The Difference in my Children Started at Birth

This is a part of a series of guest posts for first time moms that I have put together from a variety of moms with a variety of perspectives. This one is written by Simone of Sporty Mama Says. Please stop by her blog to read more of her posts. You can also follow Sporty Mama Says on Twitter.

A birth story is a very powerful and unique story indeed. It’s a story based on human connection, on our babies, and on ourselves. I have three birth stories I’m proud to represent and to this day it amazes me how different each really are!

I was 23 when I had my firstborn, my son. I had taken plenty of time to read up on how labor develops, I had watched many videos so I wasn’t completely in the dark, and had spoken with many friends about their labor as well. I was a labor expert, or so I thought… my water broke just like a trickling creek. I didn’t have that explosion like you see on TV, nope. Just 10 long minutes of trickle. 12 hours of active labor later and my sweet son was born! He was a homebirth and 3 weeks late, so you can imagine how happy I was to have us both home. Son didn’t start breathing right away, but they fixed that quickly. A few stitches and a month later and we were set to be so happy, Mom and son!

Fast forward 5 years later. It didn’t take but a few weeks after Son was born for me to swear off ever having babies again, yet here I was, very pregnant and ready to have another! Following her brother’s footsteps, she too was late – by a week. I became so frustrated that I hand tilled a 3x12 garden plot plus planted it full of vegetables with design, all in one day. Needless to say, that got things going quickly. I woke up approx 4am that next morning with that fancy exploding water I’d be hoping I’d see! Twice! Another homebirth, my midwife swung by to ensure everything was good (it was) and instructed us to try to relax and rest. “Now here’s the part to remember,” she told my husband. “Don’t wait to call me until the contractions are 2 min apart.” Got it, reader? Me too.

3 hours later my contractions were between 2-5 min apart. Husband didn’t think we should call the midwife yet since he insisted she said TO WAIT until they were 2 min apart. If I hadn’t been in labor I would have killed him! Then the most miraculous thing, my body shuddered with a pushing contraction. I shouted to Husband that the baby was coming. Sweetly & naively he patted me on the back and gave me some version of the supportive “you’re doing so well, darlin’.” Then I had another shuddered contraction. Husband turned a touch white and grabbed the phone to call Midwife. Now mind you, I had no control over these contractions. They were driven by baby alone. Another pushing contraction hit while husband was on the phone with midwife. By the end of this one, he was holding our daughter’s head in his hand while cradling the phone with his shoulder. Midwife thought that when he said “We have a baby coming!” he was joking. That is, until she heard Daughter cry. That happened the same time as my last pushing contraction. Out came baby as Husband threw the phone to the ground, and within seconds Husband was holding his first caught baby! Midwife showed up a few minutes later to find the three of us happy and relaxed with a baby nursing at my breast.

Last one – five years later again – and we are having our third and final baby. This time, not quite so easy! She was three weeks late. My water broke explosion style on a Thursday and then rejuvenated itself for FOUR days. Yeah, I know. Baby was fine as was I, and since it was another homebirth, intervention was not pushed on us. On Day 5, Baby Girl arrived, but not until after 19 hrs of labor! Once I realized that I could push if I needed to, it only took 5 minutes for her to come out. Because of my history I didn’t realize that I would have to push her out, but push I did and out she came.

You see, every birth story is so different. It doesn’t matter how much you do or don’t know, how your birth stories went in the past, or how much you’ve prepared yourself for the new. This is a story of this new baby’s journey into life. This story is brand new, precious, and demands nothing but patience and love. Three times around and I’m just now realizing that each is unique in their own way, precious and unlike anyone else. Baby Girl is so calm and easy-going, just like her birth. Daughter is vivacious and living life on her own terms, just like her birth. Son is strong, solid, and comforting, just like his birth. And me – I’m just the lucky vessel they chose to begin their stories.