Emmett's Birth Story

On the morning of January 24, 2022, I had an appointment with my midwife at the birth center where my husband and I had chosen to give birth at. I was a couple days past my due date, so she offered to do a membrane sweep (which involves separating the amniotic sac from the uterine wall) to help start labor naturally.

That afternoon, I was resting in bed while my toddler took his nap. I had finally dozed off, but then I was woken up by a contraction about 10 minutes later. Just as I was about to get up to go to the bathroom, my water broke and I knew for sure that baby Emmett was on his way! I labored at home for the next hour while we prepared my in-laws to watch our toddler for the rest of the day, and my husband and I arrived at the birth center at 2pm.

We settled into our room at the birth center and were then left alone for the majority of the labor process. At first, we weren't quite sure what to do because my experience at the hospital was so different — I was immediately hooked up to machines and nurses were wandering in and out of the room the entire time. However, at the birth center, it was just my husband and I (and the midwife's assistant, who only came in occasionally to check on us and to monitor baby's heart rate). I was able to walk around wherever I wanted to go and put myself into whatever positions felt most comfortable to me for getting through each contraction.

If you don’t already know, contractions become longer, stronger, and closer together as you approach delivery. Over the next two hours, my contractions were definitely painful and became much stronger, but they seemed relatively short and randomly spaced to me. So I didn't expect Emmett to arrive as quickly as he did — I had anticipated much more pain and a longer labor in general. I think the fact that I wasn't hooked up to any machines kept me from knowing exactly how intense or how long each contraction was. Looking back, I'm so grateful to have experienced labor that way because it made the process a little more bearable for me.

Suddenly, I found myself racing to get on my knees, kneeling at the edge of the bed, and calling out for help. A few seconds later, my midwife and her assistant ran into the room and I felt Emmett crowning. I pushed for two minutes, and at 4:47pm, Emmett had made his debut into the world!

Immediately, I felt overwhelmed with emotions and I was so incredibly happy to meet the baby who had been growing with me for the past nine months. I also couldn't wait to eat — labor sure works up your appetite! Luckily, my husband had ordered Chipotle earlier in the labor process, which was delivered at the perfect time for us to be able to eat soon after Emmett was born. The birth center even had a slice of chocolate cake for us to eat to celebrate the birth of our son!

Four hours later, we were on our way home. Now, we are settling into life with two littles. We can’t wait to see what Emmett is like as he grows and to watch the relationship with his big brother develop. Even though the newborn stage is hard and exhausting, we are so in love with little baby E and we are excited for life as a family of four!