For some reason, when people hear about the events surrounding my daughter’s birth, they think it’s so amazing. If you ask me, I’d say it couldn’t have gone any better according to plan.

You see, we had planned one last little vacation a week & a half before my due date. There were quite a few circumstances involved with this road trip and I kept thinking “we’ll be ok, we’ll be ok.” All my other babies had been overdue, so I expected this one to be as well. However, I had a sneaking suspicion that the road trip might end in a baby being born (you know, that old wive’s tale of the car vibration putting women into labor) so I packed up my birth supplies and newborn car seat right along with all our other vacation gear. Throughout the planning and the packing and the traveling, I thought “if this baby has to be born on this trip, just please let it be born on Tuesday right when we get home!” (I guess that’s not really “on the trip”, but you know what I mean!) The weekend came and went. We enjoyed nice weather, beautiful scenery, and good times with family. I even got some maternity portraits done.

Tuesday morning as we packed up and prepared to leave I was having a few contractions. I didn’t think too much of it, because I had actually been having a lot of contractions (Braxton-Hicks? I don’t really know) and lots of movements in the last month or two of my pregnancy (a lot of things have been more noticeable with this pregnancy than with previous ones). As we got into the car and departed, I knew this could be a looooong car ride home or I could end up having a baby on the side of the road in the heat of the summer. And so…. I slept. It felt like I slept a long time, but when I’d look at the clock I would realize only a few minutes had passed and I was having another contraction, and we were still 250 miles away from home. 🙁

I knew if I stressed about it, the labor would worsen. I knew if I timed and counted my contractions, they would come on stronger and more frequently. I knew I had to be in mind-over-matter mode, or I’d end up with a baby on the side of the road. And that really didn’t sound very pleasant to me. So I slept some more, I relaxed, I breathed. I didn’t say “Hey I’m in labor” to my family because I didn’t want them to stress either. My husband caught on when he realized I wasn’t acting “normal” and “sitting funny”. Yeah, just plain sitting wasn’t very comfortable, so I knealed on my seat.

Aa we approached each town, my husband would ask “Do we need to stop?” “No, we can make it to the next town” would be my reply. Near the end of the trip, a certain 30 mile stretch of road that normally seems sooooo long, it just flew by. I was quite relieved when I saw that we were dropping into the Las Vegas valley. I had sent my midwife and my photographer a “warning” text message an hour & half prior, and was now calling them to say “Meet me at my house in half an hour!!”

Twenty minutes away from home, I look at my husband and I say “You might want to step on it!” He answers, “I’m going as fast as I can!” (we were climbing a hill) At this point, my oldest heard us say “contractions” and he says “Mom, are you having contractions??” I answer “Yes, the baby is going to be born today” Simultaneously, all three kids in the back seat cheer and clap their hands – too cute!

We arrive home. My mom is there to help with the kids. The photographer is there. The midwife is not. It’s nearly 5:00pm and she’s stuck in rush hour traffic! My husband gets the birth supplies out, while I go to the bathroom (I had been holding it for quite some time). My water breaks in the bathroom. 2 1/2 pushes later, our baby is born. It was fabulously fast. For having basically ignored my labor for most of five hours, she really just came on her own a mere ten minutes after we got home. And I had to double-check to see if she was a girl! (we are always surprised with our babies).

So if you ask me, she came right on schedule and not a moment too soon!

My husband prepping for the birth and developing his midwifery skills. He is on the phone with our midwife.
These next two pictures were taken a little over a minute apart.

Getting her cleaned up.
I love giving birth in the comfort of my own home!

Check out the excitement on her face at the sight of her new baby sister!

Big brother cut the cord. We offered to let him cut it with his little brother, but at age four, he was a little weirded out by it. Now he’s ok with it, I suppose.

My beautiful daughters.

She’s my smallest baby yet!

Welcome to the world, Baby Sister!

Many thanks to Brooke who captured these special images and to Margie who provides us with such fabulous maternity care and the opportunity to birth at home.