The Birth of Rio Valentín

In 10th grade I watched the Business of Being Born, and since that day I have always had a home birth in the back of my mind. Fast forward to present day, and I am so happy to say I ended up having a beautiful, powerful, and safe home birth. 

On Monday morning, around 1 am, I went to the bathroom and saw my mucus plug had come out. I was so happy because I had gotten to the point of pregnancy, 38 weeks, where I was just incredibly uncomfortable. Every morning I would journal a daily affirmation that I would have a "strong and safe delivery.” I tried to manifest having this baby at around 38 or 39 weeks, and sure enough that day I started having some very mild cramping. I didn’t think they were contractions because I  just couldn’t believe that it was finally time. I texted Hannah and gave her an update on what was happening. Hannah agreed it sounded like beginnings of early labor and I was THRILLED! My best friend Sage was suppose to drive down from Connecticut to act as my doula over the weekend, but Hannah told me “I don’t think you’re making it until the end of the week.” GREAT NEWS for me! 

I carried on with my day all throughout Monday having some discomfort, but I still carried on with my day. I work as a mental health therapist, and that particular day   I did not hav any clients I needed to see in person. I spent the day doing some admin work, and keeping my employer updated on how I was progressing. 

Tuesday morning is when everything really kicked off! I woke up around 1am-3am holding onto my bed frame from the pain I was in. There was no doubt these were definitely contractions and I was definitely in labor! I texted my husband who was at work that my contractions were strong and he might need to come home sooner than anticipated. Throughout the day I was timing my contractions, and communicating with Hannah all day. She suspected that I was around 6 centimeters dilated from what I was describing. My husband came home around 3pm, and helped me continue to labor throughout the evening and night. 

The following morning around 8am on VALENTINES DAY, I texted Hannah that I felt it was time she comes over.  She and Chelsea both came over and we set up camp in my basement. I began to breath through the contractions as they became more and more painful. Hannah and Chelsea were there every step of the way trying to put me into positions that would open up my hips. This was incredibly painful, but we could tell it was working. Hannah and I could both feel there was a water sack coming down my birth canal. After a few hours I was able to push out my water which broke my water of course. We thought the baby would follow right behind, but later we learned there were some obstacles. 

I had a lot of scar tissue on my sacrum from a car accident in 2015 that we did not know would interfere with my labor. The scar tissue was stopping the baby from coming out because he could not get past a certain bone. After pushing for awhile I took a break to shower. Once I was in the shower, I felt what had to be the most intense pain of my life. This was the "ring of fire” that Hannah had told me about. I could feel my baby’s head, but I was stuck in that moment. I could not move because I was scared. I was scared of this unknown feeling, and suddenly my prior contractions felt like a walk in the park compared to this. My husband rushed over and called for Hannah. The pain eased up because my baby’s head actually went back up, and I was able to make it to the bed. I changed different positions, and then went back into the shower. Well I guess my baby really enjoys showers because once again we were in the ring of fire. I could feel his head and his hair.

The pain shocked me to my core, and Chelsea gave me some oxygen to steady my breathing. I kept shouting to Hannah, “I can’t do this Hannah!”  But she continued to repeat, “this is the way you’re doing it!” I began to shout out my affirmation that I could in fact do this, I mean really what choice did I have haha. I gave two big pushes and he slipped right on out! My husband and Hannah caught him. We didn’t know the gender, and I completely forgot about that part until my husband yelled, “it’s a boy!” The pain was gone as quickly as it came, and my baby boy was in my arms.

Delivering my baby was the proudest moment of my life! I am so happy that I did a home birth, and I will do it again in a heartbeat. It showed me how absolutely incredible our bodies are, and how infinitely powerful I am. 

Being in my own home was amazing because after delivering my baby boy, I was able to sleep in my own bed with my husband. I thank him endlessly for encouraging me every step of the way, and continuing to tell me how proud he was of me. It brought us closer together because of how intimate the experience was. Hannah and Chelsea are the ultimate team and kept my entire delivery peaceful and positive. 

The pain is temporary, but the feeling of accomplishment from being able to deliver my baby is forever. My baby Rio Valentín was born at 7lbs and 19inches on Valentines Day. Needless to say, this was the best Valentines Day ever.