I’ve been a little MIA. The last few weeks of pregnancy and (not so) patiently waiting for our little guy’s arrival left me a little blah. But he’s here now! He finally made his arrival at 41 weeks, 4 days (see why I was impatient and blah? lol) and I’m excited to sit down and relive his birth day with you all! So grab a cup of coffee while I share!

One thing I can say is labor is unpredictable. Just because one child comes early, doesn’t mean the rest will. Just because one labor was six hours doesn’t mean the next one will be less than six hours. Both Jackson and Asher were born at 39 and 38 weeks so I thought there was a good chance Miller would be early too. Nope. The other two boys were the smallest, both weighing under 8 pounds. Not Miller. He arrived weighing a whopping 9lb, 11oz.

If you are new here (first, hi and welcome!), Miller is kiddo number six for us. Yep, you read that right! When I tell people that I’m used to seeing their jaws drop! lol Our children are currently: 13, 9, 7, 5, 19 months, and now a three week old. Our first two children were born in a hospital with an epidural, the next two were born at a birthing center with a midwife without pain medicine, and our last two were born at home with a midwife. I much prefer home births. I love that we are all home together. I love that it feels natural and comfortable. But Margaret’s home birth didn’t quite prepare me for the adventure of Miller’s birth.

After Margaret was born, I can remember thinking, “Whew, I’m pretty sure this is my last pregnancy and I’m so glad I never have to endure childbirth pains again.” The contractions had been pretty strong towards the end. As Miller’s due date came closer, thoughts of Margaret’s birth were in the back of my head and I wasn’t very excited about enduring that kind of pain again. There was a lot of fear, actually. I did a little bit of Hypnobabies, hoping it would ease those fears and make childbirth easier, but I wasn’t consistent with it and I figured it wouldn’t be much help.

I’d been having Braxton Hicks off and on for weeks. There had even been one night where I was sure it was the real deal, only for it to fizzle out by morning. I was 41 weeks and 4 days on April 16th, a Thursday afternoon, and I was beginning to wonder if our guy would ever come. I actually laid down and listened to a fear clearing Hypnobabies track, hoping it would clear my mind of any fear I was holding on to. I had a Zoom meeting at 3pm and was off at 3:30. I sat down to play around with my new laptop and around 4:30pm my stomach felt uneasy. I’m going to apologize in advance for any TMI that may come now! Just going to keep it real! I’d eaten donuts that morning and thought the gluten wasn’t agreeing with me. I went to the bathroom. And then I had to go to the bathroom again a few minutes later. And then again. During this time, I put the spaghetti squash in the oven for dinner. The cramps/pain continued and I began to wonder if these were contractions and started to time them around 4:45pm. They were 7-8 minutes apart and getting stronger.

I timed them for thirty minutes or so and realized this was, in fact, the real deal. I guess that’s the good thing about being close to 42 weeks pregnant…you pretty much know it’s got be the real thing! lol I texted my midwife a screenshot of the contractions and she replied within a minute that she was picking up her assistant and would be on the way. We knew this labor had the potential to be a quick one. One downside of living in the country is my midwife lives an hour away.

Benjamin was lifting weights during this time in our bedroom. I walked in, told him I was pretty sure I was in labor, and that I had texted the midwife. He went out and finished the dinner I’d started and watched over the kids while I labored in our bedroom. I’m a pretty private person and during contractions I prefer to just be by myself. I turned on some praise and worship music and during my breaks between contractions I sang and lifted my hands in worship. I also prayed, thanking the Lord for allowing me the privilege of being pregnant, of carrying these six children over the years. I don’t know if more children are in our future, we leave that to God to decide, but I did feel a peace and a sort of an end to this season. I could be wrong! But it was a beautiful moment and one I hope to never forget.

During this time, the contractions were coming closer together…and stronger, of course. I had a bottle of peppermint and lavender essential oils on our bathroom vanity and I would inhale whichever one felt best during a contraction. Lavender when I needed peace and to relax, peppermint when I needed a little energy. I think this was key to helping relax through the contractions, which helped them to be more bearable. I tried to think of each contraction as my body and Miller working together to bring him here. With Margaret’s birth, I’d clench up and dread each contraction so those relaxing techniques are key!

