Birth Story & Pictures (very long!)

Here is the birth story you've been waiting for. It's very long but I wanted to type it out before I forgot anything!

My husband and I had decided after the homebirth of our second child that the next birth would an unassisted birth at home. I was pregnant again and doing my own prenatal care. At around 10 weeks pregnant, I knew something wasn’t quite right. I had two times the nausea and fatigue, and my uterus was measuring way bigger than it should be, even for a 3^rd pregnancy. I decided that at 12 weeks along, I’d go in to see my obstetrician for a quick ultrasound to make see if my guess that we were expecting twins was correct. And sure enough, there were two little head and two little sacs as clear as can be.

Everything changed at that moment. Should I continue doing prenatal care myself? Where were the babies going to be born? What risks did I have during the pregnancy? There were so many questions. I read a lot, made myself scared a lot, and then was reassured through many places. I worked through my fears, realizing that my pregnancy and the birth would be the safest with minimal professional care. I knew that some kinds of twins had more risks, but mine did not, so I did most my own prenatal care.

At 20 weeks, I went in for a quick ultrasound to check for abnormalities that would not work with a homebirth. Also found out we were having girls. At 28 weeks, I established care with a hospital around the corner in case of transfer. At 34 weeks, I reestablished care with my obstetrician. He said both babies had to be vertex for him to “allow” a vaginal delivery. The first baby was breech and the second vertex. At 36 weeks, I went to see him again and both babies were vertex. But the OB, while outwardly trying to portray confidence, did not give me the reassurance that he was not actually planning on forcing a C-section anyway. This OB was the least interventive of any, yet even he was questionable. So, because both babies were vertex, I had good iron levels, I’d gained enough weight, felt so healthy, and had made it to full term, my husband and I decided we would continue with our original plan: unassisted birth at home.

By 37 weeks pregnant, I was so miserable. All of the stories of premature twins that worried me earlier in the pregnancy now made me wonder, “Why did I worry, now they’re on time.” I had experienced contractions on and off for a couple of weeks, but nothing that made me think the birth was coming any day soon. The day before the birth, I had a few contractions but just figured it was the same as usual. That evening the “Braxton Hicks” contractions (well, I assumed they still were), got regular, 3 to 4 minutes apart. I thought nothing of it because I’d had contractions like that for hours every night for up to two weeks before the births of my other two children.

The contractions were a little uncomfortable, and I stayed up timing them for a while. By 2:30am, I figured they were going away and went to bed. Usually they went away with sleep. But at about 5am they woke me up, and then I knew from what I told my childbirth classes: If you can’t sleep through them, then you’re probably in labor. The contractions were still 3 and 4 minutes apart but very uncomfortable. I had no idea how dilated I was or how long the birth would take. But I knew from previous experience that from the time I felt the way I was feeling until I usually birthed a baby was maybe three hours.

At 6am, my husband called my friend “M” who was going to help me with labor support, childcare, or whatever I needed. He also called “J” who was going to take pictures. He also called upstairs to my mom to tell her not to do her morning walk but that we’d call her when we needed her. Here’s where it was helpful that M took notes. I must say that I felt totally in control of the labor the whole time. I was in my “labor bubble” yet still able to communicate exactly what I wanted.

At 7am, M and J were there just staying out of the way and letting me labor in the bedroom. The contractions were getting stronger and coming every 3 minutes or so. Sometimes it would be a small contraction and then a big one. I knew that this labor could take a lot longer with an over-stretched uterus, so I figured I wasn’t progressing that fast since I was handling the contractions so well and they didn’t seem long enough. My husband told me that I may have not felt they were very strong, but it was obvious that I was in heavy labor. During the contractions, I did a variety of things. I would stand, sit on the birth ball, sit on the toilet, sit on the edge of the bed. I also used combs in my hands for acupressure. My husband and M did knee presses or foot massage. I know that having good labor support is what really helped me get through the birth. I wasn’t scared, but I needed the people around me!

