Nathanael's Birth Story
Ah, it's been a while since I've had a birth story to write about. So, here's another episode of "Megan's Precipitous Labors."
My pregnancy with baby N was overall very good, but also hard. Maybe because I'm getting older and my body has done this a few times. I was more sick in my 1st trimester than before (but nothing severe, thankfully). Later, I had awful restless leg at night, sharp rib pain, and was generally exhausted. Add that to already having 3 crazy boys and homeschooling - oh, and purchasing a house and moving- and I was kind of a mess. Still, I had no complications. My 1 ultrasound showed a healthy baby, and we had decided not to find out the gender.
Working with Karen and Jen- my homebirth midwives- was great. My prenatal appointments were all an unrushed hour in her cozy home office. They asked how I was doing. They offered advice for my struggles and genuinely cared for me. There was nothing invasive or uncomfortable about seeing them.
We all assumed that I would have a fast delivery- that's one of the main reasons I wanted to have the baby at home. I didn't want to stress about childcare or rush to a hospital. I desired the comfort of home. We also all assumed I'd deliver around 39 weeks, like I had in the past. I know dates can be tricky, so I was either due Jan 7 or Jan 10. In my mind, I might have the baby right around New Year's, maybe even in December. Christmas came (I did have some contractions that night)...then New Year's...then we went back to our homeschool co-op on January 6. I was pretty grumpy at this point, because I'd thought I would be tucked in at home with a new baby by then. And then another week went by! I had no real indications that baby was coming soon. Sure, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, but that was normal and painless.
Monday, January 13th, I knew I'd be tutoring again at our co-op. I had prepped my lessons and we all got out the door. The morning went well, but I did notice more crampiness in my BH contractions. Still, they were generally mild and I was on my feet all morning which could easily explain that. We didn't stay for lunch and recess because we had to go our rental and clean it. So, more time on my feet, more mildly cramping Braxton Hicks. I was tired and edgy, and so was Behn. We'd been through so much with moving to a new house during the month of December.
That night after the kids were in bed, we watched some tv. But as usual, around 9, I needed some sleep. As we were going to bed around 9:20, Behn showed me a funny clip on YouTube. I was terribly exhausted and emotional and for some reason this video clip made me laugh hysterically. I laughed so hard... that eventually I felt a *pop.* This pop happened during one of my crampy-but-not-painful contractions... and I knew my water had broken. It was finally time!
I told Behn what happened and then ran to the bathrooom. The contractions came on fast and furious at this point. I labored for a few minutes in the bathroom while I called me midwife and told her she better come right now. Then I ran upstairs to our shower to stand in the hot water while I waited for her to arrive. Behn also called my sister Emily to tell her that if she wanted to be at the birth, she'd better high-tail it down to our house. At this point I'd been in labor maybe 15 minutes. The hot water in the shower felt awesome, but the contractions were extremely strong and close together. I did my best to breath slowly and not tense up. After about 10-15 minutes, I could feel his head moving down during the contractions, and I knew he would be born soon. I jumped out of the shower and walked back downstairs to our bedroom between contractions.
I told Behn to wake up Graham, who had begged to be in the room for the birth. He also tried to wake Patrick who wanted to be nearby (but not in the room) for the birth. Patrick was too far asleep, but Graham groggily came down. However, when he saw his mama in pain and um...fresh out of the shower...he said he would just stay in the hallway or watch a movie. (Spoiler alert: he didn't have any time to watch a movie). I threw on a big t-shirt. I had 3 contractions on my bed. The first two were massively intense transitional contractions. After the second one, I looked Behn in the eye and said, "You're going to deliver this baby." Behn simply and calmly said, "ok." He got a few towels and sat behind me. At this point I was in sort of a squat, so during the next contraction I leaned forward on my hands and knees and pushed. I heard Behn say, "Oh my goodness, we have a head." I slowly breathed and continued to push and then- he was out and crying. 9:53 p.m. Since the baby was delivered behind me, I couldn't see him. I asked Behn what it was, and at the same time looked behind me and saw it was a little boy. We knew right away that he was ok because the cord was not around his head and he was crying. Behn wrapped him in towels and then took off his shirt to lay the baby skin to skin. I felt as though I couldn't move from my knees since the cord was still attached to the placenta inside me.
As soon as Graham heard the cry (like 5 minutes after he'd been woken up), he ran in. He was totally gleeful seeing the new baby, who was born very clean and tidy. He subsequently ran to wake his brothers up (not part of the plan, but worked out fine). Suddenly, our whole family was together.
