Jediah’s Birth Story

Our new little guy has arrived and I’m so excited to share his birth story!

As some of you may know, this time my husband and I opted for a home birth! I have been interested in the option of a home birth since before Tobias was born but was unable to pursue that route last time due to high-risk complications. I was excited about the chance this go around and quickly started looking for a midwife in our area! We got a recommendation on a midwife from a friend and after meeting with her, felt like it was not only a great option for us, but also more of the type of experience we were hoping for! 

To read about my thoughts on my prenatal care with our midwife, click here.

With our firstborn, I was induced at 40 weeks and 3 days. Despite being induced, (which can result in longer labors) I was blessed with a quick and smooth 6 hour natural labor. I felt pretty lucky! My OBGYN had commented on how fast it was and guessed my next delivery would be even faster! 

She was right!

On Friday morning, February 7th (our due date) I noticed a little blood when I used the restroom. This continued on and off throughout the day and I alerted my midwife just to keep her posted. She replied, “could be hours, days or weeks!” My husband had guessed our baby would arrive the 10th and I had guessed the 11th or 12th. “Maybe my body is simply getting ready to deliver our baby within a few days!” I thought. I didn’t really think we’d be holding our little guy that same night! 

That day we were all taking it easy. Andrew had been home sick since Wednesday with some bug and we all had differing symptoms. Poor Andrew had it the worst and I was desperately trying to prevent Tobias or me from getting worse or getting whatever it was that Andrew had! I quarantined Andrew to the master bedroom to rest, recover and keep the germs as contained as possible! Meanwhile, Tobias and I stayed our distance, took our vitamins and tried to stay as healthy as possible since our new baby could arrive at any time! 

That afternoon Andrew joined us in the family room to watch Cinderella. During the movie I had two contractions that felt different than the Braxton Hicks contractions I was used to. These were more crampy and reminded me of the early contractions I had started to feel after being induced with Tobias. As any pregnant woman knows, after 36 weeks or so, any unusual pain or feeling immediately makes you wonder if something is up and I was no exception! However, I quickly brushed it off. There were only two slight contraction-like instances and they seemingly disappeared.

But by the time 6:00 rolled around, I realized they hadn’t left, but were continuing! I knew something was up and figured this baby would be making his grand entrance late that night or sometime the following day! I texted my midwife again to let her know I was now having contractions.

I felt terribly unprepared to have a baby despite the fact that I should have been ready…it was my due date after all! But having a virus in the house that week seemed to put me even further behind than I already was! I could feel myself start to get slightly anxious as I thought of everything I needed to accomplish before our baby arrived! I put some dinner on the stove to cook and got busy picking up toys and tidying the house! At one point, I remember realizing this was the “real deal” when I had to stop cleaning, lean over the couch with my head in my hands and sway back and forth until the contraction subsided. Then I continued hitting it hard at getting ready! I put Tobias to bed early (around 7:00pm) because by then it was getting difficult to carry him around through contractions and I needed the freedom to finish my to-do list! I was able to strip our bed sheets and throw them in the wash, wipe down and sanitize our bedroom, clean out the litter box, fold some laundry and tidy our room/bathroom before I realized my contractions were getting to be fairly close together. “I should probably sit down and be timing these!” I thought! 

Up until this point, Andrew had been on the couch with his head under a blanket with a headache and lingering stomachache. I had told him that I was experiencing some contractions, but later found out he thought I had only meant Braxton Hicks contractions! Poor communication on my part! Once he realized I was in labor he also hit it into high gear and started airing up the tub! 

By this time I was no help and sat on the floor as I timed contractions and continued communicating with my midwife. My mom arrived at our house and quickly made herself helpful by doing my dishes and helping finish fold laundry. (Looking back, I realize that the house didn’t need to be perfect and all my chores done, but I felt strongly about not having a long to-do list of housework after having our baby! So thanks mom!)

It wasn’t long before I told Andrew that we should probably start filling the tub with water. My contractions were close together and each one was stronger than the last! “How soon do you want to get in the tub?” Andrew asked as the water started pooling at the bottom. I replied, “As soon as possible!”

I had him text our midwife to ask how far away she was and to alert her that I felt like I needed to push soon! Fortunately, she was only about 10 minutes away! I went ahead and got in the tub although there was probably less than a foot of water. Both Andrew and my mom were coming to and from the kitchen, dumping pots of warm water into the tub in an effort to fill it faster. It wasn’t long after our midwife arrived that I had to tell Andrew, “You may want to stay in here now!” I didn’t want him missing our son’s birth while filling pots with water in the kitchen! 

About that time, my water broke with a forceful pop and by the following contraction, I knew it was time to push! 

I felt my body start pushing on its own and joined in the effort! Unlike last time in the hospital, I had the freedom to labor in any position I wanted! Instead of laying still on my back, I was free to lean forward on my hands and knees in the tub. This position not only gave me the most relief, but also seemed to give me a better position for working WITH my body to push! 

As the contraction subsided, I reached down to feel our baby’s head. During my labor with Tobias, my doctor had encouraged me to feel his head but I remember feeling very weirded out by it. This time however, I felt much more mentally prepared and aware of the process. Feeling his head this time seemed to give me focus and determination! (and lots of encouragement!)

During the next contraction, his head came. By the following contraction, the rest of his body came too!

I felt so relieved physically and mentally and quickly leaned back against the side of the inflatable tub! My midwife laid him on my chest and I let out a big sigh as I relaxed and began studying our son’s little features! 

Jediah James was born Friday, February 7th at 9:06pm!

He weighed 6lbs. 14oz. and was 21” long!

My favorite part of having a home birth started after Jediah was born! I had envisioned being able to sit in the tub and enjoy the relief from the water during my contractions, but because it happened so quickly, I feel like I just used the tub to deliver-not really labor. However, after delivering Jediah, I was able to sit in the warm water and relax with my new baby on my chest. It only took a few minutes till Jediah was looking to nurse so we stayed put in the warmth of the water while he had his first meal!
Another favorite part of our experience was how it worked out so well with Tobias! My mom woke him up and brought him into our bedroom to meet his new brother! Not being one to wake up quickly or happily, Tobias looked grumpy and very unsure of what was happening when they came into the room. He pointed out the door to the living room and asked my mom to carry him back out there! But after just a few minutes, he was more awake and ready to come back in and see what was going on! This time he noticed the baby and was interested in meeting his brother! After that, he was excited and energetic running around the tub and leaning against the side to get a better view! The rest of the night, he would run out to the living room to see his grandparents, aunts and uncles and then run back in to our room to see the baby! I believe it made for a much more relaxed, less intimidating experience for Tobias to meet his brother!
After our midwife finished checking Jediah and cleaning me up, we were free to bring Jediah out to the living room to meet everyone! My dad, Andrew’s parents and some of his siblings came to see the newest family member! While we visited and showed him off, our midwife and her birth assistant drained the tub, cleaned and packed up their supplies.

By 11:30pm they were gone, our room back to normal and we were in our own bed ready to get some rest! Of course, after all the excitement and with a new little baby in my arms, sleep did not come easy and I maybe got an hour of sleep that night! 😉

It’s only been three weeks since we welcomed Jediah into our bedroom and our lives, but it’s already hard to picture life without him now! Tobias is loving his new brother and insists on checking on the baby while he sleeps, enjoys showing him toys and books and gives him kisses goodnight! ☺️

We are still behind on sleep, adjusting to life with a newborn and Tobias is still getting used to sharing his parents! But we are loving being a family of four and I’m so excited to watch our boys grow up together! 😊

–Jen