Abram's Birth: Part I

I've decided to break Abram's birth story into two parts.  Part I: Why We Chose a Home Birth and Part II: The Birth Story.

Hello, my dears.  Happy Monday!  Maybe it’s the fact that I got to do some yoga this morning before the kids woke up, actually cooked breakfast (yes, it was Cream of Wheat, but still), and somehow managed to get Brady off to school without the usual hectic chaos - but today is feeling grand.  I’m in the mood to accomplish loads of things.  And eager to finally tell you Abram’s birth story.

Abram was born at home.  We chose to do this, instead of a hospital birth, for a few reasons.  First, I knew I wanted a natural birth.  When Brady was born, I eagerly took the epidural when they offered it.  And it was a lovely, pain-free birth.  The only thing was, when the anesthesiologist had come in and inserted the needle into my back he had said, “oh!”  Having a medical professional say, “oh!” while they're working on you is usually not a good sign.  Later, I found that the needle had punctured my epidural space (which I was told was unexpectedly tiny) and I became victim to some killer spinal headaches.  Once at home, recovery progressed rather slowly, too.   

So when I learned that my daughter, Lily, was going to be born with some problems, I opted out for the epidural.  There was a good chance I would have complications again due to my tiny epidural space and I wanted a fast recovery.  More importantly, I needed to know that she was clear of any drugs so they could accurately assess her abilities and health at birth.  Thankfully, Lily’s birth was wonderfully easy.  Oh, it definitely hurt but endorphins are fabulous things:  I felt fantastic within minutes of giving birth to her. 

Having such a positive experience with Lily's birth made going natural again with Abram a no-brainer.  But I’d heard that it could be really difficult to not have any interventions if giving birth in the hospital.  I’d arrived at the hospital doors about 15 minutes before Lily was born, so I didn’t know for myself; there wasn’t time to intervene!  We had our fingers crossed it wouldn’t be quite so rushed this time around.

I decided to read up on home births and research the statistics to make sure it was a safe option for our family.  The more I read, the more I became convinced that it was the right thing for us.  I found a wonderful midwife and began visiting her for my monthly checkups, bringing Brady along with me.  It was the best experience to have a care provider that knew my entire family.  She treated Brady like a grandchild and he always looked forward to visiting her office.

As for me, I looked forward to having a delivery that was free of a crazy last-minute drive to the hospital; where just my husband, the midwife and I could deliver our child; where my oldest could meet his baby brother as soon after as I wanted.  I looked forward to uninterrupted sleep in my own bed the night after the birth.  And I looked forward to giving a child life in the same place where my baby girl had left us two years before.

Stay tuned for Part II of Abram's birth story later this week.  Tomorrow, I'm going to have some Valentine's freebies just for you, my lovely readers.  See you then!

Photos by Craig and me