This is the story of Maybelle June and her peaceful arrival Earthside.
Disclaimer: There are images of blood, a placenta, cord and vernix. If you are squeamish this may not be for you. The images of our walk and the birth are by the amazingly talented Christine Wright Photography. They are not my work. Images have been resized so do not reflect the true quality of her work.The other images preceding the birth are from my phone.
Backstory
I like to give a little backstory to my birth stories as there are always little details leading up to my babies births that have some significance. All throughout my pregnancy and even now, I have been seeing the numbers “123” whether it was the time 1:23 or 11:23. I wondered what this could mean. Towards the end of my pregnancy I started to think maybe it corresponded to her birth time. Well, it didn’t BUT what was interesting is that our midwife Dina arrived at our house at 11:23pm. And our photographer, without knowing any of this, took a picture of a phone with the time 1:23:33. So funny enough it did play into her birth story!
During Lillian’s birth we felt strongly that Dan’s mom had visited us. My phone, which was on silent and Do Not Disturb mode, out of nowhere started playing music. We don’t remember the song, but took it as a sign that she was letting us know she was there. We don’t have any memory of her visiting us during Nolan’s birth, but I was wearing the necklace Dan had made for me from one of her rings, so I knew she was with me then. In the days leading up to Maybelle’s birth, I was wearing the same necklace but ended up taking it off the day she was born. However, on the video Dan took of the birth, you can clearly see a light orb leave my body after our doula, Kiersten, sat down to support me while I labored in the pool. We believe that was her supporting me in her own way.
The Labor
For reference, Lillian was born after a 6.5 hour labor and Nolan was born in just under 3 hours. This birth took a few twists and turns and was nothing like I expected. I started having contractions around 4:45am on a Saturday morning (4/30). Nolan’s labor started very similarly and I expected it might take the same course. With Nolan, as soon as I got out of bed, things intensified but this time Dan was not home, he was at my studio doing some work and I was in the bed with Nolan snuggling up next to me. I didn’t dare get out of bed until Dan got home because I didn’t want things to progress with him not there and to have to watch the two big kids on my own while laboring. I texted Dan around 6:15 and told him he should wrap things up at the studio and head home as I have been having some cramps. He said he was finished and was heading home shortly. I waited for him to get home and shower before I got out of bed. When I did get out of bed, things did not progress as I expected but I still called up the midwife and photographer just in case things started to pick up. I had Dan start blowing up the birth pool and I got some things together. On the weekends we like to get bagels and watch a show with the kids (Kids Baking Challenge is our current favorite), so I ordered the bagels to be delivered. I sat on my birth ball while we watched and could hardly eat probably from excitement and just a lack of an appetite. Things were still moving pretty slow so I felt a little silly calling up the birth team but they were both an hour away so I had a bit of peace of mind that they were on their way.
To make a long story short, the team arrived, the photographer, Christine, hung in her car; Dina checked in, helped us set some things up and then headed to the grocery store where she bought me some delicious watermelon. We invited Christine on a walk with us and I was still contracting the whole time but it was so tolerable that I never had to stop to breathe or anything. I’m so grateful to have had her join us on that walk because it was our last walk as a family of 4.
But alas things completely stopped around 11:30am and we sent everyone on their way. Our original plans for this day were to go to a Touch a Truck event in Wall and then later in the evening to go to the food truck festival at the Oak Tree Lodge. We were all so excited for these events that when I did start having contractions, I was a little sad we wouldn’t be able to attend them. Well since everything stopped, we packed up the kids and headed to Touch A Truck. Even ran into fellow homebirthing mama and dear friend Jill and her crew there. I was a little embarrassed and disappointed but I was happy we could still go through with our plans. I did get the occasional contraction but it wasn’t anything alarming.
