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 RYLEE'S STORY By Alexandra McCool
On August 5th 2008, my mom Jessica had a baby. In the early
morning my mom started having contractions! At 6:00am my mom called
Fran, her midwife. Fran got here around 7:00. After that my mom went
in the tub & sat there for a little while. A little later my dad
& my other sister, Brooklynn , came upstairs and woke me up. My
dad said that my mom was dilated to a 6! When I got downstairs I saw
my mom in the tub. A little later she got in the bed. Then my mom
started to have more contractions & felt the urge to push. She
didn't push very long. A few minutes later Rylee came out. Rylee had
pooped. Fran weighed Rylee & she is 8lbs & 14oz. Born at
8:14am. Well Rylee is doing really good. And that's Rylee's story.
THE END!!!
(Alex is Rylee's 9 year old sister, who was present at the birth.)
 The Birth of Kayori Reighlynn Wednesday morning I felt sick and
did not want to go to work, but I went anyways. I had no idea that I
would be having my baby. I was feeling like it would be at least 2 more
days. At 12:15pm I was sitting on the floor and I got a phone call
from my sister. She said "I take it your still pregnant since you
never called me back last night" and I said "yes, and I feel like
crap" She asked "have you had any more contractions?" and I said "not
really." We hung up and I stood up to put the phone away. I felt a
pop, and I was thinking oh thats not good, and I hurried to the
bathroom, then water started coming out. My water had broke. I ran
out of the bathroom to tell everyone. My water kept coming every few
minutes. I called James and told him the news. He was on his lunch at
home and was about to leave back to work. He was so excited. So he
called work and said he would not be coming back. I called my midwife
and she said she had an appointment at 2:30pm and was going to come
after that unless I felt the need for her to be there sooner. Amara's
birth was pretty long, so we thought we had a little while still. I
had no contractions for almost an hour. Then all the sudden they
started coming 8 minutes apart and were pretty painful. I tried to
call my midwife and found out that my internet and phone was not
working. So James had to leave me and Amara and go to my parents house
to get their cell phone. During that time my contractions switched to
5 minutes apart. James got back with the phone. I called my midwife
and she said she was on her way. My sister showed up right after
that. My contractions quickly went to 3 minutes apart. My midwife had
called back and told me a nurse was on her way over and would be here
shortly. My midwife also said we could start filling the pool with
buckets if I wanted to use it, because she had the hose. So my sister
started filling the pool. The nurse showed up maybe 20 minutes later.
The nurse wanted to check me to see how far I was, and I told her no.
I knew I was so close, but I did not want to know how close I was,
because I wanted my pool. It was getting hard to sit on the couch. I
kept feeling pressure. I kept thinking to myself, wait a little
longer. Then my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart so she told
me to go to the other couch and lay down so she could check me, so I
let her. It felt good to get up, but it was hard to sit down again. I
laid down and she said I only had a tiny lip left. I told her I wanted
to get in the water. She said it should be deep enough. It was almost
1 foot deep. I got in and felt better right away, although I wish it
could have been deeper. She checked me again and said the lip is still
there, and to just breath through the next few contractions. So
through my next 2 contractions I tried to just breath and let my body
push the baby down. That was a hard thing to do. I wanted to push so
bad, but I new I would tear. Then all the sudden I felt a burning and
alot of pressure and told her I had to push, and she said go for it.
