Our little man is here and we couldn't be happier!
Braxton Sherrill Snow
Birthday: Jan. 6, 2011
Weight: 10lbs 2oz
Length: 21.5 inches
Chest: 14 inches
Head: 15 inches
Born: At Home...
Yes we decided to have Braxton at home and I couldn't have been happier with the decision! If you would like to read the whole story please continue. If not, at least you have the stats.
I started feeling contractions around 4am Thursday (Jan. 6th) morning. They didn't feel like contractions though. More like gas pains in my back so I tried to sleep through them. At 4:30am I started timing them and low and behold they were coming every 10 minutes. I thought this was weird because I was only feeling them in my back. At 5am I decided to hop in the shower to relieve some of the pressure. I brought a little clock into the bathroom with me to keep timing them.
5:30am rolled around and I thought it would be a good time to call my midwife. She said "That is funny. I have been up since 4:30am because I had a feeling something was going to happen today. Eat something if you can and call me back in an hour" I decided to eat a little something and then told Brooks that we should finish sending out the invoices that needed to be sent out so those would be finished and we would make payroll. After a bowl of granola, I sat down at the computer and finished all the billing. About every 6 minutes I would call Brooks in and he would hold me up while I would work through a contraction. Then I would send out another invoice.
This brought me to about 7am. At that time I called my midwife and she said she was on her way. I hopped back into the shower and just worked through the contractions. I was nervous because they weren't super strong. I was afraid that I called the midwife too soon and she would check me and I would only be at a 3. I kept doing exercises so they would get stronger and stronger. I didn't want this to be another 36 hour labor like Jordyn's.
Around 8:30am Debbie (our midwife) showed up to the house. I made it out to the bed and was just breathing (read: moaning) through each contraction. At this time Jordyn was awake (which was really odd for her because this little girl usually sleeps until 10:30am), so Brooks was tending to her. Brooks called his sister, Summer, to come and get Jordyn and he packed her bag and got her dressed. I wasn't very loud (yet) so whenever Jordyn heard me moan she would say, "Good job mommy". Her face looked a little worried, but she kept cheering me on. I tried to explain to her earlier that I'd look mad or sad, but really I was just really happy that our baby was coming. I don't think she bought it. She was so excited that we were filling up the birthing tub though. We had been playing in it for the last few days so she knew something must be happening since now we were putting water in it.
Debbie checked me and I just knew I was only a 4 or so because it really wasn't too intense. She said "Ok, well the good news is your a 9." I was shocked! And relieved!! She jokingly said something like "Well, you can't transfer (meaning go to the hospital) now because you don't want to have this baby in the car". My sister-in-law Camille wanted to come by to witness a homebirth so we said that we would text her when I got close. Well, when Brooks heard I was a nine, he text her right away. My brother got the first text from Brooks (around 8am) saying I was in labor so she thought she had a ton of time to get ready since I wasn't in that much pain yet, but then realized that she could only throw a sweater over her pjs.
The next contraction broke my water. This was around 9:30am. Now it started getting INTENSE!! Debbie said I could move to the pool if I wanted too. Yes, I really wanted too. Entering the pool was heaven, but the contractions were getting more and more intense. My moans were now more like screams. The first time I did this, I made Jordyn cry which only distracted me. I remember yelling something like "Brooks you just have to get her out of here." I hated feeling that way, but I really had to focus to get through these. Summer showed up quickly after that and took Jordyn so Brooks was able to be at my side. I worked for about 45 minutes in the pool. After every contraction I was congratulated by Brooks and my midwife and at this point I think Camille and my dad were there too. So many people wonder how I could allow people in there, especially when I am completely naked. All I can say is that when you are working so hard on something and when you are that focused, the President of the United States could walk in and I wouldn't even notice. I was really in a zone that couldn't be bothered by modesty or social norms.
Debbie and Brooks were doing so well cheering me on after every contraction. About 45 minutes of working in the pool, Debbie said I should move to the birthing stool to move him down. It took me about 10 minutes to get out of the pool because the contractions were right on top of each other then. If I did have a break, I just didn't want to move. Finally I found a little energy and with the help of Debbie and Brooks, got onto the stool. WOW, gravity really does help bring a baby down! He was coming and I felt it. Debbie said I could bare down and hard as I felt that I needed too. I felt I needed to bare down hard. After about 12 minutes, Braxton came on out at 10:59am!
Unless we have a baby that will need special attention, or if there is some sort of health emergency on my end, I will never go back to a hospital birth. I am 100% sold on homebirthing! Besides the last hour, I was so relaxed, in my own environment, that it really wasn't that bad. Braxton even tore me pretty bad and I had to go to the OBGYN to get stitched up, but I still wouldn't change this experience for anything! It was such a wonderful experience!! We were able to control the environment. I was able to invite whoever I wanted. And, we were able to film the whole delivery. Don't worry, those modesty/social norm barriers are back so I won't be putting the video online. :)
I still "appreciate" the experience I had with Jordyn's birth, but if I knew how relaxed and peaceful a homebirth was, I would have had her at home too! Her story is here.
Anyway though, he is here and we are all in love!
Braxton Sherrill Snow
Birthday: Jan. 6, 2011
Weight: 10lbs 2oz
Length: 21.5 inches
Chest: 14 inches
Head: 15 inches
Born: At Home...
Yes we decided to have Braxton at home and I couldn't have been happier with the decision! If you would like to read the whole story please continue. If not, at least you have the stats.
