Sophie’s Birth Story started on October 1st at 1:22 am at home at 41+3 weeks in the middle of Hurrican Ian when she was born! She is our third baby, and we are so excited to have her earthside with us now!
Waiting for her arrival was agonizing in the final weeks of my pregnancy. I had convinced myself earlier in my pregnancy that since she was the third baby, she’d come earlier AND my labor would be faster.
I was definitely wrong on both counts. But her birth, as with all my other births, were what I needed as a part of my journey into motherhood. It was perfect in its challenges, and I feel stronger and empowered to have navigated through her birth with my husband and chosen support team!
Final Weeks of My Pregnancy: September 2022
In the final weeks of my pregnancy, I shifted my focus to birth preparation. I started my maternity leave from our gym and mainly focused on doing small tasks at home as I prepped for birth.
I continued my prenatal workouts all the way to the day I gave birth! I even did a short workout during early labor.
Each day I would wake up and be a little disappointed that labor had not begun. My previous two labors started first thing when I woke up, so I anticipated this one would be similar, but also expected that it would be different and throw me off.
But, even with the anticipation I still felt at peace waiting for her arrival. She could decide to come when she was ready, but as we neared 41+ weeks I found myself getting nervous that she would not come before 42 weeks.
In our state, if I hit 42 weeks, I need to go to the hospital to give birth instead of at home. So, this began to sit in the back of my head after I passed my due date. I felt confident I would give birth before then, but also nervous that “what if” I didn’t?
Sophie's Birth Story
Thursday, September 29: 41+1 Weeks
We had our final prenatal appointment with our home birth midwife, and we did a membrane sweep to see if we could encourage anything to start on its own.
We discussed a few courses of action to do in case labor still hadn’t begun by the end of the weekend, which I really hoped we didn’t need to even bother with because baby girl was born.
My first birth was at 41+3, with labor starting on 41+2. And a psychic on Instagram messaged us to say that she heard my labor would be on 41+2 and last about 7 hours.
I felt she was coming soon but was beginning to feel anxious that she would take her time. Plus, a hurricane was coming this weekend.
*Sophie’s Birth Story!*
Thursday, September 29, 7pm
Later that evening contractions began! They started around 6-7 minutes apart and I was so excited for this to finally start.
I alerted my midwife and photographer. And as soon as I did, contractions spaced out pretty significantly and then stopped.
I found myself feeling really disappointed that labor had stopped and my anxiety that labor would not happen again before 42 weeks began to really invade my mental space.
I went to bed early, convinced that maybe the contractions stalled out to give me a chance to go rest. Turns out this may have been the case!
Friday, September 30, 41+2: Early Labor Begins!
Maybe it was the combination of the membrane sweep, a hurricane hitting our state, and baby girl being ready to be born… but around 4 am, woke up to a contraction! I stayed up with them for about an hour before falling back asleep and was excited they had started back up again.
7 am:
Around 7 am, the contractions were closer to 7-8 minutes apart and I really hoped they would continue to progress. I laid in bed to continue resting for about another hour to time them and make sure they continued. I found it easier to focus on timing my contractions when I was lying in bed, as opposed to moving around.
9 am:
After about two hours, I decided to finally get out of bed and move around. The contractions were still manageable but lying down was becoming more challenging.
I decided to do a short 20-minute workout focused on pelvic opening exercises.
The first circuit was focused on opening the inlet of the pelvis with lots of external rotation focus and pelvic tilts.
The second circuit was focused on opening the mid pelvis with asymmetrical and unilateral movements.
And the final circuit was focused on opening the outlet of the pelvis with hamstring-focused work, internal rotation, and pelvic floor relaxation.
After my short workout, we ate breakfast from the same places we ate at during my last labor! It felt like a good tradition to continue.
We began to set up the room by blowing up the pool and getting all our birth supplies laid out for our midwife.
I felt that changing the vibe in the room may help my mindset for this birth and shift my labor more towards active labor.
*Sophie’s Birth Story*
11 am:
At 11 am, my contractions were still around 7-8 minutes, sometimes spacing to 15 minutes apart, and I found myself worrying that they would continue to space out and stop soon.
I moved between resting and movement all morning as we waited for things to progress. The kids were so excited that labor was finally here!
12 pm:
My mom and sister arrived, and I went for a short walk to try to get my contractions to pick back up. After the walk, I opted to take a nap when nothing seemed to be changing my contraction pattern.