After about 3 pushes she was out. I just held my baby for a few
minutes. We did not even know the sex yet. We then checked her, and
found out she was a girl. We were so happy. I tried to nurse her and
she was not interested yet, so I just held her. Then my contractions
started up again. After 2 of them I pushed the placenta out. Because
my midwife was not there yet we did not have the stuff to cut the
cord. About 5 minutes after the birth James got a shoe lace and some
scissors and the nurse cut the cord. My
midwife showed up about shortly after my baby was born. I had already
gotten out of the pool and was lying on the couch to see if I had
tore. My midwife looked at me and said I did not tear. I was so
happy. We then weighed and measured Kayori. She was 8lbs 1oz and
19.5" long. All the sudden I started having very bad contractions. I
kept pushing out huge clots and was losing alot of blood. My midwife
wanted to give me some pitocin and I said I wanted to wait and see if
it stopped. I nursed Kayori at this time. The clots kept getting
bigger. She checked me to see if I had any clots holding open my
cervix. She pushed on my stomach and got alot more clots and blood
out. She then told me she wanted me to have some pitocin, as I was
loosing to much blood. So I said ok. My contractions got to be alot
easier and I slowly stopped losing so much blood. My midwife wanted to
fix me a clean place to lay down and wanted me to try and go to the
bathroom. So James helped me walk to the bathroom. I sat on the
toilet and they cracked the door open to listen for me. I couldn't go
to the bathroom, but I wanted to try some more. Then the nurse came in
and told me to come lay down and I could try again in a minute. Then
all the sudden everyone was around me and asking if I was ok. I said I
am fine, and they said no you aren't. I was so confused. They were
putting cold water on my neck and face. And snapped that horrible
smelling stuff under my nose. I was finally awake enough to go lay
down. After I was feeling a little better my midwife and nurse decided
to leave for some dinner and so we could have some company. I was told
not to get up until they got back. When they got back I tried to go to
the bathroom again and couldn't. I got very dizzy again. They snapped
more of that stuff under my nose. They took me back to lie down. I
had been drinking lots of liquids since I had the baby and I was
finally starting to feel better. They decided to go home
around 10:15pm. I was told to walk as little as possible and to have
James right by my side. After they left I went to the bathroom again
and was actually able to go, and I did not get dizzy. Things started
getting better after that. James
(my boyfirend and the daddy), Amara (my 23 month old) and Kaila (my
sister) were by my side through the whole birth. Amara did so great.
I was really surprised. It was a great birth. It was everything I
wanted. I would definitely do another at home waterbirth. Thanks Fran. Jenny and James, Yakima  Mya's Birth StoryI knew since I was about age 12 that I wanted to have my children at home. My two youngest siblings were born at home in the water (a pool) and from my mom telling us how wonderful it was to have that experience in contrast with not-so-good experiences having myself and one other child in the hospital. I got to witness both home births of my moms.
My only fear going into a homebirth was that I would have to be transferred. I was terrified of needing to have a hospital birth for any reason - health complications, premature labor, being overdue, etc.
So, I started labor (I was so glad it happened within the window of time it should be, so I wouldn't be premature or overdue) and labor took a long time. It was start-and-stop for 2 days. Sometimes contractions would be 3-5 min apart, sometimes it would slow down to 15-30 min apart. Needless to say I didn't get hardly any sleep during that time, only 10 minutes here and there between contractions. But when active labor started and kept going, it was only about 4 hours from start to finish. There were no complications. I labored about 3 hours in the water and gave birth in the water, which felt SO good. The biggest difference I noticed was how easy it was to move around in the water as opposed to being out of the water. It must have been because the water supported me some. On the second-to-last contraction, I said "I feel good". I was surprised at this, and so was my birth team :) I had definitely expected there to be MUCH more pain and trouble.
A lot of my being able to cope with a long labor so well was because we took the Hypnobirthing class that Fran recommends. It taught me how to stay relaxed through every contraction and to let my body do the work it was made to do instead of being tense and fighting the process.
Fran and her birth assistant, Gloria, did a great job of cleaning everything up. Having a water birth meant there was less mess anyway, because most everything was contained in the pool. They are both very competent and have lots of experience. I trusted Fran would know if there was anything wrong and also that she wouldn't make me go to the hospital unless mine or my baby's life was in danger.
My recovery after the birth has been surprisingly smooth and quick! It's been one week and I only bled like a heavy period for about 4 days, then like a very light period since then. I think this partly had to do with the herbs that Fran had me taking for about a month prior to delivery. We stayed home until yesterday, when we went out to church. Today I had two small errands to run, and I am a little tired after that, but I thought for sure I was going to be "down and out" for several weeks after going through childbirth.
