Long overdue Birth Story

Our sweet little Jayne Moriah was born Wednesday, November 23, at 12:58 a.m. She weighed about nine pounds and measured 20.5 inches long.


Her birth story is pretty brief. I had stayed home with five of our children who had gotten ill after our week of VBS (coughs, some with fever). I had experienced a few good, low contractions during the day, but at around 9 p.m. they seemed to suddenly get serious. I hurried the children to bed so I could labor quietly.

Hubby got home late, around 10 p.m., and found me relaxing in the tub. He started getting things ready while I got out and got ready for bed. I didn't know how long I had before she would be born, so I thought I might try to get some sleep. We both went to bed and slept from 11 to 12 a.m. I was only half-waking when the contractions came. Midnight was when I could not lie there anymore.


I paced a little, breathed through some contractions as I leaned against the wall, against the bed, on the bed on all fours, once propped up on pillows (hated that - it hurt my back), then went to the bathroom. While sitting on the toilet, my water broke (glorious moment!) and we knew her descent would be fast from that point.

I felt for her head, all wrinkled up. I stood up, and she crowned within a minute or two. Hubby knelt, ready to catch her. I supported her head with my hand, felt the incredible, involuntary urge to push, but tried to hold back just a little so I could ease her out. Just two pushes and her head was born. Another good push for the shoulder, and her body slid out into her daddy's hands!

HalleluYah!


She let out a cry just as she was born. The cord was rather short, so Daniel helped keep her close to my body while I sat down again and got a little situated to hold her. He put a towel over her, and we checked her over, suctioned a little mucus from her mouth and nose. The umbilical cord was pulsing beautifully, so we left it alone to do its job. She was looking around, blinking in the light, and soon started breathing on her own. I put her to breast - not interested yet.

We cleaned her up a bit, and Daniel got her clothes laid out while we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. Pretty soon I felt the placenta coming, so I stood again and he held a bowl under me to catch the placenta. By then, of course, the cord was not needed, so he clamped it about two inches from the baby and cut it with sterilized scissors we had ready.

I held her while he checked the placenta, which was whole and looked good. He also took note of my blood loss. Then he took her to clean her up and dress her, while I cleaned up in the birth pool. (I didn't labor in it much this time, but it still came in handy! No hot water in our upstairs bathroom.) It felt good to settle into bed to nurse our new little one, who was more than happy to latch on this time.

We are so excited and blessed that the Lord allowed us another healthy home birth and has given us this beautiful gift of a healthy baby! Thank You, Abba!