Birth Story: Wombsister Savannahs Homebirth after Ceserean

The birth of Noah Everett Stonebrook 💙

On Tuesday, August 18 at 39+4, I remember feeling defeated over hearing I wasn’t even 1cm dilated and couldn’t get a membrane sweep. But on Wednesday and Thursday, I cried and surrendered to all of those feelings and I became relaxed. I made plans to get a massage and pedicure on my due date and go kayaking the following day.

Thursday, August 21: Around 5 pm I begin having contractions about every 10 min. Thinking they’re Braxton Hicks, I take a Unisom and go to bed around 11pm.

Friday, August 21: My Due Date & My husband’s birthday. 3-3:30 am I begin to wake up on and off from contractions, sleeping between. By 4:08pm, I couldn’t sleep. I needed to time them. Coming in between 2.5-3min apart and finally making me too uncomfortable to stay in the bed, I get up to shower around 4:40 and call my midwife at 5.

After sending my midwife my contraction counter screenshot, she and her partner headed to my house and arrived at 5:30am. When I greeted them at the door, I immediately thought, “I’m going to feel so bad if I’m not in labor”. They came in and my midwife checked me.... 6cm with a bulging bag of waters?! WHAT?! I was in active labor?! 🙌🏻

My photographer arrived around 7am while I walked and talked through contractions and my husband started getting the pool blown up. My toddler Eli woke up around 8, and my husband made him breakfast and got him ready for Moms Day Out. (Good news, he was already planning a sleepover with our niece that night at their house!)

When my husband comes back, we find out our old plumbing system won’t adapt to the pool hose! So I have to send a friend out to buy 5 gallon buckets and our neighbor brought 1 big cooler as well... we filled it up slowly but surely and I was so happy to get into the warm water around 9:40am.

At 11:45 I got out of the pool and got checked again, I was 8.5cm! I was in disbelief as I was still chit chatting away between contractions. We discussed breaking my waters, but I decided to walk around the house for a while and get back in the pool. They were intense around 1:30, I said “I think I want you to break my waters... I feel like I could hit the pushing stage if you did” so the next contraction my midwife broke my water and around 2pm, I began having slight urges to push.

Pretty quickly, we learned I had the dreaded cervical lip. My midwife held her hand inside me, pushing the lip back through about 1/2 the contractions the next 45-60 min and my baby FINALLY passed into my birth canal. When I remember feeling the urge to give up and wished I had pain relief, I had finally gotten SO close. I reached my fingers inside and my baby’s head was literally RIGHT there 1 knuckle deep inside of me. I COULD do it!

Changing positions to a supported squat, all of my next pushes I gave EVERYTHING I had to. Finally, my husband removed his shirt and after the dreaded ring of fire, I birthed my baby’s head into his hands. He had a nuchal cord, but it took another good push to get it off and then my sweet boy was born at 3:53 pm after about 10 hrs of active labor and 2 HARD hours of pushing.

Noah Everett was born on his due date & shares a birthday with his daddy.

8lb 2oz

21” long

Mama and baby are doing great. No tears whatsoever, and baby is nursing like a champ.

This home birth after cesarean was the single most empowering and incredible experience of my life. I can not believe I freaking DID IT!