Letitia and Lyle, Kennewick
 Ilse's Birth Story (abridged version)
Because of some previous problems, this pregnancy generated more
concern and preoccupation. Fran offered the best care during troubling
times and uncertain issues. I had been to a doctor for a few weeks, and
I realized after coming back to Fran that the reason I didn't hit it
off with the nurses and doctors was that I was used to having a say in
my treatment and working with my practitioner and the doctor was used
to being the consulted expert. I was very happy to work cooperatively
with Fran through my pregnancy, and I do not think I could have
received better care in my circumstances. Finally the day of labor
came. I had two days of latent labor, then two days of no labor, and
then a very traumatic birth. Through it all Fran was calm and patient.
She willingly and cheerfully came to check on me, gave me advice when
we wanted it, and stuck to the background during the laboring process.
With Jaeger's birth I had expected rapt attention and coaching and
cajoling and had been bewildered by Fran's background profile. This
time I knew what to expect and was comforted by it. She was there,
watching, but not appearing to watch. She had suggestions when we
wanted them, but left us to do what seemed best to us during most of
the labor. The baby was not engaging, and going up and down, which
stopped and started labor, even after I'd reached 7cm. Near the end, I
had curled up on the bed in defeat, and Fran gently asked if I wanted
to push. I didn't want to, but I knew that was the only way it was
going to end, so I gave it a shot. And within ten minutes it was all
over and I was on my bed with a baby and Fran was cleaning up. Fran
continued the at-home postpartum care over the the next week and I do
hope she sticks around long enough to deliver all my babies.
Mystie
has written a very eloquent depiction of this birth on her blog.
Because of the dramatic nature of this birth, it took her nearly 8
months to process it. If you would like to read it, I have copied it
in its entirety on the page "Mystie and Ilse" under this heading. You should read Jaegers story first so you will know what she was expecting!
Jaegers Birth Story (with a little bit about Hans)
I
have been Fran's client since my first pap smear. I delivered my first
baby with her at KGH, but for my next birth both my husband and I
wanted to try a home birth. When my time came, I did undergo early
labor (regular 5-minute-apart crampy contractions) for practically 3
full days, but then I woke up at 11pm on the third night with extremely
strong contractions coming on every 3 minutes; after confirming that it
continued past half an hour, I knew this was the real deal. After an
hour and forty-five minutes from the start we called Fran. I was
grateful that she didn’t question me about the length or frequency of
contractions — I told her she should come, she asked if my water had
broken (it had not), and she said she was on her way. Maybe twenty
minutes later she arrived, checked, and after a pause during which I
thought “I must be at at least 5, maybe 6,” she announced 8! She
commented later that the look on my face was evident relief and
astonishment. I was practically almost done! Fran
at this point also called her birthing assistant, admonishing her to
hurry. While all this was going on, I was moving into transition and
becoming increasingly unaware of what was going on and unable to do or
attend to anything but the contractions. There was bustle around me,
but I was thoroughly unaware of anything that was happening. I felt
towels being laid under me, but that is all I know of what “getting
ready” involved. At some point the assistant arrived, but I wasn’t
cognizant of her until after I was on the bed and she was laying the
baby on my chest. Fran was still getting things ready when I suddenly
yelled, because I realized they would probably need to know, “I’m
pushing!” I heard an “ok!” from Fran that sounded distant, and though I
did expect her to give me some direction or do something about it, I
didn’t receive any; I simply pushed. No one told me what to do, so I
just did what I felt like doing when I felt like it. When I pushed, I
simply squatted down; Matt lifted me back up each time to stand over
the bed and sway. After the second push, I thought I felt something,
and reached down and said, “It’s his head!” Fran checked and said it
was the bag of waters, but his head was very close. At the next push
the water broke, which I again yelled to announce, and I felt more
towels being thrown underneath and Fran saying that the water was clear
and plentiful. My experience of pushing for 2 1/2 hours with Hans,
laying on a bed with lights over me, my legs hitched up, and 5 people
standing all around me having nothing to do but tell me to push while I
was pushing is what made me feel this time that I was not receiving any
attention. The pushing itself, this time, was actually a relief; doing
something that helped alleviate the consciousness of the pain. In only
3 more pushes, he was out. I wanted to just collapse onto the floor as
I realized it was over, but just as I finished a deep breath, Fran was
telling me to take the baby (I was still squatting at the bed) and I
could hardly comprehend what she wanted me to do as I saw something red
being lifted up toward me. I think she or someone helped me put my
hands where they needed to go, because I wasn’t sure what I was doing.
