Salli's Note: Traveling 2 1/2 Hours to Laredo was worth it for this homebirth!
Living in Laredo, we don't have as many options for having a baby that we did in Houston. Rob and I enjoyed our experience with using a Midwife when we had our first baby, Bobby, that we wanted to re-create the same experience. We found the Midwives in San Antonio and decided to use them. I had no intention of doing a home birth, but we decided to mainly out of convenience!! Ha ha! This way, I wouldn't have to drive 2.5 hours to San Antonio while in Labor. No thank you! Surprisingly, I had almost no fears about doing a home birth.
With my first Ultrasound around 6 weeks, my estimated due date was Oct. 5. Then when I had the big 20 week U/S, I was told she may be due on Oct. 11. But we went ahead and planned for Oct. 5, since the first U/S is more accurate. Well...Oct. 5...6...7...8...came and went. I was feeling frustrated, because I wasn't very dilated and I was anxious to get the show on the road!! I walked, 'worked out' at G7 (squats and the rowing machine), ate pineapple and spicy foods, drank some 'pregnancy' tea, pumped... you name it. Finally, Lily decided to come on Sat., Oct. 9, three days before her big brother's birthday!
On the early morning of Oct. 9, when I woke to go to the bathroom around 1ish and 3ish, I thought I felt some contractions, but then I fell back asleep. When I woke around 5:30ish, I felt some more. They felt different then the braxton hicks, and I vaguely thought they felt similar to how Bobby's labor was. So I decided to make myself stay awake to monitor the contractions. They were coming pretty steady, about 15 minutes apart. I let Rob sleep, but around 6ish, I texted my twin sister Casey to tell her I thought I might be in labor. Around 7 am, I woke Rob up and I called my midwife, Salli. She said it sounded like labor, and to call her in an hour. I did, and Salli told me that she and the other 3 midwives were getting their things together and would be on their way soon. (They were coming from San Antonio, 2-2.5 hours away)
Meanwhile, I took a shower, dried my hair, and started straightening up the room we would labor in. (Don't worry, it was clean and ready to go, I just was picking up the clutter! :) ) I am so thankful for my in-laws, as they were able to be with Bobby. I think Bobby knew something was up, because he was being so sweet to me, saying 'Hi Mama', and giving me big hugs. :)
All the while I was still having contractions, and they were getting closer together and more intense. The midwives were finally on their way around 9:30ish. We had a birthing tub in the room that needed to be filled with water, so Rob was busy trying to figure out the hose attachment that we had bought....long story short, it didn't work with our faucet, so he had to fill the tub using his muscles and a bucket!!
Again, I am so thankful for my inlaws! My mother-in-law, Aida, helped Rob fill the last half of the tub up. So, in between contractions, which were coming anywhere from 4-10 minutes apart (they were kind of sporadic, but that's how they were with Bobby, too) I'm watching this, putting water on the stove to boil in case we ran out of hot water (this made me laugh, since that is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a home birth...boiling water and clean towels... ), making sure Bobby was ok, checking my Facebook, texting with my sister, Casey, and chatting with friends on G-chat. Crazy...I know! But I had to do something to take my mind off of the labor part!!
Finally, I knew we were getting close, because the contractions were getting more and more intense, ranging from 4-6 minutes apart now, and I thought I felt the urge to push. My biggest fear was that the midwives would come, and I would only be 4 cm dilated or something. So when I felt like pushing, I was actually relieved...it was almost over! I called Salli, who said they were 5-10 minutes away. Phew!
Once the tub was full, it was just me and Rob in the room. About the tub...I had no intentions of doing a water birth what-so-ever. Never wanted to. It made me nervous, Lily being born in water. But I agreed to have the tub because I remembered how much the water relaxed me with Bobby. So, I climbed in had maybe one contraction, then the midwives came. As they were setting up, I said " I think she is coming soon". They agreed, and continued to set up. I had one or 2 more tough contractions, which were now coming as back labor. Salli checked me, and said I was fully dilated. My water still hadn't broken yet. Because of my back labor, it helped to have some pressure on my lower back during a contraction, which was difficult to accomplish while I was sitting down in a tub. To make it easier, I sort of knelt down on my knees to allow easier access to my back. I told them I felt like I needed to push. I was told to push if I felt like I needed to. I am foggy on the time, but Rob said I pushed for maybe 15-20 minutes. During one push, my water finally broke, and even though I was in water, it was still a weird feeling! I think it was one or 2 more pushes after that and out Lilliana came!! It was the craziest thing. She came rushing out, and they said "Grab her!".
Holding his daughter for the first time!
I grabbed Lily, and brought her out of the water and held her close. She was purple, and not crying. I remembered I kept saying "she's not crying!", but they assured me that water babies are calm right after birth, and not even 10 seconds later, she started crying. Sigh...it was over! I was so relieved! The midwives hadn't even been at the house for an hour, that's how fast she came!! The labor part wasn't as long or intense as it was with Bobby, but for some reason, the pushing part was harder for me. I didn't remember any of my breathing until the very end, so I think that may have been why. Overall, Rob and I had a great experience with doing a home birth. Salli and the other midwives were awesome and so encouraging.
Weighing little Lily...8lbs even!
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