This past Saturday was my birthday and I received the most amazing birthday present ever. The birth our little baby girl, Ember. After 40 weeks and 6 days, she finally made her arrival into this world. And on top of it all, I got the home waterbirth I wanted so badly. It couldn’t have gone any better. Here is her birth story.
Around 3 a.m. I woke up and thought I felt some very light contractions. I had been having non-stop Braxton Hicks contractions all week with a few stronger contractions mixed in. I lay in bed for a little while and realized they were coming with some regularity and of course I got excited and couldn’t sleep. So I got up and cleaned the kitchen and ate some food. I was a bit disappointed because the contractions seemed to almost go away when I was moving around. I assumed they were just more practice contractions and went back to bed around 4:30.
At 6:00 I woke up again, only this time the contractions were a bit stronger. When I got up, they didn’t seem to go away. Yay! This is when I started really getting excited that something might be happening. I started timing them on ContractionMaster.com , such a great site if you are in labor by the way, and they were coming about 2.5- 3 minutes apart and were lasting about 30 seconds. I finished cleaning in the rest of the house since I wanted to keep myself busy and really wanted the house cleaned if this was the big day. Having a clean, organized house makes me feel better and since we were planning for a homebirth I wanted the house to look decent at least. Silly maybe I know, but it’s the truth.
By about 7:30 or so Bruce and Kage woke up. I shared with Bruce that I might be going into labor, but I don’t think he really believed it either. We decided that he would still go into work that day since he had a few patients to see, but that he would take Kage with him. Once they were up, Bruce took Kage out and bought some breakfast. They came home and ate while I started prepping for the birth. I first called my mom and let her know to be on standby since she would be watching Kage for us during the birth. I then called my midwife, Peggy, to let her know my status so she could be on standy as well. I told her I would call back in a few hours and let her know how I was progressing.
Next, I took out the labourade I had made and frozen earlier that week and I put together a bag of clothes and diapers for Kage. We got Kage dressed to go and then Bruce helped me get the bed made up with the old sheets and waterproof mattress pads. While we were making the bed my brother called to wish me a happy birthday and I managed to say hi between contractions. The contractions were feeling a little more intense and I wasn’t really wanting to talk through them any more but instead felt the need to stop and focus a bit. It was close to 10:00 a.m. now and Bruce left with Kage to go to his office. He promised to be home in two hours in less I needed him sooner. His office is nearby, so I wasn’t concerned that he would be too far away if I needed him quickly.
I wanted to capture a last pregnancy photo like I had done while I was in labor with Kage, so I got the camera and managed to take a few photos in between contractions.

Here is the photo I took while I was in labor with Kage to compare.

I kept timing my contractions and they seemed to be holding steady. I walked around the house some and sat on my birthing ball for a while. A few minutes after 10:00, my mom got to my house and kept me company. I called my midwife again at 10:30. I told her the contractions were coming a little closer together and were more intense now and that I would like them (her and her assistants) to come on over. She said they would be at our house by 12:00. I didn’t know until after Ember was born that they were actually finishing up at another birth.Talk about great timing.
My midwife reminded me to try to rest a bit if I could to save my energy for the birth and also to eat something. I managed to eat a few bites of granola cereal and a small bit of cheese, but that was all I could handle. I wasn’t really even hungry now. I did lay down for a bit, but my contractions seemed to slow down. I was really scared that they might slow down too much since my contractions had slowed and eventually stopped with Kage. So I got back up and kept moving around. By 12:00 I decided to lay back down because I was getting tired and worried that I would be in for a long labor. It wasn’t much after that, that one of the midwife apprentices, Kim, showed up. I was glad to see her because the contractions were really getting strong now and I was beginning to use all of my energy during contractions to stay focused and relaxed. During my contractions I repeated “open” in my head over and over and tried visualizing my cervix opening up. Kim checked my blood pressure and monitored Ember’s heart beat and said everything looked great.
Things started happening quickly at this point. A few minutes later Bruce arrived home with Kage, who had fallen asleep in the car. He put Kage down in his room for a nap and we decided to let him sleep and then have him go with my mom when he woke up. I am still surprised he managed to sleep through all the noise I was making. Peggy arrived by 12:30 and she checked me to see how far along I was. I was disappointed when she said I was only 5 cm dilated. I stopped dilating at 8 cm with Kage and just wanted to get past that point this time. His birth was never too far out of my mind while I was in labor. Peggy assured me that getting this far was the hardest part. It turned out she was right!
She thought it would be best to wait a bit longer before getting in the birthing pool and both Bruce and I agreed. With Kage’s labor, my contraction had slowed down when I got into the pool. I wanted to make sure I was close to giving birth before I got in.
Bruce was a great birth coach. He kept me thinking positive and had me pacing through the house to help keep the labor progressing. Keep moving he said. So I did. At 1:00 I felt really nauseous after one of my contractions and threw up. It might sound odd, but I was really encouraged by this since it was a sign that we might be getting close! I think it was at this point Kage woke up and left with my mom.
I went back to the bedroom to rest again. At 1:30, Kim said I could get in the pool if I wanted. What wonderful news. I was very ready to get in. I got in the pool and wow did it feel great. The contractions were still very strong, but it did help take the edge off. I quickly found a comfortable position and stayed that way for about 15 minutes until they suggested I try a new position. It hurt more after I moved, but I realized my legs had been falling asleep the other way so it was good that I moved.
The contractions were getting to be overwhelming now and my low back was hurting too. It was 2:00. I think this is when the second assistant, Desiree, arrived. Bruce got into the pool with me. I won’t lie, it was in a lot of freaking pain at this point. This was the transition period which is by far the worst pain of all. I kept reminding myself of what my Bradley Method teacher had said, “once you think you can’t make it any longer, you are almost there.” I sure hoped I was close to having her because I started thinking I was out of my mind for wanting to have this baby without drugs. I swore to myself I was never having any more kids or if I did we were going to the hospital to get drugs! After she was born of course, all those thoughts were far from my mind and I was so glad I had her at home. The pain really is fleeting and as I hold her now I can hardly remember it.
It was hard to stay calm through the contractions and my midwives asked if I was feeling any urges to push. In a few minutes, I was. After about 15 minutes of pushing, I could reach down and feel Ember’s head starting to crown. What an amazing moment that was. And so encouraging. She was almost here! I another contraction or two and her head was out. Sweet relief. That ring of fire I had learned about – I was glad that part was over with because that was something out of this world and not really in a good way. Pushing the rest of her out was quick and easy. At 2:22, after only 22 minutes of 2nd stage labor, she was here! This is when I finally opened my eyes. I think they were shut nearly the entire time I was in the pool. I saw her come out into this world and with the help of my midwives, I pulled her out of the water.
In my excitement, I must have pulled her up too quickly or too high, because the umbilical cord broke. My midwives were calm, but quickly pulled us both out of the water to get the umbilical cord clamped. It was a bit of excitement for a moment, but they handled it perfectly. I heard Ember making some noise and Peggy assured me she was fine. We then moved back to our bedroom so I could nurse her and birth the placenta. Ember was born ready to nurse because as Bruce carried her down the hall to our room she was searching for a boob to latch on to! I have really been blessed to have no problems with either Kage or Ember nursing. From the moment Kage was born he was the same way.

From this point on we just relaxed in bed while my midwives packed up their things and helped clean up from the birth. After we had a chance to nurse and bond for a while, they took her measurements and weighed her. I couldn’t believe she weighed 9 lbs 2 oz. I certainly wasn’t expecting her to weigh more than Kage who was 9lb even at birth. