Ep 05: Christina and Ryan's Harry Potter Homebirth

 

I could have titled this birth story 1,000 different ways, but Harry Potter Homebirth?  I know that had to catch your attention!

Show Notes

• For their first child, Ryan wanted to be in/near a hospital.  They were living in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Christina went past her due date, but was not induced.  She had a 45 hour labor with baby #1, Eowyn.  
• Ryan fell asleep in the triage bed!
• Christina became a doula after having an incredibly supportive team and lovely birth.
• They had their second child, William, in a free-standing birth center.
• Liam was born at 41 weeks, 3 days
• Her out-of-hospital midwife advised an herbal induction.
• She later realized her first baby was posterior, causing the long labor.
• Christina went under the care of a chiropractor for baby #2, and she used spinning babies techniques to help position her baby better.
• Labor #2 was 6 hours, compared to 45hours with the first, and the baby was 10 lbs, 6 oz!
• Remembers thinking, "This was even better than the hospital!"
• Ryan and Christina took Hypnobabies with baby #3.
• Ryan says, "I was literally eating barbeque and drinking beer while Christina was laboring in the tub"... much more comfortable than the triage bed!
• Their 3rd baby, Patrick, was 41 weeks, 3 days.
• Prodromal labor started 6 weeks before, so Christina was very tired when she went into labor
• Pursued an herbal induction again, which was gentle and effective
• She used acupuncture to help with the prodromal labor
• Christina got the urge to push after 2-3 hours of labor, but was confused because she didn't feel like she'd been through transition/transformation.
• Something felt off, so she asked her midwife to check her.
• The midwife said that she still had a bit of a cervical lip, and recommended that Christina try to avoid pushing for a bit.  What she tactfully did not mention, was that Christina was actually only 4 cm dilated.
• Christina flipped to her back, and for 30 minutes she had to breathe through her pushing contractions.  She says it was the most difficult part of her labor.
• Music and singing helped her cope during the no-pushing phase.
• They had theological discussions during labor about whether or not Mary had a midwife!
• Christina remembers thinking, "I can't do this anymore."
• She started singing "Jesus Loves Me," with her husband and midwife, and feels that that intimate moment truly depicts the beauty of homebirth.
• She then needed to change positions.  She got out of the pool, stood up, and suddenly had to pee.  She didn't want her daughter to see her peeing on the floor!
• She got on the bed, and her pushing contractions doubled.  She HAD to push.
• Her water broke forcefully, and baby's head was immediately crowning.
• Patrick was the largest baby her midwife had caught, at 10 lbs, 9 ounces and 23 inches long.
• It was only 45 minutes total between Christina being 4 cm and holding her baby.
• They had opened the window in the bathroom earlier, and it turns out the neighbors heard the baby being born.
• Christina had a 5 lb placenta
• After her shower, the midwives came in her room wearing Hogwarts robes and witch hats.
• She did not tear with her 10+ lb babies, which she attributes to self-directed pushing.
• Ryan guarded the 6-week postpartum experience, and it changed her postpartum so much for the better.