I’d had some bloody show at the beginning of the contractions, a sure sign for me that I’m really in labor, so I’d thrown on some disposable underwear (highly recommend these for postpartum!). I’d been laboring on my own in our bedroom for about an hour, Benjamin coming in to check on me from time to time. He was getting the kids fed and I heard him tell the kids that Mommy was going to have the baby soon and the midwives were on their way. They were so excited! It made me smile.

Benjamin got the kids settled upstairs after they ate and came down to be with me around 6:15pm. The contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart and lasting a minute or so. I looked at him and told him I wasn’t sure if the midwives would get to our house in time. Surprisingly, I was so calm! Benjamin tried to stay calm! lol The contractions were uncomfortable, for sure, but nothing like I’d experienced in the past.

I sent another screenshot of my contractions to my midwife and her assistant replied, “We are flying down the road!”. At 6:45pm, my water broke. Thankfully, I was wearing those disposable underwear and I was in our bathroom with vinyl floor and not carpet! Benjamin was sitting on the settee in our bedroom and I called out to him.

“My water just broke,” I announced. He helped me take the underwear off. And then the contractions stopped. I’d never been in this place before. Normally, a doctor or midwife had broken my water for me. I had no idea how many centimeters I was dilated. For the first time, I was forced to listen to my own body and do what felt natural…not what a doctor or midwife told me to do. I’d wanted to experience a waterbirth so I asked my husband to start the water for the tub.

And then suddenly a contraction came and I had a feeling this baby was about to make his arrival. I got in the tub and my husband kneeled in front of me, holding my hand. It was perhaps the sweetest and most intimate moment I’ve ever experienced. It all felt surreal then and it feels the same way as I relive it now. Another contraction came and I knew I was supposed to push. I felt his head descend and come out. I looked at Benjamin, a bit of fear and a bit of wonder, “His head is out.”

As I waited for the next contraction to push again, my midwife walked in. “His head is out,” I said.

“His head is out,” she called back to her assistant and she stepped over the tub’s edge and stood behind me. She told me to go ahead and stand up and push and his body was out. I heard his little cry.

We eventually made our way over to our bed and I held him in my arms. He was so bruised and swollen from the quick labor. He was born at 7:07pm, just two and a half hours after that first contraction. I couldn’t believe it! And the pain actually hadn’t been that bad!

“Did I tear?” I asked.

“Nope,” my midwife said.

Miller weighed 9lb, 11oz, my biggest baby. Of course, he baked the longest too! We cuddled with him. He nursed pretty much immediately. And then Benjamin went up to tell our kids.

They couldn’t believe it! It’d only been a little over an hour that Benjamin had told them the midwives were on their way and they hadn’t even heard a peep. You see, my family (mainly Pressley and Benjamin) like to tease me about the sounds I make during labor…I compare them to Xena, Warrior Princess while they just call it screaming and yelling. But I hardly made a peep through Miller’s birth. It really was peaceful and sweet. I don’t have words to describe it really. I do know I’m extremely blessed and if it’s God’s will, I’m happy to have my childbirthing years end on that note.

Here are some things I did differently for this pregnancy that I’m going to leave here. I don’t know if they made a difference or not, but it’s worth sharing. I started going to the chiropractor for prenatal adjustments around 34 weeks or so. I drank Earth Mama’s Third Trimester tea. I halfheartedly listened to Hypnobabies tracks. I did the Miles Circuit the last week or so. I smelled lavender and peppermint essential oils during labor. I tried to focus on relaxing and kept the mindset that each contraction brought Miller closer to being in my arms. And I kept myself in a praise mindset. I kept praying and just thanking Jesus for letting me be a mother.

A couple of parting thoughts: I tried lots of natural things to get baby here (didn’t drink any castor oil concoctions though) and I really believe babies will make their arrival when baby is supposed to. Most women are capable of delivering big babies. I’m 5’4 and weighed 135 pounds before pregnancy. Of course, I wish my midwife had arrived a little earlier because I know that’s safest for baby and me, but experiencing childbirth by myself and just listening to my body was absolutely amazing.

Thank you for stopping by and reading! I’m always happy to answer questions! 🙂 You can also always check us out on Instagram to see what we are up to!