MyMaine Birth

146. MyMaine Birth: Olivia's Maine Home Birth Story with Loving Care from her Midwives at MotherSeed Midwifery

• Angela Laferriere • Season 4 • Episode 146

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Are you a soon to be mom, a seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth?  You’re in the right place! 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Home birth in Maine
  • Midwifery care in Maine
  • The benefits of working with home birth midwives and a supportive OB
  • late-pregnancy bleed, monitoring, and reassurance
  • labor beginning at work and rallying the team
  • rapid active labor, meconium, and watchful midwifery care
  • birth by the Christmas tree, delayed cord clamping, minimal tears
  • postpartum at home, follow-up visits, and sibling bonding
  • birth photography as a way to help piece back your memory of your birth story and gain clarity over your experience 
  • ….and a whole lot more!

Show Resources

Olivia's Midwifery Team - MotherSeed Midwifery 


Additional Resources you’ll LOVE…

MyMaineBirth.com

If you are ready to prepare for an autonomous birth experience, where you’re respected as the authority over your body and your baby…  regardless of where you plan on birthing -
CLICK HERE for 10% off  the MyAutonomous Birth self-paced, online course! 


Not sure where to start?  I’ve got you covered!  Check out my FREE resource, 37 Questions to Ask Your Care Provider.   Whether you’re interviewing new providers or have already established care, this FREE resource offers guidance on important topics to discuss with your provider.

Olivia:

We went to the other bathroom to try to see if there was hot water in the other bathroom. There, but there was not. And then I just kind of like labored on the floor in the bathroom for a little while, but not that long because this was all happening very quickly. And my contractions were super close together and super intense. And so at this point, Rebecca had no one had checked me to see like how dilated I was or anything like that. So I said, I remember asking Rebecca if she could check me because I was thinking, like, if I am not close to having this baby, I have to figure out like a different way to cope with this. This is super intense at this point. And Rebecca was like, she's so she felt me. She was like, Yeah, of course, whatever you want. And so she was like, The baby, I can't feel the baby's head, but I don't feel any cervix. So he's not right here yet, but he's definitely super low. And I was like, Okay, great. And I remember saying, Can I go walk around? Because I need to walk around for a minute. And they were like, Yeah, go walk around, do whatever you need. And I don't know if I asked that before I yelled at my husband, but I also did yell at my husband, and I said, You did this to me. And so I walked from our bathroom out to our living room where the birthtub was, but the birthtub wasn't full enough to like get into yet. And it was my like my husband was boiling water on the stove, but it was still there wasn't enough water in it to be in it. But I knelt down in like leaning on the birth tub out of it, and I like felt like a really big push, which was his head coming down, but I didn't realize that's what it was. And then Rebecca, my midwife, came over and she was like, Oh, his head is right here, and now he's crowning, and now he's out. And so he came out super fast, and you were there, you saw it, it was so quick. And so, yeah, he was born right here on our living room floor in front of our Christmas tree, which was my plan. Um, and you were there and you got some really great shots of him coming out, which was amazing.

Angela:

I'm Angela, and I'm a certified birth photographer, experienced doula, childbirth educator, and your host here on the My Main Birth podcast. This is a space where we share the real life stories of families and their unique birth experiences in the beautiful state of Maine. From our state's biggest hospitals to birth center births and home births, every birth story deserves to be heard and celebrated. Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother, or simply interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you. Welcome to episode 146 of My Main Birth. Today's birth story guest is Olivia. This is Olivia's third time joining me here on the podcast. She shared her first birth story in episode 16 and her second birth story in episode 67. So go check those out to hear the first parts of her story. And today she is back to share her third birth story with us: a home birth with loving care from her midwives Rebecca and Antonia of Motherseed Midwifery. And this time I had the incredible honor of being her birth photographer. You can head over to my website, mymainbirth.com, if you want to check out all of the photos that Olivia and her midwives gave me permission to share. Hi Olivia, welcome back to MyMain Birth. Hello! So to get started, you shared your first birth story in episode 16, and your second birth story in episode 67. For anyone that hasn't heard those, though, would you start by sharing just a little bit about you and your family?

Olivia:

Yeah. So my husband and I live in Whitefield, and we just had our third baby. So our first baby, we were living in Whitefield, um, and we were planning a home birth, and he and he was breached. So we ended up having a C-section at Miles Hospital. We tried all the things to get him to move, but he was breach and stayed breach. And then our second, we were also once again planning a home birth. It would be an HBAC, which would be a V back at home, which is legal in Maine. However, she decided to come early. So you can legally have a V back at home in the state of Maine at 36 weeks and six days. She was, I went into labor at exactly 36 weeks. So she was born in the hospital, which I still got to have a V back and it was unmedicated and it was really fast, but I still was dreaming of a home birth.

