The Unattended Home Birth of Lucas Teomner

Based on my calculations my Estimated Due Date was June 4th. June 4th came and went, as did the 5th, 6th, 7th..... And the questions began rolling in.. None of which I had an answer to. I did not have any clue as to when the baby would make his/her debut. I wish I was psychic.

I am not one to rush labor, but I was getting a little nervous as Jacob was getting ready to leave for scout camp. This was harder for me than I thought. First I have never been away from my children except for the week we moved to Maine a few years ago and I stayed back to finish up, and this was different. He was away from us for a week. Second, I didn't want the new one to arrive while he was gone. It just didn't seem right.

But as we always learn, things happen for a reason. Even when we have no idea whats going on. I was having a really hard time "nesting" as there were things I needed to be done in the home, but were beyond my control. We got a call that week about a house for rent. The kind we had been looking for. We went and saw it on Wednesday and sealed the deal on Friday. Saturday we were to pick up Jacob. Things were beginning to pull together.

On the 19th we began cleaning and painting the new place and prepping it for move in. On the 22nd, coincidentally. our first moving day,  I began having prodromal labor. I woke up with contractions about 15 min apart. They continued on thru most of the day 15-30 min apart or longer. Not very strong. That night I was awakened a few times by strong ones, but nothing consistent.

The 23rd they were stronger but still nothing too intense. At times they were less than 10 min apart. We moved and cleaned out more of the old house.  That night the contractions were still spaced the same but very intense.. I took a shower for the back pain. Slept when I could.

In the morning of the 24th the contractions subsided. Spent most of the day attempting to unpack. I still had contractions all day, but nothing too strong, just very uncomfortable. By late afternoon  they were 15-30 min apart. That evening we went for a walk thru Lowes. By the time we got home I was exhausted and went to bed fairly early. I was awoken about every 30 min or so with very strong contractions. That lasted thru the night. This is about the point where those mixed emotions move in. I was so excited, but the memories of previous labors reminded me what was up ahead. 

The morning of the 25th I got up at 4 am and showered. I knew this was it, so I tried to lay down afterwards but didn't get much sleep. The contractions were then 5-10 min apart all morning. At 7 am I got in the tub. Hydrotherapy is wonderful for labor. I have used it for all of mine. Not sure I could labor without it. I had wanted to do a waterbirth, but it was decided the pool wasn't needed. The tub here was perfect for laboring in and in the end it worked out as I birth one way and one way only, thats what my body dictates. 

It was about 8 am when  Zachary informed me the baby was going to come today. I asked "How do you know?". "Because I am smart. and Jesus told me the baby was coming Saturday." A little while later he asked me what time the baby was going to come. I said I had no clue, he was the one with the inside connections. He then told me 9 o'clock. I looked at the time, it was 11. Oh boy.. I hoped he got the time wrong. 

I labored in and out of the tub with very inconsistent contractions. 6-12 minutes apart. The good part of that was that I was able to nod off between the longer stretches. Although it was frustrating, I was grateful for the little bit of shut eye. No more than an hour had gone by between contractions in the past few days. I was exhausted. All the children were checking on me, sitting on a chair with me in the tub and chatting. When I wasn't in the tub I was walking around the living room where they were hanging out. We had put our bed there in preparation of the birth so I do not have to climb stairs. They were all so excited. I really enjoy having the comforts of home during labor. My husband gave me a blessing. I cant imagine any better circumstances to give birth.

It was getting later in the day and I was growing very tired and getting frustrated. It had been about 80 hours since the contractions first started. I don't like the time frame checking dilatation gives, but I did check a few times just to feel the head. It made me feel better knowing the head was so close. About noon I began to pray, alot. I needed the urge to push. Thats all I was waiting for. The contractions got stronger and I was" chanting down, down, down, out" to the baby. I was frustrated that I was still having contractions spaced up to 10 min apart. I was however grateful to be at home. There was no pressure of intervention to speed up the process. I had faith in my body and my baby. Each labor is a unique experience. And it can be frustrating. After tears, anger and a few growls I think, at about 1:45 the urge to push came. Ezra and Olivia had fallen asleep so I called Olivia's name with each contraction. It woke her up and helped me get thru my intense contractions. I think I pushed twice before my waters broke. The next push the head crowned and another to push the head out. Another two for the shoulders and one last one. My son was born into his fathers hands. He let out a hollar as I grabbed him and put him on my chest. No need to check airways, he already showed us they were all clear. I held him on my chest and rubbed him. All the children were able to witness the birth of their baby brother. They quickly gathered around him  We haven't figured out his name yet. We didn't weigh him either. He is the smaller of my babies. I would guess in the 8- 8 1/2 lb range. We waited about 15 min or so to cut his cord. He was perfect in every way. 

Photos courtesy of Jacob

7 am hot water :) 

timing contractions with my Abigail. She was by my side the whole time 

last belly shot 43 weeks exactly 

close tie :) 

 10 min nap

NOTHING compares to this feeling

It doesn"t matter how many times you give birth.. 

the feelings are just as powerful as the first time

Daddy helping Isaac cut the cord. You can see it is all white. 

We cut it about 10-15 min after birth.