Birth Story: Arthur Henry Harris

Born January 19, 2014 in Aloha, Oregon

Arthur’s birth was absolutely perfect and mind-blowing. The only birth I had to compare it to was Jude’s, which was five years ago in a birth center in Utah. And as I remember, it was extremely lengthy and painful, and ending in shoulder dystocia and a partial separation of the placenta. I was prepared for the worst.

January 19, 2014 was a Sunday, and I woke up feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvis. “Hrm,” I thought. “That’s a lot of pressure.” My former mother-in-law had flown in from Utah the night before (thank goodness!) to help take care of all of us when the baby came. She’s had seven babies naturally, and I was grateful to have her around for advice that morning. I told her I couldn’t tell if I was having contractions, but I felt kind of crampy. She said, “If you’re wondering if you’re in labor, you probably are!” I just continued getting kids fed and ready for 1:00 PM church. Around 11 AM I went to the bathroom and noticed a bloody show. I called the midwife, and she asked me how far apart my contractions were. I told her I was too distracted to notice, but they seemed really irregular—some were strong and long, some were mini and easy to talk through. She told me to time them carefully for half an hour. “Okay,” I said foolishly, knowing I still had to get kids and possibly myself ready for church and would probably be way too distracted. At this point, Jeff told me to just yell out to him, wherever we were in the house, when I started a contraction, and he would time them and write them down for me. I remember kneeling down to help Leila button up her dress in the back, and I had to stop half way through to let a contraction pass. That’s when I thought I might be in labor. But I wasn’t that sure because I could still talk through it, and when it was over, I was pain free and I got up and got stuff done like nothing had just happened.

By 12:30, I knew I would not be going to church with the kids and my former mother-in-law that morning. I called the midwife and told her I just wanted her to come check me, just to see if I was actually progressing. She told me she was on her way, and Jeff and I sent everyone off to church. Suddenly the house was quiet and peaceful, and the SUN WAS OUT in Portland, Oregon! So, with sun streaming through my bedroom window, and the man I love getting everything ready for the birth, I could just relax and let my body do its thing. I’d had a full night’s rest, and I was still able to get up and do stuff between contractions. While we waited for my midwife, Regina, to get to our house, Jeff and I had this nice time together and he was able to give me a priesthood blessing. I heard Regina come in our front door around 2:00 PM, and Jeff brought her back to our bedroom. I was just finishing a contraction, and she got ready to check my dilation. I was ready for the words “3 centimeters” as had happened with Jude. That had been such a discouraging moment. But this time, when she checked me, she reported I was fully dilated, fully effaced, and my bag of waters was bulging way out of my cervix. She said, “You could start pushing now!” I could not believe how easy it was! I was barely convinced I was actually in labor, and here I was ready to push already!

At this point, the student midwife, Annie, arrived. Regina gave Annie a quick report, and then they seemed to quickly spring into action, opening packages and talking in hurried, hushed tones. I took this as a good sign things were moving along! Hooray! I was finished dilating! I remember Annie asking Regina if she should get the birthing pool set up, and Regina just kind of shook her head and quickly said, “No, I don’t think there’s time.” Sweeter words were never spoken. Then Carissa the nurse arrived, got report, and she too began quickly opening things and getting her clipboard set up to record times.  

But first things first. I had to get my water to break! Regina encouraged me to do this naturally so I would decrease the chances of having a prolapsed cord. So, I kind of squatted on my bed with Jeff kneeling in front of me. I don’t know how he was even upright because I was pulling down on his shoulders so hard as I pushed through a few contractions! Finally (and suddenly) that bag of waters popped, and all I remember is watching about a gallon of amniotic fluid hit my husband’s lovely denim jeans, and I thought, “Oh man. I hope those were the ones from Goodwill!”  To my knowledge, he didn’t change out of those jeans until bedtime! What a man!

