Wesley’s Birth Story
It’s been two months since Wesley was born! Life is full of breastfeeding, diaper changes, snuggles between all 4 kids, spitup on my shoulder, and cries that sound like a baby dinosaur roar.
But right now all the kids are in bed. There is a moment of calm when Wesley isn’t demanding to be in my arms, so I am going to have a moment to walk down memory lane and write out Wesley’s birth story.
For days, I had been thinking of my long to-do list that needed to get done before baby could come. Things like: move some furniture to make room for the birth tub, blow up said birth tub and wipe it down for residual dust, make freezer meals for easy dinners postpartum. Well, on April 23 all of those items on my list were checked off; I had spent the day making easy meals that I could save, the missionaries helped us move some heavy furniture, and then Andrew blew up the tub while we watched an episode of The Voice. By the time we were done, we were too tired to deflate the pool and vowed we would do that task the next day.
On April 24 (the next day), I woke up on my own at 6:45 and started getting ready for the day. Wednesdays were usually pretty busy days where I’d take the girls to Little Gym and spend the day with my mom at her home. I showered, wrapped myself in a towel and stood by the sink to start putting on my makeup. Surprisingly, at 7:02, I felt a little trickle of liquid slide down my leg. It was subtle but I still questioned it. Since having 3 babies, I am no stranger to my bladder leaking if I sneeze or jump too much, but this liquid came with none of those things. I weighed my options and decided to tell my midwife about it, just in case. I called her up and with uncertainty said, “Hey Jessie, I think my water just broke. It’s just a trickle and there are no contractions, so I will keep you posted.” After I hung up, I let Andrew know so that he could call into work to take the day off, and then I called my mom to have her come pick up the kids.
In my mind, we had a whole day of labor ahead of us. I imagined my parents leisurely coming to pick up my kids (who had waffled on the idea of being with me during labor and delivery, but who in the end had decided they’d rather be somewhere else when I had the baby). I saw Andrew and I walking around the neighborhood hand in hand, stopping periodically for me to breathe through a contraction. I imagined experiencing labor (and possibly birth) in the birthing tub, with the warm water enveloping me and calming Christian music playing in the background.
Ha! You make plans and heaven laughs! All those things I imagined went straight down the drain just 10 minutes later when I started having contractions. They came fast and they came hard. In the middle of trying to get yogurt for my kid’s breakfast, I’d have to stop and focus on a contraction. I tracked it on an app that sent real-time updates to my midwife. She quickly realized this birth was moving at a much faster pace than we had anticipated, and she rushed to drop her kids off at school before driving to my home. At one point, she called Andrew and told him that she might not make it (she was still 20 minutes away at this point) and he might be the one catching our baby on his own.
Speaking of Andrew, this whole time he was running around like a madman trying to prepare our bedroom for birth. There was no time to fill the tub (which just stood there, inflated but empty, at the base of our bed), so he worked on putting the mattress cover on the bed and the tarp on the floor and towels nearby. He had sweat beadles gathering on his forehead as he rushed around while also trying to keep our midwife in the loop as to what was happening.
At around 8:45ish I felt very pushy and got on the bed to labor on my hands and knees. Harper was still strapped in her high chair downstairs in the kitchen. I hoped the big bowl of yogurt I’d given her would keep her occupied. Grace and Maddy hovered around me and spoke sweet words of encouragement. “You can do this, Mommy! We love you!” They were pure angels.
At 8:52, Jessie (my midwife) arrived and came to my side. It was such a relief (for me and for Andrew) to have her there.
At 8:54, my parents came through the door. My mom came in to see me laboring and then guided my kids out of the room so that my dad could take them home with him. But as she was buckling Harper into her carseat, she heard my dad say, “Um, Candace, bring the kids up. The baby is here!” What!? She was in shock that she had missed it in just a few short minutes.
I had been on my knees in bed but didn’t feel comfortable, so I got up and leaned on Andrew like we were slow dancing. That position did the trick, and in 3 grunty pushes baby was out. It was so fast. My midwife had been trying to get heart tones in front of me, and then one of my guttural groans cued her into the fact that baby might already be coming. She looked behind me and could see his little head poking out. The next push (at 9:03am), baby came out and landed in Jessie’s arms and was quickly passed to me. I held my baby boy for the first time and let out a smile of joy and relief. We sat on the bed, and then next moment my mom rushed up, shocked that she had missed the whole thing!
My kids were led into the room and met their baby brother. It was such a special experience having them there.
Having a home birth was AMAZING! The immediate postpartum care was done with so much calm. I was able to learn more about the placenta and really feel gratitude and awe for God’s perfect design of our bodies. I am so grateful for the amazing people that supported this birth. Jessie Rockwell of Gold Soul Midwifery is honestly the best midwife in the entire world! I loved our appointments throughout my pregnancy, and I was so impressed with her during and after birth. Honestly, I consider her a dear friend now and am so grateful Heavenly Father led me to find her. My parents were great. My mom was wary of the idea of a home birth at first (my Dad was never convinced it was a good idea), but even with her hesitancy she was respectful of my decision and trusted in my research and mindful decision. And Andrew was the rock that steadied me through the entire experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He literally held me up as I delivered our son. I was surrounded by wonderful people who made this birth an experience to remember.
