Better late than never right? Over one year later and a fat chunk of COVID-19 ‘staying home’ means that I have finally found time to do this. Let me tell you, life as a Mum of three little ones is full. It is full of joy but it is also very much full of needs and demands, which doesn’t leave much margin for anything else. It especially doesn’t leave much time for this space – and I miss it so much.

Why Homebirth?

A homebirth never even crossed my mind as a first time Mum. But, by the time that I was pregnant with Freddie we were really open to it. When I had Freddie we were living in America and between cost/insurance, finding a midwife in NJ/NYC and living in a small apartment on the 10th floor in the city, it just wasn’t an option.

Just a few months after finding out we were pregnant with baby number three, God did something incredible and we moved to California… to a house! For the first time in our married life, we were going to be living in an actual, real, literal house which was a far cry from our 850 sq ft apartment on the East Coast. Something shifted in my pregnancy this time around and the idea of birthing at home sounded so great.

It is really amazing looking back with hindsight and seeing how God was leading us through all of that. I remember being so disappointed that I couldn’t have Freddie at home – his birth turned out to be a little complicated and had we been at home we would have had to transfer to hospital anyway. God knew that we really needed to be in a hospital for his birth and I am so thankful that we were.

Thankfully, after speaking to midwives, we found out that the complications that I had with Freddie’s birth were no more likely to happen again than with any other woman, so given my good prenatal/birth medical history and that our baby was doing really well, we were perfectly placed to plan a homebirth this time around.

I am most relaxed and calm at home. I know that no one likes hospitals, but I really, really hate them, even for check ups or just visiting someone. The smell, the lights, the strangers, the beeping, the hand gel – it all puts me on edge and I that that is the last thing you want to feel when birthing. I really felt that for this baby, home was the best place for me to birth.

J wasn’t sure about a homebirth at first, but after watching our friend’s incredible homebirth on YouTube, he started to feel differently. Our friends had used the Positive Birth Company’s Hypnobirthing course and so J suggested that we do the online course together and during that he totally surprised me and was all for planning a homebirth.

PSA to the ladies, if your husband/partner is not on board with a homebirth then please do not persuade/nag them into it. Sure, show them the statistics, learn about natural birth together, watch ‘The Business of Being Born’ together and you might see their feelings change on it, but don’t force them because it is so important that you are both comfortable with the plan.

In my experience a homebirth demands so much more unity, cooperation and trust between you and your birth partner, so you both being at peace with the choice to birth at home is crucial. That said, I will forever recommend this course to ALL of my pregnant friends and their partners for whatever type of birth they are planning because I think it is just the best resource. Considering this was our THIRD birth we learnt SO much. I just wish that I had this resource as a first time Mum.

Finding our Midwives

We moved to California when I was around five months pregnant. That meant I had to find my midwives a little later in the game, which can be really tricky as there are not many of them and they get booked up fast. Miraculously, the midwives that we loved had an opening for around when this baby was due and they were exactly what we were looking for.

They turned out to be two amazing, gifted women who are total experts in all things pregnancy, birth and newborn care. They went above and beyond what I ever expected and I am forever grateful for how well they cared for our whole family. For any L.A. mamas-to-be, I wholeheartedly recommend our midwives and I would be happy to share their contact information to anyone interested.

Not only were they a small two-midwife practice, but they both attended births together which we LOVED. A lot of the time a midwife will attend with a student/assistant. We felt that extra bit taken care of knowing that, in the event of something not going to plan, there would be a midwife for me and a midwife to work with baby.

Most of my prenatal appointments were done at our house – this was such a treat as I didn’t have to figure out a sitter and battle L.A. traffic to get to appointments. They popped in, we drank coffee, listened to baby, checked that I was healthy and built a really special relationship with them both so when the big day came, it really didn’t feel like a BIG DAY. They knew our house, our family, our kids, where to park, where the trash can is etc!

By the time I went into labor, we knew them both so well that it felt more like our friends popping in to help welcome our baby. There were no uniforms, name badges or intimidating medical equipment around (not that I saw anyway), no funny hospital smells or bright lights or beeps or strangers or interruptions. Just our midwives, us and our bump, some music, tea lights and a HUGE birthing pool in the kids’ playroom.

The Big Day

I started feeling like something was happening on Friday afternoon (eight days past my expected due date). I had spent the morning pulling weeds out of the garden trying to encourage baby to make a move as I was determined not to end up with a hospital induction this time around. The cramps were there but gentle so we carried on with our evening, played outside with the kids, put them to bed and waited to see what the night would bring. We didn’t tell Belle and Freddie what was happening and just secretly enjoyed our last California sunset as a family of four and took this last family photo together to remember than evening.

