Flint's Smoldering Labor and Home Water Birth Story

You know what they say about assuming? … Well, you shouldn’t because you just never really know.

Flint is my fourth baby to be born naturally. My first was born in the hospital (about 3 ½ hours of active labor) after my water broke at home. My second was induced at the hospital, but still natural. Nothing really progressed with pitocin during the first 1 -1 ½ hours, but after the doctor broke my water, she was born 1 ¾ hour later. My third came at home in a birthing pool after 4-5 steady hours of contractions and 30 minutes after my water broke.

So, we just assumed this little baby would also be a labor and delivery anywhere from 3-5ish hours. Boy, oh, boy were we wrong. This little man pushed through after 22 hours of labor. Let me tell you all about it.


Short version: Contractions started around 1am Wednesday August 22. After a period where contractions didn’t intensify, I drank an herbal tincture to help soften the cervix. That slightly worked, but not enough to break water. I had contractions all day--around 30 seconds, ranging from 2-5 minutes apart, occasionally slowing down to 10-20 minutes apart. Around 3pm I drank another herbal tincture. Finally at 8:45pm my cervix was ready and my water was broken. Baby Flint was born about 2 ½ hours later.

Sam’s version: Flint wanted to come as quickly as his siblings but his sack was just too damn hard to break through, so it took forever.

Long version: 
In the wee hours of the morning Wednesday August 22, I woke up to contractions. They felt like waves--like a wave of squeezing in my low-low abs. I sat through a few of them making sure they were really there and not just random cramping or baby movements. I looked at the clock: 1:27. I got up to use the bathroom, settled back in bed and tried to sleep. I would nearly fall asleep when another would start. They weren’t painful, but they were noticeable. A little after 2AM I started timing them. They stayed between 2-5 minutes apart. I timed for about an hour and then Sam woke up. I called our midwife at 3:20AM and she headed over. Sam filled up the birthing pool, and I started moving around trying to keep the contractions coming. When our midwife, Rebecca, arrived, she checked baby’s heart rate, my heart rate and blood pressure, etc. The contractions were still there, but not intensifying.

After a little while, Rebecca asked if I’d like my water broken. Yes--let’s speed this up and get the baby out before the children all wake up. She checked my cervix and dilation, but it wasn’t the right time. The cervix was still too thick, and it was turned up and back--not in baby-descending position. She gave me an herbal tincture of cotton root that supposedly helps soften the cervix. It causes some contractions, but not strong ones, and they will work alongside the contractions I was already having. She said within the half hour I should be feeling some.

She headed home to eat breakfast, etc., and said she’d be back by 7am. I got in the birth pool but kept falling asleep, so I headed to bed. I noticed the contractions pick up and stay more steady while lying down, which went against everything I’ve ever read (go on walks and move around to keep contractions steady...laying down can make them slow down). I dozed in and out of sleep. I heard Sam get the kids ready for school and take them. Rebecca came back and listened to heart beats. The baby’s head was definitely down and low--just waiting for the cervix to let him out. Sam drained the tub.

Rebecca packed up her stuff and headed home. I’d call her when things intensified. But they didn’t. I fell in and out of sleep, catching up some from what I missed all night. Then I’d try to eat (nothing sounded good), walk around, bounce on the birthing ball, do hip circles, sit in a squatting position, do pelvic tilt exercises. I noticed the contractions slow down when I moved around, but back in bed they were steady. I did have some blood spotting, so the cervix was thinning...just slowly. Rebecca called it “smoldering labor.”

After a slow, long day of expecting to have intense contractions at any moment, Rebecca came back to check on me around 3pm. Cervix had thinned, but still not ready for water to break. She gave me a different herbal tincture --cohosh-- and said once again it should pick up soon.

Winston came home from school and was devastated to see me walking around without a baby. He ran back outside and hollered at his friends who were on the sidewalk, “No baby yet! And she’s not even in the tub!” They all shouted out with audible, “No way! Are you serious! Arg!” I knew exactly how they felt.

