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We welcomed baby #6 into our family in January of 2025 and with Jorja’s first birthday coming up I thought it would be nice to share this unique experience we had with her birth.
My Mindset
For the past several births I have not wanted to have an epidural. I thought I had prepared myself enough beforehand, but with everything that went on with those births, I ended up getting epidurals. I am not opposed to epidurals, but with my experiences with having sterile water shot through an epidural, having inductions, babies not nursing well after epidurals, etc., I just do not want them. I also know that God created a woman’s body with the ability to birth a baby and I wanted to trust in that plan. I understand that not everything goes to plan and medical interventions need to happen and such and I am not judging anyone else’s birth experiences or saying that there is a perfect way to give birth. This is just how my mindset was with this pregnancy and how I was planning and preparing for it.
To avoid the possibility of having an epidural unless absolutely necessary, I decided to use a midwife this time with my pregnancy. So when I found out I was pregnant, I called the midwife office. This experience was awesome! I did not have to cart several children through a hospital or to a doctor’s office. They had toys and books in their waiting room and my midwife was so great with the kids attending my appointments. Josh was a little apprehensive with this. We were so used to the medical system that giving birth using a midwife was different and he wasn’t sure about it, but he trusted me.
The pregnancy went well with no hiccups. I decided not to get the testing done this time because of the genetic testing experience with Jonah. We had the 20 week ultrasound which was interesting to book when you’re a homeschooling Mom of 5. We eventually found an appointment on a Saturday that I could attend in their window of availability and acceptable weeks for the measurements. We were able to have a few ultrasounds in the midwife’s office to check on baby and amniotic fluid and positioning and such. Everything was going just dandy with this pregnancy and I fully appreciate that!
The Birth Plan
Our family support system has changed over the past couple years. This was the first baby we have had since then and we were thinking through our plan for when it was time to give birth. My midwife had asked whether we were having a home birth and this question resonated with me. We have had several family friends who have had several successful home births, but again with growing up in a very medical society, people just give birth in hospitals. That’s just what is done. However, this time I told Josh that we should consider having a home birth. It would alleviate the need for someone to have to come and watch the kids while we left. Instead, we could all be at home. We did not have to leave while I am intensely in labour and then perhaps stall at the hospital which could lead to interventions. We would still have someone come over to help with the children during labour and delivery though. Josh was initially not on board with this, but over time he came around.
His fear was that he would need to deliver the baby or if something went wrong, we were not at the hospital. Once I explained how midwives assess situations and we would not be in that situation of being at home but needing to be in a hospital, it put his mind at ease. Before a red flag even has the chance of quivering, a midwife would be transferring us to a hospital; if something was thinking about going wrong. They are also highly trained in births and I trusted my midwife, her experience, and her expertise.
So now we were planning for a home birth with the hospital as an emergency resort. I also decided I wanted to try a water birth since I knew how intense labour can get and how relaxing water can be in these situations. We had also put a shower curtain on our bed in case my water broke on the bed again. I ordered an air pump on Amazon to help with blowing the birthing pool up and I purchased all the accessories we would need like a hose, plastic sheets, birth pads, etc. I baked snacks and meals ahead of time as well so Josh and I wouldn’t have to worry about cooking for the first couple days. The midwife had also asked if we could have foods available for her to make me a snack tray after baby came! Fruits, cheese, crackers, sandwich, granola bars, etc. I thought this was amazing! We were prepared for when baby decided to come.
When Will Baby Come?
My due date was January 3, 2025. In the weeks leading up to Christmas and my due date, Joshua, Jonathan, Josh and I played board games and card games each evening. Every time we were playing these games though I was getting contractions. Whether it was Braxton Hicks or just an evening thing I was not sure, but I really thought this baby was coming early. I had never experienced Braxton Hicks like these before. When baby did not come before Christmas, I thought for sure he or she was coming on New Year’s Day. When there was no baby on New Year’s Day I thought for sure he or she was coming on the due date. Well, this baby had other plans! At 41 weeks I thought I would get checked for progress. This was on a Thursday and I was barely 2 cm dilated and not effaced at all. This baby was cozy! I asked my midwife to do a little stretch and sweep to see if anything would come of it. That evening I experienced the typical contractions with our nightly board games but nothing else and nothing happened the next day either.
