My third birth: the veil is thin

They say the third birth is a wildcard. I can attest to that. 😅

After a week of having signs of labour and thinking my water would break any second like it did with my first two, it finally began at 2:30 AM on August 12. I woke up to use the washroom and noticed some show… as soon as I saw it, my body kicked in and said, “okay, let’s go!“. Contractions started almost immediately. I let my doula and birth photographer know because I didn’t know how quickly this birth would go. 

I woke up Campbell and let him know to start setting up the birth tub in case things progressed quickly. I decided to call the midwife as well because things were really ramping up. 

My midwife & doula showed up one after the other and helped me through the contractions with counter pressure and hip squeezes as I hung over the birth ball. Contractions were INTENSE but I was coping just fine, listening to Christian Hypnobirthing . I recall feeling bad that my birth team might be bored and kept offering to make them coffee or turn on the TV. 😂

At 5:30 AM the tub was ready and I gladly got in. We also called my Mom to come join us in case my other two kids woke up. Because I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep, I was tired and didn’t have energy to hold myself up. I would be on hands and knees for a contraction and then sink back down to my side or sit. Now, every time you change positions, the following contraction will be *extra* intense. I was starting to feel like I just couldn’t win. I had to remind myself to draw deep and surrender to each wave. All I could do was repeat “birth is a portal” over and over. I had entered the space between heaven and earth where your own strength runs out and you rely on the Divine. 

I also had to get out of the tub and use the bathroom a few times. Getting out of the warm water and having contractions on land again felt like torture! At one point I asked what time it was and declared “I want to be done by 9 AM.”

At 8 AM, just as the sun came up and the birds started to sing, I felt ready to push. At the same time, my oldest woke up. My husband greeted her in her room and explained that Mommy was in the tub because the baby was almost here. She poked her head in to watch for a minute and then went to the living room to snuggle with Oma. Her little brother woke up and joined them shortly after. 

With the first push, I let out a roar and heard my two-year old cry from the other room. My husband quickly went to comfort him and assure him that I was safe. My midwife said to the team, “oh! This is the sound she made last time - it means baby is almost here”. (What a gift to have a birth team who know you SO well. 😭🙌🏼)

I was starting to resist and kept looking to my midwife & doula for reassurance. They know me, know my body’s process & trust it. My midwife asked my husband to kiss me to get some more oxytocin flowing. (She’s a genius, okay?)

Another push. My water broke and suddenly I felt all the pressure. Push 3. Push 4. I could tell this baby was bigger. 

I must’ve intuitively known something was off because I shouted to my midwife “just pull!”, whereas I usually request that no one intervene or even touch me. She instructed me to pull my leg up into a lunge position with the next contraction and that did the trick — baby was here at 8:31 AM! 

I did it. 

I kept saying, “that was so hard… that was SO hard.” My midwife kissed me on the forehead (probably my favourite moment 🤍) and congratulated me. 

Baby took her first breath and I rejoiced let out a loud hallelujah. 

We checked and discovered we had another daughter. My intuition was correct! My husband grabbed big sister and brother and brought them to meet their newest sibling.

I was bleeding quite a bit so my husband cut the cord and everyone helped me out of the tub. Turns out bleeding was just because the placenta came very quickly. All was well and I was tucked into my warm bed, ready to nurse my sweet girl. 🤍

My son was very intrigued and climbed into bed with me, whereas big sister was more timid, poking her head in to observe every once in a while. We took measurements & weighed her (she was my exact birth weight!), and then announced her name — our Margot Jubilee. 

While the midwives filled out paperwork, my doula fed me and cleaned up the house, and my birth photographer put down the camera and rubbed my feet (another favourite moment 😭 — perfect way to bless a mother right after she gave birth). My Mom took big siblings for a sleepover and everyone said their goodbyes at 11 am. 

We snuggled up together with our precious baby — we were a family of 5. 🤍