The Birth of Elliot

I gave birth to my first baby in our home at Vashon Cohousing on Thursday, November 9, 2017.

The day before we had a checkup with the midwives in West Seattle (Taylor and Christine at In Tandem Midwifery). I told my husband, Woody, let’s get cupcakes at Cupcake Royale for the baby’s birthday tomorrow. He laughed, but I was serious, I had my money on 41 weeks exactly!

My last bump pic the night before

That evening I started getting tiny infrequent cramps. These were quite mild so Woody and I excitedly made dinner together and talked about that night potentially being our last night just the two of us. We took some last minute pregnancy photos and talked to our baby through my belly, asking if tomorrow baby would join us. It was terribly romantic and I went to bed with butterflies. I slept pretty well with a few mild contraction wake ups until about 6:30 am I could no longer sleep, I was in real labor! Woody and I prepared and relaxed together a few hours. Called our doula Amber (on island) and midwives (off island) around 9:30am as things slowly progressed and we gained confidence that it was *the* day. My neighbor Terra came over to braid my hair.

Things moved along in expected stages through the day. My cat Oscar stayed by my side snuggling in bed and also keeping a watchful eye on me from the edge of the birth pool  . My husband pushed on my hips, and held two massagers on my low back during contractions. My midwife Taylor asked what I’d like to eat and my doula brought me tasty food from the kitchen – a beef samosa dish in the afternoon then Phish Food ice cream later when I wanted some sugar energy. I ate the ice cream while laboring on the toilet and was in a lovely labor high of hormones, mumbling about my love for ice cream, squatty potties, and home birth. I had Hypnobabies playing on some speakers and somewhere around 5 pm? my calm and patience was gone and I was swearing and hollering during contractions telling people to “turn that peaceful shit off.” Went through some phases of tough work laboring in lunges on the stairs, resting side lying on the couch, baby seemed a bit stuck with a nuchal hand, laboring in the warm birth pool, then I threw up all over my birth team . OK now we were close!

Ended up in this funny side clam position on my couch because baby’s heart rate liked that best for pushing. I kept repeating some mantras “open open open” and “the only way out is through” and looking at the watercolor painting of a 10cm circle my neighbor Margaret loaned me (from her twins’ birth years before). My consciousness was in a very altered state — very visual, colorful, timeless, and yet I felt more NOW beyond all sense of being present I’ve ever felt. I was in an unimaginable NOWness, a different plane of existence. (I’m typically a really words/logic/linear thinker so this was cool to think in images and feelings!).

Finally, crowning had begun and I could feel my baby’s head stretching me. I was probably only halfway done crowning when I felt like my body and soul were ripping and there was NO way I could stretch further. But then I stretched further. And further. “The only way out is through.” Finally the head was out for a little breather. Next contraction and slip—out baby’s soft warm body came and was placed on my chest with a blanket. He started crying right away and it was the most beautiful sound. The whole room was suspended in joy and stillness. After a few minutes adoring this new person with my husband, I lifted the blanket and peeked a tiny penis. A son! He was born just before 8 pm.

Woody cut the cord and I had opted for a pitocin shot in the thigh to help the next stage, so then I pushed out the placenta and endured that nasty belly “massage” to help my uterus contract down. I had a few small tears and was given the option of stitches or healing without so opted to heal on my own.

My neighbor Terra brought over a delicious stew and bread loaf for dinner for everyone. I ate my soup then the birth team helped me up to my bedroom on the second floor where I stayed the next week recovering. They tucked my husband, me, and our new little person into bed with reminders about their pager if we needed anything (before they returned in 2 days to check in). They cleaned everything up with our doula Amber and then Amber came back the next day to feed us and clean some more. (We requested some ZAT burgers from Zombiez, yum those hit the spot!).