A Fast and Peaceful SWFL Homebirth with Doula Care | Erica’s Birth Story

Sep 3

6 min read

Mother holding newborn baby Ezra after homebirth with Mindful Birth doula Tara in SWFL

"At 9 am on Friday May 8th I lost my mucus plug. Sora was just about to go on a walk with our babysitter Chloe when I felt it come out. As soon as they left, I ran to the bathroom to check and sure enough it was the mucus plug with a tiny bit of blood in it. I took some pictures and messaged Jamie, my midwife. She said to keep her updated as I was 38 weeks and 3 days at this point and was more likely to start labor soon. I was super excited and nervous that this could be really happening soon. And I was so unsure what to expect with this being my second birth. I called in my husband Jerome to tell him what was going on and as always he was very chill and just ready for anything!

After a little bit nothing was happening so I felt okay to go to the library to get some work done that I was planning to do that day. The 2 hours I was there, I was having slight period like cramps and Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing else really started up. Throughout the rest of Friday I maybe had some slight cramping on and off, but again, nothing significant.

Saturday I woke up and had slept very well and felt the most refreshed and energetic that I had felt at least since the second trimester of pregnancy. Unfortunately there was nothing at all happening in terms of labor that I could tell. I ended up calling my parents to talk about when they would fly down from Michigan (the original plan was to tell them when I was in labor and then they would just book their flight and get down as soon as possible). They felt that the timing for them to just get a flight for the next day would work best since it would give my mom more time to be down here away from work and we all decided that if they were here for a while before Ezra was born, that it was okay and they would still be a big help. But we also felt like things were really moving along since my mucus plug was out. And I was okay if it even was another week or longer. Though I was a tiny nervous that them being here could potentially stall things. But they bought their flight and it was settled.

That evening I made some NORA tea (for the first time since earlier in pregnancy when I had to stop drinking it because it was stimulating contractions too much) and drank one cup. Then I went to go get groceries. We made dinner and went on a pretty long family evening walk. That night I ended up putting Sora to bed, though usually Jerome does, and it was such a special time to lay there with him. I stayed in bed with him a little bit and held him and prayed over him.

Then Jerome and I went to bed. I was laying down for maybe 30 minutes before I felt some slight pains starting. I waited through a couple of them before I began timing them. The first one I timed was at 11:22pm. Within 30 minutes of timing them, I woke up Jerome and told him what was happening and that I was going to call Jamie since they were getting within 5 minutes apart and lasting almost a minute. I was still very coherent and able to talk through everything when I called around midnight. Jamie said she wanted to wait as long as possible to come so to keep touch with Tara, my doula, and they would communicate to decide when Jamie would make the drive down from Ft. Myers.

Well, as I was texting Tara, I got up from the toilet and realized a bit of liquid was trickling down my leg. Tara had me use my amniotic test strip to see if it was amniotic fluid or not. And it was indeed! So Jamie and Tara and Amy all were on their way immediately. We were all already under the impression that this birth would be a bit faster since my first was only 12 hours with only 45 min of pushing, and this was my second.

The next several minutes Jerome was quietly working to get the sheets changed and the tub filled with water and messaging all the people he needed to message. And by the time Tara arrived a few minutes later, I was already laying in bed fighting through the contractions. I was laying on my side for a bit, then moved to be on my hands and knees on the bed, then leaning on the birth ball on my bed. At this point my body started to shake uncontrollably and I was getting nauseous. It was all so uncomfortable so I kept moving around and I eventually went to the bathroom and just stayed on the toilet. Once I was there, I felt like I could be completely open and not feel the need to hold anything back, which was painful, but I think really helped things progress better (I also was on the toilet most of my first labor too. I thought I might want water again this time so I had Jerome fill the tub, but hated the idea once I was in labor haha).

While I was on the toilet I started getting super hot so Tara put an ice pack on me and got a hand held fan to keep on me as well. The contractions now were super strong and intense. I remember telling Jerome I was scared and was definitely not going to do this again because it was so painful (and later that very day I told him I wasn't done with 2 kids and definitely wanted another haha). I was also worrying a bit because labor had just started and it was already so hard to get through each contraction. After only like 20 or 30 minutes on the toilet my body started to kind of push, but also still contract at the same time. It was not like with my first when the pushing fully took over and I had a break from contractions. I heard Jerome say he recognized that I was starting to push and that it was happening way quicker than my first.

Then, after the second time that my body pushed and contracted, Amy asked if I could feel anything yet so I reached down and his head was already coming out! So I got up off the toilet to try to move somewhere better to birth him, but the second I stood up I had another contraction and I pushed his head out! I don't remember feeling any ring of fire or pain, just relief that his head was out! Jerome snuck behind me on the toilet so that he could catch our baby.

With the next contraction baby's body came right out along with all of the water from the sac. He was born at 1:52am on May 10th, Mothers Day!

I think he had the cord wrapped once around him, so Jamie or Amy helped to get that off before they passed him through to me. I remember worrying a bit asking why he wasn't crying yet, then he immediately started to cry!

We then got a chux pad underneath me and moved over to our bed. Baby Ezra was laying on me while Jamie, Amy, and Tara were cleaning/getting all the stuff ready to do the exams. With my first, my placenta came right out on its own. But this time it stayed in for about 45min before Amy helped to guide it out (as it had detached, but not come out yet). When it finally came out, it was honestly more relief than when Ezra came out haha. Having that in me just gave the weirdest "off" feeling. But it all came out perfectly. Then Jerome was able to cut the cord!

Ezra latched well and ate for a bit. He was just on me for about an hour before anything else was done. After that they finally did all the exams they needed to do. He was perfect and I didn't tear! And since I am Rh–, I had the rhogam shot ready and Amy just gave it to me right in bed. Then suddenly everything was clean and put away. We had some snacks ready for us and we got to sleep a couple hours before our toddler woke up!

Ezra weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 19in long. Total labor from first contraction to birth was only 2.5 hours with only 4 minutes of pushing. No tearing at all either! And my 23 month old son slept through everything! And my parents were arriving that very day, so they would get to be there sooner than we could have ever thought! Every little thing that I had been praying for for this labor happened and I feel so blessed and thankful to God for the easy labor and health of our new baby boy!"

Authored by Erika, mother of two

We are deeply grateful to Erica for trusting us with her story and for sharing such an intimate and beautiful glimpse into the birth of Ezra. Birth stories like hers remind us why we do what we do! To walk alongside families with presence, guidance, and wholehearted support. Thank you, Erica, for allowing us to celebrate this special moment with you and your family.

-The Mindful Birth Doulas