Just over a week postpartum, I’m sitting down to reflect on the sacredness of welcoming our fourth baby! This was our first planned home birth, which resulted in a peaceful water birth, and reminded us just how powerful preparation, faith, and support can be. Welcome to our birth story.
Now, if you want the why behind our decision to choose a home birth after three wonderful hospital-based births, I share that in depth in Episode 34 of the Holistically Well Podcast. This was a very nuanced decision, and I go into the specifics of that there. I can say with 1000% certainty now, it was the best choice for this birth and this baby!
EPISODE 40 | HOLISTICALLY WELL PODCAST: LABORING AND BIRTHING OUR FOURTH BABY AT HOME
Whether you learn best by listening, reading, or watching, there is something for you! You can catch the audio version on the Holistically Well Podcast—available on all your favorite platforms! Think of this episode as the two of us sitting down for coffee, and you asking about my birth story. You’ll get the candid details and emotions through my voice. If you prefer more the play-by-play with photos, then keep scrolling to read this blog post.
Holistically Well Podcast on Apple | Episode 40
Holistically Well Podcast on Spotify | Episode 40
Holistically Well Podcast on YouTube | Episode 40
I’m one week and one day postpartum as I write this. It’s also the first time I’ve put on makeup and done my hair—definitely not normal for these early postpartum days—but we just did newborn photos! A family friend who lives down the road (and is an incredible newborn photographer) captured these special moments for our family of SIX. We pulled our daughter from school at her lunch hour, took family photos, sibling photos, and then a whole camera roll of sweet newborn pictures. A sweet milestone in the middle of that hazy, holy newborn fog.
The Due Date That Turned Into a Waiting Lesson
Our due date was Christmas Day. I fully expected he’d arrive a 1-2 weeks early or within 1-2 days before or after Christmas, as that’s been my *typical* pattern.
For reference…
- Baby #1 came two days after her due date
- Baby #2 came one day before his due date
- Baby #3 came two weeks early
So I truly expected this baby to come somewhere around 38 weeks through just a couple days past Christmas. When we made it through Christmas, I was actually relieved. We still had parties through December 28th, and it was so nice to celebrate each of those family functions with our older three children whithout having to focus on breastfeeding and the physical healing for mama that comes with the immediate postpartum days.
Once we neared the end of the month, I started to get mentally defeated. Was this baby ever going to come? How did my body just naturally begin labor each time in the past? Was my body going to fail be this time? These were thoughts that started negatively coming into my head that I had to wrestle with as the days ticked by.
December 30th Midwife Appointment
On December 30th, I went in for a midwife appointment and asked for a cervical check. I know these are debatable, and there was no pressure to do one, but I like information! Being a pelvic floor physical therapist, it is helpful for me, in my own body, to help make decisions moving forward.
We found that I was *barely* 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced.
Now this information from the cervical check can mean something… or nothing. You can be a 3 or a 4 cm dilation for weeks. You can also be a 1 and go into labor the next day (stay tuned!!).
I asked my midwife to do a membrane sweep, as this seemed to help kickstart labor with my first born. She performed a partial membrane sweep, but she couldn’t get in there fully—things were still pretty closed and firm. I left feeling defeated. In past pregnancies, if I made it to 40 weeks and got a full membrane sweep, babies came within a few days. This time, being at a one and feeling “not ready” internally made me think: Alright. We may not have this baby in December… or even in 2025.
My midwife’s advice was simple and wise… “go home and do something that brings you joy, especially with your husband.”
My parents had our kids that evening, kept them for dinner, and my husband and I made steaks and had a quiet dinner together—just the two of us. The kids went down easily once home, and we had a calm night in. I did a face mask, watched a rom-com and intentionally got “inducing labor” off my radar. I had been trying all the things. At some point, you realize: baby will come when baby is ready.
Before going to sleep, my husband asked my thoughts on NYE plans. I told him, “I hope I’m sitting on that couch tomorrow night watching the Buckeyes play with a newborn baby in my arms.” (Our Alma Mater, Ohio State, played New Year’s Eve at 7:30 pm.) He looked at me like… that’s not very likely, but he admired my optimism.
Little did we know.
Early Labor: The Night It Slowly Began
That night, I woke at 1:30 a.m. with a sensation that started in my back, wrapped around to the front, and eased off. It felt different than Braxton Hicks, but I tried not to get my hopes up. I used the restroom and went back to sleep.
It happened again around 3:30 a.m.
Again around 4:30 a.m.
