Leah Wren's Birth Story
Our sweet Leah was our second attempt at a homebirth, our second daughter, and because of God's grace, our second successful homebirth. I love to share my birth stories because I love to look back on the miracle that occurred, and I want to share with people so they can be encouraged by what the Lord has done and maybe they will consider a homebirth the next time around. Home births were never a question for us. Matt and I discussed my desire to have our children at home before we were even married. I am so glad he said yes, and I am so glad the Lord provided me with a big, strong husband! I surely needed his strength during the labor and delivery process. He was such a great support through it all! Alright, settle in for the story of how Leah Wren took her first breath outside of the womb.
Leah's due date was September 30...well, that day came and went. Then, we got news that there was a hurricane coming on Thursday night. I had an appointment at the Birth Center Tuesday, October 4th. The midwife told me that they are not allowed to assist a birth during a hurricane for legal reasons because EMS is not allowed to dispatch either once hurricane winds are in full force. Matt and I had two options if Leah did not arrive before the storm: drive ourselves to the hospital or deliver her at home, unassisted. Thankfully, God protected us through everything, and He allowed Leah to come naturally in the wee morning hours of Wednesday, October 5th.
Now, I was quite a few days overdue, so we were expecting her arrival any day. We went to bed around 10 after a typical day of Matt working and me staying at home doing housework and playing with Esther. I woke up at 1AM on Wednesday feeling like I needed to go pee, but of course I didn't want to get up in the middle of the night! I just laid in bed for a few minutes trying to go back to sleep, but then my back started hurting so I figured I should get up and go. Well, once I went I knew labor was coming on. It was about 1:15AM and I started getting cramps in my back. My water had not broken yet, so I did not call the Midwife right away. Also, I was GBS+ so that meant I had to have antibiotics during labor, so I wanted to hold those off as long as possible.
GBS is Group B Strep...it is a bacteria that lives in many women's small intestines and colonizes during pregnancy. It can be very harmful if passed to your child. The baby might have to spend countless days or weeks in the ICU, and many babies do not make it if they contract GBS from their mother. Although, it is only a 1 in 1,000 chance that the bacteria will transfer to the child during delivery. In Florida, it is illegal not to have antibiotics during labor if you are in the hospital. Also, if if you transfer to the hospital from home after the birth for some medical reason and you, the mother, are GBS positive but did not take antibiotics during labor the hospital has the right to keep your child in the NICU for 10 days and administer antibiotics to him or her regardless of if the child has GBS or not. Crazy, I know!! Well, I did NOT want to do antibiotics during labor because it can mess with your flaura when the baby is born. And, at the same time I did NOT want my child to possibly contract a deadly bacteria. So, Matt and I sought the Lord on the issue, and we felt it would be best to only do one round (4 hours) of antibiotics as that "supposedly" kills the bacteria...although, there is no scientific proof that it actually does that. Regardless, I wanted to wait to get the antibiotics until I was 8 or 9 cm dilated. Well, I do believe the Lord had other plans!
My labor lasted almost exactly THREE hours, THREE! I was shocked!! Okay, so here's how it all went down. I had that bloody show at 1:15AM when I woke up to use the bathroom. I had pretty intense back labor, so Matt applied "Cool Azul" to my back periodically through my labor. I used maybe one fifth of the bottle, but it was fantastic. Every time I had a contraction I just paced up and down our hallway breathing calmly and moving my hand around in the air. If I had video I probably would think I looked slightly ridiculous, but nobody cares how you look when you are about to bring a baby into the world! So, I kept track of my contractions on a piece of paper on my dresser, and I would mark the time they started and ended so I would know when to call my midwife. Sidenote, my midwife was pregnant and I didn't really want to wake her up as well, so I was waiting for that reason as well.
Finally, 2:30 rolled around and I knew I needed to call her so she could get things set up. Also, we had my mother in law come pick up Esther at this time. I had her bag ready to go for weeks, and Matt called his mom, got Esther set up to go, and I chose not to say goodbye to her as I didn't want her to be worried or sad. Matt said she was super happy to see Grandma when she came! Then, my midwife showed up at our house at about 3:30 and talked with me for a bit, checked to see how far along I was, asked how things were going, and set up her computer to take notes. It was really neat being a part of a Birth Center this time around. There were many different midwives, assistants, and people on staff. They keep a record on their computer under my name so each one will know what is going on, so before I started writing this I went back and read it all. Everything about the labor and delivery was so well detailed! It took me right back! Anyways, she was setting up her computer and came back to check on me. I believe I was going through "transition" at this time as I couldn't talk much and it was just getting alot more difficult. Well, she said she was going to get the antibiotics ready, so she went to the kitchen to prepare everything.