At the food truck festival I tried to play it cool and didn’t tell anyone but my good friend Bianca what was going on. I was still getting contractions throughout the night but they were mild. It was funny having to tell people I still had about 3 weeks left when I knew I could have hours left! That night we went to bed and around 2am I started getting contractions again pretty consistently. I just tried my best to sleep and breathe through them not wanting to get up and bring them on any stronger until I had a full night in bed. By the morning, the moment I got out of bed, they slowed down again. I started to feel a bit discouraged. I thought maybe she needed to get in a better position so I contacted my chiropractor, Dr. Steph, of Circle of Life, to see if she herself, her partner, or another chiropractor she might know would do a home visit or had Sunday hours. She so graciously agreed to meet with me at her office in Avon. I knew it might not kickstart anything especially because I was still only 37 weeks plus a few days, but I figured if my body and baby were ready, it could only help. After the adjustment I came home and realized I was starting to lose my plug. Dina had offered that what I was experiencing could be Braxton Hicks, but I knew these were different and with the bloody show, I knew my body was doing some work. This was a little encouraging to me that things might start to progress and I wouldn’t be left contracting for weeks. The day was pretty much the same as the previous day.
Dan went to my studio again after the kids went to bed and I got some quality time with Todd. After going to bed I started contracting sooner in the night this time and hardly slept at all. The next morning (Monday), I woke up exhausted, mentally drained and Lillian had a fever.
My poor girl just slept on the couch for the majority of the morning and Nolan needed to be occupied. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to survive the day. At one point while Lillian was napping, I was with Nolan in his room and I started playing some music (Ben Howard) that I hoped would lift my spirits and Nolan started complaining he didn’t like the music. After no sleep, contracting on and off and just a poor mood, his yelling at me that he doesn’t like the music made me break down and cry. I had an appointment with Dina that afternoon so I left Lillian home with Dan and brought Nolan with me. Dina wasn’t very reassuring that baby would be coming soon. I was hopeful that with the bloody show, I’d be meeting my baby within the next few days, but she told me about a mom who had her baby a few weeks after experiencing bloody show. Thanks a lot Dina lol
Lillian was pretty much fully recovered (or so we thought) by the time we got home. I really didn’t have a lot of energy or mental capacity to entertain the kids so we watched a lot of TV that day. By dinnertime, Lillian’s fever was back. Dan made us hamburgers but Lillian couldn’t even get off the couch to eat and I wasn’t very hungry myself so I brought her upstairs to bed. She was having trouble going to sleep as I read to her and I started getting some stronger contractions that were closer together so I ended up kneeling over her bed while she drifted off to sleep. Things continued this way for a bit and I decided to get in the shower as Dan put Nolan down for bed in his brand new full sized bed in his big boy room for the very first time. After my shower and after Nolan went to sleep, we turned on The Home Edit on Netflix. I asked Dan to rub my feet but afterwards I just could not get comfortable. I didn’t really think I was in active labor but I was contracting more often and could not find a comfortable position to be in. I called it quits on the night sometime around 10 or so but I didn’t end up getting in the bed. I thought about it but kind of just walked around wondering if this was active labor. I have a bit of an irritable uterus and I realized where the band was on my pants was where I was getting contractions and thought maybe my uterus was just being sensitive and the band was irritating it. So I decided to just wear my robe without pants to see if that changed anything. Instead I just felt really cold and started shaking. I decided to call Dina around 10:30 because I figured at this point and especially with my shaking that I am probably in active labor and I didn’t want to end up birthing my baby on my own. She was in bed and we decided to wait it out a little longer because I don’t think I sounded confident in my assessment of the situation. She suggested I lay down and try to sleep and see if anything changes. I tried and they only came on stronger so around 11 I called in all the members of my birth team and woke up Dan who was in Nolan’s room. He got the birth pool set up again and I worked through the contractions still confused and unsure if this was the real thing. Dina was the first to arrive at 11:23 followed shortly after by Kiersten. They were both great and offered gentle words of encouragement during my contractions. Lillian came down at some point. It was the second time she had woken up since I put her down around 7:30. I wasn’t in full blown labor the first time, but this time we knew baby was coming and she wanted to stay with us.
