Lovie, here is your birth story.

Here is the long version of Lovie's birth story!  I'm sure you'd rather read this than see the video (wasn't planning on a video, but one of the midwive's grabbed our camera, took pictures, and made a video of Lovie's grand entrance. Now I am SO happy we have it, because it's amazing)!

Road sign pointing to 'The Farm'

While at my cousin's wedding in Detroit, Michigan, we had met a couple who lived near Nashville on a place called 'The Farm'. When we found out that we were expecting, I remembered that when I had previously googled 'The Farm' that they had a midwifery center.  I contacted them and spoke to a really nice midwife named Stacie. Thinking that paying out of pocket for a birth with a midwife was too expensive, we instead went to an OB.  We began seeing the OB in Cool Springs, who we really enjoyed and was a great physician! However, after several visits, the rushing in an out, months of hyperemesis, a Zofran pump for nausea, a hospital visit for dehydration, and a home health nurse.... we thought surely there had to be a better way than all this medication to get me to stop throwing up. We also became concerned when our OB said that I would probably never vaginally deliver a baby more than 6 1/2 to 7 pounds because I had a 'flat pelvis'.  Jon and I decided to make an appointment at 'The Farm' with a midwife named Pamela Hunt, who had been delivering babies there since 1970, and we drove the one and a half hours to Summertown, TN for our appointment.  We were delighted to gain some insight into nutrition during pregnancy (I cut out sugar from my diet, ate more leafy greens, and finally stopped throwing up), and loved the fact that our appointment was 2 hours long! No rushing in an out of the room, no unnecessary tests. We immediately felt comfortable in our decision to give birth to our baby at the farm.  We had our 20 week anatomy ultrasound at our OB's office (just to make sure everything was okay with the baby since the midwives don't do ultrasounds), then had our records transferred to The Farm Midwifery Center.
In November 2010, when I was about 5 months pregnant, my school sent me on a day long trip to Chattanooga with the fourth grade class. I had severe morning sickness, and riding on a bus to Chattanooga and then hiking through the Tennessee Aquarium and Ruby Falls all in one day was not what she wanted to do. Regardless, I went, and that afternoon while walking through Ruby Falls I stopped dead in my tracks from a terrible 'falling out' feeling- like the baby was going to just be born in the middle of the cave. From then on things didn't feel quite right. I had a lot of continuous pressure after that.

Me, at Christmas. About 6 months pregnant.

By Thanksgiving I was having BH contractions every day. By Christmas, they were coming on even stronger. In January, the pressure was so intense it was getting hard to move, sit, or stand, and anything but lying down on my side was extremely painful.  After I had to move my entire classroom to a new location, the pressure was extremely intense.  On the next prenatal visit, Pamela decided to do an exam. She found that the baby had already dropped (maybe while at Ruby Falls?) and I was 75% effaced and beginning to dilate.  Luckily though, she had dropped into the ideal position for delivery. So, I was put on bed rest.




Me, about 7 months, before a weekly trip to our
Bradley class.

 

I had been having contractions in the evening and when standing fairly regularly for weeks. So, it was no surprise when on Saturday March 26th the contractions came on very strong and fast, at about 4 minutes apart, and all in my back. I got in the shower to relieve some of the cramping, and Pamela just happened to call and check on me. Jon & I packed up and drove to The Farm that evening, because even if labor wasn't starting Pamela suggested that we relax for a few days and it would probably get it started.




Lovie was the first baby to be born in this house!

Jon, talking to Lovie on our first stay at 'The Farm'

A perfect heart shaped puddle we found on one of our walks
around the property. Cool, huh? We took it as a sign
of good things to come.

 

Attempted 'induction'.

Unfortunately the contractions became irregular, and we tried black & blue cohosh to get them going again. We took long walks through The Farm property, past the chickens and roosters and horses, stopping every so often for a contraction. On Monday we tried an olive oil & peach juice drink to induce labor, but it only brought on nausea. I was still only 1cm dilated but was 100% effaced and our baby was at a +1 station. By Wednesday I was still not in labor, so when we got the call that our house sitter had locked herself out of our house, we went home.
On Sunday, April 3, Pamela called to let us know that because I was way past my due date by my cycle (EDD March 15th... although ultrasounds said March 21nd, 22nd, and 27th) and that I was going to have to have a non stress test at the OB's office that works with the midwifes and possibly be induced. She was not worried about me or the baby, but we had to follow the OB’s orders.  I was so scared and upset that I made up my mind that I was going to go into labor that very night. I really think that it was just a threat, and that she never intended to take me to the OB. I don't have confirmation of this, but I am pretty sure she was just trying to bring down my 'mental labor block'. Whatever it was, it worked!

First I took some evening primrose oil, then took 3 walks with Jon around the neighborhood totaling about 4 miles, went to hold my neighbor's three week old baby for good 'baby vibes', and ate some eggplant parmesan (it's supposed to put you in labor according to a restaurant in my hometown). Jon went to sleep around 10:00pm, but I wasn't tired so I did the dishes before I laid down about 30 minutes later. I woke up nearly an hour later, at about 11:30, with period like cramps and noticed a little bit of blood when I used the restroom. I tried to wake up Jon, but he wouldn't get up! I tried to sleep some more but the cramps were too uncomfortable, so again I tried to wake up Jon around 1:00am. He still wouldn't get up, but I knew that this was the real thing. I packed a few little things that weren't already in our birth cabin and got in the shower to shave my legs. At 2:00 I finally got Jon to wake up, and he showered and got dressed. I was already getting sick to my stomach, so after a quick stop at the gas station for a sprite we were on the road to Summertown by 4:00am.