Angela:

Oh my gosh, it was 36 weeks. I thought it was like a little bit closer. So you were like five days before like they wanted it to be.

Olivia:

Yes, yeah, I was exactly 36 weeks. So if I had gone into labor six days later, she would have been able to be born at home, but she was not. I had the flu, we're pretty sure that put me into labor. But both babies were born, like Atticus was born when I was 39 and 39 weeks and four days, and then LC was born at 36 weeks.

Angela:

And both of them you kind of bumped into these home birth, licensure, midwifery restrictions, with the first being that now that licensed midwife midwives are licensed here in Maine, they're not able to attend breach births anymore at home. Like that wasn't even really an option for you. And then the second time, yeah, it's just kind of like too early.

Olivia:

Right. And I mean, with being too early, like we were worried that maybe something would be wrong and that there would be time that she needed to spend in the NICU. And like, if you listen to my story, she was fine. We had to go back because she had elevated jaundice levels, but other than that, like she was fine. And then I mean, in this date of mean, finding even a doctor in a hospital that will deliver a breach birth vaginally is like next to impossible. Because I I tried that and I couldn't find anyone that was willing to let me do that, which breach positioning is just another normal thing. Like, yes, most babies come out head first, but some of them come out feet first, and that's something that happens. I mean, I'm a farmer, I deliver animals, breach births happen all the time, and we just deal with it.

Angela:

Exactly. Yeah, it just would be so nice if providers would learn those skills because yeah, nobody really has them, and and seems like something that could really be helpful in some situations.

Olivia:

Yes, yeah, absolutely. And then other states there are different laws that allow for people to have breach babies vaginally or even at home.

Angela:

So yeah, the licensure is different from state to state for sure.

Olivia:

Yes, yeah.

Angela:

So now on to your third pregnancy. Will you start by sharing a little bit about how you found out you were pregnant and your thoughts and your choosing your care?

Olivia:

