me to keep timing them and let her know how things where going in an hour.

My mom had a sixth sense and had texted to ask how I was doing. She had predicted I would have the baby on this day and wanted to check in to see how her predictions were shaping up. I told her she might be getting her wish!

I busied myself by doing a bunch of things around the house, like making herbal iced tea, taking clothes out of the drier, and organizing the laundry room. After three labor and birth experience, I’ve realized I am a labor denier until I can’t deny it any longer.

Then I packed the kids overnight bags. Ben spent around an hour trying to set up the birthing pool only to realize we didn’t have the right attachment for the hose to fill the birthing pool. The kids were wild with excitement! I mean wild!!! The chaos of trying to set up the pool and the kids running around was starting to get to me.

I told Ben to set the kids up to watch a movie and to just get the pool out of our room. Needing some peace and calm, I laid on the bed and tried to rest and calm my mind.

My mom got there just after 5 pm to take the girls to her house. I started feeling emotional wondering if I was going to be able to do this whole natural labor thing again. I hadn’t really taken the time to even think about labor and birth this time. While I was lying on the bed talking with my mom, I felt a pop… I told my mom that I thought my water broke. This was around 5:25 pm. My mom quickly got the girls ready to leave.

My Water Broke

I was a little confused, because with my previous births my water hadn’t broken until right before I started pushing. This really should have been a clue to me! I texted Rebekah to let her know about my water breaking. She told me to check and see if it was clear. I went to the bathroom and had a contraction on the toilet, which was the first contraction and only contraction that I actually really felt. Rebekah called me. I even had a contraction on the phone while talking to her. They just weren’t hard contractions at all, so I still believed I was in early labor.

Rebekah was on her way to see another mom who had just had her baby the day before. She said I sounded fine but she said she could come if I needed her. Because everything was so mild, I told her I thought I was still hours away from having the baby. Oops! At 5:35 pm, Ben finally had time to take our dog over to the neighbor’s farm so she wouldn’t be in the way.

Oh No! I Think I’m Pushing!

The house was finally quiet. As I lay on the bed praying for strength and a quiet heart and mind, I had a contraction again. I felt the baby move, a big downward move turning and twisting. The thought suddenly popped into my head, “I hope Ben gets back here in time.” Rebekah told me later what I felt was the baby moving past my cervix and if Ben had been home at that moment we probably would have had the baby right then. But our bodies have a way of knowing whether it is safe/feels safe to give birth. Since Ben wasn’t home, my body waited for him to get back. I don’t even think I had another contraction while he was gone.

Ben got back quickly. Since it was quiet and we were together alone, at last, he decided to pray for me and the delivery. Unfortunately, I had to interrupt his prayer because I was having another contraction and it felt like he was yelling in my ear. At the same moment, I suddenly thought I felt the urge to push. I told Ben I thought I was pushing and to call and tell Rebekah.

He did and she said she would come right away, she was about 20 minutes from our house. Ben hung up and just a few moments later, “Oh no… I’m definitely pushing…” Ben got right back on the phone with Rebekah and that’s when she said she probably wasn’t going to make it in time.

Mr. Midwife…

I kept saying “I’m so sorry Ben. I just didn’t realize I was so close…” But he was calm as could be and Rebekah directed him on the phone as to what to do or not do. Just two contractions and the baby’s head was out. Ben asked Rebekah “Do I need to do anything? Help the baby?” Rebekah said “No, don’t do anything. The baby will come out during the next contraction.” Sure enough, one more contraction and at 5:54 pm she was here. It was beautiful and perfect. Ben said he basically did nothing, she kind of flopped out onto the bed and then he picked her up and laid her on my chest. I could tell just by holding her, we had another daughter! A quick peek confirmed that.

The relief after birth never ceases to amaze me. Since I had barely worked to deliver this baby, I didn’t feel tired or exhausted at all. We were just shocked that it all happened so fast. There was no time to be afraid or anxious. We just looked at each other and laughed. It felt good to be home with my husband snuggling my new baby.

Rebekah got to our house about 10 minutes later. She said the baby looked great! Then she helped with the placenta and all the other after birth clean up, like deflating the unused birthing pool. After about an hour, Rebekah did the newborn checks. Our little girl was 7 lb. 9 oz. She was perfect!

I told Ben since he was the one who helped me deliver the baby, he needed to cut the cord this time. I never anticipated having such a fast and pain free birth experience. That was something that only happens to other people. I consider it such a blessing and a precious gift that was given to me.

What’s Her Name?

It took several days to name our sweet baby girl. I don’t know if it was the hormones or what but it was so so hard this time for me to feel settled on a name. I had a piano student years earlier who had a little sister named Rosie. And it was one of the names I really like when expecting our first baby, six years earlier. In the end, we chose to call her Rosalie “Rosie” Anne.

She’s such a blessing to our family already. I love being a girl mom! I feel so blessed to be raising house full of little women.

Pregnancy and Birth Post

Clara’s Home Birth Story

First Time Mom’s Positive Natural Hospital Birth Story

Miscarriage and Grief

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