Welcoming Edwin to the world
We welcomed Edwin David to the world on December 15, 2023. If you want to read a positive and fascinating home birth story, you’re in the right place.
A few days before labor starts
Just shy of 2 weeks before my due date, I started having really intense back pain. Being a first-time mom, I was unsure of what to expect. I went to my mom’s house to spend the day with her in case something more happened. After a couple hours of trying to distract myself from the pain I was feeling and talking to my midwife who suggested I should try and rest, the pain left almost as suddenly as it came.
Labor starts
Two days later, my husband, Isaac and I had just gotten back late from his Christmas work party and went to sleep completely exhausted. Around midnight, I woke up to a really strong contraction. As soon as I tried to get out of bed to walk around, another contraction started. I couldn’t get up on my own. At this moment, I knew with certainty that I was in labor. I managed to get onto my hands and knees, as I tried to wake my husband. He helped me get into the bathroom where I got into the shower to relax (or so I thought). After being in the shower and timing the contractions to find out I was having one about every three minutes, my husband suggested we call the midwife.
Waiting for the midwife
After multiple calls to our midwife who wasn’t picking up, we decided to have my mother come over to help set up the birth tub. I labored in the shower, then on the birth ball, then walking around as much as I could in between contractions. I did not want to stop moving. Around 3:30 am our backup midwife, Dianne arrived and was able to check me, per my request. I was dilated to a 3.5.
Laboring in the tub
Shortly after I got into the birth tub, my contractions got more intense. I was on my hands and knees with my arms rested over the side of the tub. My husband held and squeezed my hands during each contraction and my mom put counter pressure on my hips. I am so grateful they were there to help me through those tough contractions. After laboring for another hour with almost no breaks between my contractions, I turned to my husband and said “our midwife isn’t going to make it. This baby is coming”. Moments after, I felt the baby shift down and my water broke. It was time.
The final moments
With each contraction, I could feel my body pushing and the baby moving. Each time getting more and more intense. “He’s almost here” I said with a push. His head came out and I felt an instant relief of pressure followed by more pressure. (This part is hard to recall because it happened so fast) All three of them said “push” and then Dianne said, “get her out of the pool”. My adrenaline kicked in and I stood up and got myself out of the tub and onto my hands and knees on the bed. My mom checked for the cord and caught his shoulder. He was here. My husband scooped him up and the baby let out a cry. As soon as I heard that cry, I knew he was okay. Edwin David was born on December 15, 2023, at 5:50 am. Weighing 7lbs. 6 oz. 20.5 inches long.
Meeting my baby
I was overcome with so much joy holding my baby for the first time. I couldn’t take my eyes off him even for a moment. “Wow” was about the only thing I said for quite a while. He hadn’t yet opened his eyes. I was anxious to see what color eyes he had. The entire time I was holding him I was just staring at him imaging all the different possibilities. He finally peeked his eyes open. “Oh, my goodness he has such bright blue eyes” I said with tears in my eyes.
The name
We chose to name our first-born son Edwin David. Most of the pregnancy, we called the baby Edwin, but I didn’t want to make it official until I could see him and make sure the name fit. Edwin is a very unique name. So why did we choose it? Edwin was my husband’s grandpa’s name. My husband was super close to his grandpa and knew he always wanted to name his son after him. His grandpa passed away when my husband was a teenager, so we just knew we needed to use the name. Edwin also means friend. Edwin’s middle name, David, is my husband’s middle name as well as his great grandpa’s name. We love using family names especially from family members that mean so much to us. Together his name means beloved friend.