I started feeling contractions around 4am Thursday (Jan. 6th) morning. They didn't feel like contractions though. More like gas pains in my back so I tried to sleep through them. At 4:30am I started timing them and low and behold they were coming every 10 minutes. I thought this was weird because I was only feeling them in my back. At 5am I decided to hop in the shower to relieve some of the pressure. I brought a little clock into the bathroom with me to keep timing them.
5:30am rolled around and I thought it would be a good time to call my midwife. She said "That is funny. I have been up since 4:30am because I had a feeling something was going to happen today. Eat something if you can and call me back in an hour" I decided to eat a little something and then told Brooks that we should finish sending out the invoices that needed to be sent out so those would be finished and we would make payroll. After a bowl of granola, I sat down at the computer and finished all the billing. About every 6 minutes I would call Brooks in and he would hold me up while I would work through a contraction. Then I would send out another invoice.
This brought me to about 7am. At that time I called my midwife and she said she was on her way. I hopped back into the shower and just worked through the contractions. I was nervous because they weren't super strong. I was afraid that I called the midwife too soon and she would check me and I would only be at a 3. I kept doing exercises so they would get stronger and stronger. I didn't want this to be another 36 hour labor like Jordyn's.
Around 8:30am Debbie (our midwife) showed up to the house. I made it out to the bed and was just breathing (read: moaning) through each contraction. At this time Jordyn was awake (which was really odd for her because this little girl usually sleeps until 10:30am), so Brooks was tending to her. Brooks called his sister, Summer, to come and get Jordyn and he packed her bag and got her dressed. I wasn't very loud (yet) so whenever Jordyn heard me moan she would say, "Good job mommy". Her face looked a little worried, but she kept cheering me on. I tried to explain to her earlier that I'd look mad or sad, but really I was just really happy that our baby was coming. I don't think she bought it. She was so excited that we were filling up the birthing tub though. We had been playing in it for the last few days so she knew something must be happening since now we were putting water in it.
Debbie checked me and I just knew I was only a 4 or so because it really wasn't too intense. She said "Ok, well the good news is your a 9." I was shocked! And relieved!! She jokingly said something like "Well, you can't transfer (meaning go to the hospital) now because you don't want to have this baby in the car". My sister-in-law Camille wanted to come by to witness a homebirth so we said that we would text her when I got close. Well, when Brooks heard I was a nine, he text her right away. My brother got the first text from Brooks (around 8am) saying I was in labor so she thought she had a ton of time to get ready since I wasn't in that much pain yet, but then realized that she could only throw a sweater over her pjs.
The next contraction broke my water. This was around 9:30am. Now it started getting INTENSE!! Debbie said I could move to the pool if I wanted too. Yes, I really wanted too. Entering the pool was heaven, but the contractions were getting more and more intense. My moans were now more like screams. The first time I did this, I made Jordyn cry which only distracted me. I remember yelling something like "Brooks you just have to get her out of here." I hated feeling that way, but I really had to focus to get through these. Summer showed up quickly after that and took Jordyn so Brooks was able to be at my side. I worked for about 45 minutes in the pool. After every contraction I was congratulated by Brooks and my midwife and at this point I think Camille and my dad were there too. So many people wonder how I could allow people in there, especially when I am completely naked. All I can say is that when you are working so hard on something and when you are that focused, the President of the United States could walk in and I wouldn't even notice. I was really in a zone that couldn't be bothered by modesty or social norms.
Debbie and Brooks were doing so well cheering me on after every contraction. About 45 minutes of working in the pool, Debbie said I should move to the birthing stool to move him down. It took me about 10 minutes to get out of the pool because the contractions were right on top of each other then. If I did have a break, I just didn't want to move. Finally I found a little energy and with the help of Debbie and Brooks, got onto the stool. WOW, gravity really does help bring a baby down! He was coming and I felt it. Debbie said I could bare down and hard as I felt that I needed too. I felt I needed to bare down hard. After about 12 minutes, Braxton came on out at 10:59am!
Unless we have a baby that will need special attention, or if there is some sort of health emergency on my end, I will never go back to a hospital birth. I am 100% sold on homebirthing! Besides the last hour, I was so relaxed, in my own environment, that it really wasn't that bad. Braxton even tore me pretty bad and I had to go to the OBGYN to get stitched up, but I still wouldn't change this experience for anything! It was such a wonderful experience!! We were able to control the environment. I was able to invite whoever I wanted. And, we were able to film the whole delivery. Don't worry, those modesty/social norm barriers are back so I won't be putting the video online. :)
I still "appreciate" the experience I had with Jordyn's birth, but if I knew how relaxed and peaceful a homebirth was, I would have had her at home too! Her story is here.
Anyway though, he is here and we are all in love!
8 comments:
I definitely love that baby. I miss him already. :/
Congratulations!! I am glad he is here!
I am so happy for your family and I love reading about your homebirth. It sounds perfect!
Wow! Good job. Ten pound baby at home. You are one tough cookie!! Congrats to you guys.
Good job! Loved reading the birth story! You're a pretty fantastic wife with that whole doing-payroll-while-labor thing!
What a lovely story! So glad he's here.
You are one strong woman Jax! I love you! I really enjoyed reading Braxton's birth story and I can't wait to meet that sweet boy.
I loved reading the details Jacki!! I am amazed by you! So thankful that everything went well. Braxton is huge! I love big babies! Can't wait to meet him!!
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