Then several people helped me onto the bed where towels and paper
sheets had been piled, and I was holding the baby with the assistant’s
help. His cord had been wrapped around his neck twice, but his color
and vitals were all excellent. The assistant cleaned him up right on
top of me, while Fran delivered the placenta. Matt cut the cord with a
scalpel, then Fran started cleaning up, and she and the assistant
helped me to the bathroom and a shower. While I nursed the baby, Fran
finished cleaning up, giving the laundry to my mom to start, and giving
me a few instructions and arranging to check up on us at home the next
day and the day after that. In a short amount of time, Matt and I were
back in bed with a baby, falling asleep in the very early morning in
our own bedroom which looked practically the same as it did when I had woken up at 11. Mystie and Matt - Richland Hans Jaeger Ilse
 Kasen's Birth Story
Fran Wilson was my midwife for my waterbirth at home in December - Kasen was born 9lb 8oz - and the birth went smoothly! Fran was awesome - her personality and mine really clicked! She stayed afterwards - but was not "in the way" - she did her paperwork on our dining room table.
My husband was a little freaked out by the water birth idea - but he read books and Fran also talked with him quite a bit. He did fine!! No fainting!
I am a Family Nurse Practitioner and was a Labor & Delivery nurse for 5 years - I completely trust Fran and her competence!
Best of luck!
Kristine
 Raphael's Birth Story I had my first baby at home last summer (2007). It was a wonderful experience. I felt that I was sure I'd prefer not to have a hospital birth and I'd prefer a midwife over an OB. I did LOTS of interviews with providers, Dr's and other midwives. I went into it thinking the birthing center might be a good choice, but I didn't combine well with the people there. When I met Fran I learned a lot more about what would happen in a home birth, and the equipment, staff, and support is all the same as the birthing center, just in my house. We had a wonderful, easy birth. I spent most of the time in our bathroom laboring alone, and then had the baby in our downstairs guest room that we had set up for the occassion.The mess and huffus was not much at all, and Fran helped set things up to be easy on everyone. It's pretty amazing now to think about it. I like to go down there and talk to my son, Rafael, about how he was born there, and lay in the bed and wonder if he remembers anything about it. I took the Hypnobirthing classes at Wild Rose and I think that helped my birth a lot.
The toughest thing I found about choosing home birth was dealing with relatives who were concerned about my choice. My husband had some initial concerns, but he understood that for me a home birth would be most comfortable and he wanted that for us. I also have to admit to a bit of hospital phobia and I get stressed just going in for routine things. My father got ill and passed away while I was pregnant and I spent days and days by his bed side in the hospital, so I was at a low point in wanting to be in a hospital just then. All I can say about other family is to choose whether or not to even tell them in the first place and then answer questions if you feel like it. My mother in law was the most worried. I think she pictured home birth as an unassisted birth. I tried to explain it to her and answer questions but she was really wrapped up in her own anxiety. She was a teen mom, first baby at 16, three by 21 and had three difficult births. She had no sense that birth could be wonderful or empowering. We pretty much stopped talking about the upcoming delivery to avoid problems. Then my sister in law was also freaked out by it. She was in nursing school at the time doing the units on OB and reading about all the terrible things that can happen. When I had my wonderful easy birth and healthy baby, she was still a non believer. Two weeks later she started her OB internship and witnessed several births in the hospital and was absolutely shocked at how medicated and unnatural birth was. She is still not completely going to embrace the idea of midwifery and home birth, but she does understand my choice now. My mother in law on the other hand, was simply relieved when the birth went well. She came and stayed for a couple of days and met Fran when she came to do the home visits. All I can say is she was so impressed by how things went and the care Fran gave us after the birth that she said "I'm sorry I doubted you." This meant a lot to me.