Now we were in a predicament. Josh had taken vacation over Christmas and after New Year’s before his parental leave would start. Since I was due January 3, we figured that he would go from his vacation to his parental leave no problem, but we were approaching the end of his vacation time and still no baby! Would he have to go back to work for a day in between? This was also another unique situation in that he was also changing roles. He finished his role as a Financial Advisor and was beginning his role as an Investment & Retirement Planner after his parental leave. He didn’t have a role to go back to for a day if this baby didn’t come. This was one reason I asked the midwife to try to speed things along because Tuesday was the last day of his vacation.
To get things moving I tried walking on the treadmill, walking laps of the house, going up and down stairs, stretching, doing the Miles Circuit, etc. Nothing was working. So, I just gave it up to God because clearly I am not in charge. Baby would come when they’re ready and we would figure out Josh’s vacation situation when the day comes.
The Birth
Then came Saturday, January 11. I had resigned to the fact that this baby was coming when he or she was good and ready. We began our day with a game of Catan and I was getting the typical Braxton Hicks contractions. I remember at 7:30 am I was getting breakfast and I felt a different contraction this time. I thought, “Hmmm, maybe this is something,” but decided to ignore it. Even if I was going into labour today, nothing would be happening until evenings because these things take time. I also remember Josh praying at the breakfast table for “this baby to be born immediately.” He obviously knew something was going on even though I thought I was hiding things well. From 7:30 am to about 12:30 pm, I had infrequent contractions that would be spaced apart by 15 minutes and then 45 minutes and then 30 minutes. So, if something was happening, it would be a while yet since nothing was regular or consistent.
Around 12:30 pm, I was getting a pain in the middle of my low back. Just a dull ache, so I went over to the couch and was stretching on the floor to try to move my pelvis in ways that would alleviate this ache. It wasn’t working. So I decided to go take a shower and let the water beat on my back in this spot to relieve some discomfort. At this point, I was not in any pain. The contractions were growing in intensity but I would say they were similar to uncomfortable period cramps or indigestion. I remember Josh asked me if he should call the midwife when I went into the shower and I said no. Nothing regular was happening, nothing intense was happening, nothing uncomfortable was happening so we definitely were not there yet. I was thinking of all the birth vlogs I had watched that instructed people to call when they couldn’t laugh anymore and I was not at that point. I was thinking back to my inductions and previous births and I wasn’t even at the discomfort of asking for an epidural or anything of the sort.
Josh had also called his mom around this time to let her know that today would most likely be the day that baby comes. She was out of town, but once their visit was done they would be on their way home so she could come over to our house to help with the kids.
So around 1:00 pm I went up to the shower. In the shower, things progressed. For around 20 minutes, things were fine and I was just letting the shower beat on my low back and it felt great, but then things started to change. The contractions became intense to where I would call a midwife now, but I also felt like I just needed to use the bathroom. So, I decided to get out of the shower and sit on the toilet.
Jordanna came into the bathroom at this point. I think my guardian angel sent for her because I was too focused to call out for Josh. She was just coming to check on me and I asked her to go get Josh. This was around 1:30 pm. When Josh came upstairs I remember telling him I felt like I was going to throw up and pass out at the same time. He called Joshua upstairs and asked him to get a bowl for me, to put a movie on downstairs and that he is in charge until Grandma gets here.
This is when things happened! Upon standing up to lay down, I felt the most intense pressure! My water broke and baby was crowning in one fell swoop. I had to look up the number for the midwife and Josh called the midwife. It went to voicemail. Baby was coming! On the voicemail (which was the most professional, business-style voicemail I have ever heard) he told the midwife that he was pretty sure the baby was on its way. In the background you can hear me saying, “like now!” His voicemail was so calm that the midwife didn’t think things were that intense until she heard me in the background at the end. It took a minute for the midwife to call Josh back. Then she called my phone. In that minute or two, baby was born!
After Baby Was Born
We unintentionally had a “free birth”. I think that is what it is called. Josh delivered the baby and put baby on my chest which is when he announced that we had another baby girl! I was in shock! Another girl! No way! This was when my phone rang. It was the midwife checking in, giving us next steps, and laughing with us. I told her that baby was born and on my chest. We got towels and placed them on her and we just laid there on the floor of the bathroom in shock of what just happened.
