Blair's Birth Story

Thank you Blair for sharing your story with us.  I love how simple and non-intrusive you made your pregnancy and birth.  If I read correctly, I believe you may have actually had Hannah on your due date!

Blair's Birth Story

I love to share our story. It is a memory that me and dean will never forget.

  

I knew from the beginning that if we were going to have kids that I was going to have them natural and not in a hospital if all possible. When I found out that I was pregnant I called the birth cottage and set up my first appointment. When I went Layla asked me where I wanted to give birth and I said my first choice is home, second was the birth cottage and last resort was the hospital. At my next appointment I asked Alice if I had to get an ultrasound and she said as long as everything is going good and im not having any bleeding then I did not need one unless I wanted to find out the sex of the baby and I said no that me and my husband wanted it to be a secret and the only one who knows will be the baby. 

I never had an ultrasound my whole pregnancy so we never knew an estimated weight for the baby. Me and my husband were guessing the baby would be around 8lbs at birth. I decided to take a birth class to prepare me for labor and chose to take the Bradley Method Class with Kim Stanley. My class started on April 6 and was 12 weeks long. After I had finished my birth class I was ready to have a natural birth at home. So my due date was getting closer and closer and by 38weeks I was over being pregnant my feet and legs were swollen and my back hurt. I was so ready to meet this baby inside me and find out if it was a girl or boy. Though out my entire pregnancy I would dream about giving birth at home and the baby was a girl. I just had that feeling that it was going to be a girl, but we had no idea.

Well... Today is Aug, 22, 2010 and tomorrow I will be 40weeks pregnant and praying that I will not go past my due date. I usually would take an afternoon nap on the weekends but my friend called and wanted to come over and bring her son to see our koi pond and I told her that would be great. We decided to go to dinner that night around 6pm and when we got home it was 7:30pm. I finished doing my chores around the house and then got into bed. Well at about 8pm I started having contractions and would lay in bed and try to relax and breathe through the contraction and then go back to sleep once they ended. 

Eating Fruit and Drinking water while laboring in the bath tub

At about 11pm I called my friend Kerry who attended all of my birth classes with me to give her a heads up that I was in early labor. She said to try to get some rest and I told her I would try. By 11:30 I was walking the house during contractions getting in and out of the tub thought-out the night while my hubby was sleeping. 

Around 3am I called Kerry and told her that I was ready for her to come to our house that it was the real thing and that I wasn't sure how far along I was and how dilated I was. She got to our house at about 4am and we sat on the couch and talked. Then my hubby woke up and joined us.

Laboring on my couch in our living room

 I continued to labor and at 7am Kerry called the midwife to let her know that I had started labor at 8pm Sunday night and Alice asked to talk to me and she told me to get some rest and eat something and to call her back at around 9am. So I laid in bed and tried to fell asleep in between contractions. 

It was around 9am and I told Kerry to call the Alice back to tell her I was ready for her to come to the house. She said she would get her stuff together and head our way. She got to our house at about 10am and at 10:30 she check me and I was 9cm. Alice, Missy and Kerry went out to our living room and left me and my husband dean alone in our room to labor. I started to make grunting noises and Alice came in and asked if I had the urge to push and I said yes. 

So I started pushing it was around 11am.. While I was pushing, Dean (my hubby), was cheering me on telling me that I could do this and that I was doing a awesome job. During a contraction I would squat in front of my bed holding on while looking in the mirror against the wall seeing my water sack with black hair floating in the fluid. Which I thought was really kool. I kept saying, is this baby ever going to come out? Cause all I could see was the baby coming down while I was pushing during a contraction and then going back up. 

During the last couple of pushes I was laying on my side and I would squeeze my husband's hand during each contraction and Alice would tell me that I was almost there. Then on my last push the head finally came out and Alice had to break the bag of water and then unwrap the cord from around the babys neck and then sucked out the babys nose and the baby started to cry. I then gave another push and then the rest of the baby came out. Alice said here mommy take your baby, I laid the baby on my chest and reached my hand around and under the cord and said It's a girl. 

Just Born. Laying on my chest.

Mommy and Daddy looking at their new daughter

We waited until the cord stopped pulsing to cut the cord. Once the cord was cut Hannah was on my chest looking at us and was starting rooting around. She was nursing within 30minutes of being born and did it all by herself. Then my placenta was delivered and 

we put it into a plastic bag so we could plant a tree with it. 

First Time Breastfeeding

Then we called the family.First Dean called his mom and sister who then called everyone else on his side. Then he called my mom and dad who then called everyone on my side.

 I had second degree tears from the birth and had to get stitches. But did not feel a thing. All I could think about was my beautiful healthy daughter that I just delivered. After I got stitched up and cleaned up, Hannah pooped on me and so I had to clean her up and then me. 

One Hour Old

Then it was time to weigh and measure hannah, so Missy laid her in the fish scale and ask Dean if  he knew how to read one and he said yes so she held it up and told Dean to read it and he said 9lbs 2oz. Then Alice and Missy measured her and she was 21.5 inches long. Hannah was a big healthy baby girl. Then family arrived to meet Hannah.

2 Hours Old

Jen Starks, Owner
www.ecologicalbabies.com
ecologicalbabies@gmail.com
574.275.1235