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As you can imagine I am surrounded by births and hearing birth stories on a weekly basis. I thought I should start sharing these amazing and inspiring stories here on my blog as sort of a modern day times, Red Tent. These stories are meant to inspire, motivate, and educate. Look for the pearl in every story no matter the outcome. If you have a story you would like to share please send me a personal email: [email protected] with the subject like "Modern Day Red Tent Birth Story". Let's start this series with TJ's Birth Story. This is the birth of her second baby who also was born at home. I was her doula for the first birth and because she moved away I was not there for baby number 2 although by the sound of her story, her midwife barely got there on time! And the story begins... TJ's Homebirth Story I had my second baby (another girl - her name is Eloise but we call her Louie) about a year ago. I did have another home birth but couldn't use MaryLou because we were just too far away. I used Sue Wolcott - a midwife in Glendale. The birth was so quick; the midwife almost didn't get here in time! ?My water broke in the early morning hours after I went to the bathroom but I just went back to bed since there were no contractions. Contractions were very mild throughout the day so we just went about our business. I even made my husband, Tyler, go to work because I felt just fine. I did drive with him though so that I would be near him in case things started up more actively. I hung out in Westchester while he was in Culver City. Around 2:15 p.m. I got a REAL contraction. I called Tyler and told him I was coming to pick him up from work and we needed to get home. I called Sue too to let her know (we had been in contact throughout the day but it was finally time). Tyler and I drove home in traffic on the 405 freeway and he was convinced we wouldn't make it in time. I got very quiet and just kept breathing; I had my music on and was in my own place. Things got very intense very fast. I made Tyler stop and get gas once we were almost home and also make a stop at Trader Joe's so we would have food for the midwives if labor took all night. It sounds crazy when I think back on it now that we made those stops, but neither of us were convinced that it would be fast birth. We were hopeful, but pessimistic. We got home at about 4:30 p.m. and Sue got here at 5:00 p.m. I was laboring on the ball for the most part and just moving my hips when the contractions eased. At some point I asked Sue to check me because things suddenly felt different and I told her it felt like my water was about to break. She laughed and said, "Hunny, your water has been broken - what your feeling is the pressure from your baby's head about to come out." And sure enough, the next contraction had me pushing. Tyler asked if he should set up the birth tub and Sue told him, “Only if you can fill it in 5 minutes 'cause this baby is almost here." They set up living room floor with pads and towels and helped me over to labor on the floor, leaning against the couch. Sure enough, two pushes later, our baby was born at 5:30 p.m.! She was tiny and perfect - only 6lbs 2oz, FAR different than her 9lb sister!! The birth was amazing and perfect. Since we never had time to fill up the birth tub for the actual birth, I soaked in it afterwards with my new baby. The assistant midwife made it to the house about 45 minutes later - hahaha! They both left after a few hours and Tyler went out to get us dinner. We sat on our couch with our new baby girl nuzzled against us, skin to skin, as we ate hamburgers and fries. We reveled in the fact that we got to have another incredible birth. I honestly wish every woman got to experience a homebirth! Burgers and fries on your own couch just hours after having a baby…you don't get that with a hospital birth! Anyhow, that's our story. I had no idea I'd be so excited to write it out suddenly. Thanks for asking me to share our story, Patricia! I wish we still lived closer so I could come to your mommy & baby yoga class and get to see you. I hope all is well with you. Love, TJ  Posted with permission.
[Originally published April 25, 2013]
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