Rafael is now 8 months old, and a very energetic, happy baby. I have found adjusting to motherhood easier than I expected. I think a lot of that had to do with the wonderful care we both received, and the great support we got after the birth. Audrey and Matthew, Richland Both Audrey and Matt wrote a more elaborate version of this story. See it under Audrey, Matthew & Raphael under this heading.
 Chloe's Birth Story
I was due with my 7th baby on November 1st,
2007. She was our tie breaker, and made 4 girls and 3 boys! I have a
history of fast labors, and this one was no different. This was my 4th
homebirth, the second with Fran. I'd been overdue with the first 6 babies,
and assumed I would be with this one too, and was even counting on it
because I really wasn't ready.
On October 28th, we went to church. I
wasn't feeling comfortable enough to go, but my 2 youngest were singing that day
and I couldn't miss that. I came home and cooked a big Sunday
dinner. We had some friends from church visit around 6pm that night.
I'd been having some irregular pre-labor contractions for a few days.
Generally with me, that starts about 2 weeks before delivery, so I figured it
was no big deal and we had a ways to go. I went to bed about 11pm and
tried to get comfortable. I woke up around 2am and needed to use the
bathroom. As soon as I got back in bed, I felt odd. I wasn't having
contractions, but it was like my body already knew labor was imminent before I
did. I got back up and went to the bathroom again and immediately started
shaking badly like I do when I know I'm in labor, but I didn't know it
yet! I got back in bed around 2:15 and I felt a sharp pain in my
pelvic area. Still no contractions. But as soon
as I changed positions, my water started leaking. With 3 of my 4
homebirths my water broke to begin labor so this was very familiar! I
grabbed a towel and woke my husband who couldn't believe this was
happening. After all, I wasn't due for 3 more days. Contractions
started almost right away.
We began carrying out our plan....
my husband woke my almost 18 yo daughter and the two of them got the bed
stripped and remade with the drop cloth, and the rest of the steps underway
while I called Fran. My daughter woke all the children except the youngest
who at 5 1/2 made it clear she didn't want to see the "yucky" part.
Caitlin kept the other kids in the living room while I moved into the
bedroom. Fran arrived around 3:15 with Gloria. I was
beginning to worry they wouldn't make it in time! I was in the rocking
chair in the bedroom, but feeling like I was probably in transition. I had
2 or 3 contractions on top of each other many times. It was making it hard
for Gloria to use the doppler, but the baby was moving so much I knew she had to
be alright. This is always the time I begin to wonder why I'm not using
drugs! It's also when I worry I can't do this much longer and I hope I'm
nearly ready to push, but I'm afraid to find out I'm not! A few
contractions after I probably should have, I moved to the bed. It felt
good to lay down. Fran checked me and I was complete and ready to
push! I HATE pushing. The sensations are so intense and I
always doubt I have the strength to endure it. I had my husband by one
hand, and called my 14 yo son over so I could squeeze his with my other.
He's got big hands so I hoped he could take my vicious
squeezing! Maybe 3 or 4 pushes was all it took for her to come
flying out! It was just past 4am. The entire labor was 1 hour and 45
minutes, 30 minutes shorter than my previous record.
Chloe was crying before her feet were all the way
out! She was pink and beautiful! 8 lbs 1 oz, which was also my
smallest baby. Yeah! Everyone was so excited and amazed that
she was here already! She was born on October 29, 2007.
As soon as she was wrapped up the kids got Natalie and she came in to see her
new baby sister and have some pictures taken.