The Birth
I didn’t know what to do with myself. I just kind of stood around, wanting to get on my hands and knees or lean over a ball but just couldn’t find a comfortable position. Kiersten provided some counter pressure on my back and then some hip squeezes. She suggested some movement and to lean against the wall to help baby get in the right position. Shortly after trying the wall, I was starting to feel the urge to push. It was funny because this was so different from Nolan’s birth which was so fast and furious. It was somewhat similar to Lillian’s though in that in between contractions I could recoup and enjoy the company around me. I felt pretty with it and never really went into labor land. I made my way towards the bathroom to go pee, but on the way felt another contraction coming and decided I didn’t want to have my baby on the toilet! The pool was full enough so I decided to get in. I liked being upright but just imagined my baby dropping out onto the floor and that didn’t seem ideal. The water helped me feel buoyant and I was able to get more comfortable. I started pushing shortly after getting in the water and her head was out after a couple pushes. Christine showed up just as Maybelle’s head came out. She missed Nolan’s birth so I was so happy she was there for this part. Another push or two later and her whole body slipped into my hands at 11:59PM on May 2nd . What a relief!!!
We were a little concerned about her cord because with Nolan, he was born with the cord wrapped around him and when he was moved to remove the cord, it snapped. Maybelle had the cord around her leg so Dina was very gently helping to remove it and allow me to bring her up closer to my chest.
We spent a short time in the pool transitioning. She let out a little cry after being born and then she got quiet and peaceful. She actually slept for awhile after she was born. Very similar to Lillian. She’s the only one we found out the gender for so I joked throughout the whole pregnancy she would be born a boy and fool us all. I checked and she was definitely a girl.
DIna wanted to check my bleeding because it appeared to be heavy in the water so we decided to move to the bedroom. As soon as I stood up I started violently shaking. I was cold and the adrenaline flooded my body. I thought I might drop her! When I got to the bed, Kiersten helped cover me up and I warmed up shorty after.
We snuggled skin-to-skin for about an hour. Maybelle slept the whole time. We hung out with everyone. Kiersten fed me the watermelon that Dina got for me the first day. Then Dina helped me deliver the placenta maybe 30 minutes after she was born (time is non-existent after birthing a baby). Dan cut the cord after about an hour and Kiersten helped me get up to use the bathroom and change. I ended up getting a lot of blood on the floor which Kiersten cleaned up and I finally realized the embarrassment yet gratitude my patients on the postpartum floor felt when I would help them to the bathroom for the first time. It never bothered me to clean up their blood or help them put on their underwear. I enjoyed being able to help and show them they deserve this small act of kindness and love.
At some point Dina and Kiersten drained the pool and cleaned up the living room. After Dan had some bonding with Maybelle, Dina did her newborn exam. We all had some guesses about what she weighed and I think Kiersten and I were the closest. After measuring her length, Dina said “she’s a tiny flower.” She was 6lb 9oz and 19in; she is our sweet little May flower. Lillian was with us the whole time, still with a fever and in and out of sleep. But I can’t think of anything more special than watching your little sister enter this world. I am so glad she was there with us. Nolan slept all night in his new bed, in his new room and got to meet her the next morning; he instantly fell in love. I don’t know when everyone left but they all commented on what a beautiful, joyous birth it was. You can see from the pictures how happy we all are- just soaked in oxytocin and the miracle of new life.
Thank you to Dina, our third mom, for always giving us the most loving care. It’s hard to believe our journey with you bringing new life into this world is over but we will forever cherish our time growing with you. You hold such a special place in our hearts. We love you forever.
Kiersten, thank you for taking me on pretty last minute, while still going to school and for missing out on precious sleeping hours with us to help bring our little love into the world. Your peaceful energy, tender touch and gentle voice were exactly what I needed in this final labor and birth of mine.
Christine, these pictures are more than I could have hoped for. I apologize for my fast births and not giving you the full experience of labor and birth but your photos are always beautiful and tell the story perfectly!
Thank you readers for taking the time to read our story. I share my story to bring hope and inspiration to other birthing families to know that it can be a beautiful, undisturbed process. Our bodies are incredible and can do amazing things if left alone. I know not everyone can have this type of experience for many different reasons and my heart is with all of you who dreamed of a peaceful birth that didn’t go as expected.
Please feel free to reach out with questions about homebirth if you are at all interested or intrigued. Many blessings!
Midwife: Dina Aurichio https://newbirthexperiences.com/
Doula: Kiersten Labzda http://www.moonmamayoga.com/
Photographer: Christine Wright Photography https://www.christinewrightphoto.com/
Chiropractor: https://circleoflifechironj.com/