Harlan's Beautiful Homebirth

We didn't transfer to Monarch Midwifery from the OB we were seeing until 28 weeks. It's never too late- follow your heart! The contrast in care, education, and fear level (empowerment versus disempowerment) was incredible. Monarch treats the family, not just woman and baby, in a holistic manner. I birthed Harlan two weeks past his due date. After notifying Donna that contractions were 5 minutes apart around 9:30pm, they quickly went to 2 minutes apart around midnight and I entered a zone that I wouldn't emerge from until hours after the birth. Cher came to check on me about 1:20am; she summoned Donna as contractions were coming steady and fast. Once in the birth pool, Cher poured water over my belly rhythmically with each contraction and I labored there until Donna arrived around 3am.

Being only 3cm at 3:45am, she sent Cher and my husband to bed in the event that labor went long. She had me lay on my side in bed in the dark (Donna never has her mamas labor in bed, but she was concerned given the intensity of labor that I wouldn't have the strength to push should I go 24 hours). At 5:45am I was still only 4cm so I was given a shot of bourbon to aid in sleep between contractions. Sure enough- roar through contraction, snore for a minute, repeat. Mission accomplished.

At 6:45am contractions became very intense and my water broke. At 7am I was 7cm and by 7:10am I was complete. Transition? Was that transition? That was a fly-by, thanks for playing, 4-10 in 60 seconds, you're ready to push now transition. Active labor through delivery was "only" 8 hours, which I hear is good for first time mamas. My prenatal chiropractor stated that chiropractic patients often go faster as a result of their alignment. For 1.5 hours I pushed with each contraction (they slowed a bit in the water).

At 8:39am the head was born and at 8:41am the body followed after minor shoulder dystocia. In the end it turned out that he was 9lbs 2oz (she'd told me he was over 7lb 6-8 weeks earlier, so this was no surprise) and thus took some time to ease out. Together, my husband and Donna handed Harlan to me from the water. We sat in the tub for a while, taking one another in. He was incredibly alert and bent his head back to look for his father, the first person he'd seen after opening his eyes. He had the most amazing mouth and I will never forget that moment when I held him for the first time: "Nice to meet you, little creature. My name is Mama."

At 8:45am the little guy was suckling at the nipple and at 9am I delivered the placenta. Once the cord stopped pulsing, once my son received all of the oxygenated blood my body provided for him, my husband cut the cord.

After a few pointers from Donna, nursing was seamless. I attribute the ease of nursing to the fact that nothing interrupted Harlan's innate instincts, he was of mature (non-induced) age, and he was totally alert (no drugs). The midwifery team cleaned the birthing area, did the relevant laundry, made me scrambled eggs, and performed Harlan's newborn exam at the base of our bed.

He was perfect!

They finally left the three of us, just as the morning before; but this time little Harlan was on the outside, breathing and thriving and initiated into this earthly life. My birth experience is THE defining moment of my life. I revisit the photos often and gain power and grounding from the memories continually. Barring any complications, I will never have another child any other way. Unexpectedly, this intoxicating experience makes me want to start all over again...over and over! We chose to encapsulate the placenta and I experienced no negative post partum symptoms, set aside 3 straight days of skin-on-skin babymooning, and the transition into parenthood was smooth, warm, and remains continually positive (didn't even lose sleep thanks to co-sleeping!). I can't wait to experience all of this again, with Monarch Midwifery of course!