Water Birth to Close a Chapter
The birth story of baby Crew: 5 days past my due date but right on time in my mind..I knew this baby was coming on St. Patrick’s Day. Before I went to bed I dug out the Irish onesie from the bin in the garage. And sure enough sometime around 10pm that first wave hit. Little cramps here and there but I knew it was time. I called my midwife, Mary, around midnight, at first telling her I’d call back and she could hold off coming..but 20 minutes later I felt like they should be here. I woke Joe to get the pool setup and hose attached. By 1am the midwives had arrived and things moved slowly but I knew progress was being made. As with my other 2 home births, it was all “perfect timing” as far as I was concerned..my other kids fast asleep.
I continued breathing through the contractions, asking for pressure on my hips, and then I could feel my voice change, that more primal groan started coming and I opted to get in the pool. At first I was worried my labor was stalling in the water but it was still progressing, just a little spread out and giving me time to breathe. It was sometime after 2am and transition hit..as usual I was near the end of my rope and knew it was time and I had to push this baby out. I finally felt the head and a wave of relief rushed over me..okay one more big push to get that body out..there it is! The cord was wrapped once and Hailey quickly took care of that so I could hold my baby.
A minor panic moment as he did not let out a cry and was a bit pale. Swiftly I was removed from the tub and brought in the bed, still attached to my baby, but a quick little puff of air and he let out the most perfect cry. All the while, Mary & Hailey were so calm that even I was calm. I just had a tremendous sense of peace that everything would be fine. During this transition from the tub I was able to see and confirm “it’s a BOY!” Joe kept asking if I was sure. 😂 Yes, I’m sure..very sure. We got back in the tub to enjoy the peace and warmth of the water. He even latched right on to nurse. His birth was the most perfect closing chapter to my birth stories.
Kaitlyn Lutz, March 2025