My sister asked me how I was feeling, and I started to cry worried that my labor would stall out again and I would still be pregnant at 42 weeks and need to be induced at the hospital. She hugged me as I cried.
After my nap, nothing seemed to change. If anything, it was more spaced out. I was frustrated and anxious that my labor would stop again. I hadn’t experienced prodromal labor before but had heard it could last days or weeks for some and was concerned I was experiencing prodromal labor.
And then the power went out during the hurricane.
After the power went out, I worried that it would affect the amount of hot water we had available for me to use in the birth pool and shower; two places I really had planned on laboring.
But I shifted my focus back toward my labor. Roxanne recommended I try the Spinning Babies Three Sisters of Balance to see if that could help with Sophie’s position to prompt labor to progress.
I reluctantly agreed to do the movements, feeling defeated by how little my labor felt like it was progressing.
For the next few hours, I alternated between movement and resting, hoping things would begin to progress.
We did stairs, nipple stimulation, and all the things to see if anything would work. But Sophie was taking her time.
Early Active Labor
5pm:
Contractions were still spaced out, and I wondered if maybe it was due to baby’s position, so I did the open knee chest inversion from the miles circuit for 30 minutes as my mom cooked me some spicy soup.
520pm:
After the inversion and eating the soup, the storm picked up as my contractions quickly progressed to every 5 minutes and I needed support during the contractions.
Things had finally shifted and progressed!!
My 2-year-old son acted as my mini doula during most of my early labor before he fell asleep. Every contraction he would copy my labor position or hold onto my legs. I wasn’t sure what to expect from him during the birth, but he was amazing and so sweet.
And then the power came back on after being out for about four hours.
We called my midwife and she said she would be on her way with her birth assistant. They were happy to come a little early since the storm was picking up, and they would rather drive in the daylight than in the dark with fallen trees!
Later, the birth assistant would comment to my sister that she knew I would give birth during the hurricane because my births have so much energy. During my last birth, a light bulb actually exploded just as I started pushing! My contractions picking up with the storm seemed to be following the same pattern energy wise!
I felt confident that my labor would be progressing to meet our baby.
My husband, mom, and sister all begin to fill up the pool as I labor in the shower. Contractions maintain about a 4-5-minute interval, with a few here and there closer to 2 minutes.
I still felt present in the space between contractions and can easily return to the conversation, so I knew I wasn’t in active labor yet, but working my way toward if.
My kids decided to jump into the birth pool to swim as we waited for our midwife to arrive.
I wanted to get in the water but didn’t want to get in too soon and have my labor slow. So, I hoped to stay in the shower where I could stand and move more easily.
650pm:
My midwife and her birth assistant arrived at our home and got settled in. Sophie’s heart rate sounded wonderful, and I continued to labor.
I felt like I could relax more now that they were in our space.
My labor continues to maintain about a 4-5-minute interval with contractions, and I found myself getting frustrated that things are not progressing into active labor yet.
It was getting harder to feel patient with the process, I had expected to already be in active labor on my way to pushing a baby out!
8 pm:
I feel the sensation of my contractions shift from being only in my lower belly to also in my outer thighs. This was a clue to me that things were shifting, and Sophie had changed her position.
I was still swaying with my contractions, just waiting for things to progress to active labor. I labored in the birth pool for about an hour, as my kids fell asleep.
9pm:
My midwife asks if I would like to be checked, and I agreed that I was curious on baby’s position and if we could do a sweep to see if we can encourage my labor to go from early to active labor.
I was 4cm, 90% effaced, and baby was -2 station in LOT, or the back of her head was to my left hip (which was perfect).
My midwife did a membrane sweep that was fairly painless, and I took a tincture to see if we could encourage labor to progress to active.
Active Labor
920pm:
Shortly after the sweep and tincture, my labor picked up from contractions every 4-5 minutes to every 2 minutes.
I was finally in active labor. I found my contractions felt most manageable yet intense and consistent when I stood up, so I opted to mostly stand during most of my active labor.
I labored in the shower doing nipple stimulation with a manual breast pump to encourage my contractions to stay 2 minutes apart. After about 20 minutes of nipple stimulation, I finally accepted that my labor was now active, and it would progress from here.
