Home Birth with Midwives and Doula of Katelyn


On the morning of October 17th, 2002 around 5a.m. I woke up with mild cramping. I decided that I couldn't stay in bed and went and did a little housework and tidying up! I then had a nice long warm shower. I went back to bed around 6a.m. and slept until around 8a.m. The cramping seemed to subside once I took the shower and Hilary my midwife said that sometimes when it is not actual labour the pains will subside with a nice warm shower and they did.

Not panicking but also not feeling calm I decided to call my midwife Hilary and Carol-Anne my Doula! Hilary told me to go about my day as I normally would and Carol-Anne said relax and try and get some sleep as I would need my energy if the baby decided to come that day! Carol-Anne sent Wil over right away and she stayed with me because Alan, my husband, had to go to work for a while. I decided to have Alyson my 2 year old go to a friends house for the day to play with her friends. So Wil and I headed out while the contractions (now that I think back) were getting stronger. When we were out they stopped and I didn't have any for quite a while.

I called Hilary when I got home and she said she'd like for me to come into the Clinic so she could check things out! So off I went to the Clinic for 3:30p.m. When she checked me I was already 3cm dilated and when she was finished I was 5cm dilated. At 3:15p.m. she recorded that my waters had broken because there was a hind leak. So no gush of water and nothing noticeable. While I was waiting for my husband to pick me up from the Clinic, to go and pick up Alyson at Sandy's home, the contractions began coming pretty regular and with much more intensity. We went and got Alyson and I was talking to Sandy in her driveway and she couldn't believe that I was standing there talking to her being 5cm dilated and talking normally. Another friend drove by and said the same thing that she couldn't believe I was standing there having contractions and talking through them.

	So we got back into the truck and picked up Swiss Chalet for supper! We got home around 4:30p.m. and Hilary was ringing the door bell at 5p.m. She came in and started getting things prepared and we decided that it would be comfy and convenient to labour and birth in the T.V. room by the fire. At this point my contractions were getting stronger. I have Carol-Anne and Wil there by my side assisting me through each one. Their presence was greatly appreciated and very calming, even though we had Alyson running around the house (naked).

She really wanted to get into the pool we had set-up in the T.V. room. She definitely knew something was going on and wouldn't leave my side. I felt each contraction coming and I just wanted to breath through each one with gentle reminders from Wil and Carol-Anne to relax. I let my body do what it was made to do.

	What got me through each contraction was knowing that they weren't going to last forever and that the pain I was experiencing was my body preparing to bring our new baby into this world. The girls got me some food because I hadn't eaten all day so we had a little picnic. Hilary fed Alyson some Chicken soup from Swiss Chalet because it was still a little to hot to eat by herself. I had some apple slices, crackers and water.

I decided to have them fill up the pool and I got in around (now I'm guessing because I wasn't really paying much attention to the time) 7:30-8p.m. The water was a little cool so I didn't stay in very long and decided to get out. I remember saying how do I know when to begin pushing? I then had a contraction and it was so wild I will try to describe it. I was breathing through another contraction when it peaked and at the end of it I became more vocal. I really was letting my body do what it needed to do and that included being vocal as well. Hilary basically said to me "now Gillian - do you want to birth in the water because that baby is coming very soon?" I was feeling a little uncomfortable and couldn't see myself birthing in the water so I got out and sat on the birthing stool.

As soon as I sat down the contractions were coming fast and furious. I remember feeling the pressure and the pain all at once and thinking "I can't do this" but I would vocalize over and over again "I can, I can, I can, I can". Each time Hilary would support my perineum with a warm (almost hot) wet face cloth the contraction would intensify and they were back to back.

I remember Carol-Anne telling me to lower my voice because I was screaming and she said I would have a sore throat if I didn't lower it. Basically she said to bring my voice from the belly and make it work for me to assist the baby with it's journey to the outside world. I guess Alyson was a little scared and her Daddy had to take her out of the room and talk to her but then came back in just in time for me to say that mommy has to make those sounds for the baby to come out and Mommy had to make sounds like a bear and she could too if she wanted.

Before we knew it I was starting to say the word "down, down, down" over and over again to remind myself to push the baby out. With a big gush and only about 25 minutes of pushing out came a beautiful baby.

I remember feeling a high like I've never felt before and I began crying and sobbing with joy and elation. I remember Alyson saying "oh look, the baby's so tiny"- in her beautiful soft voice. The baby's feet were quite blue and I mentioned this as I'm sitting there holding the baby to my bare chest. The cord was wrapped around the baby's feet but was quickly untangled. We didn't even know what sex the baby was until a minute or so later when I was assisted to lay on the couch with the baby in my arms. I kept saying "what do we have?". I then got a chance to try and look and I saw that we had a beautiful baby girl. Within a few minutes Katelyn Rae began nursing and looking all around the room. She was so bright and beautiful!
	I loved giving birth in the comfort of my own home and I will do it again if we decide to have another baby!