And then again closer to 6:30 a.m.
At that point I thought, Okay… maybe today is the day. I HOPE TODAY IS THE DAY.
Around 7:30 a.m., I noticed a bloody show when I used the restroom. I reminded myself: this could be from the partial sweep… or it could be a true sign of cervical changes and early labor. It looked like the real thing. During pregnancy, your cervix is sealed by a thick plug of mucus (the mucus plug). Its job is to protect the uterus from bacteria. As your cervix softens, thins (effaces), and begins to open (dilate), that mucus plug loosens and comes away.
When it releases, it’s often mixed with a small amount of blood from tiny blood vessels in the cervix—this is what’s called a bloody show.
The contractions stayed light but consistent—about 15–20 minutes apart as we started our day. We began the morning like normal. Kids out of bed. Breakfast. Life. But in the background, my body kept having light contractions.
Helping Labor Along, Naturally
I decided to try my wearable pumps for about 15–20 minutes to see if contractions would pick up. This helped regulate sporadic contractions with my third kiddo (whose birth story I dive into more here). Six days past my due date, the last day of the month AND the last day of the year, I was beyond ready to meet this baby! The contractions continued, and came closer to 6-8 minutes apart.
My husband took our two boys (our four-year-old and almost two-year-old) to the community gym to burn energy. My daughter stayed home with me! We did a 20-minute lateral movement circuit—lateral lunges, lateral step-ups—movements that mimic curb walking and encourage good positioning. It was cold outside, so this was my indoor version of helping to “rock baby down.”
After the circuit, I laid down in sidelying, which was my real test.
If they stop, it wasn’t labor.
If they continue, this is probably true early labor.
They continued—still manageable, still super light, but very textbook early labor.
I took that as permission to rest. My daughter rubbed my back while I listened to guided meditations and prayers through the Made for This app—early labor meditations that helped me soften my jaw, relax my shoulders, and let my body open.
I laid there about 40 minutes, flipping sides, about 20 minutes on each side.
When I got up, I put the pumps on again briefly, and the contractions stayed steady, still light. Then my husband came back and asked if I still wanted to go bowling with his family for our NYE afternoon, like we’d planned.
I said, “NO! I’m not going bowling. I think we’re having a baby today… and you’re not going bowling either.” This is a funny moment to look back on, because up until this point I think we were both in denial that we’d be giving birth before the year’s end.
He looked at me like, okay… she’s serious.
So my in-laws took our older two kids bowling around 11:30 a.m. Our youngest stayed home. We ate a nourishing lunch together, and then we laid our toddler down for a nap around 12:30 p.m.
Active Labor: Getting out of “Mom Mode”
Once the house got quieter, my body turned inward in a way it hadn’t earlier. I was able to let go of “mom mode” and drop into more active labor.
I walked on the treadmill for about 15 minutes. Contractions picked up. I sat on the birth ball and applied the pumps one last time for another 20 minutes. I love creating 15-20 minute “labor circuits” to keep my mind and body focused, a mix of active movements and rest.
The intensity increased, and I think a big piece of that was that my “mom brain” finally turned off. I loved having my kids involved, and it was so sweet having them around in early labor—but once the house quieted, my body shifted gears.
Around 1:00 p.m., I felt myself moving into active labor. I had to breathe through contractions and pause what I was doing, in place of simply talking and walking through them. That said, I was still managing super well though and hadn’t yet timed my contractions.
I contacted my birth team. I had mentioned bloody show earlier, but I hadn’t given many updates because the contractions were light and I didn’t want to call it too soon. Now, they were asking information to get a pulse on where I was at.
My midwife told me to time my contractions. I finally did:
- About 45 seconds long
- About 5 minutes apart
- Consistently for 30+ minutes
She asked if I wanted her to come. I said no—this was still super manageable.
Then I texted my doula. We had planned that she would come first and help decide when to call the midwives, because once the midwives arrive, it’s like a mini hospital unit comes into your home—oxygen, tools, multiple providers—and sometimes that can shift the energy for laboring moms.
My doula arrived around 1:45 p.m. and began timing contractions. They were now every 2–3 minutes, and she said, “Yes… it’s time to call the midwives.”
We did. Midwife ETA: 2:26 p.m!
The Midwife Check That Shocked Me
After my doula arrived, I moved from the birth ball to sitting backwards on the toilet, and contractions intensified to about every two minutes. She then had me transition to sidelying in my bed with a peanut ball between my knees to slow things down until the midwife arrived.
