Our Positive Home Birth Story: Welcoming Our Second Baby

Our newest family member, Kanaan Anthony Deku, whom we're calling baby Kay for short, has arrived!

This birth story is one we've been eager to tell, as it was an intense, yet profoundly unforgettable, beautiful experience.

Anna's home birth journey began with unexpected contractions two days before baby Kay's early arrival.

Anna initially dismissed them as Braxton Hicks contractions, which are irregular and less intense contractions that usually stop when a pregnant woman changes positions or rest.

Eventually, the contractions began intensifying, so we decided to track them.

To our surprise, the contractions were already five minutes apart!

Despite the mounting intensity of Anna's contractions, she was determined to push through. At one point, she was even trying to braid Jere's hair to distract herself.

But as the contractions continued to intensify, it became clear that we needed to call in our home birth team, which included our midwives and doula.

By 7pm of that day, the midwives asked a pivotal question in our WhatsApp group: "Can you feel a head?"

Gabes checked and he felt baby Kay's head, which was a surreal and thrilling moment.

As soon as our midwife-led unit or team arrived, they guided Anna with natural pain relief methods, respecting her desire to avoid medication.

Our doula and midwives kept the lights dim and the space intimate, ensuring that our home had a conducive environment for a successful home birth.

Jere, our two-year-old firstborn, was also there to help soothe Anna with a fan and tender strokes.

Home birth gave us the flexibility and freedom to move between different locations in our house to aid with birth positioning and pain relief, which isn't possible with a hospital birth in a labour ward.

Anna transitioned from the bathroom floor to our bed to the birthing pool with warm water, which provided some comfort and allowed her brief moments of rest between powerful surges.

However, due to severe pain, Anna couldn't get into the optimal birthing position in the birthing pool, despite the encouragement from Gabes as her birth partner and the whole home birth service team.

The midwives then recommended we move Anna to the toilet.

The move to the toilet was initially confusing for Gabes, but the team then explained that it would help Anna mimick a natural squat position, relax, and progress further.

Everything escalated quickly once we were in the bathroom.

In the familiar surroundings of our home, baby Kay was born safely and healthy.

We were so overwhelmed by the success of our vaginal birth at home that it took us time to realise this is the first time we're finding out our baby's gender–– it's a boy!

The best thing about our home birth is that we got to sleep as a family of four after the beautiful birth experience we had.

The Bottomline

Although the toilet wasn't in mind when we planned to give birth at home, we couldn't ask for a better home birth outcome.

Our first baby's birth via a C-section felt unnecessary, given that it was an uncomplicated pregnancy. So, the success of our planned natural birth this time, for which we spent a considerable amount of resources preparing, felt redemptive to us.

Anna giving birth to our second or subsequent baby at home wasn't only a physical journey but an emotional and spiritual one.

Anna's strength and determination to deliver baby Kay through natural birth, after having a Caesarean birth with Jere, was inspiring. Gabes' excitement and preparation were invaluable, balancing her nervousness and experiences of pain with his calm and collected demeanour.

From people doubting our choice to have a home birth after C-section (HBAC) to now us having a successful home birth story to tell–– it definitely feels great knowing we've made it.

If you have questions about our home birth experience, just leave a comment below and we'd be happy to answer those in our upcoming Q&A session!

If you're curious about our detailed home birth plan, you may download it here for FREE!

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