I swayed with every contraction, mostly standing and leaning into my husband. I felt them mostly in my lower abdomen and outer thighs, which felt similar to my previous labor. I knew things were progressing!
I started to feel myself shift weight from leg to leg, as I came up on my tippy toes and did small quarter squats. I felt that I would be pushing soon, but luckily time is magic during labor and I didn’t realize how much time had passed already.
Transition
11 pm:
Comfort measures were starting to no longer help during my contractions, and I found myself starting to worry about how much longer I had to go before our baby was born.
I was probably starting to go through transition at this point. I became really nauseous but never threw up, and decided I wanted to get back in the pool.
11:45 pm:
We took the cover off the pool and found that the blanket had left a weird cotton-like substance in the water. It was almost like the inside of a diaper.
My heart sank as I realized the entire pool was going to need to be drained and that there was a good chance I’d start pushing before it was refilled and not get a water birth again.
Defeated, I sat down on the bed and labored quietly as my contractions spaced out. I convinced myself this was the rest and be thankful phase of labor that occurs between transition and pushing. I wanted to savor the rest as my team quickly worked to empty, clean, and refill the pool.
12:45 am:
The pool was finally refilled! I quickly jumped in and continued to labor. I felt so much sensation in my outer thighs and knew that it meant baby was close, but also struggled with the fear that I may have so much more to go.
I kept trying to check my own cervix, but I wasn’t sure what I was feeling (turns out it was probably because there was no cervix left and I was just touching my baby’s amniotic fluid sac). I was worried it was because my cervix was still posterior, and I couldn’t reach it.
My sister asked me if I wanted my midwife to check me, knowing I was probably 10cm and ready to push. I kept saying no because I felt I would either start pushing or my midwife would tell me I was 6cm. I didn’t need a cervical check to know it was time to push and being told I was 6 cm would crush my soul at that moment.
1 am:
I told myself if I stood up, I would probably start pushing so I spent a few contractions motivating myself to stand up.
And I was right. As soon as I stood up and stepped out of the pool, I felt immediate pressure in my butt, and I began to push.
Pushing & Birth
1:15 am:
I felt the urge to push, and it was similar to my last birth: completely overwhelming. I also had such a strong urge to poop, so my midwife recommended I try to sit on the toilet.
I made it to the toilet but sitting was unbearable and opted to not do that. I saw her carrying the tray of supplies into the bathroom, but I wanted my water birth, so I quickly walked back to the birthing pool with my support team trailing behind me.
I practically jumped back into the pool as my next contraction hit and I continued to push in the water.
I could feel her head under the amniotic fluid sac with each push! After one push in the water, my water broke. This was the first time it broke on its own during my labor.
Then I could feel all her hair and her head!
I yelled for my sister and mom to wake up my kids, because I wanted them to see their sister being born.
They scrambled back with my kids, and both of them jumped into the pool with me.
I pushed once more, but Sophie’s heart rate was low with my push. My midwife urged me to try to get her out this next push. But I was so overwhelmed with the sensation of pushing, that I just couldn’t get her out that push.
After my contraction stopped, my midwife told me to get out of the pool and onto the bed. My husband helped me to my feet and onto the bed, where I pushed two more times.
I laugh now because I had imagined myself as this peaceful, serene birther this time. That I would gracefully breathe as I birthed my baby and pulled her to my chest. I was not that, and I have accepted that that is not how I birth. My fetal ejection reflex is just too strong and there is too much energy with my births for there to be this serene feeling.
1:22 am:
After two pushes on the bed, about 7 minutes after I had my first push-grunt, Sophie was born and placed on my chest!
My daughter and son watched as their sister was born, with my husband holding my hand as we brought our youngest daughter into the world.
My sister and mom watched nearby, welcoming Sophie into the world. My mom has been at the birth of all of her grandchildren and is a huge fan of home birth! Her mother birthed all her children at home in South Korea.
I am so grateful for having had such an amazing birth team by my side during my last two births! I felt so supported throughout my entire pregnancy, an active part of my care, and I felt that everyone truly believed in my power to birth our daughter at home.
Sophie is Here!
Sophie came into the world similar to her brother. I had big ambitions for a water birth but ended up in our bed (again) due to a strong fetal ejection reflex. She even weighed the same as him!
We welcomed her on our bed with our children by our side, so they can see that birth can be an empowering experience and this was the end of Sophie’s Birth Story!
*Sophie’s Birth Story!*
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