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My sweet Declan boy, God has brought me so much joy through you. You have taught me so much, and I am enjoying you grow up into a beautiful, sweet, amazing little boy.
I found out I was pregnant with Declan on Thanksgiving weekend. We were so excited and thrilled to give Savannah a little sibling. I knew I wanted another home birth because the whole experience was simply magical. YES, labor and the pushing part was nuts, but the whole experience of giving birth in the comfort of my own home was amazing. I heard Declan’s heartbeat at 14 weeks. That was the best sound coming from little man who was hiding in the weeks prior. I was tested mentally and emotionally throughout my pregnancy with Declan.
We confirmed that Declan was breech during an ultrasound at 30 weeks. He was relaxing head up the entire pregnancy, happy as can be. I did everything I could to turn him naturally, without forcing anything he didn’t want to do. I also made it my mission to find a doctor or midwife with experience delivering breech babies. I called every local hospital and there were not any doctors willing to let me deliver vaginally in the hospital. They all claimed that a C-section was my only option, which didn’t settle right with me. Desperate for a natural option, I started my research journey! I discovered that there is an increasing number of doctors starting to train in breech birth. The news gave me a spark of hope, but I came to find out that this was not being practiced in my area. I started researching local midwives who had delivered many breech babies vaginally. I luckily found an amazing midwife who was confident in me and confident in vaginal breech delivery. When I had an ultrasound to confirm Declan’s breech position, we discovered he was Frank Breech. Fortunately, Frank Breech is the best breech position for a vaginal delivery. I made it my mission to watch empowering videos and read as much information on breech birth as I could. I learned so much throughout this journey with Declan. I learned to look at the breech position as just another variation of birth, rather than an abnormal thing. I had to really guard my heart throughout this process, but with the support of three amazing midwives, I felt safe and confident. I was ready to give birth and was convinced I could do it.
My husband and I are Chiropractors, and we give specific adjustments to the spine and ligaments responsible for allowing a baby to assume the vertex position. The techniques that we use to help people on a daily basis wasn’t helping Declan move into a proper position. We as chiropractors know the chance of this happening, but didn’t think it would happen to me. I did everything I could to help Declan turn, but it wasn’t in the cards. My pregnancy with Declan was very healthy and I felt amazing. We monitored his position, made sure I was a good candidate for home birth, and did all the necessary safety precautions to ensure we would be safe. I did have a back-up plan if medical intervention was necessary.
It was midnight on August 2nd when I turned over in my bed and felt a damp sensation below. My water broke one day before my due date. I was in shock that it was happening early because I was 11 days late with my Savannah. I had my husband call the midwives to tell them that my water broke, and she told me to get some rest and call when things start to progress. I labored throughout the night while trying to sleep. It was very exciting! I was more than ready to do this. When I got up in the morning, I had breakfast with my family before my father in law came to pick Savannah up. We were very grateful for family during this time. Knowing that our daughter was happy, and in good hands made me relax to the fullest. 🙂
Once Savannah was gone, my husband and I took an hour walk. I also used that time to call one of my dearest friends Lindsey. She was also pregnant and planning a home birth, so we arranged for her to come experience it first hand, and be my doula. I also made calls to my family to inform them I was in labor. The walking was really progressing things. My contractions were lasting a minute, and were anywhere from 3-7 minutes a part. When I needed to take frequent breaks from walking I knew it was time to lay down. I went in the house and rested in my bed. It was about noon when my midwife came into the room. She set up her things and let me labor in peace. Then, Lindsey, my doula came with magazines and flowers. That’s when things started to get pretty intense. I labored on the floor of my bedroom, and as soon as I got into the pool I knew transition was happening. Transition brings me into a different world. Labor with Declan was much easier for me in comparison to Savannah. I was in much more control of myself using hypno-birthing techniques. I did a lot of relaxation techniques, and hypno-birthing prior to labor, and I was so thankful I did.
My sweet husband was so amazing as always. He is like my guardian angel. He is always there when I need him, and I AM SO BLESSED to have him by my side. In transition, every time I had a contraction he would press both of my hips together really hard, and that was something that really took the edge off of my contractions. I am someone who needs to let out slow deep moans to help get through the surges in transition. It helped me so much in managing the pain. I remember thinking how intense the contractions were, and that’s when pushing took over my body. I no longer was in control and pushing just started. Because I was delivering a planned vaginal breech birth, my midwives wanted to deliver on the bed. To speed things along we pushed in every position possible. I pushed on the stool, my side, over the toilet (which I hated, by the way, because it hurt like a son of a !!!). My midwives up until this point hadn’t checked me. They decided to check me because I wanted to know how much time I had, as if that would help, lol! She checked me and she got silent and smiled. She peacefully and calmly looked at me and said, “Krystal, you are at 10, and I feel a head.” My first reaction was, you have got to be kidding me!! Declan had turned. We don’t know when he turned, but he did, and that was something I will never forget. I pushed for 2 hours, every time I would push and get his head out he would slide right back in. The reason why I pushed for so long was because Declan was posterior meaning his head was face up. My midwife said to me that pushing out a breech baby is so much easier than a posterior. I looked at my husband and Lindsey and thought to myself this is almost over. I will have that sweet, warm and wet baby on my chest in a matter of minutes. A couple more pushes with Chris holding one leg and Lindsey holding another, and our sweet baby was on my chest. It was the best feeling and so indescribable. I was crying so hard because I did it once again, I brought my baby into the world, and it was so empowering and so special. All the challenges in the preceding months were worth it. We still did not know the sex of our baby because I was in such awe over every little detail on his tiny face, and talking about labor and delivery with my midwives. I reached my arm around to feel, and yelled out really loud, It’s a BOY!!!! We were all so emotional! God is so good! I delivered the placenta moments later. I then got the placenta encapsulated to help with postpartum. It was by far one of the best decisions I ever made.
To sum this up in time: My water broke at midnight. I labored/slept until 8:00 am the next morning. Active labor started at 9:00 am, and my contractions were progressing. I was in transition by 12:00 pm, and had my sweet baby boy at 3:30 pm after pushing for two hours.
I jumped back into the tub and relaxed with Declan. I breastfed him, and we just soaked in the tub together. Every mom knows what the postpartum part of delivery is like. You spend those first few days in bed, relaxing, and getting to know your baby. Yes, of course there are many hard transitioning parts postpartum, but there is nothing like those first weeks of getting to know your newborn, and spending quality time with your family.
I want to thank my wonderful midwives for giving me the chance to deliver my baby at home. It’s something I will be forever grateful for. Thank you for teaching me so much about breech birth, and for continuing to give moms options other than a C-section, if mom and baby fit the criteria to do so.
I also want to thank my beautiful friend and Doula Lindsey for being at my birth. We have been friends for years, and having her there was simply amazing. She gave me peace and encouraged me to the fullest. I am so thankful for her! You would never know this was her first birth she attended. She was amazing support!
I have taken my whole experience to help other moms in the same situation.
And lastly, I want to thank my baby boy. You are such a special gift. I am so blessed to call you Declan Thomas, my son. XO
