When the girls went down for naps in the afternoon, I decided to take a nap as well. This time, I continued to have some light contractions while laying down. This was new, so I figured something was starting to shift. When I woke up around 2, I sent messages to my sister (who was going to be hanging out with our kids), our doula, and the midwife to let them know that maybe something was finally happening. 

 

I called my parents to see if they would play with our big girls for the afternoon so I could relax. I took a bath while listening to a hypnobirthing meditation and continued to have light contractions, maybe every 10 minutes or so. 

 

After the bath, my husband Jared and I went for a walk around the neighborhood in the light rain. I continued to have contractions every 7-10 minutes, but they were nothing intense. I could walk and talk through them, so I figured we were still very early in the labor process. 

 

We picked up dinner and brought it over to my parents house. I didn't feel like eating, but sipped on a smoothie. Around 7 we headed for home. The plan was for my sister to come over to our house around 8. We set up air mattresses for both her and the doula so everyone could get some sleep, as I figured we'd be up in the middle of the night at some point once things picked up. 

 

Calling the Midwife

I called the midwife at 7:10 to check in and get her input on when would be a good time for her to come over. We decided that things still seemed a little early since I could still talk through contractions (but was starting to vocalize a little). She was going to finish up what she was doing and then drive over (30 minute drive) just to check in. Her assistant lives about 4 minutes from us, so she said if things were too early, she'd just go hang out there and drink coffee and wait close by for us to call. 

 

Around 7:30 I was trying to help my husband get sheets on air mattresses and get our kids in their pajamas when I decided I just needed to lay down. Things were picking up, and I was moaning through contractions. 

 

Joelle arrived at our house just after 8:00. She came up to my bedroom to say hello, and I started having a contraction. During that contraction my water broke. She and Jared called the midwife and told her to leave right away if she hadn't left already. She also called her assistant and told her to come over. 

 

Another Bath & a Baby

I wanted to be in the bath, so we filled up the tub. I got in and started listening to my hypnobirthing videos. Jared ran downstairs to throw in a load of laundry, and my telephone started to ring. Since I couldn't reach my phone, I tried to yell for someone to come. It was the midwife's assistant who was standing outside our old house wondering why the door was locked and nobody was answering. We told her our new address and she headed over. Luckily, we didn't move too far away. 

She made it to our house around 8:25. She came upstairs and listened to baby through a contraction. Everything sounded good. She noticed that I was looking like I was "getting pushy". She had me try to move onto my side in the tub. I had one contraction in this position. They had me try shifting to my hands and knees. At this point, the midwife arrived (around 8:40 something). They were already able to see the baby's head. 

 

With the next contraction she was born at 8:44 pm. Jared caught her and they immediately passed her to me. We had planned to have her in the inflatable birthing tub, but our bathtub did the trick. When I asked Harper and Piper if they got to see their sister be born, they told me that they tried, but it was really crowded in the bathroom and they couldn't really see. We made a path for them to come get a good view of their baby sister very shortly after she was born. 

 

Over the next few hours we snuggled and cut the umbilical cord. Madison Grace weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces, and measured 20.5 inches long! 

 

I absolutely loved our planned home birth and am so glad that this is what we chose to do. With how quickly everything progressed, we likely would have had another baby in our car if we had attempted to drive anywhere!

 

Dr. Jamie

 

* Special thanks to my husband Jared,  Isabelle Guillou of My Mindful Birth , her birth assistant Jody, my sister Joelle Kurczodyna @fromscratchfarmstead, my doula Jessie John @missjessie2984, and of course Harper & Piper for being great big sisters!