Home-birthing Part 3: my 4 Home-births with Stork

Wow, what I had intended to be a simple, not-too-long post on home-birth certainly has turned into an ordeal!! I really didn't think I was going to have to break it up into 3 days worth of posts, and certainly didn't expect it would take over a week to compose! *sigh* Hope those of you that wanted me to blog about home-birthing really wanted all of this info, cause geez, it's been - well, can't think of the right word - getting it done. ;)

Lion and I during Elephant's Birth

ANYWAY! On to the topic of this blog post, and the reason I began this 3 day blog excursion into home-birthing...

Me in Labor with Monkey

My 4 Home-Births With Stork

Clockwise L to R: Stork tending Elephant, Me, Eclectus, Mt Goat, Hedgehog holding baby Raccoon, and Stork's helper -- also in the room: Meerkat and Eclectus was on the phone with my dad Tiger

Since I've already explored all the reasons I chose to home-birth the first time (with Elephant), I guess I'll just jump in with the hows and whys and what-happened. 

Me with Elephant just after the Herb-bath

Elephant is our second child, and our first boy. I saw Stork at her home office every 4 weeks for the first 7(?) months, got all the usual pregnancy checkups, bloodwork, and a sonogram every checkup to check heartbeat. Got an ultrasound mostly for the heck of it ;) (actually that turned into a tiny ordeal cause the doctor that did the original ultrasound thought little guys' head was too big for his little body and sent us to a peri-natologist for another in-depth ultrasound to ensure there was nothing wrong.) Long stork short, he was great, just had --has-- a BIG head, and that he is a boy! At 7(?) months I began seeing Stork every 2 weeks, checking his delivery position, a discussing what I did (and didn't) want in terms of medical interventions (do I or don't I want a 28 week Rhogam shot -- as I have Rh negative blood, do I or don't I wish to be tested for Hep B, do I or don't I want baby to get the Vitamin K, Hep B,  and eye ointment after birth... etc), as well as getting the Birth Kit ordered from her supplier (contains the medical supplies needed for the birth as well as additional tests for determining baby's blood type --if he had Rh positive blood, I would need Rhogam to ensure the health of future babies-- and the herbal bath mix. We also talked at length about me, about birth, about family, about possible positions, about the Giggle Clan, about politics, about life... gee, about everything really!

Lion with Elephant just after his Birth

At 36 weeks, Stork met me at our house
there area  few reasons for this:
1. She would know how to get there before she NEEDED to get there
2. So that she could be introduced to any family pets - like a dog that might need to know a person before letting them in the house - not a consideration for us at that time
3. So she would know where the supplies are, and ensure that the Birth Kit had arrived, and that everything was accounted for
4. To find out where I keep things like extra towels, sheets, dishes, pots and pans, coffee etc
5. Make sure she knows the bast place to park, and where to put her birthing supplies
-- I'm sure there are more reasons, but that's the basics

Lion and I get our first good look at Zebra

2 weeks later -- right at 38 weeks, I went into Labor at 12 noon -- at Church. :) no kidding. I made it through the service, but went directly home to call Stork and report that contractions had begun, had not ceased, and were getting more regular. She asked if we wanted her to come right away and be there for the whole process, or if we (not she, WE) wanted her to wait till it heated up a bit more. We opted for the later option, thinking most everyone wasn't there yet anyway, and that when the contractions got closer together we would call and have her some check on progress. In the meantime, we called everyone who wanted to be there for the birth -- at the house -- not in the room with me :) I'm weird but I'm not into voyeurism. LOL When the contractions became more frequent, we called Stork and asked her to come, and was with us until well after little Elephant made his appearance. 

Meerkat holds Zebra

When Stork arrived, she checked on me and progression first, then made the rounds saying hello and catching up with those that she knew and getting introduced to those that she didn't. When the Labor progressed to being too uncomfortable to bear within polite -or impolite- company, Lion, Eclectus, Stork and I went into the bedroom to get ready for the final stages of birth. The rest of our Labor Party Guests began to watch a movie... or was it play X-Box... well, something! 

Lion & Lemur play X-Box before the real fun of Zebra's birthing begins

Let me tell you.. I was expecting another easy, mostly pain-free, fast birth - like Tortoise's... I got one wish... it was fast. From 6 cm to babe-in-arms was less than 2.5 hours. Elephant was born 10 hours from the onset of contractions. And it was NOT easy, or pain free. WOW was it NOT pain-free. Mt. Goat even commented that he had never heard a woman scream that much - and he was in another room! Turns out Elephant wanted to be born like Superman must have been... flying!! -- his left arm was delivered first... and his left shoulder came with the afore-mentioned MASSIVE head. And, here's the scary part... the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck... many times. My little boy was blue. Not pink or even red like typical newborns... no, my little superhero was purplish-BLUE. He thought for a very short time that breathing was optional. Lucky for us, we had chosen Stork. 