Yeah. Um, so when Alcy was born, she was born so early, I was not done like being pregnant. We had like a bunch of things we were gonna still do, and I was gonna do a belly cast. And I like when I was in labor with her, I was like, Can I just quickly do this belly cast real quick? And like I didn't because my labor with her was really short. And so I we both like my husband and I, when we met, we had talked about how many kids we wanted, and we'd always wanted like four kids. So, you know, we had the two, and we were like, okay, this is not our last one. I we will have another baby that will happen. We were going to wait a little bit longer before starting to try for a baby, but he had other plans so we were not trying to get pregnant when we did, but I guess like the stars aligned, and I found out I was pregnant like the day after Easter. My family was here on Easter, and we do like an Easter egg hunt all around the farm. And I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure if I was pregnant, and I didn't want to like, I don't know, I just didn't want to think about it yet. And then the next day I would have started my period and I took a test and it was immediately positive. And I showed my husband, and I don't know what he said, but he was like, Oh, okay. And so obviously, we were gonna try to have a home birth again. So I talked to my midwife, and before I reached out to her, I reached out to Antonia, who was my midwife's apprentice, and she was there when Elsie was born. And Antonia was in the like last bits of her training to become a midwife. And so I knew she was gonna be graduating. And then it was kind of up in the air how long it would take her to actually be licensed, because there was some, once again, there was some like legislative stuff that they were trying to figure out because like was her school accredited or not? And did she have to take this extra test or not? And so I reached out to her first and I was like, hey, when is your like when will you be licensed? And she was super excited uh when I told her I was pregnant, and she's like, I don't know, but we'll figure it out. And I was like, okay, great. Um and I knew that my midwife Rebecca was she had she was like just getting on a plane to go to Ireland with her family on vacation. So I texted her and I was just like, Hey, I know that you're in Ireland and this is not like a super quick thing, but when you get back, we should talk because I'm pregnant again. And I knew that Rebecca was like kind of she had been taking some time off, so I wasn't sure what her plan was, like how many people she was gonna take on, and if um, because like she had taken off a whole month last the year before, so I wasn't quite sure what her plan was. And so I reached out to her and I reached out to Antonia, and then when Rebecca came back, we all talked about it, and I was like, okay, well, here's when I would be due. And I have really short cycles, so we like played with my due date a little bit, and they were like, All right, you're probably due sometime between like Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. And I was like, I'm pretty sure it's Christmas Eve, and so I met with them, and then at some point I was super nauseous, so I called, I tried all the things that I could to ease my nausea that I had tried with my other children because I also had really bad nausea with Elsie, and it was like, you know, I had like two small children already, and I was super nauseous, and I was still working, and I was like, I have to do something. So I called the regular OB to try to get something from them. And they were like, Okay, well, you can come in, but also like if you want, we can do a dating ultrasound, and that would tell you at this stage like when your due date would be. And I was like, Okay, great. So I went to that and they were like, Yeah, your due date should be New Year's Eve, but based on how big your baby is, we think it's actually Christmas Eve. And I was like, See, I was right. Um so then I just like kind of continued my care with Rebecca and Antonia, and because I had seen an OB, I could go back um and try because like they gave me some medication and it didn't really work great. Um, and then when I was in my second trimester, I went back and they were like, okay, let's give you something else. So they gave me Zofran, and that was like a miracle because I could suddenly like function again, um, which was really nice. And the Obi that I saw in my guest art, her name was Leah. I'm not sure what her last name is, I could find it. Um, but she was great and she was super supportive and she was like, Great, I hope I don't have to see you again. I hope that you get to have your home birth at home. And she was just like so supportive and nice. She's like, Do you mind me asking who your midwife is? Because people come in all the time and they don't know. So I would love to be able to give them a recommendation. And I was like, Yeah, sure, it's Rebecca Kohler and she's in Whitefield and she's great. Um, so it was like she was like all for having a home birth, which was really nice to hear. So yeah, I just kind of like continued on with Rebecca and Antonia, and I like got my nausea under control, and so that was pretty on. I mean, most of my pregnancy was like pretty uneventful until I got to like I had we did do the ultrascan, so we did the like 20-week growth scan like normal. Um, and then if you are VBAC, they want you to have an ultrasound at 32 weeks to make sure that your placenta is not growing on your C-section scar. I had an anterior placenta, but it was nowhere near my scar, it was way up at the top. And so we did all that. 32-week scan looked great, anatomy scan looked great, everything was fine, my blood work was fine. And then at 34 weeks, maybe 32 weeks, 34 weeks, I was still working, feeling good. I came home from work and I was going to the bathroom and I had like this huge rush of blood, um, which was super scary because we were, I was like, oh no. Uh, because I was like, this is way too early to have a baby. And this whole time we'd been like, okay, he has to stay in until December 2nd, because December 2nd I will be 36 weeks and six days. And so he has to stay in until then. And so I had this like big rush of blood, and they so we went to the house. I called Antonia and Rebecca, and I was like, I'm assuming I go to the hospital. And they were like, Yes, go to the hospital. Um, so I went to Augusta, which is only like 20 minutes from our house, and they basically they like monitored the baby, um, and they were basically like, We have no idea. Like, you're not bleeding anymore. The baby sounds great, your placenta looks good, because they did an ultrasound of my placenta to make sure it wasn't like detaching or anything like that, and everything looked fine. And so they kept me overnight and they watched him. And I was having like some contractions, but I couldn't feel them, but they could see them on the monitor. Um, so they like gave me a medication to slow down or stop my contractions, and like my cervix wasn't dilating, the baby was fine, and they're like, All right, we don't know. Sometimes this happens, but we have no idea. And I was like, Cool, okay. Uh, so we went home and he was fine. So you know, still it was yeah, it was super scary, and then like two days later, I was a little bit I was just like, Oh, he's not moving as much today. And so I got a little bit worried. So we like went to the hospital again and they monitored him for 20 minutes. They're like, no, he's fine. And I was like, Great, okay, maybe he just was sleepy at this time of day. And so that was at 34 weeks, and so I talked to Antonia and Rebecca, and they were like, Okay, why don't we do another ultrasound? They said, Why don't you schedule an ultrasound for 37 weeks just to make sure your placenta looks good and everything looks fine? So they scheduled an ultrasound at 37 weeks. Maybe it takes um just to check on everything and make sure that like my placenta still looked good. It wasn't detaching or anything, nothing was happening. And so I went to that and everything looked fine. The ultrasound technician was so funny. She I I like lay on the the table and she like sees my chart and she says, Oh, are you having another C-section? And I said, No, I'm having V back, I'm having it at home. And she was like, Oh, doesn't that make you nervous? And I like laughed a little bit and I was like, No, if it made me nervous, I wouldn't do it. And she was like, Oh, I guess I never thought about that. But I was like, Yeah, if it made me nervous, I wouldn't try to have a V back at home, but it doesn't make me nervous, so like I'm confident in my body, it doesn't make me nervous, and but she I could tell she was like, Oh, I never thought about that. And I could tell by the look on her face that she hadn't thought about that. She just thought about you know, like what's normal or what's typical in like medical in the medical field.

