Lucas' Birth story
Let me start by saying I had so many people who were hesitant or against us doing a home birth because they believed it wasn't "safe". After it's all said and done, it's just as safe as being in the hospital for non high risk pregnancies. I would do this again in a heart beat! Home birth is not for everyone and I don't dog on anyone for how they choose to bring their child into the world. Everyone deserves to have a great birth experience and this birth was just that, GREAT! Shout out to Lenny Sue at Alpine Midwifery for being amazing support through it all!
Weeks leading up to Lucas' birth, I had SEVERAL days of prodromal labor and it felt like this baby boy was never going to come out! We were completely shocked when we went past his due date to 41 weeks, exactly! I felt so bad because even my parents flew in the week before my due date to help only to find out he wasn't coming until after they flew back home. :(
The morning of 10/09/2022 around 5:15AM I woke up to a few strong contractions. I didn't think much of it because of all the prodromal stuff I've had up to this point. Plus it was emotionally exhausting thinking he was coming every time I had a contraction so I gave up thinking that. lol Anywho- I went and grabbed Meredith ( she was teething and wanted cuddles) and brought her back into bed with me. Had a few more contractions that were a bit uncomfy so I asked my husband, Jake, to take Meredith from me. I got up and tried to walk to the kitchen for some decaf coffee. That's when I realized I couldn't walk through contractions very well and knew it was the real deal.. I actually started laughing at myself every time I braced for the wall through a contraction.
It's about 7am now and Jake called the midwife and she said I was most likely in labor and that they would start to head this way. Both midwives were little over an hour or so away so we wanted to give them plenty of time to get there. Contractions were getting quite stronger and closer at this point. Jake filled the pool and called his sister Jenny to come get the girls.
It was about 7:45 or so when she picked them up and I remember trying to stay moving and use the birthing ball. I don't really remember jenny coming into the house, honestly. Being hunched over on the ball seemed to be the most helpful position for me as I breathed through contractions. 8:10AM or so I decided to get into the pool set up in our living room and a few mins after that one midwife came in. She took my vitals, listened to baby's heartbeat and asked if I wanted to be checked. In comes second midwife!
8:30 ish I said yes to being checked but I was NOT getting out of the water. It felt heavenly during contractions and was so relaxing (as much as you can relax while in labor). I sat up and leaned against the pool. After a contraction she checked me and his head was right there!! She said I had a bit of a swollen lip though and needed to push it out of the way during a contraction so that his head could come down easier. Talk about painful!! Shortly after that I flipped back to my stomach. leaned over the pool and kicked my legs out behind me. I felt like I was floating in the water. My contractions slowed and spaced a bit. I felt like I was getting a break finally only to puke a few times at 9:15. Immediately after that I started pushing and changed positions again. I was trying to rush and shove him out of course (lol) but that's when Lenny Sue told me to breathe and pace myself, my body will thank me after. I didn't want to in the moment but my recovery was so much easier because of that!
His head was almost out and I could feel him turning both inside and out of my body. It was the freakiest thing ever and I didn't like that. At 9:40AM he came out! I grabbed him and tried to pull him to my chest but the cord was wrapped around his neck. Sitting down in the pool, I had to pull my hips up so he could stay out of the water and then we were able to unwrap the cord.
What seemed like forever, he began to whimper and cry. I didn't know water babies especially, take longer to cry more so than at a hospital because doctors/ nurses suck the mucus out immediately (making them cry faster). After I knew he was ok, the photographer in me came out and I asked her to take pictures. (lol!) They laughed and enjoyed taking them for a bit while we admired Lucas in my arms.
Then it was time to cut the cord and jump out of the water. Both midwives stayed and monitored us for a few hours. They cleaned everything up and left us with the rest of the day to snuggle our little (big) boy! The rest is history! :)
Lucas Adam Olsen
Born at Home on 10/09/2022 at 9:40am
10 pounds 3 ounces
22.5 inches long