Liam, Eric, and Catherine.
by Catherine Piedt
Liam August Peemoeller was born in our home on January 24 at 11 p.m. My mom and sister, my husband Eric’s mom and sister, and our midwives Arden and Eliza were there to share in our joy of the birth of our baby boy. This is his birth story.
I woke up at 3:30 a.m. on January 24 for no particular reason. Eric was working a night shift. My mom was in town for the birth and was sleeping downstairs. I wasn’t having contractions, but I was wide awake. I read in bed for two hours until I felt tired and ready for sleep. As soon as I tried to go back to sleep, I started feeling cramping. It excited me enough that it kept me from sleep. As I lay there in bed at 5:30 in the morning, I wondered if this would be the day.
I was still lying there wide awake at 7 a.m. when Eric came home from work. I was having regular yet mild contractions and told him he might not be going in to work that night. I decided to get out of bed and let him sleep.
I continued having mild contractions all morning. My mom and I thought this might just be the day and decided to call my sister, Shannon, who was planning to fly in from Vancouver as soon as she got the call. We checked in with the midwife, who said that since this was my first labor and I had no signs other than contractions, it could still be days before baby was ready to come, but to keep her informed of any new signs throughout the day.
I spent the morning finishing up some work from home while continuing to have regular contractions every four to eight minutes. They were still very mild and accompanied by only slight discomfort and cramping. Eric woke up midafternoon and we decided he should call work and let them know he wouldn’t be in that night as baby just might be on its way. We were still cautious with our thoughts as we didn’t want to get our hopes up that baby would come that day if in fact it was just false labor and it might still be days before baby was ready.
At 4:45 p.m., Eric and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. After about five minutes into the walk, my contractions started getting stronger. They were strong enough that I had to stop at the side of the road until they passed. We kept walking, although I was slowing down with each step, as things were feeling more and more uncomfortable. Finally, we decided to turn around as I was feeling embarrassed at how I must have looked, walking at a pace slower than a turtle and stopping every few minutes to grimace and hang on to my husband. We realized we had only walked four blocks in forty-five minutes. Yup, things had progressed. We might have this baby sooner rather than later after all. We were excited!
When we walked in the door, my mom noticed right away that things had changed and thought we had better call in the troops. My sister was coming from Vancouver and Eric’s mom and sister were coming from Kamloops. While Eric made the calls, my mom helped me get comfortable on the floor with pillows between my legs and behind my back. I called our midwife to give her the contraction update and she asked if I had any other signs such as bloody show or mucus or water. I told her I hadn’t—I was only having contractions. She figured it was hard to tell how soon baby would come and that it could be a day or could still be days. This was discouraging for me to hear but what could I do? Baby would come when he or she was good and ready.
For the next few hours, I labored around the house in different rooms and different positions. I remember thinking how nice it was to be in my own home, able to move freely to wherever I wanted to go. I was comfortable there.
My contractions, on the other hand, were uncomfortable, but manageable. My mom and Eric were with me through each one, which I was so grateful for because I didn’t want to be alone. I managed each contraction by holding my mom and my husband’s hands and by vocalizing a low moan while keeping my jaw relaxed until the discomfort passed. After each contraction, I had a break for about one minute. Those breaks were such a needed relief and knowing they were coming helped get me through each contraction.
I remember one contraction in particular. It was about 9:30 p.m. and I had been in active labor since about 5:30. This contraction lasted two minutes and twenty seconds. It felt like it was never going to end. My mom had attended several births before this one and figured this was a sure sign that things were progressing and thought we better call the midwife again. Eric called her and she said she would come by around 11 p.m. unless she heard from us before that.
I continued laboring around the house and found it hard to get comfortable. I changed positions after about every two contractions. At 10 p.m., I felt like walking around a bit and moved from the bedroom to the hallway. All of a sudden, I heard a pop and a gush of totally clear water came out of me onto the carpet. My water had broken. This was the sign we were all waiting for! I went to the bathroom to get cleaned up and with the very next contraction, my body decided to change things up a bit and start pushing that baby out. Wow, what a sensation. I was surprised by this sudden urge to push and a little nervous since the midwives were not there yet.
Eric got on the phone to the midwife and told her I needed to push. She was surprised things had progressed so quickly and told him she would be there in twenty minutes. She asked him to tell me to try not to push. I did try, but I realized I had no control over my body’s urges to push. My body simply took over and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
We were all a little on edge at that point. My mom and Eric thought they might be delivering a baby that night and I thought I might not make it through this second stage of labor. It was a lot harder than I had expected. People had told me that I would be so relieved to start pushing that I had expected it would be easier than the first stage. That was not the case for me. My most intense contractions were during this stage. I could no longer relax my body and I felt like I was in an altered state. I couldn’t think about anything but getting through each push. It took everything out of me.
I’d been pushing for twenty minutes when my sister arrived and I was incredibly relieved to see her. She made it! We said a quick hello. Rather than greeting as we usually did with a hug, our greeting this time was with my sister assuming the position of holding my leg up.
Five minutes later, at about 10:30 p.m., with my mom waiting outside to flag her in, the first midwife, Arden, skidded into our parking space at record speed. She grabbed her bag and ran into the house wearing only a thin shirt even though it was the middle of a Kelowna winter’s evening. She checked me over quickly and told me baby was already in the birth canal. Wow! I had heard stories of women being in labor for days only to get checked and hear that they were three centimeters dilated. There would be no discouraging news like that for me this time around!
The next ten minutes were a whirlwind of events. Eric’s mom and sister arrived followed by the second midwife, Eliza. I was so happy everyone had made it! The midwives worked quickly to get things prepped for delivery. I remember them checking baby’s and my heart rates but I don’t remember much else.
At 11 p.m., sixty minutes after my water broke, fifty-nine minutes after my first push, thirty minutes after the first mid-wife arrived and fifteen minutes after the second midwife arrived, my baby boy slipped out into his daddy’s arms. He was perfectly healthy with Apgar scores of 9 and 10. All the discomfort and pain subsided immediately and all was well and peaceful.
I had what I feel to be a very free birth. I had no interventions and no complications. (I believe they often—although not always—go hand in hand.) I labored my way in the comforts of my own home with the presence of wonderful family and amazing midwives. Everyone made me feel comfortable, encouraged, and safe. I was grateful to have the support I needed to trust that my body would do what it was built to do.
After baby and I were examined and cleaned up, we all sat together in the living room. We passed the new baby around, discussed my labor, celebrated with birthday cake, and, most importantly, shared in the joy of the closeness of our family and the wonder of witnessing the miracle of birth.
Catherine works for a consulting company as an environmental scientist. Her present-day hobby is her son, and she is considering becoming a doula.
Liam, Eric, and Catherine.