Angela:

Yeah, that's really interesting, and it's hard when you see the same thing every day and you're in that setting to think of maybe like why someone would want to make choices that are against like what they would maybe recommend, but then you're oh, you know, seeing it from your perspective and yeah, that's awesome.

Olivia:

Yes, yeah. I mean, when I had like the weird bleeding that they couldn't figure out what it was, the um I mean, like when I got there, they were like, You can't have any food because we don't know if you're in labor, and maybe you'll need a C-section, and blah blah blah blah. And then so like at midnight, the OB that was like the head OB that was on call that night, she was like, Well, the baby's not in distress, so like if you are in labor, you could have a V back. And I was like, Great, I could have a V back here. And she's like, Yes, I mean, I wouldn't suggest a V back at home ever, but and I was like, That's okay, I'm all set. I know, I know the statistics, I've done my research. Like, I just like shut it down because I was like, I'm not even having this discussion with you. Like, as long as nothing is wrong, I'm gonna go have this baby at home.

Angela:

Yeah, and I think that's really the most important thing. Like, we're all grown-ups that are capable of making our own decisions and assessing like safety and risk, which is right, totally doesn't look the same for everybody, you know? And yeah, and just to have that all of the information and to make your own choices, yeah.

Olivia:

Right, exactly. And like this is not my first birth, and also I would say that I'm probably more educated on birth than the average person, and so I was like, I'm not even gonna like do this with you right now. It's midnight and I'm tired. Um, so yeah, so I did the 37, 30, yeah, seven-week ultrasound. And at that point, I hadn't planned anything for December because I was like, I have no idea when this baby is coming. Like, he could come now or he could come later. And we were all assuming that he would come early because my other two babies had come early. So, like, nothing was planned after December 2nd. So, like, even at my job, I was like, you guys, I'm gonna leave at some point, but I don't know when. And they were like, that's fine, you can work until you have the baby or until you're ready to leave, which you can listen to the rest of this. I had my baby after I had been at work all day and I was like in labor at work. So I like hadn't planned anything, like even like for Christmas or for the kids. Like, we went and got a Christmas tree after Thanksgiving. Um, we like always go and cut one down and we like decorated and I wanted everything to be ready for when the baby came, but we just didn't know when it would be. But like my husband had like a work Christmas party, and I hadn't even thought about going because I just assumed he would come like December 2nd. And he didn't. So, you know, I was able, we like took the kids to go see Santa at my husband's work, and then we went to we went to my husband's Christmas party, which was great. And my uh like I got my friend watched my kids, so we could go like by ourselves, which was really nice, and then we were just kind of like waiting for him, which was also like a weird place to be in because I just assumed we all thought he would come earlier than he did, and so we were just like kind of waiting. And I had like my I don't know, I think at like 38 weeks, I had an appointment with Rebecca, and we were talking about like when he was gonna come. And Rebecca was like, Well, I've never had a baby be born on Christmas before in the 17 years that I've been a midwife. I haven't had a baby be born on Christmas. She's like, All the other days, I've missed all of everyone's birthday, all of the other holidays, but never Christmas. And I was like, damn, it's gonna be me. And then I talked to my brother that night, and he was like, I was like, you man, he's probably gonna be born on Christmas Eve or into Christmas. And he was like, Yeah, that makes sense because like my nephew already thinks that my husband looks like Santa, and I love Christmas, and so like he I want him to be Santa most of the time anyway, and like I want to be Mrs. Claus, that's my goal in life. And he was like, Well, the baby will just be born on Christmas, and you'll just slowly morph into Chris into Mrs. Claus. And I was like, Yeah, you're probably right. Um, so that was on like Tuesday and Wednesday is when I talked to my brother, and so on, and I was at work on Wednesday and I went to work on Thursday and felt totally fine, and I was just like, This baby is never gonna come. He's gonna stay in there forever. And then I saw I saw a friend that I saw the morning that I was in labor with Elsie, and I was like, Emily, get over here and rub this belly and tell this baby to come out. And I saw her like right before lunchtime. I ate lunch, and then I went into labor right after lunch. And so later that night I texted her and I was like, I don't know what kind of magic you have, but the baby was born. Did you see her before your um son was born too? Is it something like that? Probably. I don't know. I saw her before Elsie was born, though, like that morning, and she was Like, Scorpio babies are great, you should have a Scorpio baby. And I was like, Emily, it is too early to have a baby. And I was for sure in labor at that point. But then I hadn't seen her in like two months. Um, and I actually like saw her in person and she rubbed my belly, and her mom was there, and her mom was like a longtime labor and delivery nurse, too. So I saw both of them and I like gave them both hugs, and then I went into labor. So I was like, I don't know what it is about you guys, but whatever. You stay away from people who don't want to go into labor yet. So I yeah, I like ate lunch and was feeling fine, and then we were um we were coating. I'm a cheesemaker, so we were coating cheese in flowers and herbs because we have this new type of cheese. So I was working with my coworkers and we were doing that, and I kept having like what I thought was like gas pain, and I was like, oh, it's just gas pain. And then I was like, all right, I'm gonna go pack. I had to go do something else. So I went and packed like all of the orders