Nama and Michael Best's Homebirth Story
An unassisted birth

Tarani Ruth

After 1 hours and 2 minutes of labor was born

December 16, 2001 at 3:17am

She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 inches long

I awoke to the start of what I thought would be a typical and now very familiar tightening of my uterus (aka piddly diddly contraction), but was taken aback when the uncomfortableness turned to wracking and very severe PAIN! I glanced up at the clock as I clammered clumsily out of bed. It was 2:15 am.

I ran to the bathroom and peed thinking my bladder might just be full, but when I got on the toilet I had another contraction. I knew this was it. I stumbled to the phone, barely able to poke out my mother-in-law's number. When she answered I didn't waste any time. "This is it." She replied that she'd be right there. Before I returned to the bathroom, I paged the midwife. I turned on the water and did my best to focus on the contractions, trying to relax and let my body do its job. As soon as there was enough water to cover my belly AT ALL, I hopped in, feeling great comfort in the buoyancy.

I tried various positions, on my side felt the best at first, but as the contractions started to get more intense I got on my knees. I tried to breathe through the contractions, but they were now right on top of each other. My mother-in-law walked in and proceeded to ask me how close they were. I told her there were NO breaks, just multiple peaks. I felt like throwing up and (but not the overwhelming "I HAVE to" yet) pushy. A few minutes after she got there my husband woke up and joined us. Our midwife returned my page from her cell phone en route (she knows I'm serious when I call at 2:20 am) to ask how things were. While they talked my husband attempted to find the baby's hear tones, but in the time given between contractions could not.

Our midwife gave my mother-in-law her cell phone number just in case she needed to call back. I think she asked to talk to me, but I couldn't. After my mother-in-law got off the phone I started having to moan through the contraction and I guess she noticed that I looked very uncomfortable, because she encouraged me to "grab a breath and PUSH". What a relief! Then I felt IT. Oh my God, that's the head!!! I pushed again and with all my effort a little bit of poop came out. But that was enough for her to tell me I needed to get out for the tub to be drained. I refused and when I felt a small pop, whimpered, "my water just broke." She demanded I get out of the tub NOW. She had to be kidding. There was no way I was moving in this state. She called the midwife, who told her to stay calm. I compromised with her and stayed in the tub, but held my body out of the water. The midwife was left on the speakerphone. (We totally should have taped this!!!) As I struggled to keep my butt above the soiled water, I got notice that the head was close to crowning. Oh yes, that pleasant ring of fire was imminent. I pushed with all my might and was rewarded with the burning replaced by the odd sensation of something between my legs. "The head is OUT!" I screamed at my mother-in-law. She scrambled to support the head with her hands and with the next two contractions first the shoulders and then the rest of the baby was born.

My husband marked the time as 3:17 am. The baby cried a little and after a few minutes my mother-in-law called out (after checking THREE times) "it's a girl!" much to our surprise. Our baby GIRL Tarani Ruth was on my back at this point and I looked up over my shoulder to welcome her. I sobbed a little and DH beamed as the midwife congratulated us on our daughter's birth. We finally after three lovely boys had a GIRL! Can you say euphoria?!

We got off the phone with the midwife and my husband, his mother and I did our best to keep the baby warm. All of a sudden, I remembered that I was still on all fours and quite uncomfortable. We maneuvered her and her cord through my legs so that I could move and hold her. Just as we were getting out of the tub the midwife arrived and we moved to the bedroom. I felt the placenta ready to deliver and the midwife confirmed this. My sister-in-law popped her head in the doorway and we all greeted her. As soon as we had all settled on the bed, the midwife told me I could push the afterbirth out whenever I wanted to, so I did. It was intact and she showed us the calcification on Tarani's side. Apparently she had been overdue and wanted out FAST ;-) Once the placenta was out she clamped and my husband cut the umbilical cord, which had long since stopped pulsating. The midwife’s assistant bustled in and the two of them started work on taking Tarani's vitals. She was 7 pounds, ten ounces, nineteen inches long, head circumference: 13 ¾."

After this Tarani started to fuss, so I put her to my breast and she latched on right away. My husband got out the video camera and took some footage while we all relived the birth in words from different views. It had been a long day and it wasn't even 5:30 yet!

I would like to thank Audrey once again who continues to amaze me with her inner strength and commitment to natural pregnancy, birth and parenting. I have to thank my mother-in-law who suggested I push this time (read my other birth stories for reference) and caught the baby. My MOM missed the birth again, but we spent some wonderful time together leading up to this time. I am so happy to have had Cathy, the assistant midwife, visit me at home and share her life with me. I also want to give big time credit to the fantastic ladies at Birthjunkie, who encouraged me and gave me hope that there WOULD be an end to this pregnancy soon. Lastly I am eternally grateful to God, who gave me the birth that I dared not dreamed to wish for and the peace to go without it if need be. There is not a thing I would have changed about this birth.