Gabe's Homebirth Story

Gabriel Benaiah...welcome.

It is a lazy summer afternoon. The girls are down for a nap and my little Gabe is sleeping by my side. An occasional smile flickers across his face. My heart swells with love for this little man who has entered our lives.

Many have requested his birth story and so I have found a few moments to recap Gabe's journey into this world. The week prior to his birth I had been having frequent braxton hicks contractions. They were more intense in the evening hours, but would disappear each night when I went to bed. It was getting difficult to work and with about 2 weeks left on the schedule I was trying to figure out if I could keep working up to my due date. July 29th I went to my appointment with Joy and I was excited to find out that I was dilated to 4 cm. Progress was being made! She stripped my membranes, but nothing happened. During this pregnancy I had struggled with back and nerve pain and Joy suggested that perhaps I visit a chiropractor again and see if by being adjusted I would be more comfortable for the labor and hopefully my pelvis wouldn't be as tilted. I hadn't been to the chiropractor since quite early in my pregnancy, but decided to see if I could get in that day. In the afternoon at 3 p.m. I had my appointment and then headed over to Jessica's where Joy and her boys also joined us for supper and a play date. I began having some contractions at 4:30 p.m. just after I arrived at Jessica's. They felt a little more "real", but weren't regular. By the time we finished eating supper my contractions were about 7 minutes apart, but less than 30 seconds and very tolerable. We headed home and tucked the girls into bed. At 8:30 p.m. I called my mom and told her I was having more regular contractions, but I was going to take a bath and try to sleep. I also called my midwife and updated her. I took a long bath. I ate a bowl of ice crean with Jesse. Then, at about 10 p.m. we went to bed. The contractions did not let up and I was feeling more and more uncomfortable. By 11 p.m. Jesse suggested we call my parents to pick up the girls which we did. Then, I called Joy and updated her and told her to take her time coming. I didn't want her to hang out all night and have nothing happen. At 11:30 p.m. my parents picked up the girls and I went to the bathroom. I had one contraction on top of another and felt I could barely make it back to bed. When Joy arrive at 12:15 a.m. I was lying in bed doing my best to breathe and relax through the contractions. She told me she thought I was a little farther along than when we had spoken and things had definitely progressed. I was at the point that I didn't want Jesse from my side. The contractions were coming so quickly and intensely and we still hadn't set up the pool. I had told Jesse to put it off earlier in the evening because I didn't want to set it up and then have everything stop. But by then it was too late and although I had really wanted to birth in the pool I was so focused on my labor that I was okay with the fact that I wouldn't be in the water. The next couple of hours were long, but went quickly if that makes any sense. The second midwife arrived. I got up to the bathroom a couple of times. I drank my water and had a few squirts of honey here and there. I tried standing, but my legs were shaking so badly I had to get back into bed. I ended up reclining in bed with Jesse sitting behind me. Once dilated I started pushing and could not get my water to break. After having Joy ask me several times if I wanted her to break my water, I agreed. I was getting tired and not getting anywhere. I wanted to meet my baby. After my water broke, it was about 20 minutes and our little man arrived. A perfect, healthy, little blessing from our God. A boy! Thank you, Lord, for You are so good.

And as an added blessing, he arrived in the comfort of our home. Would I recommend a home birth? Yes, definitely.