<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Sun, 27 May 2012 02:52:08 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>Birth Stories</title><subtitle>Birth Stories</subtitle><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/atom.xml"/><updated>2012-01-30T03:53:14Z</updated><generator uri="http://www.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>The Unassisted Birth of Kaia</title><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-kaia.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-kaia.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2011-12-13T11:48:58Z</published><updated>2011-12-13T11:48:58Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[A few minutes after 2am, after only 4 or 5 hard contractions, I suddenly felt the urge to push. I moved to my birth chair set-up – a kid’s IKEA Poäng chair on an ottoman base, covered in towels and chux pads. It was the perfect height for me to be in a mostly standing squat but have support under my thighs and behind my lower back. I straddled the chair and had 4 or 5 pushing contractions. I held a finger touching the bulging bag of waters the whole time, feeling her move down as I pushed, then back up a little, then down more. 11 minutes later, with the last contraction and a lot of bearing down and moaning, she crowned.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Lily's Home Birth Story</title><category term="Birth Stories"/><category term="Home Birth"/><category term="birth story"/><category term="home birth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/lilys-home-birth-story.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/lilys-home-birth-story.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2011-09-05T23:11:59Z</published><updated>2011-09-05T23:11:59Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[So there I was, in my bathtub, having a ferocious internal struggle. “What if this isn’t really labor?” (I’d had 2 other times that I thought were labor but they were not nearly as strong.) “I thought early labor was supposed to be more spaced out than this?” “Should I wake Ross up?” (We had just gone to bed 2 hours ago.) Finally I thought, “I can’t do this alone,” and got out of the bath to go and wake Ross.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Home Water Birth of Simone</title><category term="Birth Stories"/><category term="birth"/><category term="home birth"/><category term="home birth stories"/><category term="water birth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-water-birth-of-simone.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-water-birth-of-simone.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2011-07-08T11:43:07Z</published><updated>2011-07-08T11:43:07Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[On January 18th of this year, just after midnight I started feeling my first rushes. Initially, I didn't think much of them. Even though I was "overdue" I really thought I feel a few rushes, go to sleep and wake up the next day still pregnant, ready to go about my day. Part of that was true.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Home Birth of Ivy</title><category term="Birth Stories"/><category term="Home Birth"/><category term="Midwife"/><category term="birth"/><category term="homebirth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-birth-of-ivy.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-birth-of-ivy.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-10-23T20:30:10Z</published><updated>2010-10-23T20:30:10Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[At 7.06am on May 30th, her little body was born. I’ll never forget how it felt to feel her body leave mine. Pamela helped Tom catch Ivy and laid her on my chest. Tom and I just laid there and took her in. She was a little purple and it took a minute for her to cry, but she was just fine.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Unassisted Birth of J</title><category term="Birth Stories"/><category term="Free Birth"/><category term="Home Birth"/><category term="Simple Birth"/><category term="UC"/><category term="Unassisted Birth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-j.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-j.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-10-22T10:18:44Z</published><updated>2010-10-22T10:18:44Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[Saturday night at about 10pm I again had the labour pains.They were not regular. My kids went to sleep which was perfect. As soon as I saw my youngest close his eyes…Bang. I had a strong contraction. I told my husband, “Fill the pool”]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Home Birth of Eliseo</title><category term="Home Birth"/><category term="doctor home birth"/><category term="home birth in North Carolina"/><category term="home birth stories"/><category term="homebirth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-birth-of-eliseo.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-birth-of-eliseo.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-09-19T18:55:42Z</published><updated>2010-09-19T18:55:42Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[I reached back and felt the baby's wet bulging head. I heard Alex exclaim "There is a head!" Jen rushed over from where she had been putting her gloves on, and David was right behind her. Ema backed away to get our camera. I pushed him out in about 90 seconds, and they scrambled to put pads down underneath. I heard the baby screaming immediately, and everyone laughing and welcoming him. It was 3:06 pm.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Home Birth of Gretchen Fawn</title><category term="Home Birth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-birth-of-gretchen-fawn.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-birth-of-gretchen-fawn.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-08-02T18:12:40Z</published><updated>2010-08-02T18:12:40Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[So there I was, on the floor on all fours, getting so close to pushing time and I could feel it all. There was a lot of fluid happening at this point. I had long given up clothing – another perk to having a homebirth is that only the people you are comfortable around will see you in such a vulnerable state. I had kept on a sports bra and track pants for part of my labour, but by the evening I just wanted to be naked. Things were getting incredibly intense at this point. I could feel a tremendous amount of pressure and I knew I would get to push soon. I knew that I wasn’t quite at 10cm yet so I did everything in my power not to push. Eventually it got to the point where my body was pushing whether I liked it or not & through the pain I felt SO excited knowing that my little girl would be in my arms in a matter of hours.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Unassisted Birth of Veda-Lou Calidonia</title><category term="UC"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-veda-lou-calidonia.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-veda-lou-calidonia.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-08-02T17:58:29Z</published><updated>2010-08-02T17:58:29Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[As soon as there was warm water in the pool, I joined it. My rushes were enough to require a substantial amount of concentration at this point.

Brian rushed around, boiling water on the stove, heating it in the electric tea kettle, draining the hot water heater. Checking the waters temp with a candy thermometer. While I sat in the mini ocean that would never be deep enough. Waiting. Sort of patiently.

At some point I gave up conversing. Not long after that I was "singing" my way through each rush. And using every cell within me to relax in between.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Unassisted Birth of Dorothy Emelia</title><category term="UC"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-dorothy-emelia.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-unassisted-birth-of-dorothy-emelia.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-08-02T17:30:35Z</published><updated>2010-08-02T17:30:35Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[I took optimum care of myself. and continued to read and encourage myself.
Throughout my pregnancy, I never saw a doctor, I became more in touch with my body, and what was going on with it, than ever before in my life. I learned to not only listen, but also speak to it.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>The Home Water Birth of Tyler Andrew</title><category term="Water Birth"/><id>http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-water-birth-of-tyler-andrew.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.birthroutes.com/birthstories/the-home-water-birth-of-tyler-andrew.html"/><author><name>Birth Routes</name></author><published>2010-08-01T18:18:15Z</published><updated>2010-08-01T18:18:15Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-CA"><![CDATA[Within a few minutes, my moan involuntarily turned into a small grunt at the end of a contraction. I opened my eyes and looked up at Trish to tell her I felt my body pushing, but before I could say anything she asked, "Are you feeling pushy?" "Yes!" From then on, every contraction came out as more of a grunt than a moan. I wasn't putting any effort into it, but letting my body just do it's thing. It was so nice to be able to feel that and let it happen and not have anybody checking me and saying, "No, don't push, you're only at an (8, 9, 9 with a lip, etc) and you don't want to swell!" Just full faith and trust in the process]]></summary></entry></feed>