At that time I had a few more contractions, and then I told Matt I needed to push and to get the midwife in here NOW. He was all, "No, you're fine babe. You're doing great....just keep going.". He didn't realize it was really happening already! At this point we were only 2 and a half hours or so into labor. My first labor was 10 hours, so I was expecting this one to be about 5 or 6. Well, I knew I needed to push, so I was not too happy about the midwife being in the other room. Thankfully, she heard me calling for her and rushed in. There was no time for antibiotics as I was already in the pushing stage. The Lord knew, and I am so glad we didn't have to do those and that He protected Leah through the birth and after. SO, I pushed for maybe ten minutes - squatting, with Matt supporting me. My water broke about 2 minutes before Leah came out - this also helped to protect Leah from the bacteria by my water breaking at the last possible minute. God is so good, you guys! Anyways, the midwife caught our little girl and we hopped on the bed for some skin-to-skin and to let the cord finish pulsating before we cut it. The time was 4:13 AM when she arrived. Three hours of labor. I couldn't believe it!
In actuality, there is supposed to be an assistant present during the birth, but since my labor was so quick she did not arrive in time! She was super sweet and helpful when she showed up, though. It was only a few minutes after the birth, and she prayed for us when she came and helped to cut the cord once it stopped pulsating. It was kind of nice to have just Matt, me and the midwife there during the birth. I like things quieter and less confusing, and my husband was more than capable of helping during the birth. I so, so love him! So, the birth was all natural, but I was losing quite a bit of blood after the birth. As I explained previously I did not want to have to transfer to the hospital as I did not have antibiotics during labor. My midwife offered to give me a shot of pitocin in my thigh to help my uterus contract in order to slow the bleeding. I felt very, very tired, so I said yes to that and I also got an IV with fluids. It was about an hour after the birth, so they said I could take a little nap. Leah slept on my chest and we rested for about a half hour. It was what we needed because started looking up after that!
The Lord was so kind to us in this season. He allowed Leah to be born before the hurricane arrived. He allowed her to not get GBS. He gave me a very short labor, and He provided just what I needed during the delivery and after the birth. We pray the Lord will allow us to have many more children for us to raise for His glory, yet if He decides to only give us two sweet girls He is still good. We are so in love with our little Leah Wren, and we are thankful for the Lord's mercies through it all!
Leah's due date was September 30...well, that day came and went. Then, we got news that there was a hurricane coming on Thursday night. I had an appointment at the Birth Center Tuesday, October 4th. The midwife told me that they are not allowed to assist a birth during a hurricane for legal reasons because EMS is not allowed to dispatch either once hurricane winds are in full force. Matt and I had two options if Leah did not arrive before the storm: drive ourselves to the hospital or deliver her at home, unassisted. Thankfully, God protected us through everything, and He allowed Leah to come naturally in the wee morning hours of Wednesday, October 5th.
Now, I was quite a few days overdue, so we were expecting her arrival any day. We went to bed around 10 after a typical day of Matt working and me staying at home doing housework and playing with Esther. I woke up at 1AM on Wednesday feeling like I needed to go pee, but of course I didn't want to get up in the middle of the night! I just laid in bed for a few minutes trying to go back to sleep, but then my back started hurting so I figured I should get up and go. Well, once I went I knew labor was coming on. It was about 1:15AM and I started getting cramps in my back. My water had not broken yet, so I did not call the Midwife right away. Also, I was GBS+ so that meant I had to have antibiotics during labor, so I wanted to hold those off as long as possible.
GBS is Group B Strep...it is a bacteria that lives in many women's small intestines and colonizes during pregnancy. It can be very harmful if passed to your child. The baby might have to spend countless days or weeks in the ICU, and many babies do not make it if they contract GBS from their mother. Although, it is only a 1 in 1,000 chance that the bacteria will transfer to the child during delivery. In Florida, it is illegal not to have antibiotics during labor if you are in the hospital. Also, if if you transfer to the hospital from home after the birth for some medical reason and you, the mother, are GBS positive but did not take antibiotics during labor the hospital has the right to keep your child in the NICU for 10 days and administer antibiotics to him or her regardless of if the child has GBS or not. Crazy, I know!! Well, I did NOT want to do antibiotics during labor because it can mess with your flaura when the baby is born. And, at the same time I did NOT want my child to possibly contract a deadly bacteria. So, Matt and I sought the Lord on the issue, and we felt it would be best to only do one round (4 hours) of antibiotics as that "supposedly" kills the bacteria...although, there is no scientific proof that it actually does that. Regardless, I wanted to wait to get the antibiotics until I was 8 or 9 cm dilated. Well, I do believe the Lord had other plans!
