Sumiko's Homebirth Story - The Badass Breastfeeder

by Badass Sumiko

Well… I’m finally getting around to it, er rather, my milk came in which is helping both babies sleep a bit better so I can have a moment to focus.

I had a baby last Thursday, which also happens to be hubbies birthday… probably not going to be able to top this years gift!

At 40 weeks + 4 days, I was super antsy to meet our new little. While I was ready to go another 3 months, I really thought we would meet somewhere between 38 and 39 weeks, as this is our second child, and lil’ Mr#1 arrived at 39 weeks (home birth, 6 hrs total). I was actually contemplating asking my midwife to strip my membranes to help avoid anything needing a hospital visit. Babe had been in perfect positioning since at least 35 weeks, and otherwise right on cue with everything else, so instead, I just upped my pineapple intake and tried to trust my body. A kicker… since very early in my pregnancy, I’ve had thoughts/visions/daydreams of laboring while it rained, but then nothing had happened during the recent rainstorms, and there was no rain in the forecast.

For Hubbs’ birthday dinner, he wanted to go to a local family friendly sports bar to have a burger and beer. Simple enough, and in walking distance. He also requested (well, told me after I badgered him too much) a chocolate cake, which of course I’ve never tackled a from scratch chocolate cake for some reason (I don’t even have cake pans, which if you know me well enough, is preposterous). So, of course I had to go overboard and make an über chocolaty tower of delicious, covered in gnache. I only include this part, because 1. Chocolate, and 2. It was my main re-energizer after the fact.

After hubbs got home from work, we walked with Lil’ Mr the few blocks to the restaurant and proceeded to devour a tower of meat, cheese and condiments. On our way back home… it started to sprinkle!

We continued our toddler-centric evening routine at home, finishing up with me nursing him to sleep in his bed. While there, I’m feeling contractions, bigger than the braxton hicks I had been having for at least a month or two. And then… I feel a small pop, and I knew it was my water breaking. I stayed where I was for about 10 more minutes cause I really needed Lil’ Mr asleep for this, he had not napped and had a later than usual evening… not something I want hubbs or I to have to redirect focus towards. With toddler asleep, I roll out and let hubbs know to take our dog to the neighbors house. I call our midwife while he’s out, and she just so happens to be in town, about 10 minutes away, instead of at home, which is about a 45 minutes drive. Sweet!

With hubbs back, he starts timing contractions, which are fast progressing, and getting more intense, so I get into the shower for some hot water relief. Directing the hot water onto my lower abdomen really helped get through… that, and the deep growling/mooing as suggested by Ina May . At some point, my midwife arrived, set up, and checked mine and babies heart rates… all good, and my contractions were really amping up. She closes the shower door so I can get under the hot water and at that point, my waters seriously exploded. What was once a slow trickle, and a ton of pressure was a giant splat that scared the hell out of me. Midwife checks me, says the head is on its way and that I need to start really pushing with the contractions. I step out of the shower, grab a hold of sweet hubs and have a knee buckling contraction. I push, and I can feel a head down there… not out, but definitely there. I keep pushing through to the end of another contraction and I can feel a body. I remember thinking to myself, “weird, I don’t remember feeling Lil Mr.’s whole body last time” (though with him, I ended up choosing to lay on my back through a lot of pushing). One or two or three (???) more big pushes, a ton of encouragement from my midwife, and so much strength given to me by hubbs, (who was not only holding me up in a standing position, but also the pressure of me pushing against him to help me push) and baby is earthside!

I’m handed the bundle, receiving blanket over, and I’m walked over to our bed to relax a bit while I re energize to deliver the placenta. Whew! That was fast! New little is warm and gooey and ready to nurse. Latches on and starts nursing like a champ… nurses right through me delivering the placenta.

Perfect timing for a toddler to enter the scene! He’s excited and happy to see our Midwife, and curious about the baby. He didn’t want to help cut the cord though… so Daddy took the honors again. Speaking of cord… I’m told the approx 4 ft (!!!) Of umbilical cord is the longest our midwife has ever seen… no wonder it took so long for it to collapse before being cut!