Before dinner we called Sam’s mom to see if she could take the kids for the evening. Contractions had not picked up, but they didn’t stop. We weren’t sure when anything would happen and figured it’d be easiest to have them go now rather than arrange for it later. Sam and I were bored. I wasn’t in pain, but I was tired. I spent bouts of time moving around. I even pulled out the breast pump and used it for 30 minutes--something many swear by (even Rebecca was shocked that didn’t kick up the contractions). While watching a movie to pass some time I moved a lot and contractions stayed pretty consistently around 2 ½ minutes, but weren’t any longer than 30 seconds.

During this time there was also a great rain and thunderstorm. We hadn’t had rain in months! I hoped the pressure change was going to produce a baby and not a false labor.

Rebecca texted frequently for the status. She asked if my water was broken in other pregnancies and how long it took baby to be born after that. She came back around 8:45pm to see if the cervix was ready to let her break the water. And it was! It was in the right position and thinned, dilated to a 4. She struggled to break the water. She was able to grab one layer of the sack and break it and immediately felt baby’s head drop even lower. But the sack was tough and thick and it took more effort to grab and break it. She presumes the toughness of the water sack was the culprit of the long, smoldering labor all along.

Only a couple of contractions later I felt the contractions change. Longer? More intense? Both? I was content to lean over an exercise ball while staying close to my bathroom, but Sam and Rebecca encouraged me to get in the birth pool. I think I got in around 9:45PM. It felt so nice. I continued to breathe through contractions as I had been all day. A slow 4-count of breath in, and a matching count out. The break in between was nice and relaxing, especially in the pool. I tried not to watch the clock. I had been watching the clock all day and I didn’t want to be disappointed if this part of labor was slower than I hoped.

I breathed and relaxed and moved my body around in the tub. I noticed the contractions change from a rumbling in my low abdomen to a rush near my tailbone, surging into my low back, and wrapping around to the lower abs. The contractions started to take more from me. I had to force a more audible breath out. At some point I noticed the clock said 10:45PM.

Holding the handles while breathing through a contraction

When I started to feel the tightness in my tailbone, I would move my body so that I could hold on to the handles of the birth tub. I would also either plant my feet directly under me, my knees under me, or my feet would push against the opposite end of the tub. There was also a little seat in the tub that I could push my low back against to alleviate the growing intense pressure in my low back. Each of my labors have been intense in my low back. Sam has always been a huge help in applying counter pressure to my hips. Being able to push my feet/knees and pull on the handles really gave me a place to direct the energy surging through my lower body. Things had picked up and I knew the end was near.

During this pregnancy I thought a lot about my most recent delivery of Nico. It was so great, but the last 30 minutes were intense and looking back I wasn’t as mentally prepared for it as I thought I was or as I wanted to be. My first baby took me by surprise, of course, as there is much you don’t know until you experience it. My second, I felt more prepared and she came quickly. The third I thought I had down, and if you watch the video of the end, all seems well, but reflecting back on it I was a little nervous as I recalled the details of the pressure and intensity of the end. Yes, I had done it before, and also with that realization was the memory of the intensity. I hoped this time I would be able to utilize my breath more and create a more positive I-can-do-this attitude during this final transition and crowning. I knew it would hurt, I knew the pressure would be extremely uncomfortable, but I wanted to be able to focus on one contraction at a time with positivity.

During one of the first really intense contractions I noticed my exhales were no longer enough to work with. Rebecca also noticed and reminded me to make “mmmmmmm” sounds. She also placed a cool, wet towel on my shoulders, and poured warm water on my low back. I started to use the “mmmmm” sounds and quickly realized it was taking the place of using my lower abs and pelvic muscles to push. I didn’t need to push with my muscles--when I “mmmmm”-ed the body kind of took over and opened.

