Birth Story for Crew

We have finally welcomed our baby boy into our home! We are thrilled to have him as part of the Odom family. Mommy, baby Crew, Daddy and new big sis Irina are all doing well.
I wanted to share what my birth story looked like, I know having a home birth is a strange concept to some. If you have any questions just ask, I love talking about natural childbirth. I have to mention that I did not hate my experience with Irina at the hospital. It was a good experience, I had an epidural and delivered her vaginally with no problems at all. So, I am not the type of person who bashes MD's, pain medications or hospitals; I am just PRO a natural life style.

Aug 19th about 8am- I lost my mucous plug while laying down on the couch waiting for Irina to wake up. I texted my midwife Donnellyn and she tells me to rest, eat healthy, and to stay hydrated. She thinks labor could start in 24/48 hrs because I was past my due date. I didn't believe her, I was 8 days over due and thought he was never coming out into the 110 degree Texas weather. I also have enjoyed the fact that my midwife loves to text, any question I had was answered in minutes, no matter the time, weekend or holiday. No leaving a message and waiting for a nurse to call back on the next business day, she was always available to me. The whole day I felt some cramps here and there but nothing painful. I had been feeling mild cramps on and off for the past couple of weeks so this didn't raise any concern to me. We went to dinner at my moms casa about 6pm and I did notice the cramps were a little more frequent and had sort of a pinching feeling also. I thought about saying something to Craig but decided not to, they were only cramps after all. We got home and I was feeling restless so I asked Laura Mancuso if I could come over to work on a sewing project, she was free and I drove to her house just after 8pm. We were working away when I started to feel the cramps getting stronger, just strong enough for me to have to stop walking and hold my tummy. Later on Laura Roskin came over and brought some yummy coke floats for us to enjoy. While taking a chat break, John Mancuso asked to see my baby bump (fun fact: not the first time he asked to see it) so I lifted my shirt to expose "the belly". We all stared at my HUGE tummy and commented on how amazing pregnancy is. As we worked, I was definitely feeling some pain with the cramps and even took a quick breath through a few of them. At this point I start to think that I might be in early labor, but didn't tell the girls. The Lauras would look at each other then look at me as though I could pop any second. At 10:30pm I decided to go home and rest, I wanted to see if the cramps would continue or go away. Craig and I thought that it was the start of what was going to be a long night so we decided to not contact Donnellyn aka "D". Hours go by and I can not sleep, there is no way to get comfortable in bed and the darn coke floats gave me gas and heart burn. All the while my cramps are on and off, some are getting painful and I knew by this point they were contractions and not just cramps.
It was Friday, Aug 20th near 1am when I first text D that I was having mild sporadic contractions. After texting back and forth with contraction details she tells me to take 2 benadryl and soak in a warm bath. If this was false labor, the meds and bath would stall the contractions. I follow her instructions and my contractions were only getting more and more painful. It is 2:34am and Craig sends D information about my contractions, how long they re lasting and how far apart they are. At 2:59am D and the birth team are on their way to my house. The team arrives some time between 3:15-3:20am, I am in my tub breathing through my contractions and trying to stay relaxed so my body will work in the most efficient way. I would get out for bathroom breaks but the contractions felt longer and sharper, so I was quick to get back in the water. I was focused on each contraction, I knew that every single one led me closer to holding my baby in my arms. Each one was stronger and longer than the previous, in between I had short breaks. I was so relaxed that I sort of slept during the quick pauses. I'm my head I repeated several things to myself and sometimes said them aloud, here are a few: "my body is amazing, it can and will do this", "God made my body", "I can do all things through Christ", "thank you Lord for my baby", "come on baby Crew, I wanna see you". It's 4:20am, my contractions are getting more and more powerful and I'm fighting the urge to push. I need to add that this whole time, I have not gotten "checked" to see how dilated or how effaced my cervix is. D can tell what stage a womans body is in by other characteristics such as the tone of her voice during the peak of a contraction. I was waiting for an update like "you're a 6" or "you're a 10, almost there" but I never got one. Looking back, they were letting my body do what it needed to do on its own, there was no point in "checking" or saying anything at all. My body was made to do this and that whole concept amazes me still. Ok, so I'm fighting the urge to push...D says "you're in pain and feelings lots of pressure because your bag is bulging, do you want my to break your water"? I wanted to push and rupture the bag on my own so I got into a squatting position in the tub. A few contractions went by and the bag was not breaking, at 4:32am I ask her to do it for me. The next contraction was so very different than all the others, this was INTENSE and took the pain to a whole new level. I felt tons of pressure and the pain turned into a burning sensation. I knew he was ready to come out, I knew I was a 10 and I knew that he was crowning. I knew what my body was doing, I could feel him coming down into the birth canal! A couple of contractions later I started to push, no one told me what to do; it was my body doing what was necessary. Once his head was was out, I felt some relief from the stinging and burning. In case you're worried, the baby continues to receive oxygen through the umbilical cord. It took 2 more contractions and our baby boy Everett Crew Odom was born. His Daddy delivered him in water, he was the first to hold him and then he lay him on my chest. After he was born, ALL my pain immediately disappeared and I felt fabulous. God blessed us with a wonderful birthing experience, I am so thankful to Him.
This whole time Irina has been sound asleep in her room in her own bed, nice perk to having a home birth :) She went to bed at 8pm and woke up at the next day at 8:30am to a new baby brother. I love that we didn't have to wake her or make late night phone calls to family members to babysit. Gods timing was perfect!
This whole experience is mind blowing to me, I can't believe how well the female body can handle natural child birth. I used to be (still am) in awe of breast feeding and how a mother alone can sustain the life of her newborn baby. This has only increased the level of respect I have for my body but most of all for God who made me and all things. I know it sounds "hippie" and cliche but it's true for me.

here is a link to a couple of pics that my birth photographer: Crew {Fort Worth Birth Photography}