I loved home birth so much the first time around, I couldn't wait to plan for our second child to join us at home, too. Many of you read about Jaxson's birth in my blog 8 Reasons Why I Loved Home Birth. I figured since baby Caden is already 5 months old it's about time I wrote about his birth! When we found out we were expecting our second child, I was so excited I would get to see our wonderful midwife Sherry Rumsey again! I immediately started the quest to get our original birth team together for another June birth. As it turned out, all the same support people were there - and almost two years to the date, too. Little Caden Joshua joined us June 2, 2017. One day after his due date and just one day short of sharing his big brother Jaxson's birthday. Here's 8 more reasons why I loved home birth (the second time around). 1. We Came Prepared For Caden's birth, not only did I have a "been here before" advantage when it came to what labor pains were like, but I knew what supplies I wanted more of. I can't say enough to new mommas about the Motherlove spray from Target or the AfterBirth bath from Precious Arrows. I made sure to order the big package of that stuff. I also had the birth pool blown up (empty) in our master bedroom. Funny thing, we were in the middle of selling our house and even had a few showings after we'd set it up. I put this friendly little sign on it. 2. Perfect Timing False alarms were just disappointments, not huge inconveniences. (Except maybe for Nana who drove three and half hours to come when we thought it might be it, and it wasn't it. Thank you, sweet Momma!) Caden was a trickster. Since I'd been through labor before, I kept thinking, "Surely, I would know what it feels like. Surely this is the start of labor." At least twice I was convinced it was time, and it wasn't flippin' time! There was one day at least two weeks before he came where I literally had contractions all day long. Those Braxton Hicks. We spent many evenings as a family at the neighborhood park. Marcus would play with J, and I'd walk laps around them. The exercising ladies who walked by would always smile at me - knowing I was trying to walk that baby out! 3. No Hurry When Caden's due date came and went, I actually had a membrane sweep to help start labor. It was a "maybe this will work or maybe it won't" kind of a thing. When I was leaving Sherry's that afternoon, I knew THIS IS IT. The contractions were so painful. I remember saying, "I know this is real because these are MEAN." Just like Jaxson's birth, no one rushed me, and I didn't have a clock visible during labor. It ended up being super fast. It began around 2 p.m. and Caden was born at 6:11 p.m. During labor I remember telling myself, "I'm having this baby by supper!" and I already had my Panera order picked out in my head! :) I might be a foodie. 4. Safe and Home Our good friend from Grand Parkway, Shelley, came and picked up Jaxson to play. We called Nana and she got on the road, as did Meredith, Heather, and Sherry. I had such peace of mind knowing it was finally here. We would welcome Caden into the world in our home. 5. Support Team My support group for baby #2 was the original three! Who else gets that?! Sherry, Meredith, and Heather! Also some wonderfully kind people from our church brought us food after C's arrival, Marcus took some time off, and Nana stayed a few days. 6. Personalized Care Because we went the home birth route, my care before and after the birth was personalized. My midwife knew what my "normal" was because she was with us for our first birth, but she also knew what I needed to hear during those false alarms. It wasn't wasted time. My body was getting ready for the big day! It was OK. I wasn't a fool for being fooled. Baby C would come when he was ready. 7. Flexibility & Water Caden's birth ended up being a water birth! I never would've expected that. I know that sounds odd since I had a birth pool, but I'd planned on laboring in that wonderful thing just like I had for J. Didn't really cross my mind I could birth in it. Turns out, when we were filling the pool when labor started, we'd gotten too much cold water in it, and the boiling water Marcus was adding just wasn't doing the trick to heat it up to safe temps. So they had to nearly empty it out and start over. This meant as I was laboring and focus on my surroundings was going in and out, I could hear them filling the pool and talking about the temperature of the water. I thought to myself, "They're tricking me. They're going to say, 'Oops, you're too far along honey, you can't get in the water." When they got it to the right temp, instead I heard the best words of all, "Kennan, would you like to get in the water and have your baby?" Heck yes! It was so incredible. After a few pushes, Caden was here! 8. Got You Covered Another thing that was different this time around was our healthcare coverage. Without traditional insurance this go-around you'd think it would end up costing us MORE. But it actually cost less. We are members of Christian Healthcare Ministries, a cost-sharing plan. Because we received a cash discount, which met our gold plan deductible, Caden's birth was covered 100%. We are so thankful! If you want to learn more about CHM click here. Commercial Break If I can, I'd like to take a quick commercial break to say THANK YOU! Marcus and I have done freelance work in various fields of media since we got married, but last year we decided to give it a name, Marken Media Co. Since then, so many of you have helped us spread the word about what we do. We can't wait to serve more customers in 2018. So "like" or share our Facebook page, or check out our website. We'd love to connect with more people. As I said in my first home birth post ... I know home birth isn't for everyone. Every birth is as unique as the woman giving birth. I know not everything always goes as planned and unexpected emergencies can require alternatives. My hope is to celebrate birth in all its forms because it is a true miracle. These are eight things I celebrate about my second home birth experience. Baby Caden, we are so glad you're here!
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PodcastListen to devotionals shared at FBCSA MOPS on Kennan's Podbean Podcast channel here.
Marken Media Co.Marcus & Kennan own Marken Media Co. serving the multimedia needs of small businesses. Known by the #devinecolorwall, we strive to foster a space for the community to CREATE • COLLABORATE • CELEBRATE.
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KennanI'm a lover of words. Sometimes I edit, cook, craft, or sing. I'm also a wife and mom. Categories
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