About 4cm along. Apparently I was dressed for a
nike ad. Actually I was just so large I
could only fit in Jon's workout clothes.

My contractions started off 8 minutes apart and 45 seconds long, and an hour and a half later when we arrived at the farm they were 6 minutes apart and about a minute long. Leia, a visiting midwife, was in the cabin waiting on us when they arrived. She sat on the couch and knitted little booties for our baby while I bounced on my birth ball. Jon made breakfast for us and we watched the sun rise.  When Pamela arrived shortly afterwards she checked me around 7:00am and found that I was 2-3cm dilated. I labored for a few more hours, while Leia took a nap in the guest bedroom, Pamela went back to her house down the road, and Jon and I tried to get some rest in the master bedroom.  When Pamela returned she checked me again and I had progressed to 3cm. She suggested that Jon and I go on a walk before the storms arrived. Jon and I went behind the house on a trail in the woods, stopping for contractions, and eventually out onto a path through a field. We were listening to the thunder and talking some, until all of a sudden out of nowhere we were getting pounded by hail and rain. We took off running until I had a contraction and had to stop... don't try running during a contraction as it is extremely painful... and by the time we made it back to the cabin the hail and rain had stopped. We walked around the driveway for awhile and then went back inside to rest.

Hot water bottle on my back.

By early evening my contractions felt less period-like and more intense in my back and bottom.  The storms had arrived, which I was hoping for because they are so soothing to me. I was 5.5cm, which meant it was time to get in the water! I was so relieved as we were hoping for a water birth. Up until this point nearly all of my labor was done in the standing 'slow dance' position. We opened the windows so I could hear the thunder and raindrops. I got in the tub and felt so much relief in my back until the first contraction. Not standing during a contraction was horrible, and I could not get comfortable. Leia poured water over my back to help me relax but I just couldn't. I got out of the tub and into the shower, then out of the shower and put on my nightgown. Jon and I went back to 'slow dancing'.



Attempting hands and knees.



Dancing the night away...

Later that night, maybe around 8:00pm, I started getting sick again. I was checked and was 7cm. Then around 9:00pm I was checked and was 8cm. I remember thinking that I was so happy because transition was tough but usually short, and it meant I was almost ready to push this baby out! Around 1:00am on April 5th I was again checked and only found to be 8.5cm. My labor had stalled. Everyone tried to convince me to get on my hands and knees, but it was so painful I couldn't make myself do it. I had spent hours going back and forth to the toilet because I thought I had to use the bathroom and my bottom hurt SO bad. All my pain was on my tailbone and I kept saying that my 'butt was going to explode'! They kept reminding me that the pressure was just the baby, and nothing else. 


Stacie helpin' a sister out.

 

Pushing on my side.


Stacie had me lay down on the bed and checked me. She found that my cervix had swollen, and she had to massage it to get it to go down. It was decided that I wasn't getting anywhere and that they needed to manually dilate my cervix. So, for nearly an hour, I laid on the bed and leaned onto Jon while Stacie used her hands to dilate my cervix during each contraction. It was excruciating and by far the only part of my labor I would call intolerable. Finally she got me to 10cm with just a little bit of lip left. She also noticed my baby had completely moved from the right side of my belly to my left side, and was now face up, causing me all the back/bottom pain. They finally convinced me to get on my hands and knees and push to get past the last little bit of cervix. Then they moved me to push on my side. Then they saw I was just too tired, as my contractions were slowing down and I was running out of speed.  They had me lay on my back and lean on Jon again, and sleep during contractions.  I caught a few minutes of sleep between several contractions, then woke up and decided I was through and I had to get this baby out NOW.

Takin' a snooze.



Jon, losing hair.

 I got up, grabbed both sides of the door handle on the bedroom door, squatted, and pushed. I started to make some progress!
Eventually they brought out the birth stool, placed Jon behind me to hold me up, and I pushed that way for awhile. Pamela helped me so I wouldn't tear, using olive oil from the kitchen and stretching me during contractions. During one push we all heard a huge POP which turned out to be a broken tailbone. After about two hours of pushing Lovie started to crown! She came out in a strange position, where she crowned near her ear and was looking sideways, not up or down. By this time my water still had not broken, and they are pretty sure it broke when Lovie was on her way out. 

Me, in the spotlight. It was dark in the room and
the sun was rising for the second time.

Welcome to the world, Lovie!



Upon first inspection, I thought Dan Aykroyd fathered my child.
Seriously- look at that CONEHEAD!
Actually it was just bad because of the hematoma and
prolonged labor.

Jon cuts the cord! My first words on the video "We did it! Aw
she's crying! COVER UP THAT CONE!"



Proud (and tired) Papa!



At this point I'd been awake over 48 hours.


I was losing a good amount of blood so they quickly gave me pitocin to deliver the placenta (Jon was instructed to bury the placenta in the backyard since they don’t have a way to dispose of it.).  I had 2 tears, but thankfully not a perineal tear. I walked over to the bed, got about 15 or so stitches, and called our parents who were staying in a nearby hotel. They arrived about an hour later.

We stayed at The Farm for five days after Lovie’s birth, and our midwives stopped in a few times a day to check on us. They were so wonderful, knowledgeable, and encouraging. At every prenatal and postnatal appointment they literally spent hours with us and never rushed. Jon & I would most definitely recommend The Farm Midwives to anyone interested in having a home birth.  We could not have done it without them (and they agreed saying had we been in a hospital we would have been a sure c-section) and what we learned in our Bradley class (we used every technique we could remember), and I surely could not have gotten through it without Jon who ‘slow danced’ with me for the majority of my 31 hours of labor!

A better picture of me & Lovie- still tired but at least I had showered!



A family photo in the living room of the house! <3