Stork didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second... before I even knew anything was wrong - even before I had delivered the rest of his itty-bitty body- she had the cord cut and unwrapped from Elephant's neck. Seconds after the final push to deliver the rest of his blueish-purple body she put him in a newborn oxygen mask.  When I finally did clue in that something was wrong (in reality this was only seconds... but seemed like an eternity) and started having a tiny panic attack, she had him breathing... and pinking up. What could have been a tragedy, in a hospital or otherwise, was quickly and efficiently taken care of. And little Elephant suffered zero long term effects. His 5 minute APGAR was 8. 8! After being born not breathing! Thank God for Stork! She didn't panic.. not once... not when everyone else in the room was thinking "Oh My God!", no she just did what had to be done for my little boy. God Bless You Stork.


deep breaths Mama Roo... it still makes me a little shaky.

Lion and I hold hands during the rough parts

SO!! Stork watched over little Elephant and me while the final oh-so-fun parts of labor and delivery were completed, then let us have a few minutes of bonding and breastfeeding before I decided I was ready for my herb-bath... WOW... if you're a mom, and never had a herb bath after birthing... you REALLY should give it a try... amazing how it eases pain and relaxes your tired self... and baby gets to take the bath with you too... wonderful things - herb baths (I had never had one before). *sigh of contentment*    After the herb-bath, and a change of clothes for me, Stork did a newborn exam on little Elephant... checked his heart, measured his length and head, then weighed him and recorded it all for his birth certificate. Then, because of the possibility of Rh incompatibility, she tested his blood type. If I remember correctly, he was Rh negative as well, so I did not require a Rhogam injection. After all of this, I was exhausted, so was Elephant... and Lion, and Eclectus, and Meerkat, and and and... since it was coming up on 11 at night, Stork packed up her things, asked if there was anything we needed, and said she'd be back in the morning. 

Monkey moments after birth.

The next day Stork dropped in to check on my postpartum symptoms and make sure baby Elephant was nursing well, check his bilirubin levels (his were normal), and filled out his Birth Certificate info. :) Asked if we wanted to file for a Social Security Number... Little Elephant was official! A week later we had another checkup, Elephant was doing great.. and so was I! 

Lemur was Stork's birth helper for my last 3 babies... here she is helping me through a contraction... she was WONDERFUL

So that was my first home-birth experience... all-in-all a WONDERFUL experience that I, obviously, opted for 3 more times (and going on 4 now). Essentially Zebra, Monkey, and Vixen's visits with Stork were all the same. The births themselves were all unique of course, but the process always remains the same, and Stork was always, always, wonderful! Of course, this birthing stuff couldn't have been done without this wonderful man: my husband and the father of all my gorgeous kiddos is a wonderful birth helper!! See below!!

Those 3 are of Monkey's Birth

this one with Vixen

And the Moms -Eclectus & Meerkat- have been with me through every Labor and birth (Meerkat unfortunately missed Tortoise's bc we lived across the counrty).  They have been AWESOME as well.

Meerkat and Dragonfly (holding Mt Goat and Platypus' newborn Ladybug) during Monkey's Labor Party

Zebra was my largest baby - at 9 pounds 13 oz, but was by far the EASIEST to deliver... still can't figure that one out. She also required bili-lights to alleviate her newborn jaundice... lucky for us, Stork had bili-lights (!!) so she did not get as bad as big sister Tortoise, and was able to undergo her treatment at home. 

Lemur and my good friend Bobcat with me during the Labor Party for Monkey

Monkey was fast and easy as well - he also had a cord complication and was delivered like "the Thinker" with his left fist up next to his chin... but he was less blue and recovered even faster than his big brother. His birth was equal to Toroise's in pain-levels, an easy delivery.

Vixen and I just moments after her birth.

Vixen's birth was equally as difficult as Elephant's but I was more experienced (LAUGH) and handled the pain alot better... she was lethargic the day following her birth, so we called Stork with our concerns with her not waking to nurse, Stork advised a blood sugar test, and then advised a few ounces of sugar water, which perked her right back up. :) yay Vixen! She also had a touch of newborn jaundice, but a good dose of sunlight fixed her right up - she didn't need Stork's bili-lights.

Lion greets his newborn son Monkey with a kiss