Midwife and her assistant (neatly, her daughter) arrived at 2:26 p.m., unloaded everything, and checked me around 2:45 p.m.
I was expecting a 4. Maybe a 5.
“You’re 8–9 cm dilated and nearly fully effaced.”
I was shocked—in the best way! I had been breathing through contractions and still was in a bit of denial that we were “almost there.” In fact, I hesitated to even call the midwives when we did.
Side note, you traditionally are to call your home birth midwives to come when you would typically leave for the hospital.
The biggest surprise, though, was baby’s station.
Even though I was 8–9 cm, my baby was still high at -3 station (not engaged into the pelvis yet). This is the same station I was at during our appointment the afternoon prior. My midwife explained that we wanted to remain in sidelying to slow his descent and avoid him descending through my pelvis too quickly.
So we stayed in sidelying:
- 15 minutes flying cowgirl on one side
- 15 minutes flying cowgirl on the other
- 15 minutes exaggerated sidelying on one side
- 15 minutes exaggerated sidelying on the other
My doula massaged my body (which felt AMAZING), my husband provided hip squeezes each surge, my birth playlist played, and I stayed relaxed and focused. I also threw up right before the midwives arrived, which looking back we believe was transition. In past births, it was very clear when I hit transition as I would feel very out of control in my own body. Yet this time, I never had the classic “I can’t do this” moment. I truly think that was due to preparation—mind and body—and the calm environment of home.
The labor was intense, yes. Pressure and strong uterine contractions, yes. But I was relaxed, I understood what was happening, and I stayed in my body. I never hit the panic button, and would not describe what I was feeling as pain.
At Home Water Birth
After the hour, I was fully dilated at 10, and baby was now -2. Still fairly high, but we had given my body time and truthfully, I was feeling ready to push. The birth pool was ready. I’d missed giving birth in the water my past two deliveries as they could not get the pool filled up in time, and I did not want miss out on my dream water birth this time around!
My midwife coached me to stay as horizontal as possible as I made my way to the birthing pool. Typically, we LOVE using gravity to help baby descend. And in past deliveries, being upright resulted in a very quick progression from 7cm dilation to baby being delivered 15-20 minutes later. But this time around, we still wanted to slowly control baby’s descent.
I (finally!!) got out of bed and walked to the bathroom (I didn’t want to pee in the birth tub, even though pee is sterile and that I could). My midwife was firm though: if a contraction comes, get off the toilet and lean over the vanity or go on all fours. (To be fair, my third baby’s head was birthed while on the toilet. I knew what she meant!).
Then, I walked to the birth pool. Located in the middle of our living room in the heart of our tiny rental home.
At about 4 p.m. I got into in the water, and my body immediately relaxed. Over the next two contractions, I could feel him descend. I was in tall kneeling with my arms and chest leaning over the side of the birth pool. Then, I felt something come out—definitely not a head. It felt like a water balloon outside my body.
My bag of waters. 4:10 p.m.
My midwife explained that if it stayed intact, he could be born “en caul” (in the bag), which is rare and beautiful. For about a couple minutes I considered it, but I wanted to feel his head with my hand. I pinched and twisted the bag, felt the gush release, and immediately felt his head crowning. This brought on the true fetal ejection reflex, a feeling I have come to know and love every delivery.
His head came with the next contraction—and then my midwife saw it:
A hand by his face.
That can increase tearing risk, because if the elbow wings out, it can cause major damage. My midwife reached in and guided his arm so his elbow stayed against his body.
With the next contraction, his body came out.
He slid into the water, and she guided him down so I could catch him. I had to flip around fast, as he was born behind me, lifting my leg up and over his umbilical cord (in my husband’s words: the most athletic move he’s ever seen me do 😅), and then I pulled him to my chest.
He came out calm. Not screaming. Just gently wiggling. Breathing. Here.
And he was BIG. I knew he had to be my biggest baby.
We later weighed him:
- 9 lbs 10 oz
- 21.5 inches long
My midwives even commented that his chest was bigger than his head!
He was born at 4:18 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
God answered my prayers for a calm, peaceful water birth without any complications for mama or baby in the month of December. I truly prayed that sentence daily as part of the Saint Andrew Novena leading up to his due date of Christmas Day and relaxed into so much gratitude for answered prayers as I held my healthy, chunky baby against my chest.
It was unbelievably peaceful.
A Calm Placenta Delivery and the Sweetest Postpartum Scene
I delivered the placenta in the water—calmly, pain-free. I hated placenta delivery in the hospital with my other births because of fundal pressure and the discomfort of it all. This time was entirely different.