that we deliver in a week. And so I was doing that all by myself. So I was in the back room, and I was like, maybe these are contractions and not gas pain. So I I was like, maybe these are not actually gas pain, maybe this is contractions. So maybe I should like start tracking them. So I did. I like went on my phone and I used the contraction counter, and I was like, Oh yeah, no, these are for sure contractions because they're every five minutes and they're lasting for a minute. And so I like sat back there packing orders, counting my contractions for a whole hour. So I counted them for like an hour. So like it they started at like I don't know, like 2.15-ish. And so by 3.15, I had been counting for an hour, and I leave work generally at 3 45 anyway on Thursdays to go, but my husband picks me up and then we go pick up my son from school. So it was almost time to leave anyway. And I was like, okay, well, I for sure am having contractions. I should call Rebecca and Antonia and let them know. And they didn't answer, which is like super unlike them. And I was like, okay, well, Rebecca's son also goes to my school, so or my son's school, so she might be there and she might not have service. So I will call, I will see if she's there when we go pick up Atticus. So I call my husband and I'm like, hey, I'm like pretty sure I'm in labor. So when you come pick me up, we'll go pick up Atticus and then like probably have a baby tonight. And he was like, Okay, great. So we I go, I'm like still at work at this point. So I go to where my coworkers are and I'm like, hey, you guys, I'm pretty sure that I'm in labor. So I go into the room where my coworkers are, and I'm like, pretty sure I'm in labor, you guys. Uh, I gotta go. And they were like, Yeah, great, get out of here. Do whatever you need to do. And I like show my coworkers what I'm doing, and they're like, We got it, we're gonna take over for you. You just go. Uh so Steve comes and picks me up, and we go to my son's school, which is like five minutes away. Everything's in Whitefield, it's all very close. And we pull in and I see Rebecca's husband, and I'm like, ah, damn, Rebecca's not here, it's her husband. So I'm like, all right, Steve, you go get Atticus, and I'm gonna go talk to Bert because maybe Bert knows where Rebecca is. And so I get out of the car and I'm talking to Bert and I'm like, Bert, do you know where Rebecca is? And he's like, Oh, she was driving all the way today. And he's like, Did you call her? And I said, Yeah, I called her and Antonia, and neither of them answered, which is like very unlike them. And he was like, Oh, that is weird. He said, Keep calling her, but if I talk to her, I'll let her know that you were looking for her. And he was like, Do you think you're in labor? And I was like, Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm in labor. And it turns out after I got in contact with Rebecca, Schbert had also gotten in contact with her, and he was like, Did you talk to Olivia? Because she's for sure in labor. So, like, he he even knew. And so I called you because you were gonna come be there and have and take pictures. And I called my mom because my mom was supposed to be there, and she was like, Okay, I'm gonna take a shower real quick. Do you think that's okay? And I was like, Yeah, that's that should be fine. Take a shower and then come up here because she's like an hour away, she's in South Portland. And so I finally get in contact with Rebecca and Antonia, and they're like, Okay, do you think this is like really time? And I was like, Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is really time. And they're like, Okay, I'm like, I'm gonna go take a shower and see if anything changes while I'm in the shower. And they're like, Great, let us know we're in Scowhegan, but we can come to you after. And I was like, Great, you probably should just come to me after. So I take a shower, nothing changes, and my contractions are just getting like closer together and more intense. And so I call them and they're like, Yes, we are on the way. You were on the way, you were supposed to meet with them that meeting that evening anyway, because you guys had another appointment to go to. And so everyone was supposed to be here. They everyone was like, Okay, we'll be there just after six. And I was like, Great, just after six, sounds great. So we all get home and we're hanging out, and I'm like, definitely in labor. And I text my friend that lives in the house that's next to us, because my son was very insistent that he was gonna go to Auntie Jesse's while I was having the baby. He was not gonna be here when the baby was born, and I was like, This is fine. Um, so I text her and I'm like, Hey, I'm in labor, everything's fine right now. She's like, Do you need anything? And I was like, No, I don't think so. I think everything's fine. And within like probably 10 minutes of me texting that to her, I was like, Hey, are you done taking care of the animals? Can you take my children? Because actually, this is happening way faster than I thought. And so she was like, Yeah, definitely. So both of my kids go over there, and so it's just me and Steve here. And there was like a minute that I was like, No one, these contractions are so close together and it feels so intense. I was like, I'm gonna have this baby before anyone gets here. And Steve was also worried that I was gonna have the baby before anyone got here, and it was just gonna be him, and he wasn't gonna know what to do. So he's like trying to fill up the birth tub while we're like waiting for everyone to get here. And we like ran out of hot water, even though we have two hot water heaters, and I was just like walking around the house in pain. And so then my mom called me while she was on her way here when she was in Gardner, and I like couldn't talk to her on the phone, and she was like, Oh, you're like way closer to having a baby than I thought. And I was like, Yes, I can't talk to you on the phone. Bye. And so Antonia got here like just after six, and then you got here right after her. I don't think she was here much longer before you got here, and then my mom got here, and then Rebecca got here, and Rebecca got here as I was getting into the shower, and that's when my water broke, right? Yes, yep, things are