Porter Smith Phillips joined our family 5 days past his due date. This is his birth story.
We found out at my 37 week appointment that he had turned breech. I could still have a home birth, however it would no longer be possible to do a water birth. The thought of delivering my first breech baby during my first home birth made me scared and nervous. On the flip side though I knew for sure that I did not want to have a cesarean in the hospital. I immediately started researching ways to get baby to flip on his own through the Spinning Babies techniques, visiting a chiropractor, and full on standing on my hands in a swimming pool. When I say I tried everything I truly mean it. From laying at a 45 degree angle on my ironing board to placing heat and ice packs strategically on my belly.
At my 38 week check up he was back head down. Then, the night before my 39 week appointment I was dreaming that he flipped back to breech. I actually felt it! But thought I was dreaming. Unfortunately I wasn't and the midwife confirmed he was back to breech. At this point I needed some positive energy and reassurance that I could confidently deliver him, possibly breech, in our home. I began watching breech home births on YouTube and was beginning to feel a little bit better about our circumstances. However, we still fervently prayed and actively kept trying to get him to turn head down. At my 40 week check up he was still breech. Two hours after that appointment I went in for an ultrasound and low and behold he had turned head down! It was a huge relief and we prayed he would stay that way. Needless to say the last month of pregnancy was an emotional roller coaster for me.
Sunday night (February 5) I started having contractions. They were all in my lower back and about 10 min apart. I don't think I got any sleep, and as the night progressed, so did the contractions. I had planned to not wake Luke too early, but I guess during one particularly bad surge I squeezed his arm really tightly and that woke him up. We started getting ready for the day. A hot shower felt good on my back! As the morning went on the contractions were getting pretty intense and coming every 3 minutes apart. We let the midwife know, but told her we weren't ready for her to come yet. While they were coming close together, they weren't lasting very long. Around 10:30 am the contractions completely stopped. We tried walking up an down the street, and doing lunges and squats to start them back up, but to no avail. We decided to go into Knoxville for my prenatal appointment, which was at noon.
The midwife, Rebekah, checked me and said I was 5 cm dilated and extremely effaced. She said it would most likely go quickly once contractions started back up. She then stripped my membranes and said she felt baby's head very low in my pelvis and that he was posterior.
On the way home we stopped at The Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company and then hopped on the highway to head home. We weren't on the highway for very long when the car broke down. We were literally on the side of the road with a smoking car when my contractions started back up! My dad was on his way to assess the car situation, but I knew I needed to get home sooner. It was very uncomfortable laboring while sitting in the car. All my contractions were in my lower back and sitting made it so much worse. I called my sister, Kim, who was living in Knoxville at the time and asked if she would come pick me up and drive me home while Luke waited with the car for my dad. Luckily she was able to come right away and we headed to the house. I knew this labor was for real and began panicking when the contractions started coming closer together (3-4 minutes apart) and quite intense. I remembered what my midwife had said about it going quicker once contractions started back up and was worried I might have our baby in my sister's car.
We arrived at the house and Kim took over watching the kids so my mom could help me through the contractions. It felt best to just lay in my bed and listen to my Christian Hypnobirthing tracks. While doing that I was also in touch with Luke as we tried to figure out what to do with the car that was completely dead. In the end Luke had to call a tow truck and he and my dad headed home. At this point I decided to tell the midwife I was ready for her to come. Luke arrived home around 3:30 or 4 and then the midwife shortly thereafter. I was really wanting the birth pool set up and once it finally was it felt so good to be in it! My back was not handling the back labor very well and being in the water helped alleviate some of the pressure I was feeling in my lower back.
My sister, Juli, arrived around 6:30 pm along with the second midwife. Ally was midwife number one and Rebekah was her number two. Rebekah was also the one who would tend to the baby once he arrived.
Juli was kind enough to make the long drive to take pictures and videos of my labor and delivery.
I mostly labored in the water listening to my hypno tracks as well as the playlist I had made. The room was dim and it was a calm and peaceful environment with Luke reading my affirmation cards aloud to me.
Luke was very helpful in applying counter pressure during each contraction while I was able to squeeze my mom's hands.
I eventually got back in the pool and labored some more in there. Around 8:30 pm maybe (I'm not sure), I felt myself starting to lose control. Luke calls it "that moment". The moment where I start to slip out of reality and feel like I'm hovering somewhere between death and life. The moment where I'm certain I can't go a moment longer and will perish any minute. At this point my water broke.
I've never had my water break on its own before. Baby began to crown. When that contraction ended I did a kegel to try and relieve some of the crowning pain. I felt him slide back in a little and felt some relief from the pain. With the next contraction (the 2nd one after my water breaking) he began crowning again and I pushed with all my might because I was so desperate for the pain to end. My mom recognized that I was losing it and grabbed my face in both her hands encouraging me to breathe with her. I tried so hard to stay focused, but it was challenging. I was on all fours in the birth pool when I suddenly felt an immediate relief. I heard the midwife say something, but wasn't quite sure what. I thought I heard her say he had a short cord and that she had to push him back in. When I turned around and asked what was going on she said his head was out! I thought to myself "No wonder I feel relief! I just got through the hardest part!" Because of the position I had got myself into his head came out above the water line so the midwife said I needed to stay in that position to deliver his body, which came really quickly after his head all in the same contraction. There was a bit of an awkward hand off as I lifted my leg so she could hand him to me. He came out so quickly after my water broke that neither Luke nor I were prepared to catch. Luckily the midwife was in position and caught him. It turned out too that he did end up having a short cord.
After the midwife handed him to me I sat back into kind of a kneeling position. I was in such a state of shock that I kind of had a deer in the head lights look on my face for awhile! I think the shock of him coming so quickly and the relief that the pain was mostly over just overtook me and I kept repeating, "Is it over? Am I done?"
We are so thankful to have him here with us safe and sound. And so so grateful he stayed head down!
He weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 21.5 inches long. He's so handsome and calm and lovable! He took to nursing pretty quickly and slept wonderfully that first night for us.
It took us a little while to agree on his name. Ally was going to be coming back the morning of the 8th to do our check up and to get the birth certificate from us so we needed to decide by then. Luke kept coming back to the name, Porter and I jokingly said that we must have his middle name be Smith then since Porter Rockwell was the guardian of Joseph Smith and Smith is my maiden name. Luke loved that idea though and so it stuck. He's definitely a Porter. And that head of hair! It's like it was meant to be.
I'm so grateful to the midwives at Roots and Wings Midwifery, my mom for stepping in as my doula, my sister Kim for rescuing me off the side of the road, my sister Juli for the photos/videos, my husband for his unwavering support, and to Heavenly Father for protecting both Porter and I and for sending us another spirit child to raise.
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