The birth of our second daughter, Victoria Grace, was all about timing. Before we all choke over hearing timing and birth (home birth at that!) in the same sentence, I’ll explain. We live in Ukraine as missionaries, and our TN midwife agreed to fly over for the birth. The due date was February 28, 2007. In the plan, our midwife arrived about four days before and left four days after.
Speaking of calendars, that date, the 28th (2007), was a Wednesday. Sunday (the 25th) Debi (midwife) gave her testimony in church. Monday (26th), she spoke at and toured the main birth house in Kiev (I myself was dying to see that!). Then Tuesday we scheduled her to speak at our church’s ladies’ group. The next, and most major engagement for her trip (besides the birth!), was the birth conference we planned on Saturday, March 3.
Yes, I had a plan. Ideally, I would walk out of the ladies’ meeting on Tuesday (27th), go into labor, birth, and then have the maximum amount of time to be ready to lead the Saturday birth conference.
Are we all laughing yet? Keep reading. It gets better.
Yes, I had an alternative plan. Here is it: I was so pumped and excited about this birth conference—my first contact with most Kiev home birth midwives—that, worse come to worst, I was willing to actually birth during the conference at the site. I kid you not. I saw it like this: I’m in the side room quietly laboring, and Debi (the main and only speaker at the conference) could just slip on a glove as she talked, then step over for a minute as the head emerged . . . That was the alternate plan.
OK, even I am laughing now.
Let me add a little more—this is not about timing, but it was important. During this pregnancy, I had two specific fears that I prayed about and gave to God. One was a fear of feeling the “ring of fire,” and the other was a fear of tearing from stem to stern when the head came out. I’d not felt the ring of fire with my first birth, nor had I torn that badly. But these were the particular qualms for this birth.
Back to the timing—it was all about timing. I wasn’t just writing all this on a calendar. I got busy. I took Shaklee’s GLA pills to help soften the cervix (not promotion nor medical advice, just hearsay). Debi arrived as planned and checked me. Oh, very soft, open 3-4 cm. WHOO-HOO! (especially compared to my first cervical state before labor!)We didn’t sit on our hands either. Debi stripped membranes, gave me a tincture to put under my tongue to cause contractions during the days (worked!), and we stayed active.
Tuesday, Debi finishes her talk to the ladies’ group. Checks me (5cm, soft, effacing), strips membranes again, says we can break the water and we’ll have a baby. But plan or not, I’m not ready. I mean, aside from the birth-during-the-conference alternative, I figured I could wait until Wednesday (due date) if it didn’t happen on Tuesday.
Tuesday night . . . we went to bed. To sleep. . . . Whoa. . . . Wake up. . . .
YES! You got it!!!! CONTRACTIONS!!!! It’s 10pm. It’s Tuesday. It’s the plan!
I tell Debi (sleeping) and get in the tub. Debi snoozes on a bit—no need to drive anywhere!
Rachel: Friend, Fellow missionary, and Fotografer for Vika's birth
Midnight—Debi’s up now, Vitaliy’s up. Skyla (daughter #1, less than 2yo) is asleep in the other room. I call my missionary-friend-photographer to come.
About 3 or 4am (who can remember?) Debi recommends breaking the water. I’m nervous about that because it’ll hurt more, but I’m also getting tired and want to move things on. So we break waters. I go into transition—I knew it when I said “I can’t do it!!” to Debi. I got in the tub. Oh, I love that warm water.
Pushing starts in the tub. I call out repeatedly “Debi, I’m pooping!!” I actually didn’t mean pooping. I was just speaking in code—that pushing feels like I need to poop. But in the haze, I just kept saying that I was pooping. Debi assured me later that I never pooped. I decoded for her.
Debi quickly decides that the bathroom is too small to birth in—it’s tight even for one person to move around! So I move to the living room.
Psalm 34:4 says, He “delivered me from all my fears.” I pushed in several positions, and while I was on my knees with my forearms on the couch, everyone suddenly told me to keep pushing after one contraction. Her head was out! I didn’t even feel it—no ring of fire!
“It’s a girl! It’s a girl!” I announced to everyone as I leaned back and got her in front of me. Debi asked for time of birth, and my sister (on the webcam, remember) said she’d been born at 5:04am, February 28, due date. Victoria weighed 10.6! Remember the fear of tearing from stem to stern? . . . Just a skid mark, Debi informed me.
He delivered me from all my fears.
He fulfilled His plan.
[...] Vika’s birth story [...]