Jenna's Birth Story - Part 1

"Do not be afraid for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!
When you walk through the fire of oppression you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I AM the Lord your God."
Isaiah 40:1-3

Our sweet youngest daughter, Jenna Mae was born at home on February 25th, 2009 (Ash Wednesday) at about 9:45am. She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and measured 21 inches in length.

I will start by sharing that 5 years ago I would have laughed out loud at the thought of giving birth anywhere other than a hospital. I always thought homebirthing was the kind of thing done by granola mommies, you know, the kind who eat all organic, nurse ‘til their kids are three, and wear them in slings ‘til they are five. Nothing wrong with any of it, just not my thing, I thought. Well, funny how things change... I still don’t consider myself “crunchy” but I certainly have an appreciation for some of the things these Mommies do for the well-being of their children - whether those things are debatable or not. I don’t eat organic, nursing ‘til she’s 6 months seems like the ultimate accomplishment and I can’t put on a sling to save my life but I successfully birthed my child in the comfort of my home surrounded only by people who love me and support me. She was born in the water and in a such a gentle way, no bright hospital lights, no strange nurses and doctors storming in last minute with metal instruments and plastic gloves, no one telling me what to do or how to push, no one taking her away from me for any reason. I felt so respected, so empowered and so taken care of by God who really made his presence known to me throughout the entire process. I couldn’t have asked for a better labor experience and I am so glad I opened my mind enough to accept and embrace all that homebirthing has to offer.

Now, for her story...

The day before her birth (Tuesday) we went to Houston to see our midwife for our routine weekly apt. She said I was 2cm dilated, 80% effaced and predicted it would be another week before her birth. Jim had taken off work that day because Lucy woke up with a fever and not feeling well and I was feeling a bit off myself so he knew I could use the help. We took her to her pediatrician and found out she had strep throat. She started antibiotics but was still not feeling well that night. She woke us up around midnight crying and after not being able to soothe her we brought her to our bed. She fell asleep quickly but I couldn’t get comfortable. I figured it was because I wasn’t used to sleeping next to her so I laid on a sofa we have in our bedroom.

I tried to fall asleep but I was having contractions. I waited a while before telling Jim just to make sure they were real but around 2am I knew it was labor and I woke him to let him know. We decided to wait to call Jackie (midwife) so she could sleep as long as possible and be rested for the birth. The contractions felt productive and were strong but coming only every 10 minutes so I had plenty of time to recover in between. I was so excited about labor starting and to meet my little girl that I didn’t even stop to consider the enormity of what I was about to try to do at home. Jim went back to sleep and I was on my laptop emailing, reading blogs and listening to my labor CD (with headphones on).

The excitement wore off quickly as things started to get intense and after not too long Jim woke up to the sounds of the loud moaning I was having to do to get through each contraction. He jumped off the bed, asked what he needed to start doing and went off to work on things.

I was still in the sofa in our bedroom when I had the mother of all contractions followed by popping feelings and then a gush of water running out me. This contraction caught me by surprise and I was so loud that I couldn’t believe Lucy slept through it. I moved to the bathroom and had a moment of panic thinking things were happening too quickly (contractions were now coming about every 5 minutes). Thankfully, Jim came to reassure me and tell me I was going to be OK and that he knew I could do it. Once he calmed me down he called Jackie who jumped on her car and called 5 minutes later saying she was in the highway and would be over in about an hour and a half. She lives 90 miles away but we had no doubt she would make it on time and if not... well, Jim would have to do.

Around 7:30am, I moved to the living not to wake up Lucy who was still sleeping in our bed. I called my neighbor and friend S. who would be photographing the birth to let her know I was in labor. She came by to bring some Disney movies for Lucy and jokingly asked me not to have the baby until after 8:30am since she needed to drop her son at school. I promised I would keep my legs crossed :)

I had made a labor CD with some awesome worship songs but I knew from laboring with Lucy that music gets annoying quickly when I’m working hard so I wrote parts of the lyrics of the songs as well as some Bible verses I like on posters so I could read them when I needed it. Jim taped the posters all over the walls around me, brought me gatorade and massaged my back as the contractions kept coming stronger and closer together. Lucy was so sick that we knew we couldn’t send her to any of our friend’s houses so we called next door neighbor Stacey who dropped off her kids and skipped work for a while to come take care of Lucy. Everyone was on their way but not at the house yet and labor was coming strong. I tried to stay calm and focused but it was hard once Lucy woke up crying. I asked Jim to go be with her but he kept running (literally) back and forth between the two of us. It most have been quite a site to watch.

I was by myself on my hands and knees in the living room floor when I heard Jackie come in. It was probably close to 8am. I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life! I remember saying “please help me!” as she sat next to me and started massaging my back and reassuring me. Her hands felt so good but labor was too intense already and I asked her if I could get in the water. She said she was surprised I wasn’t in the water already and helped me walk to our bathroom while Jim brought Lucy out into the living room so she wouldn’t hear me. The warm water felt good and I was able to relax better knowing that both Lucy and I had someone with us. Jim came in to the bathroom shortly after and told me Stacey had arrived and was with Lucy. Not too long after that, I heard S. come in and start taking some pictures but I was in my own world by then and just vaguely aware of what was happening around me.

To be continued...