fast, you could tell. Well, it and it was going super, super fast. Wave, I mean Elsie's birth was fast too, but not this fast. Like, I had contractions with Elsie through like most of the day before I even went to the hospital, and like this just happened so much faster. So Rebecca got there as I was getting into the shower, and my water broke right as I stepped into the shower, which is super convenient and great. And there was meconium in it, and so we were all like, Oh, well, we should probably watch that. Oh, and at I don't know, whatever week it was that I did the GBS swab, I was GBS positive, and so we had talked about before I went into labor, we had talked about like, okay, what do you want to do with this information? And I was like, Well, I feel pretty comfortable just you know, seeing how it goes. I was like, my labor, my water never broke with either of like my water didn't break with Elsie, they broke it manually, and then she was born like immediately after that. So I assumed that the same thing would happen this time. So I was like, I'm not super concerned about it. Um, but Rebecca was like, if your water is broken for an extended period of time, we can revisit it. But I do have antibiotics if you had wanted them at any point. And I was like, Great, that is reassuring that if I wanted them, you have them, but I don't think it's a huge concern. And so we were just kind of like, you know, we were gonna watch it. And then there was meconium in the in my water, and not like a ton, but like enough. And so we were just gonna watch that too and see what happened. And so I went from when the water ran out in there, we went to the other bathroom to try to see if there was hot water in the other bathroom. There, but there was not. And then I just kind of like labored on the floor in the bathroom for a little while, but not that long because this was all happening very quickly. And my contractions were super close together and super intense. And so at this point, Rebecca had no one had checked me to see like how dilated I was or anything like that. So I said, I remember asking Rebecca if she could check me because I was thinking, like, if I am not close to having this baby, I have to figure out like a different way to cope with this because this is super intense at this point. And Rebecca was like, she's so she felt me. She was like, Yeah, of course, whatever you want. And so she was like, The baby, I can't feel the baby's head, but I don't feel any cervix, so he's not right here yet, but he's definitely super low. And I was like, Okay, great. And I remember saying, Can I go walk around? Because I need to walk around for a minute. And they were like, Yeah, go walk around, do whatever you need. And I don't know if I asked that before I yelled at my husband, but I also did yell at my husband, and I said, You did this to me. Um, and so we well, I walked from our bathroom out to our living room where the birthtub was, but the birthtub wasn't full enough to like get into yet. And it was my like my husband was boiling water on the stove, but it was still there wasn't enough water in it to be in it. But I knelt down in like leaning on the birth tub out of it, and I like felt like a really big push, which was his head coming down, but I didn't realize that's what it was. And then Rebecca, my midwife, came over and she was like, Oh, his head is right here, and now he's crowning, and now he's out, and so he came out super fast, and you were there, you saw it, it was so quick. And so, yeah, he was born right here on our living room floor in front of our Christmas tree, which was my plan. Um, and you were there and you got some really great shots of him coming out, which was amazing. And then yeah, he just came out and we he nursed and we kind of hung out there on the floor for a little while, and then we waited to cut the cord a little bit. I don't know how long we waited, like half an hour maybe. I don't know. It wasn't pulsing and it was white at that point. And they gave me the option, they were like, Do you want to cut it or do you want to wait until for a little while longer and you can go sit in bed? And I was like, Well, trying to get into bed with the placenta still inside of me and attached to him sounds logistically hard. So I was like, let's just cut it. So Steve cut the cord, um, and then the placenta came out like right after that. Like, probably if I had waited, he could have stayed longer, but it was fine. So the placenta came out while we were there and it looked good. So then we went into the bedroom and they did all his measurements and everything, and they checked me, and I had like two teeny tiny tears, which was like nothing. Like LCI had a bigger tear that I had to get stitches, and these were like superficial tears, so they were really small. And the midwives were there, they weighed him, they checked on everything. My kids came in and they got to meet their brother, and they were super excited. And then we just all got to go to bed in our bed, which was amazing. And so, yeah, we get we got to like just go to bed in our own bed and not be bothered by any nurses every two minutes. And my midwife came back. I mean, she lives 10 minutes from my house, so she would have come back anytime if we had any any concerns or anything. But she came back, he was born on Thursday, and she came back Saturday morning to check on us and make sure everything was okay. And then Antonia came back like two days later, so we got to like kind of just hang out, which was super nice, and we just continued to hang out, like we didn't go anywhere until he was three weeks old. So he hasn't like he's four weeks old today, and he's been a couple places, but he did not go in the car until he was three weeks old, and I did not leave my house for three whole weeks, so yeah, it happened, everything happened super quickly, and I got to have my baby at home. Third time you got your home birth. Yeah, yeah. And my husband, you know, like a couple days later, he was like, Man, there's such a difference when it's a birth that's run by women in like a non-medical setting. And he was like, That's so much calmer and so much nicer. And I was like, Yes, this is what we've been trying to get to.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, love it.