At about 8:30 am, the contractions were so painful. My son’s birth had been almost painless, so this time I was telling myself, just one more, just one more. I was falling asleep sitting up between contractions, still not realizing that at this point I was in transition. My sense of timing was that the contractions weren’t painful enough, close enough, or long enough.

At about 9am, I felt myself snapping out of “labor land” and more chatty, excited, etc. That usually happens when I’m out of transition and ready to push. But I felt no urge to push though the contractions were continuing. I decided that after the next contraction, I’d go to the bathroom, pee, and see if I could reach inside and feel anything. Sure enough, way up high, there was a hard little head! I went back to the bedroom and had more contractions. I tried pushing with some of them but they never felt right. I did not want my cervix to swell, so I asked for some arnica. I checked the progress every few contractions and realized that I was feeling the amniotic sac bulging and that it was preventing me from getting the head down with the small pushes.

At 10am, J goes to get coffee for everyone. (And almost misses the birth… only time to grab the camera and not set up the video camera). I started pushing more and feeling the progress. It helped to touch the head and feel it descend. I had planned on moving to the living room and birthing over a mat on the floor, but sitting on the toilet really helped with the pushes. Finally, I gave one big push and the water broke… (hey it is less messy birthing over the toilet)! I yelled, here comes the first baby, and my mom and kids came and ran it and sat on the edge of the bed and watched. One minute later I feel a head and my husband lends a hand to catch the rest of the baby.

10:33am, Shira Faith was born. She cried immediately and was totally covered in vernix. Her cord was quite short so it was good that we’d planned on clamping and cutting the cord as soon as she was breathing well so that we’d be able to handle the birth of the second baby a little easier. The cord was barely clamped and cut in time.







I felt a huge contraction and pushed with it though I couldn’t feel the head of the next baby. The next contraction was a sharp pain right on the nerves of my spine. Ouch that hurt! Then a huge bulge appeared. At first it was so big I thought that baby had flipped breech. But nope, it was the amniotic sac of the next baby, and it was fully intact. My husband said, “Here’s the head.” I pushed very hard and out came the baby with the bag breaking as the feet came free. Born “in the caul” is considered lucky!



10:41am, Miriam Joy was born. She came out in a direct posterior position still in her sac. After my husband cleared the sac off of her face he turned her over. A little grunt and then a big cry! She was also completely covered in vernix. Two cheesy looking little babies! I sat there on the toilet just amazed looking at this little baby. One labor but two babies is so overwhelming. I started feeling contractions again so asked for the baby’s cord to be clamped and cut. One more contraction, and at 10:51am, the placenta plops out into a big bowl. That placenta was huge!! It was over 8in in diameter and probably an inch thick. We’re not sure if it was one shared placenta or two that merged together.

I felt myself getting a little woozy and told everyone I was going to pass out. No surprise there because I’d warned them about it happening at my previous birth. I just made myself slide off the toilet to sit on the floor so I wouldn’t fall over and hurt myself. My husband and M splashed my face with water and talked to me and I woke up in a few minutes. They gave me lots of juice. My blood pressure had dropped and I hadn’t eaten in hours. The mat that I’d planned to birth on was dragged into the bedroom between the bed and bathroom floor, so all I had to do was crawl to the mat. They handed the first baby to me and I tried to nurse her. By 11:30, I was resting and M and my mom weighed the babies.

Shira Faith was 6lb 8oz (2.9kg) and Miriam Joy was 6lb 14oz (3.1kg).

God’s protection and timing were completely in this birth. We knew that we wanted an unassisted birth with no interventions. We wanted a family event. We wanted a safe birth. All of the little details, leading up to the birth and for the birth, were perfectly in place, better than we could have hoped for.

Now at 3 days old, (Shira on L, Miriam on R) we really wonder if they are identical or not. We’d been told fraternal, but we’re still wondering. Miriam is a half pound bigger and if Shira had her sister’s chubby cheeks, they’d look even more alike! They have matching little hats but we’ve had to pin a pink diaper pin and pink cord tie on Shira and a purple pin and tie on Miriam for quick ID! Both are nursing wonderfully and though life is going to be crazy for the next few months, we are so excited to be starting this new adventure!