Julie and Ken Sisemore, Franklin County
 Owen's Birth Story
My Home Birth Experience
When I first found out I was pregnant I knew I did not want to have my baby in the hospital. A birth center was preferable, but after visiting with a midwife and not really taking a liking to her I chose to look into having a home birth. The only midwife I could find who did home births was Fran. I set up a meeting with her and I was very impressed. I am a high-maintenance patient and Fran was very reassuring and answered all of my questions very thoroughly. I have always felt I was in very good hands with Fran.
The day that I went into labor I lost my mucous plug around 11am and I thought I was having contractions, but after being informed by my mother that I would know if I were in real labor I wrote it off and went about my day. I live in Prosser and I was in Kennewick visiting my in-laws for dinner that evening with my fiancé, Josiah. I had been having some regular cramping that felt like period cramping, but a little worse. On the way home (at about 9pm) we stopped at Starbucks and Josiah went in to get some coffee while I called Fran because I thought I was in labor and I wanted to let her know that night might be the night. Fran didn’t seem to think I was in labor when I was on the phone with her. At one point she asked if I’d had any contractions since we’d started talking. When I told her yes, she told me I couldn’t be in labor because I sounded too chipper, but she was with another woman in labor on the clinic if I wanted to stop in and get checked.
After waiting patiently in the waiting room Fran called me back to check me. I was seven centimeters with a bulging bath of waters. After making arrangements with the other woman to go to the birthing clinic (she wasn’t progressing as quickly as I was and was nice enough to let me try to have my homebirth) Josiah and I headed home to Prosser at about 10pm. My mom lives with us so we called her to have her make up the bed and gather supplies. She had been having a get together with some friends so they all pitched in and cleared out before we got there.
My labor progressed very quickly from that point on. I was strep b positive, but after a couple failed attempts by Fran to get my IV antibiotics going we decided to forget that. I was progressing well and my water hadn’t broken yet and my labor was getting pretty intense (Fran had treated me orally a week or two before also). It wasn’t really bad pain until my water broke at about 11:45pm. Thankfully not long after that I was fully dilated and able to start pushing.
It didn’t take much pushing before Owen was born at 12:15am. I remember Fran telling me to take my baby and I was kind of out of it so Josiah took him and then I saw him and completely fell in love. Josiah didn’t want to cut the cord because he felt it was a symbol of separating baby from mother and felt weird about it so Grandma cut the cord. Fran’s assistant (another midwife) helped me get a good latch for breastfeeding and when we finished I took a much needed shower.
While I showered everyone cleaned up. By the time I was done the dirty sheets and towels were in the washing machine (no staining by the way!) and there was no evidence a birth had taken place other than some equipment and of course a newborn! Josiah then helped take Owen’s vitals and I snapped a few photos. He weighed 7lbs, 9oz and was 21 inches long and absolutely beautiful with really no red marks or cone shaped head, just gobs of blonde hair fit for a one year old! Fran hung out for awhile and made sure everyone was in good health and spirits and then she headed off to deliver another baby! Josiah and I hardly slept at all that night and when we did finally fall asleep we only got about an hour of sleep in before a phone call from his parents woke us up at 7am! They wanted to know when they could meet their grandson!
I really feel extremely lucky to have had the labor and birth I had. I don’t think I would have been nearly as relaxed or at ease if I had been in the hospital with people I wasn’t used to and didn’t know. I had plenty of time to get to know Fran and I knew she would respect my wishes the best she could. I am definitely planning to have home births in the future and would recommend them to others with smooth pregnancies and confidence in their body’s ability to give birth. If you need reinforcement, make sure you read Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, it’s a lifesaver!
Kristin and Josiah - Prosser
Owen (Note from Fran - By the way, one of the other local midwives kept an eye on my other patient. Kristin's birth went so quickly that I had plenty of time to get back to her before the baby was born!)
