The Home/Water Birth of Ruby Jane

On Dec 1 and 2nd, we got 14 inches of snow overnight. Woke up and I thought “wouldn’t it be ironic if she came today, when the roads are bad?”

At 10:00 AM, on Friday Dec 2, 5 days after my Nov 27 “due” date, I noticed my water was leaking if moved a certain way. I called my midwife and let her know what was going on and she said not to worry, just make sure the fluid is clear and drink plenty of water because my body would be replenishing the fluid constantly. She also said to let her know when contractions start and she’ll be on standby until then.

The whole day went by and nothing happened but leaking fluids. I slept the whole night with fewer contractions than I’d been having the past 2 weeks. I was sort of frustrated wanting labor to begin. The next morning still nothing was going on and Tyler gave me a blessing to calm my nerves and give me peace. I know that if I were in a hospital, I’d be on a clock, so that bothered me a little bit. I called my midwife again that afternoon, now past the 24 hour mark of leaking fluids and she said she would come by and check vitals when she was in town at about 4:00 PM. She came over, said everything looked wonderful and that labor would begin when my body was ready and to have faith and let go of the doubts and fear. She also rubbed my legs with Cleary Sage Essential Oil, which could cause contractions if my body was ready and went home.

By 5:00, I was having labor contractions, although they were 10-15 min. apart. At about 6:00 they seemed closer so Emma started timing them for me and they stayed at a 5-8 min apart pattern for 2 hours. They were lasting about 30-45 seconds and a couple, even a minute long. So, at 8:00 I called my midwife just to let her know things were happening even though it was still early and she said since it was snowing, she’d head over now just to be safe and before it got any later. My parents came over and my dad took my kids home to sleep and my mom stayed to witness the birth.

My midwives, arrived at 9:00 and I was still having them consistently about every 5 minutes. They checked vitals and found I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced. We visited, looked at my maternity pictures on Facebook and hung out during contractions.

About 10:30 I realized they were becoming sharp and Tyler was timing them 2-3 min apart. I told him to fill up the Jacuzzi tub, because I was getting in! Once I was in, it relieved some of the pressure and weight and felt much better. They were still very painful of course, but I was able to relax. They continued and Tyler would push on my lower back through each one and then I would visit with him and the midwives in between. It was the joke that while I was having a contraction, all was silent and then as soon as it was over, I’d look up and finish the conversation where it left off. One of the midwives would say “and she’s back”. Ha.

They monitored the babies heart rate occasionally, during a contraction and in between, and it was always steady and doing beautifully. At somewhere around 12:30, I was checked, and I was now dilated to a 6. I felt the contractions one right after the other now and they were the dreaded transition contractions. I started to moan through them and barely got a breath between each one but after only about 15-20 min or so, I had a strong need to push during one of the contractions, and when I pushed, my water completely broke. Then, while waiting for the next contraction I asked the midwives if I could go ahead a push if I had the urge again. They said yes so on the next contraction, I had the undoubted feeling and need to push with all my strength so I yelled “I’m pushing!” and one of the midwifes felt really fast and said I was complete and I could keep pushing. Out came her head, right there in the water! It was 1:02 AM! I was so excited I almost forgot to finish pushing. I was touching her head and totally amazed. Next contraction came a couple minutes later and I pushed again and the rest of her body came almost floating out and I caught her and pulled her to my chest. She was very calm so I rubbed her feet and kissed her head and she started to cry and turn pink immediately. They gave me warm towels and I started right away to see if she would nurse. She latched right on and nursed the whole time I delivered the placenta.

Then I handed our new baby girl out to Tyler (placenta still attached and in a bag) and then I got out, cleaned off and got on the bed and held my baby again. I nursed her some more (she was a hungry little munch!!) and Tyler tied and cut the cord. I had just a “skid mark” which I always get, so no stitches needed. I was just slightly lightheaded off and on, but otherwise I felt great! This was an amazing birth and having her in the water was a dream! She weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Head was 13.5 inches. We chose the name Ruby Jane. Ruby is a name I loved since I was pregnant with Jacob, plus it is my birthstone, so in a way, she is named after me. Jane is one of Tyler's favorite girl names and we think it sounds cute with Ruby.



Right after getting out of the water





Right after getting weighed and dressed




After a couple hours of sleep (8 AM)