My labor lasted almost exactly THREE hours, THREE! I was shocked!! Okay, so here's how it all went down. I had that bloody show at 1:15AM when I woke up to use the bathroom. I had pretty intense back labor, so Matt applied "Cool Azul" to my back periodically through my labor. I used maybe one fifth of the bottle, but it was fantastic. Every time I had a contraction I just paced up and down our hallway breathing calmly and moving my hand around in the air. If I had video I probably would think I looked slightly ridiculous, but nobody cares how you look when you are about to bring a baby into the world! So, I kept track of my contractions on a piece of paper on my dresser, and I would mark the time they started and ended so I would know when to call my midwife. Sidenote, my midwife was pregnant and I didn't really want to wake her up as well, so I was waiting for that reason as well.
Finally, 2:30 rolled around and I knew I needed to call her so she could get things set up. Also, we had my mother in law come pick up Esther at this time. I had her bag ready to go for weeks, and Matt called his mom, got Esther set up to go, and I chose not to say goodbye to her as I didn't want her to be worried or sad. Matt said she was super happy to see Grandma when she came! Then, my midwife showed up at our house at about 3:30 and talked with me for a bit, checked to see how far along I was, asked how things were going, and set up her computer to take notes. It was really neat being a part of a Birth Center this time around. There were many different midwives, assistants, and people on staff. They keep a record on their computer under my name so each one will know what is going on, so before I started writing this I went back and read it all. Everything about the labor and delivery was so well detailed! It took me right back! Anyways, she was setting up her computer and came back to check on me. I believe I was going through "transition" at this time as I couldn't talk much and it was just getting alot more difficult. Well, she said she was going to get the antibiotics ready, so she went to the kitchen to prepare everything.
At that time I had a few more contractions, and then I told Matt I needed to push and to get the midwife in here NOW. He was all, "No, you're fine babe. You're doing great....just keep going.". He didn't realize it was really happening already! At this point we were only 2 and a half hours or so into labor. My first labor was 10 hours, so I was expecting this one to be about 5 or 6. Well, I knew I needed to push, so I was not too happy about the midwife being in the other room. Thankfully, she heard me calling for her and rushed in. There was no time for antibiotics as I was already in the pushing stage. The Lord knew, and I am so glad we didn't have to do those and that He protected Leah through the birth and after. SO, I pushed for maybe ten minutes - squatting, with Matt supporting me. My water broke about 2 minutes before Leah came out - this also helped to protect Leah from the bacteria by my water breaking at the last possible minute. God is so good, you guys! Anyways, the midwife caught our little girl and we hopped on the bed for some skin-to-skin and to let the cord finish pulsating before we cut it. The time was 4:13 AM when she arrived. Three hours of labor. I couldn't believe it!
In actuality, there is supposed to be an assistant present during the birth, but since my labor was so quick she did not arrive in time! She was super sweet and helpful when she showed up, though. It was only a few minutes after the birth, and she prayed for us when she came and helped to cut the cord once it stopped pulsating. It was kind of nice to have just Matt, me and the midwife there during the birth. I like things quieter and less confusing, and my husband was more than capable of helping during the birth. I so, so love him! So, the birth was all natural, but I was losing quite a bit of blood after the birth. As I explained previously I did not want to have to transfer to the hospital as I did not have antibiotics during labor. My midwife offered to give me a shot of pitocin in my thigh to help my uterus contract in order to slow the bleeding. I felt very, very tired, so I said yes to that and I also got an IV with fluids. It was about an hour after the birth, so they said I could take a little nap. Leah slept on my chest and we rested for about a half hour. It was what we needed because started looking up after that!
The Lord was so kind to us in this season. He allowed Leah to be born before the hurricane arrived. He allowed her to not get GBS. He gave me a very short labor, and He provided just what I needed during the delivery and after the birth. We pray the Lord will allow us to have many more children for us to raise for His glory, yet if He decides to only give us two sweet girls He is still good. We are so in love with our little Leah Wren, and we are thankful for the Lord's mercies through it all!
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