Ruah’s Birth Story: Our At-Home Water Birth During the 2020 Pandemic

April 1, 2020 - “I hope we don’t have an April Fool’s Day baby,” I thought throughout the day. But really, my due date wasn’t until 4/24, so we should be good. 

April 2, 2020 at 2:10a - I woke up for my usual pee wake-up, but I laid in bed for a minute or so trying to convince myself to just get up already. Then in the middle of my ineffective convincing, my water broke. I recognized it immediately and calmly woke Steven to let him know. Steven was not so calm. He jumped out of bed so quickly you’d think there was a snake in his sheets! Haha!

I was quite shocked that this was really happening. Another early baby (34, then 38, and now 37 weeks)… dangggg it. At least we made it to 37 weeks! I stayed in bed and proceeded to contact my midwife, Erin. Steven, while calm, was moving around the house like someone on way too much coffee–clearing the corner of our room for the birth tub, scrubbing the shower and bathtub in case we didn’t have time to set up the birth tub, gathering linens, doing laundry, clearing clutter from our bedroom… you know, all the things we likely would have worked on over the next few weeks. 

Our Midwife Erin came over at about 3am to make sure everything was OK. Steven’s mom also came over around that time since we weren’t sure how quickly things would happen and we needed to make sure someone could tend to the older kiddos if needed.

Since the baby and I were doing well and no noticeable contractions had started, Erin suggested we try to get back to sleep and to call her once things progress. Steven crashed within minutes. I laid there unable to sleep, questioning every feeling or move and wondering how soon we would be meeting our new baby boy.

We were up and moving around 7am (our kiddos’ usual wakeup time), started breakfast, and began updating family and close friends. We also realized that we were supposed to have painters at our house working on our motorhome that day. We almost called them off, but decided to let them keep working since they’d be outside, working in the RV and garage, and we didn’t want to delay that project. 

Our photographer friend (Ashleigh) and L&D nurse friend (Stacey) arrived around 9:30am, somewhat expecting me to have already had the baby, but actually no progress since my water broke.

My midwives came back just before 10am and encouraged me to rest since I had been awake since 2am and still had a ways to go. At this point I felt sort of bad that so many people had come to be here, expecting a quick L&D like I had with my first two babies.  I tried to rest, but again couldn’t sleep.

I got up around 10:30am and decided to go on a walk to help things move along. Stacey also showed me some stretches that seemed to help. Steven ordered pizza for everyone so we all had a nice lunch together, and I gobbled down almost a whole pineapple to myself since it’s known to help speed up labor.  

Then it was the kids’ nap time. Banyon went down, then Steven laid down, and the painters all left around 2:30pm. It seemed as though things immediately started progressing once all the boys were gone (or napping) and it was just us girls in the house. I still didn’t have pain, but we could visibly see the contractions on my belly.

I slowed down quite a bit on the next walk, then came back and started doing stretches and bouncing on the ball in the living room. It was a really sweet time just hanging with my girls, especially with Lillyana.

Since Steven was asleep, Stacy kept our midwives updated through his cell phone. I tried to keep track of my contraptions with an app, but they were all so close together and hardly noticeable so it was tricky monitoring with any accuracy.

My midwives came back around 4pm and I started getting some light contractions shortly after. I finally experienced some pain around 4:30pm, but they weren’t too bad so I wasn’t sure when I should get in the birth tub–I just heard to save it for when they were at their worst.

I had a few stronger contractions around 4:40, then got in the tub at about 4:45pm. I started getting really strong contraction pain just a few minutes later.

I didn’t really have the urge to push, but this baby was coming! I pushed three times, for a total of 1 minute and 30 seconds (we have a video of the whole thing!), and he was born at 4:58pm.

Ruah was super gray in color because he was covered in a thick layer of vernix. Steven even joked about not knowing we were having an elephant! LOL. I had never seen or heard of so much vernix on a newborn, but I’ve since learned that it’s considered a gift–sometimes even called “birth frosting.” Apparently vernix provides a protective layer for baby, has a scent that supports momma’s milk production and helps mom and baby bond, and is incredibly moisturizing for baby’s sensitive skin. My midwives were quick to encourage me to rub it into his skin rather than wash or wipe it off.

Thankfully there were no complications throughout my labor or delivery. Our midwives called it a “Butter Birth” since everything went so smoothly and quickly. We also joked about a pineapple birth theme since me eating almost an entire pineapple to myself seemed to spur things along.

I’m amazed by the waves of emotions I experienced throughout my labor, delivery, and the moments after birth. Laughing, crying, overwhelming pain, overwhelming joy. I didn’t experience this with my first two deliveries (which were both much more stressful), so I believe that my body was able to experience and release all of these emotions because I was so much more relaxed. Lillyana’s 34 week Easter Sunday arrival and NICU stay versus Banyon’s 38 week super fast car birth… while the stories are both epic, I’d choose a planned at-home water birth of a full-term baby any day!

What an incredible experience it was to welcome baby Ruah into our family in the comfort and safety of our home. Lillyana and Banyon watched the entire labor and delivery, so now they really know where babies come from! Lilly even got a crash course in female anatomy as she watched my midwife provide post-delivery care. Haha!

The entire day was so much more peaceful than I thought it would be, especially compared to my two previous labors and deliveries. Ultimately, though, I’m praising Jesus for three healthy babies, regardless of when or where their birth story took place.

I’m incredibly grateful the team of sweet women who surrounded me on Ruah’s birth day, including Erin and Christina from Acorn Birth Center and Ashleigh from Ashleigh Long Photography. 

Here are a few more favorite moments from this special day and Ruah’s first few days with us.