My Home Birth Story!

Well, if you’ve been following me for some time then you know I have been planning a home birth for quite some time. I always wanted to have one but was terrified because with my 1st I got preeclampsia. Not only that but I had an epidural with both of my other kids. So that was going to be a big change, but i knew when I got pregnant with baby number 3 I wanted to experience it if possible. I got the okay from my ob (you technically don’t need an okay from your on to transfer but I didn’t want to do it unless it was safe) I was 20+ weeks before I transferred from my OB to a midwife.

I was so nervous but yet feel so empowered already. To be in the comfort of your own home and to have my other kids there was just something I knew had to happen. Little did I know, being in my own home would make labor go so fast I wouldn’t have time to do anything I planned on doing….

It started on Sunday October 3rd. I felt a little crampy that day but no contractions, until that night. I was having some but nothing consistent enough to be labor. They were definitely painful though. So that continued during the night. I had my midwife appointment at 10am on Monday October 4th, I was having contractions and they were getting closer together and more intense. I definitely wasn’t planning on having a baby that day but I left the appointment and got home around 11am.. still having contractions.

I was texting my midwife and doula in between contractions to let them know what was going on. Around 11:45am/12pm I started losing my mucus plug. At first it wasn’t bloody or anything so I wasn’t sure if this was the real deal or if my body was just preparing, I knew either way she was coming within the next few days.

Well, I basically sat on the toilet for about 20-30 minutes because mucus plug was just non stop coming. Then it was bloody and I knew it was time because the contractions picked up so fast and we’re only minutes apart and pretty painful. I text my midwife and doula and said it’s time. I asked my husband to fill up birthing pool, and I just took in the contractions. My husband had to leave to get my daughter from school (what a great time to decide to come amiya)

About 5 minutes after he left my midwife came, thank goodness. She checked me and i was 8-9cm ALREADY!!! In just 2 hours I went from a 4 to a 9 basically. I was so afraid my husband and daughter we’re going to miss the birth. It went so fast my doula was still on her way so I got no pictures which still makes me so incredibly sad but baby girl just decided it was time and she wasn’t waiting. I was laying on my couch while my midwife checked me and then they went to get my bed ready because no way we’re we going to have time to fill up the pool with water. This baby was COMING!

My husband got home from getting my daughter at 1:23 and at that time I was moving from my couch to my bed. I walked to my room having contractions non stop and just breathing through them. DJ was with me as well but thankfully dad was there because both of the kids we’re like “omg I do not want to see blood” LOL.

So, I get on my bed on all 4 and I’m just breathing through these intense painful contractions and I just knew she was coming out. The position i was in, I didn’t even push. My water broke after only 10 minutes of being on my bed and then I felt A TON of pressure. I knew she was sliding right out. So there she comes right after my water broke. (Which my water has never broken on it’s own with any of my kids so that was pretty cool)

There comes my sweet baby girl. Amiya Rose. Born October 4th at 1:41pm on my bed. Most incredible experience I’ve ever had. Even though it went nothing as planned, it was just magical. Both of my older kids got to watch her come into this world as well as my husband of course and I just LOVE that! Aubrey was so excited to have a little sister and the fact she got to watch her come into this world is something she nor I will ever forget.

I had to push with both of my older ones. Aubrey I pushed 4 times and DJ 3 times so not even having to push was pretty crazy. It’s insane the things our bodies are capable of. Once I had her though.. things got pretty scary pretty fast. I actually had COVID at 33 weeks pregnant and after I had her my bleeding wouldn’t stop. A lot of midwives have noticed women who get COVID in the 3rd trimester bleed a lot more during delivery.

So, As I’m holding my brand new baby girl I’m just bleeding out basically and ended up hemorrhaging. They gave me shots of Pitocin to contract my uterus and some nasty liquid to stop bleeding from hemorrhaging (it was so gross) but no matter what they did I was bleeding. Well they went to set me up a bit more in the bed to feed baby girl and all the blood loss got to me. I passed out for almost a minute….

It honestly felt like I was in another world. I can’t explain the feeling but I did feel like I had died and came back. I remember finally waking up to “CHEYENNE CHEYENNE CHEYENNE” and it hit me. This is SERIOUS. My husband had already called 911. They got there pretty quick and hauled me off to the hospital. The ride there felt like forever.. My husband met me there. They had to hook me up to fluids and all kinds of stuff. They had the push so very hard on my stomach and it was more painful then the contractions. They had to get all the blood clots out..

After awhile I felt pretty good or so I thought. So I asked for some food. They brought me a PB & J while I waited to order some food from the cafeteria. I took about 3 bites and then I just threw up everywhere. I am assuming all the medication that was pumped in my body wasn’t agreeing with this food. I threw up about 6 times and obviously had to shower then.. so the nurses helped me to the bathroom. I am also anemic so I’m already freezing and the water wouldn’t get warm. So I’m taking a cold shower basically. Well the walk to the bathroom got me and my body was like NOPE. You lost to much blood.. I was so close to passing out again.

I was freezing, then I got really really hot (in the shower which didn’t make sense since it was cold) and I almost passed out. They were checking my blood to see my hemoglobin levels often and it was a 7. It’s suppose to be a 14-16. So I lost A LOT of blood. Which was pretty terrifying. I’m so thankful for my midwives and them being there for me. After that, I just relaxed in bed and drank a lot of water. They almost gave me a blood transfusion but they didn’t think it was necessary. They just told me to rest. They moved me to a postpartum room and after that I felt pretty good.

I definitely still took it easy, but I was able to get up, go to the bathroom, finally eat something and hold it down, baby girl was latching on perfect. My husband had to leave to be with the bigger kids because we didn’t have anyone to watch them overnight, so my best friend Kate came and stayed with me. (So grateful for this girl because otherwise dom would have had to take baby girl home with him since she technically wasn’t a patient)

They decided to keep me overnight just to make sure the bleeding calmed down and stayed calmed down and thank the lord it did. I was put on bed rest for at least a week (really hard to do when you have a newborn and two other kids) Dom was of course off work which made that a little easier. They discharged me at 8am!!! I couldn’t wait to go home to my babies. They just wanted to love on baby sister and I just wanted to be in the comfort of my own home. Hence why I choose to have a home birth.

Motherhood. Nothing ever really goes as planned. I’m just so grateful i’m here for my babies. I’m grateful God was looking out for me. I’m grateful to my midwives, to the paramedics, to my husband. It could have ended so differently. I’ve never experienced anything like that.

I wouldn’t choose a hospital birth over my home birth even though nothing went as planned. It was absolutely amazing being at home, recovering at home. I honestly didn’t feel like I had a baby besides the after birth cramps. Those are painful but I felt good, if I ever have another I’d want a home birth again. The pain, the chaos after, it was all so worth it. My baby is healthy, I’m healthy. I am taking hema-plex for 6 weeks to get my levels back where they need to be.

If you are planning a home birth just remember not everything goes as planned, if it does you are blessed. Even though mine was the complete opposite of what I envisioned I’m grateful to have the chance, to be able to tell her when she gets older that she was born on my bed and her big brother and sister got to watch. Listen to your body. Prepare yourself for things not going as planned. I never imagined that would happen to me, but it did and I’m grateful for how it was dealt with.

My biggest tip if you plan to have a home birth is RESEARCH. I feel like I was so in tune with my body being at home and I just knew what I had to do and what was happening. It sounds so overwhelming at first but I promise it’s SO SO WORTH IT!!!

I DID IT! I HAD A HOME BIRTH AND NOTHING CAN TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!

Xoxo until next time, Cheyenne.