Angela:

Yeah, that's so great. You've just been just resting and enjoying your postpartum.

Olivia:

Yeah, so yeah, we've been we've been good, we've just been hanging out, and he's four weeks old today, which is crazy.

Angela:

So, what were your thoughts when you got your photos and you got to see get all back?

Olivia:

It was so nice to see everything and to just see like how quickly it really did happen. Because I mean, there's a picture of like the top of his head and then his whole face and then his whole body, like so quickly after each other. Yeah, it was just like so fast. So it was so nice to just like see everything laid out like so quickly. Because it did just happen so fast. I mean, he was born, so I went into labor at 217 or 2.15 at my work, and then he was born at 7.15. So that's only five hours. That's like such a quick labor. So it was so nice to see all the really nice pictures, like of how quick it actually was. I mean, you're in labor, time is like not it's not real and it's not really linear, and then I realized that like those minutes like right after birth are also not linear, so it was nice to see all the pictures after birth because I was like, oh yes, we did lay on the floor for that long, and then we went into the bedroom, and then these things happened. So it was so nice to have everything like chronologically to see like what happened one after the other.

Angela:

Yeah, it can help you put the pieces back together if you you know so funny when you're in labor, right?

Olivia:

Because it's it is just like a time warp that happens when you're in labor, and then you got such nice pictures of like my daughter just like in love with her brother, because yeah, she she still thinks that he's her baby and she holds him all the time. Yeah, oh yeah, she's just like so excited, yeah. They both both of my kiddos love him so much. So my oldest has like probably not long after Elsie was born. He was like, When can you have another kid? You know, the kind that you make in your belly. And I was like, Child, you need to wait a second. You judge had your sister, like not that long ago. Like, give it a minute. Um, so when we told him that he was gonna have a sibling, he was over the moon, and he was even more excited that it was a boy because he already had a sister, so he was excited to have a brother. So yeah, they both they both were so excited.

Angela:

Yeah, one of each.

Olivia:

Yes, yeah, exactly. Um yeah, yeah.

Angela:

So now, as a final question, I ask this every time, but now, like at this point in your journey, if you were to give advice to someone who's expecting, or even new parents, what is one of the biggest things you'd want to share?

