I’m so excited to share Judah’s birth story with you all!
Judah’s original due date was April 5, so I was 1 week over and boy was I so ready for him to come! At 1:30 AM, I woke up to use the bathroom and felt contractions. I had been having contractions for a few days, but they would go away. When these contractions started, they were pretty intense! They came strong and I called my midwife within 15 minutes letting her know that I was having contractions.
She told me she was on her way. Jabari began setting everything up and I changed into my birth outfit. I was so excited and ready for him to be here, but also wanted to make sure I was calm and focusing on breathing through the contractions since they were strong. My midwife texted me at 2:25 asking how I was doing. I told her I felt like I needed to push soon! Lol. Thankfully, he didn’t come that fast.
My midwife arrived and started to set everything up. I got in the tub and it felt SO relaxing. I stayed in the tub for a little bit and the contractions did become a little less intense..so I had a break.
I decided to get out of the tub and move around because I was ready to get him out! Lol my midwife reminded me to take my time.
I stayed in the bathroom then transitioned to the floor of my room. For some reason, I really like to be on the floor when I’m in labor or when I used to have menstrual cramps. Soon, I felt the urge to push and started pushing when I felt a contraction. I felt him moving down and then my water broke! I kept pushing and my midwife guided me through telling me to slow down and that helped so much and one of the reasons why I believe I didn’t tear. Next thing I know he was in my arms. I was SOO glad to have him here. It felt so great to get in the comfort of my bed after birth. I pushed out the placenta and cuddled with my little baby. We were both examined and then woke his sisters up to meet him. It was a beautiful experience and we had the best birth team. God is so good.
Videographer: Mary Beth Wood Photography @marybethwoodphotography
Midwife: Jaimy Dunn-Klinko
Doula: Bertha, berthatheessentialdoula.com
Midwives deliver babies and provide pre & post natal care to moms. Doulas are trained professionals that assist with childbirth before, during, and after labor.
Fun fact, I did not have a doula this time, but my doula from Ava’s birth ended up being my midwife’s assistant so I got to still have her there which I loved. Read more of Ava’s birth story here.
Why we decided on homebirth
The hospitals have become very restrictive due to covid and we wanted more control over the environment we would give birth at. I also had a great natural birth with Ava and that gave me the confidence to do a homebirth
Did you have any fears?
Yes, I did have fears, but I would have had those same fears going to a hospital just because anything can happen in labor. BUT when you don’t interfere with birth and let the body do what it was created to do, there are less chances of complications because there is less unnecessary intervention. I wrote scripture and meditated on those fears that I had to speak against them.
I also asked my midwife questions such as, what would happen if the baby came out not breathing and she assured me that she’s trained to resuscitate babies just as they would at the hospital. We also live very close to the hospital in case we did need to transfer.
Hospital vs. home birth
I would definitely choose homebirth. It was so nice not to need to check in while I’m having contractions and not having something stuck in my arm. My husband prefers home births as well.
The only con I would say is some insurances don’t cover home births so you may have to pay out of pocket, but it is totally worth every penny!
That is really the only con I can think of.
Birth Playlist
I told my husband to play one of my favorite songs by Geoffrey Gorden called Glory to the lamb. I love that song and kept it on repeat just because I knew what to expect and it helped me focus through my contractions. When it was closer to the time to push, I switched up the music to other worship songs. I had this same song at my last birth too!
Did it hurt?
The contractions were intense and uncomfortable at times, but there wasn’t any pain that made me scream. In labor, you need to focus and concentrate on breathing or moaning through contractions. The only time I make sound is when I push!
In the end, it doesn’t matter how your baby gets here. A healthy baby and mama matters. Whether you have a home birth, hospital, birth center, etc. You created a human and brought them into the world, praise God! I do advocate and pray that women can experience a positive/non traumatic birth. Many Black women are dying at an alarming rate (especially in Georgia) due to not receiving proper care in the hospital or being dismissed if they feel like they may be in pain. My midwife was amazing and truly showed me a lot of care. If you ever feel like you aren’t receiving great care from your provider, I urge you to switch. It doesn’t matter how far along you are, I know someone that switched providers towards the end of their pregnancy. We need to see more positive birth stories and know that it’s possible to have a non traumatic birth.
What does a supernatural birth really mean?
A supernatural birth means fully trusting and submitting your birth plan to God. It means trusting him even if plans change. I had a mindset that we were going to do a homebirth, but if I had to be transferred to the hospital I prayed that I would still be joyful and trust in what God wanted for me.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I’m so passionate about positive birth experiences. I’m happy to answer any questions.
What to do to prepare for a medication free labor (if you desire one of course)
- Eat healthy -ish lol. My last pregnancy I was vegan. Definitely not vegan anymore lol, but I ate a lot of greens and good food like 70% of the time! Also, I rarely eat fast food and we are big on incorporating lots of veggies and fruit in our diet. I will say that my iron was the highest it has ever been during this pregnancy! I took blood builder as I usually do, but I also ate beef with vitamin C to absorb the iron. My iron was low with Lola too and I wasn’t vegan.
- Exercise. My exercise was running after my kids lol. I did not exercise throughout pregnancy. It was covid and it was hard. I was already working from home and homeschooling. I do wish I would have exercised more bc I experienced more pelvic pain and tightness than any pregnancy. I know it was because I wasn’t as active. I was more active probably those last two weeks of my pregnancy and had more energy. Oh well lol. But if you can, workout!
- Drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. This tea is known to strengthen the uterine walls and decrease labor time in pregnant women and relieve premenstrual symptoms in women in general.
- Chiropractic adjustments I started to receive chiropractic adjustments around like 12 weeks. It is known to relieve back pain, pelvic pain (which is what I had), allows baby to get into a better position and so much more! It also helps to shorten labor. I highly recommend it.
- Eating Dates closer to my due date Eating dates helps to ripen your cervix and studies show that women who eat dates have a shorter labor. I will link the study at the end of this post.
Thank you
We want to thank everyone that sent a gift for baby Judah or supported us in any way. We truly appreciate it and pray that God continues to bless you.
Resources/Sources
Study on pregnant women that ate dates: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21280989
Benefits of chiropractic care for pregnant women: https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/chiropractor-while-pregnant
Benefits of delayed cord clamping: https://mommypotamus.com/benefits-of-delayed-cord-clamping/
Prenatal vitamin used during pregnancy: Megafood Baby and Me 2