Sept 15th, a day which will live in infamy (lol)
On September 15, 2016 my wife sent me a text message with this picture showing that she was pregnant. My first response was, "Who is the father?" jk. Let me just say that we were not trying. We certainly were not "NOT TRYING" either. We knew that we would take the same route that we have in the past, a homebirth experience and here is our story...
Meet Kellie
This is Kellie Moeller of Homebirth Experience Inc. Kellie Moeller is the protégé of Pat Jones who is a mid-wifery legend in Texas and the rest of the country. Kellie has a earned reputation of being very passionate and professional with her practice. She informs all of her patients of the risk and rewards of a homebirth. Kellie has birthed 2 of our previous kids. Our first homebirth she was only present for 13 minutes before he jumped out. Our second homebirth she was there for about an hour. Our third homebirth... well more on that later. It's all the preparation that she gives that builds confidence in the event of her absence or an emergency.
Meet the Squad(ron)
Leeanna, Ryan, Des, Devil Dan, Princess Dhara all have expectations of what to expect. At this point, we have no idea if we are having a boy, girl, or otherwise. Leeanna says she doesn't care what we have. Ryan says he doesn't care but secretly wants a girl. Des, says that he wants another sister. Devdan, says he wants another sister. Dhara says she wants another sister. I guess the truth is we were all hoping for another girl, so that we could even out the gender ratio in our household. We decided that we would wait until the birth to find out the baby's sex.
Preparation is Key
People always tell us how lucky we are to be able to have homebirths. Well Oprah Winfrey famously said,
“I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky.”
Now although Oprah's quote is more about prosperity, the principle of preparation is the same across the board. We have had amazing homebirth experiences because of how we prepared. You may not always prepare for a pregnancy but you most certainly can prepare for the coming of a new soul in to your family. We attended a 5 week home birthing class and had a supply list as long as Noah's ark passenger list.
We also planned for every possible emergency scenario...
- Placenta Previa
- Preeclampsia
- Gestational Hypertension
- Premature and Post Mature Labor
- Breached
- Chord around the neck
- Placenta Abruption
- Shoulder dystocia
- retained placenta
- Umbilical Prolapse
- ETC.
We created an emergency transport plan in the event that something goes incredibly wrong. Besides, hospitals are for emergencies only.
Waiting Game
I could write another paragraph on how life went on as usual and all the fun we had between conception to birth, but that would be redundant. Just go take a look at @XtrodinaryPilot steemit posts. I've only been on steemit for 4 months but you didn't miss much prior to me getting here. I shot guns, rode horses, hung out with my kids, chilled with my wife, played VR, and did nerdy outdoor stuff that just never made it to a post... I digress
Labor
I don't know the origin of the term labor in the birthing context. I do know that it is without a doubt some very hard work for those that choose to go through with it natural and holistically. If you've never been there to comfort someone you love through immense pain, you do not know what you are missing. Our first 2 homebirths were like an Olympic sprint. Labor to birth was 2 hours. This time we planned on pacing the labor to control the intensity of the pain. Sounds crazy I know. Labor started at around 11 pm on May 21, 2017. We had just gotten back from the pool and was trying to take it easy. She had a look on her face that let me know I shouldn't have a nightcap that evening. She did inform that our friend Maura would be coming over to photograph the labor and birth if she was free. I get waken up at about midnight that the midwife is on her way.
Remember I mentioned earlier that I would cover more on our midwife's role for our third homebirth? Well here it is... At midnight a lady by the name of Melissa White knocks on my door. She is the replacement midwife because Kellie Moeller had a conference in Chicago at the time of our birth. Initially I am like, "Oh great, Brett Favre is stepping in for Mike Holmgren." $5 SBD to anyone who can explain this joke.
An hour later, our doorbell rings again and it's Pam, a birthing assistant that was also sent by Kellie to assist in her absence. She is no stranger as she was present after our other two home births. These two ladies did an amazing job being there but also out of the way. They allowed my wife and I to embrace and experience the labor together. They assisted in ensuring that we were all comfortable. My 3 year old daughter wakes up about 45 minutes before the baby is born and the birthing assistant embraces her and comforts her while I am comforting my wife. I have to be completely honest. This is by far the best birthing experience I have ever had. I should probably stop while I am on top.
Labor SelfieAfter Birth
Immediately after the birth, I went to the room across the hall and woke up my 2 sons so that they could come in and meet their new sister. They came in a bit disappointed that they weren't awake during the entire process. I assured them that they did not miss anything lol. I had to convince my wife to keep her ass off of Facebook that day, so that we could stay home and enjoy our baby for 24 hours uninterrupted. We all got to bond with the baby one on one. Mommy gets to take an herbal bath with the newborn which seems to bring them both joy. We were able to do just that and didn't start announcing her birth until May 23. It all worked out so perfectly. The typical response to our birth announcement was,
What's her name?
To which we would reply,
We'll tell you when we get one.
It drives people nuts but we believe that you shouldn't name your baby until you get to know them. Imagine if you were named something tranquil and you turned out to be a monster. My 3 other kids were named by me, so I told me wife that when she was ready, to tell me what she named our new baby girl. Well, today she informed me that she had chosen the name
Deveah Amira Brown
It's pronounced duh-vey-uh
I can tell you that I am falling in love all over again. I'm truly blessed, lucky, amazed, and any other positive terms to express my emotions. She is so damn beautiful, she may start her own Steemit profile lol
BONUS FOOTAGE
for swinging by with Ethan the other day to meet Baby Deveah
There's Adventure in all of Us
I took you Indoor Skydiving with my 6 year oldI took you on the road with the White Power Ranger to get a tattoo
I took you on an aerial tour of Houston
I took you to @ned scott's funeral (RIP)
I took you to #STEEMITGUNCLUB