Soon my “mmmmm” turned into very primal groans and moans. I laughed a little in my mind, but with each one my body was able to push down and open. I could feel the baby making it’s final stretches. I told Sam and Rebecca the baby was coming. I stood up and squatted during a few contractions and when I felt him blasting near the last curve of the pelvis Rebecca told me he was almost there and to get back in the water (so he wouldn’t drop into the water from the air).

He's here! 

One contraction and moaning I felt him pass around that curve. The next I felt him push further away from it and thought he had crowned. I reached down and felt he wasn’t quite there, but I had opened and was ready for him. Next contraction his head came. I reached again thinking he was all out, but it was about half his head. Then came some slight burning and an urge to push. Next contraction I moaned his whole head out. I pushed against him slightly with my hand so I wouldn’t push him out and tear. He had lots of hair and I ran my fingers through it while I tried to hold him in as I waited for the next contraction (no easy task). It came, and he turned his shoulders slightly and flopped out. I reached into the water and picked him up. He cried a little until I snuggled him into my chest. It was 11:10PM, just under 2 ½ hours from when my water was broken.

He was out. I did it. I had focused on one contraction at a time. I was able to use that primal moaning to help me open up instead of having to force myself to push against all intuition that you shouldn’t push out a spiky-hard bowling ball. And I didn’t once say, “I can’t do this.” The handles on the tub combined with the moaning, the counter pressure on the hips, and the cold towel on my shoulders all gave some form of relief during those last few incredibly intense contractions. I was a sweaty, hot mess! I even begged Sam to turn the fan back on (he turned it off during my last few contractions so that the baby wouldn’t get cold once he was out).

Baby Flint soon started sucking and chewing on his fingers, so I nursed him. He latched on immediately! He was a pro! And he didn’t want to stop. The after-birth uterus cramping started immediately as he nursed (and yes, they get worse with each baby! Some of that cramping over the next few days was stronger than the contractions I had during labor!).

Thick thick water sack and placenta

We let the cord stop pulsing before Sam cut it. Sam held the baby while the placenta was delivered, and with that came the remains of the water sack. Rebecca was astounded at how thick it was. She showed me the details of it, and yes, it looked really thick. I wonder how long it would have taken to have that baby if we hadn’t broken the water?

After the placenta came, I got out of the tub and laid on the couch with a happy-to-nurse new little baby. He was wide-eyed and beautiful. I’m always amazed at how tiny a newborn is --yet at the same time, how in the world did that baby grow and come out of me!?

He weighed in at 7 lbs on the dot (my largest baby by 3 ounces), 20 inches long. All vitals were perfect. I also was doing great. Rebecca noticed 2 tiny paper-cut-like tears. My throat was a little sore from all that lovely primal growling I released, but otherwise I had the same feelings of relief, empowerment, and an adrenaline rush I had with my other babies. It felt so good to be done and to be holding my sweet little bundle.

As I reflect on this delivery, and my other deliveries, I’m amazed at the natural God-given abilities of our bodies. Not just the miracle of conception, but also in the details of labor and delivery. Some say birthing is like a marathon; I’ve heard others say pregnancy is the marathon and delivery is the finish line. Either way, I’ve never ran a marathon. But I do know that labor gets to a point of no return.

I remember kicking away and trying to flee from the feelings of needing to push during delivery of my first baby. I might have given up and stopped running if that were a marathon. But you can’t in labor. The body completely takes over, and in my four births I learned that you can either kick against it (it’ll happen anyway), or I can do my best to work with it. In a marathon I’ve heard the mind has to take over to push the body through. In my birthing experiences, I’ve had to let my mind release and let the body take over. I didn’t end up with a quiet, calm birth that I deep-down hoped for, meditated on, and read about, but I did conquer a slightly nervous spirit and I was able to provide a positive birthing atmosphere along side my helpers, Sam and Rebecca, for which I will always be grateful.



I just wish the labor hadn’t smoldered for so long...

And now we are a family of six!