Trusting and Confident: The Home Birth of Elias

There was a sense of nervousness mixed with butterflies throughout Tatiyanna’s pregnancy. As a first time mom  there were so many things to think about and sometimes she wasn’t sure if she was ready for motherhood. Tyler on the other hand remained steadfast and confident in becoming a father. They knew that together they’d be able to navigate whatever came their way.

Overall it was a smooth pregnancy, there were only a few challenges that came up, outside of Covid, the most noticeable being the distance between them. Tatiyanna was settling back into a rhythm at home in Racine while Tyler was working in Utah and waiting for his transfer back to home. The distance can add its challenges but with lots of communication and several visits back and forth they made it work until Tyler came home when Tatiyanna was 39 weeks.

Intuitively Tatiyanna felt a deep, steady trust in her body and was confident that birthing at home was the best option for her and her baby. She sought out a home birth midwife for prenatal care and to attend her birth, she started working with Sasha Bariffe of Prism Birth Services. Around 35 weeks Sasha mentioned that hiring a doula to assist with both birth and postpartum support could be beneficial. As she learned more about the role of a doula the more it seemed like a good idea, Tatiyanna met with several local doulas on a zoom meet up to see if she wanted to follow up with anybody. (hello! It’s a pandemic after all!) 

As we talked and got better acquainted, we found ourselves easily focusing on the emotions and doubt that can creep in during those last few weeks of pregnancy. There was some uneasiness knowing there could be a chance that Tatiyanna would go into labor before Tyler made it home. We talked through what that scenario could look like and shifted focus on doing some mindfulness techniques to help with staying grounded emotionally

Tyler made his journey home safe and sound, they got to reconnect and settle into life together for a full week before early labor signs started to appear. In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 13th Tatiyanna started to detect regular contractions, she was incredibly nauseous and had trouble keeping things down. Sasha came over to do some monitoring and checking in on both Tatiyana and her baby. 

Things looked promising but it was still early so Sasha suggested rest, nourishment, and hydration. Tatiyanna did her best to follow the advice of her midwife, she was even able to get some sleep as her contractions backed off and gave her some relief. As they picked up again Tatiyanna called her mom to come over, the three of them worked as a team through the afternoon. Things began to intensify even more as the evening set in, Sasha and the assisting midwife got their first and then I arrived. 

Tatiyanna had made incredible progress throughout the day, Tyler and her mom were the exact people she needed to support her until that point. Her mom was so proud to share all of the tricks she used to help Tatiyanna cope and Tyler never strayed too far from her side. It was very apparent that things were moving quickly and that she would be birthing their baby soon.

After moving into the bathroom and working through a few contractions, Tatiyanna wasn’t comfortable moving elsewhere. She listened to her body and composed herself while her baby worked down and out needing only a few intentional pushes. Elias was born at 8:23pm surrounded by love, in the comforts of home. Once settling back into their own bed Tatiyanna, Tyler, and Elias were able to soak in the moment quietly and privately while the rest of us put the house back together. 

The second hour after birth is when all of the fun baby measurements were taken and Tatiyanna had time to replenish her body with a meal and fluids. After care instructions were given and postpartum check-ins were scheduled. It was time to settle into bed for the night as a brand new family of three. 

Early postpartum came with a few bumps, learning to nurse and monitor intake always comes with a learning curve but overall it’s been an easy, seamless skill for both Tatiyanna and Elias. Tyler was able to take a few weeks off from work and did a phenomenal job supporting Tatiyanna as she physically recovered and learned her new role. There was some anxiety as Tatiyanna and Elias started venturing into the world for appointments on their own. She took comfort knowing how common that feeling is but also took note of local postpartum mental health resources in case things escalated. 

Tatiyanna and Tyler are both really happy with how their birth and postpartum experience has been so far. It’s been a lot smoother of a transition than they had anticipated but were glad they lined up various people to support them in case they need it from time to time.