Josh’s thought, aside from the wonder of his daughter being born was, “thank goodness I wore shoes!” If you know Josh then you know he is not a fan of bodily fluids so experiencing that in his socks would have made him want to throw up I’m sure, but the fact that he had his shoes on allowed him to go into action mode. He was ready to put a bread clip on the umbilical cord. I told him to calm down. I educated him a little on the fact that baby can stay attached to the umbilical cord for a while and everything is okay. My midwife was still on the phone, found this hilarious, and while she was getting ready to head over to the house she was was also going to call around to see if any of the other midwives were closer.
Talk about a God moment. At that exact time, a midwife happened to be driving through our village and was a minute up the road. She arrived at the house and was in the bathroom in less than 5 minutes! She was amazed at what took place. The placenta took a while to detach and I did need a shot of Oxytocin, which I am not sure if it did anything because I did not feel any more contractions. It eventually detached and I decided to take a quick shower before heading for my bed. Thank goodness we did not have her on the bed because the plastic sheets would not have saved our mattress or carpet that’s for sure!
Once I was cozy and in bed and Jorja was nursing, I finally had the chance to recount everything that had just happened in the previous hour. I had a baby! She was delivered in one minute. My transition period of labour was so fast!. It was interesting trying to get the timeframe for their paperwork. When my midwife asked why we didn’t call sooner I had told her that I was waiting for it to get painful or intense. That wasn’t until around 5 minutes before she was born! We all had a good laugh over the events. Jorja weighed 9 lbs 2 oz! My biggest baby by far by around a whole pound! She is amazing though! She has been a happy and content baby since she was born. She didn’t cry after she was born and was breathing just fine.
She did start to turn a tad yellow within her first 24 hours. I do not know whether it is blood incompatibility or that my babies, except for Joseph, do not seem to catch on well to nursing until around 3 months old. Her initial bilirubin levels were high and I had to go to the hospital the next day to have her tested again. I have had two previous babies who needed days worth of phototherapy because of blood incompatibility and we were not sure if this would be the case this time. We were not getting her blood results back in a timely manner. Even when I went to the hospital to test her, the tests were not coming back quickly and the longer she went without phototherapy the higher her levels could be. I agreed to just have her admitted as a precautionary treatment. The bilirubin test results were delayed a number of times and the experience I had was not the best. I even had a nurse get rude with me because I wanted to nurse Jorja while she squeezed the blood from her foot for the bilirubin test while mocking midwives. It was extremely frustrating! The positive note is that I was able to watch a documentary on Sister Clare Crockett since I had lots of time on my hands in the hospital and it was amazing!! That was during the night and my night nurse was amazing! She brought me snacks during the night knowing I was nursing, pumping, and having one heck of a day. I really appreciated this nurse! After all that, it turns out I did not need to do the phototherapy. Her blood was not incompatible with mine and she may have just had some newborn jaundice going on since she wasn’t nursing well yet. With Jorja receiving the phototherapy, her chances of developing jaundice were greatly diminished now so that was a positive!
My home birth was so amazing! I loved that I was able to relax in bed the rest of the day, focusing on myself and Jorja. We were recovering from birth and establishing a nursing rhythm. My body was extremely sore after this birth because of the fetal ejection reflex and my body birthed her so quickly that I felt like I had pulled several internal core and pelvic muscles. Perhaps they just hadn’t been used in a while and weren’t happy about it, but that was the toughest part of this birth and of course having to stay one night in the hospital. I was happy with myself that I had birthed Jorja the way I wanted to by trusting in God’s design.
It sounds weird but aside from watching birth vlogs, the only way I prepared myself for this birth was knowing that God designed my body to give birth and I was going to listen to it. The discomfort I may feel may be intense but will not last forever and will end eventually. That mindset seemed to work because when I was feeling discomfort in the shower, I just moved and did what felt good for my body. When I went to the toilet, I actually sat backwards on it to rest my head on the back tank. When I had a contraction, I focused on long, controlled breathing, and relaxing my muscles with the breathing. That seemed to work because Jorja was born in less than 10 minutes from when things got intense.
My midwife has now kindly requested that I call her when my contractions begin in the future. We can have tea and play Catan, but she would prefer to be here next time!
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