Rosen’s birth was an entirely different experience than Bastian’s. Where Bastian’s birth was long and he was 8 days late, Rosen came much faster and earlier than expected. I had a lot of questions about our home birth experience, which you can also read about here to give more context to our birth story!
Early Labor
Rosen’s due date was September 13th. Mid-August, when I was 35 weeks along, I had to go into labor and delivery because of pre-term labor. Because of that, the last few weeks of my pregnancy were stressful. I was constantly on edge, every contraction made me anxious. Until I hit 38 weeks! “Legal”, as my midwife would call it.
On September 6th, at 39 weeks pregnant, I had a bloody show(TMI, I know). I wasn’t 100% sure that’s what it was, since I never noticed it before my labor with Bastian. So I texted my midwife and my mom about it, and went on with my day. My mom was driving up that day from New Mexico, and after my text, was worried that she would miss the birth. I brushed her off, and my husband and I joked all day about how she was worried she’d miss the birth, but it would probably be days before the baby was born.
I had contractions off and on all day, but that was pretty much a daily occurrence at that point, so I truly didn’t think it would lead to labor that day.
That evening, we went to our favorite coffee shop as a family, and then went to Harmon’s to do a little last minute grocery shopping. Seth had a photo shoot that evening, so he left, telling me not to go into labor while he was gone. We laughed about it. I remember as I laid in bed with Bastian while we were doing bedtime, realizing that this was probably the last night I would get to do bedtime with him for a few weeks.
After Seth got home, we sat on the couch to watch the office while we waited for my mom to get there. I was definitely having painful contractions at this point, but they were very sporadic and I could still talk through them. They were anywhere from 6 to 20 minutes apart, so I still really didn’t feel like it would go anywhere. My mom got there at 9:30pm, and I immediately went to bed.
I laid in bed, gently rubbing my belly and kind of talking to the baby as Seth got ready for bed. I very distinctly remember telling the baby that I was ready for him to get there, I wanted to meet him, and I couldn’t wait for him to be born. And I kind of repeated these things to him, rubbing my belly, for a while, as I tried to fall asleep.
Then my water broke.
Active Labor
With my last labor, my water didn’t break until I was already pushing, so I was super surprised to have my water break. Seth called my midwife and the birth photographer, and contractions immediately got super intense super quickly. It was about 10:30pm.
Labor went really fast. Luckily, fast enough that my body didn’t have a chance to get super exhausted. Obviously I was exhausted, but not to the point that it gets when you’re laboring for 12+ hours. I sat on the living room floor, leaned forward against the couch, letting myself feel each contraction, and then relaxing in between. Seth sat next to me, holding me, helping me through contractions and reminding me how strong I was, how capable, how my baby wanted to be born and to meet us. I barely opened my eyes during my entire laboring process. Because I felt connected with my baby and my body. I was so focused on riding through each contraction.
My midwife had set up the birth pool and started to fill it with water, but a certain toddler had decided to turn our water heater off earlier that day. The birth team boiled pots of water on the stove to add to the pool, but my labor progressed quickly enough that the water never got warm enough for me to get into it. I remember hearing one of the apprentices call my midwife, and her saying “You’re how far away? I don’t think you’ll make it before the baby gets here. You’re going to miss it.”.
When I felt like I needed to start pushing, I didn’t say anything for a few contractions. It felt way too soon to be pushing. Your concept of time during labor is skewed, so I had no idea how much time had actually passed since active labor had really started. But I knew it hadn’t been very long.
I timidly announced that I wanted to push, and my midwife confidently announced that I should try pushing. I was super surprised to hear this, because with my last birth I labored for so long before I pushed. And when I had first wanted to push, my midwife had told me to wait since I wasn’t dilated enough.
I’m pretty sure that I only pushed for about 20 minutes. But again, time doesn’t really make sense while you are in labor. But suddenly, Rosen was there. I pushed his huge, 14 inch head out. I heard his cry. And I immediately started crying as I relaxed into the arms of the apprentice who was holding me. (Spoiler, she made it in time for the birth. Barely.)
My labor this time couldn’t have been more different than my labor with Bastian. I was calm, and confident. It still hurt like hell and definitely isn’t an experience I would elect to go through just for fun, but it was a peaceful and intimate experience. Which is one reason why I love home births. I love being able to welcome my baby into my home immediately. We get to just immediately start life with our baby.
The next morning, Bastian was so excited to meet his brother. He loves his “bebe”.
Preparing for a home birth
One question I’ve gotten a handful of times since Rosen was born a few weeks ago, is how I was able to mentally prepare myself better this time around. I was terrified going into Bastian’s birth two and a half years ago. But this time, I wasn’t. I felt ready and excited and calm. The biggest difference? I used Sadie Sabin’s Maternity guides to help me not only prepare for labor, but to help me during labor. She offers some affirmations to use during labor that my husband helped me use that seriously made a huge difference. I think finding an educational course that vibes with you and what you’re hoping to get out of the birth is so important to making sure you have a good experience!
And so, Rosen Sage McCausland was born on September 7th at 1:20am. 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and 19 inches long.
Birth photography by Dana Sophia Photography