Then I moved straight from the tub to the couch, which had been prepped with towels and pads. Baby boy stayed on my chest throughout.
He latched quickly. My doula made soup and brought me a warm bowl, electrolyte water, and I sat there—20 to 30 minutes after birthing a baby—breastfeeding him on my couch eating the most delicious homemade soup. It was surreal.
I kept saying, “Wow, he’s here. Wow, he’s here. Thank you, Jesus.”
Skilled Midwife Medical Care at Home
Throughout labor, my midwives monitored Rex’s heart rate intermittently, and it never dipped—staying in the 130–140s. They were watching for cord concerns, for decelerations, for anything that would indicate a shift in safety.
After birth, they checked:
- my vitals (blood pressure, pulse—all good!)
- my bleeding (which was minimal!)
- uterine tone
- baby’s vitals and assessments
This wasn’t “doing it alone.” This was hiring a medically trained team to bring skilled care into our home. Without ever having the stress of driving to the hospital. No bright lights or unnecessary pokes and prods. It was allowing physiological birth to unfold peacefully, while being monitored for safety throughout.
How to Prevent Tearing During Delivery
This part still blows my mind!!
With a 9 lb 10 oz baby, a hand by his face, and my midwife’s hand internally assisting during the birth of his body…
I had ZERO tearing. None. Not even micro-tears.
This was the result of pelvic floor prep and consistent pelvic floor physical therapy that respected the body’s design rather than forcing outcomes! As a Holistic Orthopedic and Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, I practice what I preach. Throughout pregnancy, I focused on tissue elasticity, nervous system regulation, optimal fetal positioning, breath coordination, and learning how to yield rather than brace. Working with the body, and not against it.
Tearing is often framed as inevitable—especially with larger babies or compound presentations such as a hand against the face—but it is not a foregone conclusion. When the pelvic floor is trained for mobility instead of just strength, when pushing is guided by physiology rather than urgency, and when the birth space allows time, warmth, and responsiveness, the body can do extraordinary things.
As both a mother and a clinician, this experience deeply affirmed what I teach in that preparation and support will make an incredible difference!
I’m profoundly grateful—for my care team, for the work I put in ahead of time, and for a body that was allowed to birth the way it was designed to.
This is exactly why my Holistically Well Programs and Physical Therapy practice exists!
Postpartum Support: The Part Every Mom Deserves
The gift that keeps giving with this experience? The postpartum care.
My midwife has been back to my house twice already:
- 24–48 hour check-in
- One week postpartum check-in
And I have additional visits coming, including up to 3 in-office visits at their home clinic. Let it be known this is not due to having complications, but rather is a proactive approach to ensure mom and baby continue to progress well in these early postpartum days!
Our baby is already above birth weight:
- 9 lbs 12 oz at one week postpartum
We’re feeding well, growing well, and being cared for without the stress of leaving home early postpartum.
The Family Moments I’ll Remember at 80
My daughter came home around 6:30 p.m. NYE, and she became my sweetest little postpartum doula—massaging my feet, bringing food, wanting to help me or baby brother however she could. While family helped out with our 4 and nearly 2 year old boys, she didn’t leave my side.
From December 31 to January 5, it was just our family in our home—resting, bonding, integrating. Those slow, quiet days felt like a sacred bubble. I am so grateful my labor and delivery happened when it did, before my daughter’s Winter Break ended.
During all of this, our new home build has been going up—walls being framed while we brought new life in. A week I want to look back on when I’m 80 and remember all the sweet parts of. So many dreams coming true at once.
Thank you to this community for your love and support. You’ve been with me through this pregnancy, through the waiting, and now through the welcome.
He’s here. He’s healthy. I had my peaceful water birth—at home, in front of the Christmas tree.
This is the birth story of our fourth baby.
Ways To Support You Through Pregnancy and Postpartum
If this story stirred something in you—curiosity, hope, uncertainty, or a desire to feel more prepared—please know you don’t have to navigate pregnancy or postpartum alone!
Holistically Well supports women through:
- Orthopedic + Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (pre/postnatal + beyond)
- Holistic Education to Prepare Mind + Body for Birth
- Nervous System Regulation, Nourishment, and Exercise for Preconception + TTC
- Comprehensive Prenatal Exercise + Nourishment Support
- Postpartum Recovery: Gentle Movement Progressions to Optimize Healing
If you’re looking for support that meets you where you are, my team and I would love to walk through this special life season with you!