 Asher's Birth Story Homebirth experience:
I have 3 children and one on the way. My first 2 were with midwives in a hospital and went okay. My 3rd I had with Fran at home, this by far was my best experience, everything was comfortable my body was relaxed and able to do what it needed so the birth was about the half as long as the others (I was never stalled). Since Fran has been doing this so long I knew that if I needed to be in a hospital she would tell me, I wondered how it would be since this was my first home birth but I was never scared. I felt safe and knew that she knew exactly what to do. My baby was born in my tub and he was perfect and I got to hold him and keep him with me. I went straight to bed and he came with me. Everything was so peaceful that I never felt worried. It was 10:30 at night when he was born so my older children slept through it, we even tried to wake them when he was born but they were too tired. It all seemed very normal and not complicated. Fran had all the equipment she needed for checking or anything else so we never had to leave the house! It was really wonderful and I had all the worries every one has before they've done it. It seems like that's the way it's meant to be.
Amelia and Jeff Larson - Pasco
Gabriel 8
Faith 5
Asher 2
new baby.....
 Bubba and Evan's Birth Stories
When
I first got pregnant 13 years ago I just assumed that when you are
pregnant you go to an OB/GYN and have a baby in a hospital. Our first
two children were born that way. I felt like I was a number – my job
was to push the baby out and do whatever the doctor and nurses told me
to do. I had no control. I couldn’t ask questions and my husband felt
invisible in the labor and delivery room - no one acknowledged him. During
my first labor I had a 4th degree tear after the episiotomy and didn’t
get to hold my new baby for almost 20 minutes. I didn’t hold my second
baby for 15 minutes and they wouldn’t even let Mark videotape the baby.
Then we moved and I became pregnant for the third time. We knew we
wanted something different for this labor. I had never had an epidural
so that wasn’t a concern. A friend from church told me that she had her
last two babies at home so we visited about it for a while. Mark and I
decided that we would look into it. Unfortunately there were no
midwives in the area that would do a homebirth. So we decided on a
midwife that would deliver in a hospital. What a difference. She was so
non-invasive. I didn’t have to be strapped to the monitors and I could
walk around if I wanted to. During labor she stretched me in between
contractions because I didn’t want to have an episiotomy again. We told
the nurses our desires and the midwife followed through to make sure it
was our day. It was a wonderful experience. Then
we moved to Kennewick and I became pregnant for the fourth time. Mark
expressed his desire for me to find a midwife that would deliver in our
home and I eventually found Fran. I called our insurance to find out if
home births were covered and they were. The older kids loved going into
the Wild Rose Clinic and the visits were pleasant. We prepared the kids
and bought all the necessary supplies. The most important thing to get
was a shower curtain – all the “mess” wrapped up nicely in the curtain
and fit into a kitchen trash bag. A short time after the baby came you
couldn’t even tell that we had had a baby in the family room – everyone
was surprised when they came to visit. I’m not sure what they expected
to see. Mark
took an active role in the delivery (Marie didn’t make it in time for
the delivery) and our oldest daughter was able to cut the umbilical
cord. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful – no rushing, barking
orders, or beeping of machines. No one told me what to do, how to push,
when to eat or go to the bathroom. When Fran and Marie left, the house
was quiet and we had our new baby all to ourselves. The only problem
that we ran into was that when my water broke there was meconium. We
thought we were going to have to transfer to the hospital, but there
was not time. Fran had suction and oxygen available and there were no
complications. We did it again with one more baby
in October 2006. We got the kids out of bed and they were able to come
down and see their new brother – hold him and kiss him good night. Fran
showed them the amniotic sac & placenta and they thought it was
pretty cool.
Gretchen and Mark - Kennewick
Facts about our homebirth(s) by Bill and Heide Lambert (we did it twice)
#1 We would of never done it (either of them) any other way. No regrets, only honors.
#2 We had more of a difficult time with our first (to be expected) BUT 0 complications. We never needed ANY interventions (other than the Black and Blue cohosh to stimulate the birthing process note: mother was extremely uptight and nervous). NOTHING needed from a doctor; not a stitch or a poke (baby too, Fran was so awesome at leaving our baby alone and not giving a bunch of shots, eye goop and blood test the first 24 hours).