Olivia:

I can't remember what I said before, but I would say having a baby really makes you advocate for yourself and for your baby. And so, my biggest like takeaway would be do some research and like know what your rights are and know that like know is a complete sentence, and you don't have to do things just because your hospital is telling you to do them, and you do have a say in your care and how everything goes, even if you have to wait after your third pregnancy to finally get your home birth, like you know, but definitely prepare yourself to advocate for yourself and for your baby, and know, yeah, no, you know what rights you have, and like just because the hospital says that you should do this thing or says, I mean, I have a friend that I have a friend that is also pregnant and she's due soon, and her baby was breach at her, I don't know, she's like 30 weeks, and her ultrasound technician was like, Oh, well, if your baby's breach now, it's highly unlikely that your baby will turn. And I was like, she called me after and she's like, Is that true? And I was like, No, that is not true. That goes against everything I've ever heard. Like, no, your baby has plenty of time to still flip at 30 weeks, like that's so early. Yeah, you got time. She was like, That's a little bit crazy to me. And I was like, Yes, that is insane. Like, don't listen to them. So, yeah, like maybe, yeah, if if you are newly pregnant, then yeah, know what rights you have and know that you don't have to just blindly follow what your doctor says.

Angela:

Yes, I could not agree, right? Right. What helps you have a less traumatic experience, even if things are going not according to plan, if you're still like in control and making and not feeling like coerced into things, like you're gonna have a better experience, even if it's not a plan, yeah.

Olivia:

Right. And so, like, you know, I've had I've now had two experiences where I was planning something completely different than what I got, but because I I knew, you know, I did some research and I knew what rights I had. So, like when I had my c-section with my son that was breached, like I went into labor. I didn't let them schedule me for my c-section, which like I went into labor on the day that they wanted to schedule me for a c-section, but whatever. But like, you know, you do have rights and you can say no. You don't have to just do something because they're suggesting it. And you can always ask why. Like, why are you suggesting this? Or what is the what is the reason?

Angela:

That's the most important part, right there. Yeah why, you know, because get all of the information, like what would different providers tell you in different settings in the situation that you're in, and then get all of the information and make your own decisions because again, like you're a grown-up who is capable of making decisions for yourself, and like what you might decide and what you might assess risk and safety as might be a little someone else. So, like it's really yeah.

Olivia:

I mean, even with like having a V back, you know, like they're like, Oh, well, the risk of uterine rupture is is double when you're having a V back, but they don't tell you that, like, yes, it's double, but it's still under 1% chance. Like, yes, it does double, but the amount that it doubles to is not significant, and that's not saying that like everyone should try for a V back after they had a C-section, whatever you are comfortable with, but they full picture of what it actually is, um, instead of just like trying to scare you. Yeah, I mean, my husband has a close friend that that he's known forever who's an anesthesiologist, and so when Steve texted him, like, oh, here's the baby, he his response to that was congratulations, I'm so glad your wife didn't die. Like, not like really that was his response. And I was like, Well, that's just his mindset, though. Like, he's an anesthesiologist, so he sees all the worst cases that could happen. So that's gonna skew his vision of it. But like, you know, in most healthy typical pregnancies, there's no reason not to try that.

Angela:

Yeah, and it really like at the end of the day, it comes down to the person. Like, some person, oh, doubled risk, but it's still under 1%. Like, definitely not. We want to be in a hospital, and like that's okay, but like someone else has to use something completely different. So that's why it should really be left up to the parents and like can't stress enough, like education, like get all of the information about whatever situation you're in, and yeah, decide for yourself.

Olivia:

Exactly. I mean, I think that a lot of doctors do a huge disservice to their patients because they don't give them the full picture of what is happening, and it should be whatever the parent is comfortable with. Like, if you're comfortable in a home birth, have a home birth. If you're comfortable in a hospital and that's what you want, go for it. That is what you should get. Everyone should get what they are wanting from their birth, and that's gonna look different for everyone. Yeah. So yeah.

Angela:

Well, thank you so much, Olivia, for taking the time to chat with me. I always love talking with you about birth.

Olivia:

So yeah, anytime. Yeah, it was so nice having you there and to get such nice pictures.

Angela:

Before you go, I just want to remind you I have a ton of resources for pregnancy and birth. If you're pregnant, whether you're a first time mom or if this is your fifth baby, I want you to check out the show notes because I have some free trainings and free downloads that you can sign up for, as well as the link to access. My Labor of Love, a comprehensive, self-paced online childbirth education course. I created this course specifically for moms who don't want to be told what to do, regardless of where you're birthing or who you're birthing with. And I'd honestly love to teach you everything that I know so that you can prepare for an autonomous birth experience and prepare to step into your role as the leader of your birth journey. So click to the show notes, check out all of those links, and if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at mymainbirth over on Instagram.