We became pregnant on July 4
weekend 2004 and as with Jasper, we are choose not to find out the
gender of the baby. In sadness my maternal grandmother passed
away on November 4, 2004 & she was my most recent ancestor that
was born at home on a farm in Iowa that she continued to live on and
farm with my grandfather until he passed away in 1990.
I am
carrying on the tradition of birthing a baby in the spring, like the
women in my maternal line. My mama was due with me during this
time and gave birth to me in April, her mama was due with her during
this time and was born in early April, and her mama carried and
birthed my auntie during this time and gave birth at the end of
March. It is with this proud hertiage that I gave birth in the
tradition of a gentle birth in my home in the arms of my loving
partner Jody and the incredible women of my birth team. I am
named after my great grandmama Wilhelmina Frieda Christina (Prinz)
Bartels and she is the last woman in my maternal line to give birth
at home until myself.
During this pregnancy mermaids have
shown their magical selves in my dreams.
The Mermaid weaves a siren
song that leads you to vision and mystery. Half woman, half fish,
the lovely mermaid represents the power of our unconscious desires.
She gives us the power to seek beneath the waves of our emotions and
dreams for the pearls that lie beneath, and she reminds us that
unless we follow the truth our our inner selves, then our lives are
as ephemeral as sea foam.
Throughout the pregnancy nutrition
was my main thought. I committed to an incredibly healthy diet
when I needed to, supplimented with herbs and roots and did soul
work in order to avoid getting pre-eclempsia a second time. I
also really enjoyed belly dancing during this pregnancy. I
obtained a video of belly dancing during pregnancy that I would
dance to. I would dance in front of this big window at night
so I could see the reflection in the window. I loved seeing my
body move and it felt so natural. At times my belly just
radiated and baby would respond to the movement. I
started early labor patterns on April 5, about a week and half past
due date after attending an Instinctual Childbirth film
series. My early labor patterns occurred in the evenings but I
could usually still sleep at night. In honor of Cesarean
Awareness Month I made myself a simple bracelet with the letters
that stood for International
Cesarean Awareness Network.
This became very important as I entered week 41, then 42, then
43. My mantras were ICAN trust my body and baby and instincts
and preserve this simple and sacred birth. I had my blessed
show on early in the morning of April 9 after making love. For
the next couple of weeks, I had accupuncture, walked and walked and
belly danced to encourage the rushes to continue into labor.
Though frustrated that the labor ended each morning, I know now it
was a complete gift that gave me a week and half to have my cervix
open.
It was a complete time of trust as I became a
10 month mama. Then at
43 weeks and a day my birth team and my family decided to do a labor
brew of herbs to encourage my labor to continue. On Sunday
morning April 17 we did a few rounds of labor brew in conjunction
with activity of walking or belly dancing. We had my mama and
papa pick up Jasper to spend the day and night at their house and we
had another accupuncture session, napped and my rushes came on as
normal that night. Then about 10:30 that night the rushes were
coming on quickly and powerfully and my husband called my
women. My women came and we did a check and knew that we had a
strong labor and was dialated around 5 cm. I was amazed at the
beauty of being able to labor in my home. I danced, got in the
birth tub, went outside, all in the comfort of my home. After
our first birth where I was restricted to lay down on a bed due to
the blood pressure I was so excited to be able to move and move and
move. I danced to a CD of women chanting and as I would dance
I would chant "down baby down" to encourage the baby to move on
down. I felt so primal with the dancing as if I were in my red
tent with my women and all these powerful women before me who used
belly dancing in their birth dance. We were blessed with the
presence of an owl that night calling to us. Sometime between
3-4:00 am we decided it was time for everyone to rest and 3 of my
women and my husband went upstairs to sleep and I got into the birth
tub and one of my women stayed with me and slept next to me as I
floated in the water for a couple hours and just let the rushes come
and do what they needed to so that I could open the last couple of
centimeters. The house was so quiet and I just let my body do
the work in a simple and sacred way.
After a couple hours in the birth tub
I instinctually felt I needed to get out and I went over to our
futon mattress and my body pillow and had a rush and felt my water
break. My women and husband started to awaken and we started
pushing. This was the most challenging part of my labor.
I pushed in and out of the tub, on the toilet, on the
mattress. I definitely had some highs and lows during this
time and had thoughts that brought me back to my first labor like
"why can't I push a baby out". But I just held strong for 4
hours of pushing and at some point one of my women told me to
reach up and feel my baby and when I reached up inside my yoni I
barely got a finger in half way and I felt the babies head.
This was a big turning point for me. I kept changing positions
during the pushing because the baby kept trying to turn
posterior. I then started to feel my body open with each push
and some burning. The baby kept rocking and my body would
open, it was absolutely amazing. Then came the rush where the
babies head came and did not rock back. I called my women over
to the birth tub and I was crowning. How holy the burning
felt, I had longed for this so badly.
Whispers in my ear told me to take it
slow and not to push too hard. Then with the next rush I gave
another push and babies head was out. At this time my baby
left his body momentarily and I was in a complete calm state waiting
for my baby to come back into his body as my women helped him.
I remember calling his name and kissing his feet and then his eyes
opened to mine, pure love. After a bit we nursed in the tub
and the placenta "first mother" was born which we placed in our
family placenta bowl that held brothers placenta and left baby and
placenta attached for about 4 hours.
After a couple stitches we settled down into
this new soul who blessed us by selecting us as his
parents, and Jasper as his brother. Giving birth at home was
incredible, healing, and spiritual. For me homebirth is safe,
simple and most of all sacred. ICAN and IDID!
photography by Anastasia Pottinger www.anastasiapottingerphotography.com | 
