Preparing for a Beautiful Freebirth: August 2009

Lincoln Josiah Perkins

was born unassisted, in the water,

into the arms of his mommy and daddy

at 10:53 pm. on

Monday, August 10th, 2009
10 lbs. 5 oz. 21 1/4 in long

15" head 16" chest

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."

~Psalms 139:13

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Freebirth

Lincoln Josiah

Monday morning around 10am I felt my first real contraction. It was different than the others that I had during my prodominal labor for the past month. I took a few pics of my belly changing before and during the contrax.

before during
(round) (pointy)

My SIL was coming over to hang out. I went ahead with that plan since I had been "thinking" labor would never come and surely this was just another episode of prodominol labor. Around 10:15am I decided to lay down for a short nap and see if the contractions would peter out. Shockingly, they stayed! I was so excited that I couldn't really sleep through them! Around 11am I awoke, pottied and found my first signs that this was for sure the start of labor, my bloody show! I scramed for joy. My SIL had just walked in downstairs and I came down excited and exclaiming what I had just found. LOL.

My contractions began at 8 min apart and very quickly went to 3 minutes apart where they stayed for the remainder of my labor.

I called hubby at 3pm and told him to come home from work because this was finally IT!

My contracrtions were strong and I was so enthusiastic about having them. I welcomed each contraction and invisioned a wave coming over me, opening my cervix and slowly pushing my baby down.

8pm- My contractons were getting much more stronger. I really thought baby would be born within the hour.

We decided to make a pallet on the floor downstairs for the kids to watch a movie and drift off to sleep while Billy and I went upstairs to labor. I needed quiet. The kids were great and never made a peep once settled. I took Layla upstairs and we got into the tub to help ease the contractions. She thought this was great, but after a few contractions I decided tub was not doing it for me and I was just so tired.

Craziliy, I decide to lay down and try to sleep. Layla did fall asleep though and she was out for the night. Laying down was horrible and reminded me of exactly why I WAS NOT birthing in the hospital strapped to a bed. I had two contrax and was up again bouncing on the birthing ball. Nothing seemed to help.

---Last pic of hubby and my belly around 8 pm--

Of course, hubby did fall asleep and surprisingly I was ok with that. I just wanted to be alone and dive deep inside of myself, talking outloud to God for strength and endurance.

Up to this point I really hadn't decide where to give birth. Land or water? Nothing I did while on land made me feel comfortable, so I chose to get back in the tub and go from there.

10:15pm - Contractions were sooo intense. I called out to Billy to wake up and he jumped up. I told him it would be soon. He set up the video camera and gave me words of encouragement. Many times I cried out, "Help me! Help me!" I don't know why. Was I talking to God? Billy? Myself? It just came out. Billy would ask, "What do you need?" and I'd say "Nothing!" Funny now, but probably confusing to him then. LOL.

I couldn't decide on a birthing position. Thank goodness I didn't need to. My body would push him out anyway.

Around 10:30pm I decided to check and see if I could feel where baby's head was. I reached in and could feel his hard, squishy head with a bit of cervical lip about 2" in. It was unreal to feel him inside me. This was my 5th baby and third homebirth, but my first unassisted birth. I had never taken it apon myself to feel my progress. I always had leftthat up to my midwife. This was amazing. I felt so empowered and strong. With each contraction, I checked againa nd again. It was so incredible to feel my baby pushing through each layer of me.

After 3 contractions, I felt him at the rim of my vagina. His head buldging. Breathing throughthe pain, I remembered somewhere reading about pushing on the top of the yoni to discourage tearing. I had never torn before, but could just feel this baby was big and so I placed my fingers on the top of my yoni and pressed hard. I held my fingers there through the next contx and thought if I let go I would surely split up to my navel. His head popped out! I let out a loud, "Thank you God!" and demanded Billy to start taking pictures (even though he was). My birth pictures are an obsession of mine and at this point in all my births I become very demanding of pics. You'd think I'd be focused on something different. lol.

I placed my hand over his head and it felt amazing! He was almost here (and I sadly thought) gone from inside me forever.

I had a piggy back contraction, pushed my bottom up off the floor of the tub and with a long push that my body demanded he flew into the water.

I don't remember picking him up. It had to be instinctual to scoop him up because no one else would. Just me and my baby. --10:53pm

He was purply-blue and had his cord drapped around his shoulders. He was sooo beautiful. I was immediatly in love. How does that happen? Instant love.

His eyes were wide open and his hands were opening and closing. He did not cry at first, but I knew he was fine. He was perfect. Billy asked if he was ok because he hadn't cried. At that moment Lincoln let out a big HELLO cry to tell Daddy he was ok.

After five births, I still am amazed that I did this. My body did this. Birth. Every time, I think to myself, "I can't believe i did it!"

Billy went to wake the kids, but they were all out for the night and wouldn't budge. Layla had slept through the entire thing, in our bed, only 10 ft away.

About 30 min later I decided to get out ofthe tub. When I went to move, the placenta slid out. That was easy! We placed it in a bowl. It was still attached to Lincoln. I had not made a decision about when to cut or if we would cut his umbilcal cord. We just enjoyed the moments. Soaking in every bit of it all and not rushing for anything. We sat on the bed and just starred at our new baby. I offered him the breast and he took to it immediatly.

About 2 hours after birth we decided to weigh him. The scale reads 10 and 1/3 lb which would convert to about 10 lbs and 5oz.

Around 2 am, 3 hours after his birth, we chose to cut the cord. The cord was cold, limp, and white. there was no blood in it. We did not tie or clamp it.

We chose a place about 2" above his navel and cut. The inside was completely clotted. You could see where the three veins had clotted and the entire inside looked like a piece of hard yellowish fat. i wish I would have taken a pic of it.