Two beautiful boys. Two beautiful homebirths.

[motherwort]

Ariel Jakob -15/08/02
'The Lion of God greets the dawn'

Our neighbours must have thought there was a lost cow roaming the lonely midnight streets of Hornsby. A lost cow bellowing for her calf. That's what I sounded like anyway. With each wave I would stop in my tracks, my yoga, my conversation, & squat to release the primal beast-like sound that I'm sure came all the way from Eve herself.
At the right time, sometime after midnight, I languished in the bath. This is where I will live forever , here in this warm water, I thought to myself. A nice hormone-induced trip to the psychadelic world of Labourland. After a while I felt the Urge. The bath could no longer accomodate the lucid expansion. I moved to the toilet and my waters break.
Onto the bean bag, I bellow some more as Shaun keeps up the rhythm, massaging my back. Suddenly, the Almighty power comes - crowning, & then, all of a sudden he falls from me. Somersaults.
"A baby!" I exclaim, still lucid, as if it's the first one in the world. The kookaburras laugh. Welcomed by his family, Ariel greets the dawn.
(Note: from start to finish, my whole labour was 24 hours, established labour-5.5 hours. During that time both mine and Saun's immediate family trickled in and out at various times to offer their support. I had 2 midwices who actually didn't do a tremendous amount but at the time i was glad they were there.)

skip forwad 4 years...
Joshua James 08/08/06
Birth of the Amazon Woman

4.15am - Mon 7th Aug. 2006, my waters break. Very excited, the babe is on it's way! I get up with contractions, surges of energy, coming every 9 minutes or so. Breathing deeply I go to my special place. This is the start of a process. The most perfect process.
Throughout the day things still plod along. Mum arrives & starts helping out around the place. Then the drama unfolds. The hot water system breaks down (not good when you are having a waterbirth!. Mum starts filling pots of water and heating them on the stove to fill the birthpool with.
The rushes stop and start in response to the drama of the day. It's late now, I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow we will have a baby...
2:25am Tues 8th Aug 2006- I awake to a very strong rush. Every 5 minutes now. I breathe and go to my special place. I call Myra (my midwife)and she comes over to watch as i labour in front of the fire. She advises me to get more rest as she only thinks this is early first stage. Shaun doesn't think so and I think there's no way the rushes can get stronger than this. She leaves...
I need to go to the toilet - very strong rushes now. I tear my clothes off. "myra's wrong" I gasp to Shaun, "I need to get into the pool now!"
He helps me in and then goes to call Myra, he comes back then leaves again as Ariel wakes up. Shaun tries calling Myra again as Mum reads to Ariel. I labour in the pool, alone now. I need to push, and cry out to God for help. I reach down and feel a bulge in my perineum.
"come on baby, we need to do this together"
"It's a head!" I yell as he emerges from my body. I guide his head and then his body. Gently under water, I lift him up to my breast now.
Peaceful gentle child, ********* by his mama. Another beautiful boy. Joshua James.
Shaun, Ariel, and mum all come in then to witness this beautiful entrance. 5:39am.
I then birth his placenta 5 hours later.
Joshua was then Lotus born just after midnight 5 days after his waterbirth.

(Note: I call this birth my freebirth because I really did it myself, and from now on if I am blessed with any more mini-me's this is how I will do it from the get-go. Even though Ariel's birth was amazing and empowering I still somehow was left with the feeling that I was still a little girl. This birth left me feeling that now I am a woman. By doing it alone I was able to get in touch with my own sacred feminine and my own innate birthing power. This birth did however, teach me a very important lesson and that is that as a birthworker/birth support one needs to be very careful what you say to a woman, it can plant a seed of doubt. I have learnt that the best support is to just shut up, forget how things should be going and follow the woman's lead. Only she can tell what is truly happening in her body/mind/soul.)
P.S The birth pool we have is one we bought from Barbara Harper in the States. It is a heated birth pool. If anyone is interested in hiring it, let me know. I thoroughly recommend it!
Many blessings
M

[Jasmine]

Thankyou for your birth stories. Truly beautiful!

[Ilithyia]

This birth left me feeling that now I am a woman. By doing it alone I was able to get in touch with my own sacred feminine and my own innate birthing power.

I'm actually a little speechless having read those stories...you have such an awesome way with words. I luvs ya!

[Mahilaa]

Ahhhhhhhhh, wonderful, beautiful, amazing! Reading home birth stoies nourishes the soul!

[Laiste]

Fantastic. So wonderful to read such a story.

[The Morrigan]

[Wanda-Linda]

that was beautiful, thank-you.

[artemis-of-the-eucalypts]

beautiful stories, so beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing! I remember that perineum bulge like it was yesterday

[motherwort]

wow!! when did this get bumped up? I thought it was lost in the forum changeover a loooooooooooooooong time ago. still, it's nice to reminisce.

xo