About 10-15 minutes later, Karen the midwife arrived. She came right in and helped Behn clamp and cut the cord so I could lay down. She began her exam of baby, and we sent the boys out to the front steps to help wave down the other midwife since it was very dark and foggy. Jen came soon, and the midwives delivered my placenta. Emily also arrived just then and took pictures and shared in our joy. Considering how crazy the past hour had been, everything felt generally warm and cozy in our little room. I had no tearing, and was overjoyed to finally have my baby in my arms. Everyone took turns holding him. The midwives were a bit rushed... they got through all the vitals and examinations and instructions, but their night was just starting as they had another mama in labor and they needed to attend to her. After about 2 hours, they left to go deliver that baby.
Emily went home and Behn got the boys settled again. At this point it was after midnight and we were all sleepy and content. My favorite thing about the homebirth was getting to snuggle down in my own bed after all the excitement.
We hadn't picked an exact boy name, but Nathanael was high on our list and as soon as I saw him, I heard my heart say, "Nathanael is here!" Later, we chose Scott as a middle name to honor Behn's lifelong best friend Scott. He and his wife and their kids are close friends of ours. Nathanael was 8 lb, 12 oz, my biggest baby.
Nathanael is all joy. Of course I am tired. Postpartum has been difficult. I've had trouble breastfeeding, and yesterday I came down with mastitis. Ugh. But I was able to quickly get medicine. I think we are back on track with feedings. I think the hardest part has simply been already having 3 crazy, loud boys in the house, and the tasks that go with a busy family. Behn has been home a good bit, but he did go back to work a few days last week. The boys are all adjusting in their own ways. Since we homeschool, we are together at times when I'd really like to have some space. It's also hard that it's winter and gray outside, though there have been some mild days as well. Today Behn reminded me that spring will come. We will get more sleep again and everything will be green in a few months. Until then, the baby is well loved and snuggled by a myriad of brothers.
The other absolutely wonderful blessing has been all the love from family and friends. So much food has been delivered. Many have taken the kids out or watched them, both during our move when I was pregnant or in the last 12 days since baby was born. I don't know what we'd do without this community of family, church, and friendships.
And so we are a family of 6, with 4 boys. We are grateful, we praise God for the beauty of family and new life, and we go to bed early.
My pregnancy with baby N was overall very good, but also hard. Maybe because I'm getting older and my body has done this a few times. I was more sick in my 1st trimester than before (but nothing severe, thankfully). Later, I had awful restless leg at night, sharp rib pain, and was generally exhausted. Add that to already having 3 crazy boys and homeschooling - oh, and purchasing a house and moving- and I was kind of a mess. Still, I had no complications. My 1 ultrasound showed a healthy baby, and we had decided not to find out the gender.
Working with Karen and Jen- my homebirth midwives- was great. My prenatal appointments were all an unrushed hour in her cozy home office. They asked how I was doing. They offered advice for my struggles and genuinely cared for me. There was nothing invasive or uncomfortable about seeing them.
We all assumed that I would have a fast delivery- that's one of the main reasons I wanted to have the baby at home. I didn't want to stress about childcare or rush to a hospital. I desired the comfort of home. We also all assumed I'd deliver around 39 weeks, like I had in the past. I know dates can be tricky, so I was either due Jan 7 or Jan 10. In my mind, I might have the baby right around New Year's, maybe even in December. Christmas came (I did have some contractions that night)...then New Year's...then we went back to our homeschool co-op on January 6. I was pretty grumpy at this point, because I'd thought I would be tucked in at home with a new baby by then. And then another week went by! I had no real indications that baby was coming soon. Sure, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, but that was normal and painless.
Monday, January 13th, I knew I'd be tutoring again at our co-op. I had prepped my lessons and we all got out the door. The morning went well, but I did notice more crampiness in my BH contractions. Still, they were generally mild and I was on my feet all morning which could easily explain that. We didn't stay for lunch and recess because we had to go our rental and clean it. So, more time on my feet, more mildly cramping Braxton Hicks. I was tired and edgy, and so was Behn. We'd been through so much with moving to a new house during the month of December.
That night after the kids were in bed, we watched some tv. But as usual, around 9, I needed some sleep. As we were going to bed around 9:20, Behn showed me a funny clip on YouTube. I was terribly exhausted and emotional and for some reason this video clip made me laugh hysterically. I laughed so hard... that eventually I felt a *pop.* This pop happened during one of my crampy-but-not-painful contractions... and I knew my water had broken. It was finally time!