Thankfully, I didn’t let excitement get the best of me and went to bed at a normal-ish time and managed to mostly sleep through early labour until 5am Saturday morning when I woke up to my first really strong cramp. I pottered around the house, made some coffee and waited for a pattern. I practiced my breathing and relaxing, had a bath, prayed over my new baby and waited for my body to start doing its thing.

By 6am J had called our wonderful friends who had offered to take the kids. They had slept with their phones on loud all night waiting for a call. Half an hour later, J was waving them off and our midwives were on their way. It really felt different this time, doing it at home. I can only compare the feeling to waking up on your birthday as a child waiting for your party to begin. I was SO excited and couldn’t believe that it was actually happening. Not even a hint of fear or worry, just excitement.

By 8:30am our midwives had arrived and I heard one of them whisper to J that things could move very quickly. I remember being told so many times that this baby was going to be here ‘soon’ but I didn’t believe anyone because my first two labours had been SO long – Belle’s birth had been 18 hours and Freddie’s 26, so I just couldn’t believe that I could possibly have a ‘quick’ birth.  I remember telling my midwives and J that it was too soon to be filling the pool because I was so sure that I had hours to go – I am so glad that they knew best.

I was blissfully unaware, busy listening to my birth playlist, but our hot water tank couldn’t keep up with demand and we totally ran out of hot water! One of our midwives ended up having to boil five pans of water on rotation on the stove to fill the pool.

It is funny looking back on this birth because with Belle and Freddie I remember pain. Pain so intense that I just couldn’t cope with it – even with various pain relief. But this time around was just so different. All I had was lavender oil and warm water, yet it was not ‘painful’. Between being in my home, hypnobirthing, the pool and being fearless (mostly!) I felt totally in control, empowered and in charge of my birth. I had never experienced that feeling before and it was honestly euphoric.

Don’t get me wrong, it was uncomfortable (I was having a baby!) BUT nothing felt scary or more than I could handle. I felt so safe. Not having to think about when to leave for the hospital was such a nice change too. All that I had to focus on was calmly breathing my way through each contraction and remembering that with each contraction I was one step closer to holding my baby.

I held off getting into the water for as long as I could so that I could enjoy the relief of the water when I felt that I needed it. This was my first waterbirth and let me tell you, getting in that water was incredible. All of a sudden the discomfort reduced, my body felt light and I got a few minutes’ rest from the cramps.

J was amazing. He spent so long kneeling at the side of the pool pouring water over my back and shoulders and telling me over and over how well I was doing. Towards the end he was leaning in holding me up when exhaustion started to take over and eventually, despite it not being the plan, I asked him to get into the pool so that he could hold me. He didn’t even question it – what a good one.

Looking back, it was so special that we were in the pool together when our sweet baby arrived into the world. Had I known how incredible that moment would have been, I would have planned it that way all along. I will never forget catching our little one in the water and holding him for the first time, together.

It was so lovely not having any of the constraints of the hospital. We got to hold him for so long, he didn’t have to leave to go anywhere, all of his checks were done on our bed when we were ready, I got to shower in my own shower when I felt like it, and within a couple of hours, Arlo and I were snuggled up in our bed, eating food and resting.

Complications

I know that a lot of people worry about the ‘what ifs’ and ‘worst case scenarios’ when it comes to homebirths; thinking about that is a really important part of deciding to birth at home. An hour or so after Arlo was born, I experienced a postpartum hemorrhage. Whilst it was terrifying at the time (especially for Jono who was left watching holding our tiny baby), our midwifes handled it incredibly. They jumped into emergency medical mode with all of the medicine and procedures that would have been given in a hospital and quickly got my bleeding under control. Having absolute faith in the skill and expertise of your midwife is really everything in that moment and I knew that I was safe in their hands. I didn’t even have to go to hospital and received the best postpartum care from them over the next few days. Looking back, J and I agree that we were actually glad we were at home under the midwives’ care, as they dealt with it so well.

The blood loss meant that my recovery was a lot slower than my previous births and left me in bed taking iron supplements for a couple of weeks until I felt well again. But I was so thankful to be home for that recovery.

Arlo’s birth was without a doubt my least painful and most empowering birth experience. Honestly, I kind of feel like a superhero after it. It was the most empowering experience of my life and I would totally do it again.

The most wonderful birth experience, with the BEST birth partner and fantastic midwives.

Arlo Benjamin Wylie, we are so thankful for your safe and peaceful entry into this world.