God’s Faithful Hand: Home Birth Story of Gracelyn
With all my children—I take the time to journal my entire birth story before blogging it. It gives me time to sit and process everything before sharing it out with the world. Usually, I wait some months before publishing my birth story but this time feels different. I have previously published Simone’s birth story and Jaiden’s birth story here on my blog. As this is our first homebirth, they have their unique stories and I am grateful for all these precious miracles God has given us. As I have a love for writing, it was waiting for Gracelyn’s birth that sparked me to get some more writing pieces out on my blog at the end of the third trimester. My midwives strongly encouraged me to focus on things that I enjoyed as I was getting weary at the end of my pregnancy and writing was one so here I am, sharing this birth story from the rocking chair of my bedroom where I have spent days healing and resting from my first home birth. For three days I have spent time in our room and will have spent a total of six days upstairs only before walking downstairs in other areas of the house. One of the postpartum tips from my midwives is to rest more for quicker healing and to be done with bleeding. I have loved learning about all the health benefits I implemented during my entire pregnancy and will continue that postpartum. Now, let’s get into the home birth story!
Birth Story of Gracelyn:
The morning of August 13th, I felt like the day would be very different based on how I slept. The previous week and weekend, I had an increased amount of pelvic pain and cramping overnight. Around 4:50 a.m. Tuesday, I noticed that I had to use the bathroom a lot through the night with more bowel movements. I rested a bit afterward and began feeling more of the cramping from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Before Marquis left for work, I walked the stairs of our home ten times and then did some stretching. This was my first pregnancy going without having cervix checks to see where I was dilated, so I could only gauge my progression of labor on how I was feeling physically. I went ahead and pushed through the start of a regular morning with the kids, including breakfast Bible story, showering, and getting dressed for the day.
After we did activity time, we went for a walk in the neighborhood at about 11:40 a.m. I was walking slower as if Gracelyn was sitting heavily in my pelvic area. We got back in the house to eat our lunch and eventually got prepared for nap time. Of course, my oldest daughter decided to wind down for a shorter time that day, which meant I had less rest time. I was a bit cranky about that, yet I was truly leaning on the Lord through my moods and being tuned in with my body. After the kids had their wind-down time, we went walking again at 3:45 p.m. while Marquis made his way home from work. It was the day I was wobbling like never before. When Marquis got back home, I decided to walk longer in the neighborhood without the kids. I walked a longer distance to see if it would make any difference from what I had been feeling all week and all day long.
When Marquis was preparing for Taco Tuesday with the kids, I found myself trying to stay busy while feeling what my body was doing. As he started dinner, I started to time my cramping and stomach tightening at 7:00 p.m. I decided to keep the timing of the cramps until 9:00 p.m. I was chatting with Marquis on the couch for about an hour when the kids went to sleep at 8:00 p.m. We are very grateful for the established bedtime routine around here! By 9:30 p.m. I told Marquis that we should head upstairs to rest because my cramps were not stopping. I called Midwife R at 9:35 p.m. that Tuesday night and gave her an update on what I was feeling. She encouraged me to take an Epsom salt bath because if it was real labor, contractions would not stop. Sure enough, I still felt the cramping while I was bathing. Marquis was in the room preparing the bed and the pool. He prepared plastic wrap under the sheets just in case I needed it and tablecloths to go underneath the birth pool.
After I took a bath, I pulled out the things that I wanted to have on during labor. My midwife R encouraged me to get rest so that is what I tried to do for an hour, yet I kept having to use the bathroom and cramping so I dozed off in between them when I could. We continually updated my mom and were doing things that brought me comfort which was resting with a pillow and lying down on my side.
By 11 p.m., I was feeling an increase in contractions and did a mixture of resting and light movements in between them for an hour and ½. The next time I went to the restroom was at 12:30 a.m. when I felt it was best for Marquis to call the midwives fifteen minutes later. Midwife R said would send Midwife S over to be with me. As I was waiting for them to come, I began to say scriptures out loud, breathe through contractions, and pray in the spirit as the pain was increasing. I was quoting scripture to remind myself that God had me he was there to comfort me in my pain.
Finally, Midwife S and my parents both arrived at the same time at 1:14 a.m.–thank you to our outdoor camera for the time stamp! I felt another sense of calm when my mother and Midwife S came into the room. I looked at my midwife as I was getting tired and said, “I can do this, right?” She assured me that I was indeed capable. When she said the words, “Remember this benefits you,” every time I faced a contraction, those words truly motivated me as I laid there in my bed and got better rest through my contractions.
I eventually got up and went to the bathroom, likely around 2:00 a.m. I noticed I was experiencing more bleeding, which assured the midwives that my body was dilating quickly. My midwife encouraged me to sit on the toilet and get through some contractions that would help the process. I remember looking at my mom as I was laboring there and said to her, “I have faith that this isn’t going to take long”. I knew that I was getting tired, given I was in the window of overnight labor, which would normally be the time I sleep. It was then that my midwife saw my water bag coming out. I eventually got back into a rested state and waited for my water bag to break completely
In that restful state, I only wanted Marquis to be super close to me. Over the next 20 minutes, I held my hands over his shoulders as we took deep breaths together through every contraction. I felt more pressure and was anticipating getting in the water pool as it filled up. There was not enough water for me to get in yet so I laid on the bed longer next to my lamp. Surprisingly, I didn't play much of my birth playlist before this time yet as things were progressing, I asked Marquis to put some worship music on his phone. The one song I started with was ‘No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus’ by Steffany Gretzinger. This song got me very emotional and I felt the strength and hand of the Lord. It is one of my favorite worship songs that also reminds me of the legacy I want to instill in my children. A portion of the song says,
“Let my children tell their children,
Let this be their memory,
That all my treasure was in heaven,
And you were everything to me.”
No one ever cared for me like Jesus.
His faithful hand has held me all this way.
And when I'm old and grey,
And all my days are numbered on the earth,
Let it be known in you alone,
My joy was found.”
I lifted my right arm in the air as tears rolled down my face, thanking the Lord for His goodness. The lights in the room came on after the rest of my water broke. I felt like I had to keep pushing and could not keep my legs together until the second midwife arrived. I pushed once, lying on my left side, and Gracelyn’s head came out. At this point, I knew for sure I would not be making it into the water pool. My midwife turned my body, and I pushed a second time as the rest of her body came out. I felt relief and joy as I heard her beautiful cry at 2:35 a.m. and then had my moment of tears as Midwife R arrived to help with the rest of the delivery. It was not too long after that my dad came upstairs to see Gracelyn out of the womb. My mom, Marquis, and midwife S got to experience the final stretch of my active labor from 1:15 a.m. to 2:35 a.m. when she was born! Both of our children slept through the entire birth and woke up during the regular time to meet their baby sister. Thank you, Jesus, for our miracle, Gracelyn D. Harris. I have learned so much more about birth and I have so much gratitude that the Lord would entrust us to raise another child into this world.
See Home Birth Video & Photos Below:
We did not get all the footage and photos that I had envisioned, yet God knew just what we needed in the moment, and the shared memory here is just enough. <3
“May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 115:14-15
Special thanks to the Glory Birth KC midwifery team for caring for our family through pregnancy and postpartum care.