I told Behn what happened and then ran to the bathrooom. The contractions came on fast and furious at this point. I labored for a few minutes in the bathroom while I called me midwife and told her she better come right now. Then I ran upstairs to our shower to stand in the hot water while I waited for her to arrive. Behn also called my sister Emily to tell her that if she wanted to be at the birth, she'd better high-tail it down to our house. At this point I'd been in labor maybe 15 minutes. The hot water in the shower felt awesome, but the contractions were extremely strong and close together. I did my best to breath slowly and not tense up. After about 10-15 minutes, I could feel his head moving down during the contractions, and I knew he would be born soon. I jumped out of the shower and walked back downstairs to our bedroom between contractions.
I told Behn to wake up Graham, who had begged to be in the room for the birth. He also tried to wake Patrick who wanted to be nearby (but not in the room) for the birth. Patrick was too far asleep, but Graham groggily came down. However, when he saw his mama in pain and um...fresh out of the shower...he said he would just stay in the hallway or watch a movie. (Spoiler alert: he didn't have any time to watch a movie). I threw on a big t-shirt. I had 3 contractions on my bed. The first two were massively intense transitional contractions. After the second one, I looked Behn in the eye and said, "You're going to deliver this baby." Behn simply and calmly said, "ok." He got a few towels and sat behind me. At this point I was in sort of a squat, so during the next contraction I leaned forward on my hands and knees and pushed. I heard Behn say, "Oh my goodness, we have a head." I slowly breathed and continued to push and then- he was out and crying. 9:53 p.m. Since the baby was delivered behind me, I couldn't see him. I asked Behn what it was, and at the same time looked behind me and saw it was a little boy. We knew right away that he was ok because the cord was not around his head and he was crying. Behn wrapped him in towels and then took off his shirt to lay the baby skin to skin. I felt as though I couldn't move from my knees since the cord was still attached to the placenta inside me.
As soon as Graham heard the cry (like 5 minutes after he'd been woken up), he ran in. He was totally gleeful seeing the new baby, who was born very clean and tidy. He subsequently ran to wake his brothers up (not part of the plan, but worked out fine). Suddenly, our whole family was together.
About 10-15 minutes later, Karen the midwife arrived. She came right in and helped Behn clamp and cut the cord so I could lay down. She began her exam of baby, and we sent the boys out to the front steps to help wave down the other midwife since it was very dark and foggy. Jen came soon, and the midwives delivered my placenta. Emily also arrived just then and took pictures and shared in our joy. Considering how crazy the past hour had been, everything felt generally warm and cozy in our little room. I had no tearing, and was overjoyed to finally have my baby in my arms. Everyone took turns holding him. The midwives were a bit rushed... they got through all the vitals and examinations and instructions, but their night was just starting as they had another mama in labor and they needed to attend to her. After about 2 hours, they left to go deliver that baby.
Emily went home and Behn got the boys settled again. At this point it was after midnight and we were all sleepy and content. My favorite thing about the homebirth was getting to snuggle down in my own bed after all the excitement.
We hadn't picked an exact boy name, but Nathanael was high on our list and as soon as I saw him, I heard my heart say, "Nathanael is here!" Later, we chose Scott as a middle name to honor Behn's lifelong best friend Scott. He and his wife and their kids are close friends of ours. Nathanael was 8 lb, 12 oz, my biggest baby.
Nathanael is all joy. Of course I am tired. Postpartum has been difficult. I've had trouble breastfeeding, and yesterday I came down with mastitis. Ugh. But I was able to quickly get medicine. I think we are back on track with feedings. I think the hardest part has simply been already having 3 crazy, loud boys in the house, and the tasks that go with a busy family. Behn has been home a good bit, but he did go back to work a few days last week. The boys are all adjusting in their own ways. Since we homeschool, we are together at times when I'd really like to have some space. It's also hard that it's winter and gray outside, though there have been some mild days as well. Today Behn reminded me that spring will come. We will get more sleep again and everything will be green in a few months. Until then, the baby is well loved and snuggled by a myriad of brothers.
The other absolutely wonderful blessing has been all the love from family and friends. So much food has been delivered. Many have taken the kids out or watched them, both during our move when I was pregnant or in the last 12 days since baby was born. I don't know what we'd do without this community of family, church, and friendships.
And so we are a family of 6, with 4 boys. We are grateful, we praise God for the beauty of family and new life, and we go to bed early.
Maybe 5 minutes old
First cuddles
First cuddles
Boy joy
First morning
Big Bro!
Few days old
Twins
First bath
Twelve days old. Already changing.
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