Without that cushion of fluid, the contractions got a little more intense, and I was pushing on my hands and knees. Arthur’s heart rate and my blood pressure were monitored about every 10-15 minutes. We both stayed in normal range the whole labor. I felt like I’d been there forever, and while all my attendants were telling me I was doing everything right, I felt like I could have been making more progress. So, everyone helped me flip to my side to finish pushing. I suddenly just relaxed and almost all my pain went away (I’m serious!). I just closed my eyes and calmly pushed these little tiny pushes as this huge head came out! Then Regina told me to flip to my hands and knees (I knew this meant shoulder dystocia again), and she maneuvered Arthur’s shoulder out, and I pushed the rest of him out! It was 3:36 PM, a half  hour before church got out! There is no better feeling than getting a baby out! Wahoo! Hallelujah! I told everyone I had to just stay there for a second to rest, and I looked under my left arm and saw this HUGE baby with a HUGE umbilical cord! I almost didn’t believe he came from me! He was taking a while to start breathing, and I saw an AMBU bag on my bed, and Carissa started to grab it to give rescue breaths, but then Arthur spontaneously started crying. No rescue breathing necessary. Whew! The shoulder dystocia didn’t leave any lasting effects. Then I immediately asked if I was bleeding profusely, remembering the partial separation I’d had with Jude right after he came out. Everyone reported there was no abnormal bleeding, and I could flip over and hold our son. I gave one little push and the HUGE placenta came out with no problem. I got to watch Jeff cut the cord and just take in this new little person. He latched quickly and easily, and I was thanking my lucky stars I had a good breastfeeder. I did get a shot of pitocin in my muscle, just to help my uterus ball up faster.

 Artie was 10 lbs. 6 oz and 20 inches long! Because of the shoulder dystocia, I had a complete 3^rd degree tear, but my midwife was worried it might be a 4^th degree, and suggested I go to the hospital to get stitched up by an OBGYN. She could have done it herself, but the only place she had to sit was on my bed where she’d have to look down at my bottom. It was a bad angle, especially while trying to assess how extensive the tear was. I drank my amazing orange juice I had been saving for after I gave birth (which we referred to as my “afterbirth juice” for fun) and ate a little bit, nursed Arthur on both sides one more time, and Regina took me to St. Vincent’s hospital to get stitched up by an OBGYN she knew there. That whole thing only took about 2 hours, and I was back home. While I was at the hospital, the kids had come home with my former mother-in-law, and everyone was getting to know my little Artie Pants.

A lot of people have asked me if I had gestational diabetes, and I did not. The midwives screened me for it as a regular standard of practice. I think I just grow big babies. I feed them plenty of chocolate, that’s my secret.

I loved my homebirth experience, from start to finish! I feel like things progressed quickly and naturally because I was so relaxed and I didn’t have to go anywhere. I was able to get a blessing which helped keep me calm. I was the only patient there, so I got all the attention I needed and TONS of positive encouragement. My husband did an AMAZING job, especially considering this was his first natural birth experience (except for when he was born). He encouraged and supported me and kept me focused the whole time. He only left my side once to help Regina bring stuff inside when she got here. I could never have done it without him. He was such a great advocate for me. If anyone out there is considering a homebirth, I think you should go for it, as long as you have a low-risk pregnancy and a supportive husband. If your husband just wants to watch football while you labor, go to the hospital. Also, make sure you have good midwives who follow a medically approved standard of practice. While all natural is best, it’s still important to find out if you have gestational diabetes, or if you’re anemic, or if you’re strep B positive, etc. They need to be medically “with it” in my opinion. Then, anything naturopathic on top of that is just icing on the cake to make the experience as beautiful as possible. Okay, that’s all the soapbox I will give for now, though I have much more to say about the advantages of staying out of hospitals and away from epidurals!

I have to say one last thing. After I fed Artie and had spent a little time with him, my birth attendants took him to the end of my bed to weigh him and do his newborn assessment. I was sitting next to my husband and staring at this perfect little person we created, and my oxytocin kicked in and I just started crying my eyes out with gratitude for the chance I had to carry him and be his mother. My love for this little baby and for my family has multiplied exponentially after giving birth. It is a powerful testimony to me of how Heavenly Father’s love works. As parents, we don’t divide and subdivide our love as more children are brought into our lives. Our ability to love multiplies, and the borders expand without end. I am so grateful to experience at least a part of this perfect love while I’m here on earth. What an honor to share in the power of creation!