After having 2 previous healthy pregnancies and deliveries, we knew we wanted to have baby #3 at home. This was baby number 3 for me and baby number 1 for my hubby. We had some friends who had home births and had only positive things to say about it.
So, after finding out we were pregnant, we started looking for a midwife. Darlene was only the second one we met with and we looked no further. Her office was close to home and we just felt comfortable instantly.
Every prenatal visit was so pleasant and completely different from going to an OB’s office. No long waits in uncomfortable waiting rooms, no stirrups (yay!), and best of all, every question we asked was answered clearly. Plus, she had any and all supplements that she recommended right there in her office.
Now to the actual birth….
My estimated due date was April 16th. Early in the morning on the 17th, at around 2:30am, my water broke. I woke up my husband and we started timing the contractions. At 3:00am, he called Darlene. She arrived at our house around 3:30am and immediately went to work setting things up. As my contractions started coming closer together and getting stronger, Darlene had so many great suggestions on how to minimize the pain. By the time I was dilated 7cm, around 6am, the contractions were extremely painful and there was hardly any time between them. Darlene suggested getting in the birthing tub, which was in Cady’s room. My husband did not plan on getting in there with me, but that quickly changed once I got in. He wanted to be able to help ease the pain and was a little weak from being sick, so being in there with me was easier for him. I had one contraction once I got in the tub & with the second one, I was ready to push. With the first push, I felt the pressure of Cady’s head. Then came another contraction and another push with a 
little more movement and I was ready for her to be out. Darlene told me to push one more time and turn while I was pushing, and out she came! Darlene lifted her out of the water & immediately put her in my arms. She never cried! She was breathing and pink from head to toe. I sat in my husband’s lap and we both just wrapped our arms around her. We sat there just smiling and telling her how happy we were to see her and all the while, she was still connected to the umbilical cord, which was pulsating and nourishing our baby. Her lungs were completely clear. We all just sat there looking at each other and taking in the fact that she was actually here. After about 20 minutes, Darlene clamped and cut the cord. She helped me out of the tub and into my OWN BED!! She then started tending to Cady, getting her cleaned up, measured & weighed. Still, no crying!
Darlene gave us options for everything. vitamin K shot, antibiotic in her eyes, PKU, RH negative shot, etc., all our choice. What a liberating feeling! And then getting to sleep in our own bed & have our baby in her bassinet in the room with us without any hassle from nurses trying to take her for this reason or that reason, or trying to take my vitals or draw blood, was just so awesome. The entire experience was just SO AWESOME!!
We are so happy to have made the decision to have our sweet baby Cady Jaymes at home, in her own room, with Darlene, the best midwife in the whole wide world!!!
Samantha Thomas