#3 The only mess was when my water broke with the birth of my second child. I refused to move off a huge lambskin that was bringing me such comfort; that when my water did break it was on the lambskin and our mothers took it to a laundry mat the next morning and washed it and it is fine. Any other mess was cleaned up while we were busy admiring our new baby and we never even saw it (we never even saw the lambskin ~it was placed in a plastic bag).
#4 With our second child who's "hard labor" was short (a couple of hours) I was in "slow labor" for days. It was so nice to be in our room and go back and forth to the bathroom back to bed, to try to rest for days until it became too hard to concentrate on my sentences (even then we thought the baby would take longer than it did ~our first took 30 hours HARD labor Note: All natural). I am convinced my hard labor was shorter with the second baby because I relaxed and did a lot of the work those days before. Also I know it would of messed with me to get in a car and deal with admitting in a hospital. This way there was no worries, momma and baby were already there.
#5 People always tell us how brave we were to have our babies at home and we always reply that we believe that they are the brave ones for having their babies in the hospital. We firmly believe that hospitals are for dying and sick people, birth is a natural, normal process that is not easy but works itself out. We wanted absolute control of our births to insure that mommas and baby's safety was number one concern. I didn't allow anyone over or around for weeks before the babies came, I felt it took all my concentration to relax enough to let my cervix do it's thing. note: mother was extremely uptight and nervous.
Advice:
#1 Make a collage of all the wonderful things you find that reminds you of a "healthy" birth. Mine has pictures of moms holding babies, flowers opening, a kid jumping over a puddle and advice I cut out of birthing magazines of how to relax and eliminate stress. Try cutting out the images in large circles like the size your cervix needs to relax to release the baby. Put the collage where you can lay in bed and imagine your body expanding easily.
#2 Have your partner and yourself make a meal together without talking. Practice your communicating without words. In my experiences my husband went to any length to make me as comfortable as possible, mostly me telling him in partial sentences what I wanted him to do next. At times, me leaning against him and trying to walk; He hopes to never have to breathe another "heh heh haw" sound again (we did it for about 12 hours with our first).
#3 This statement always gets people all freaked out but it is true so I am going to share it with you two. With a homebirth you get to keep the placenta if you want to. At the hospital it is considered a BIOHAZARD and discarded like trash. We saved our placentas and planted them under special (witch hazel) trees on our property for each of our daughters. The freaky part is we didn't live here for our first child's birth so we put it in the freezer until we bought our house and could plant it. We love looking out at those trees that symbolize so much to us.
#4 I know it sounds so crazy but when you are at home you can make love and hold each other in privacy that can't happen in a hospital with all the wires and cords. As much as my husband and I love each other, our hormones weren't that romantic (just the thought of my husband even going there made me laugh). However when my labor got harder and Fran was on her way, we took a shower together and my husband helped wash me (considering I couldn't even see half of my body much less reach it) and I know that helped. And ask Fran, the best way to get a baby out, is the way you got the baby in. . .
#5 Stock your fridge and freezer full of all your favorites foods. You, your partner (and midwife) will eat them the days before you have your baby, while and right after. It is so cool being able to go into your kitchen at all hours of the night for champagne, soft cheeses (I wanted all the stuff I couldn't eat while knocked up) ice cream, whatever you want to treat yourselves to because YOU DID IT! We hope that helps assure both of you that a homebirth is the way to go. Best wishes,
Bill and Heide, Benton City
PS One more thing. With my first baby no one told me (or I never heard it when they were) and I was so BIG and tired all the time, I always was resting backwards, kicking my feet up. Then when I was in labor my baby was facing forwards instead of backwards. I never knew it mattered (I thought if it wasn't breech it was all good). It does. I labored hard forever pushing the baby the right direction so she could get through the birth canal. Now with my second, I finally listened and leaned forward every chance I got the last month. Doing the exercises where you are on all fours and your belly drops down; or at the table you lean forward and let your belly drop below between your knees. This position assists the baby to lay back in you and the baby's spine be facing outwards. Better preparing the baby for birth making labor SO MUCH easier on momma. |
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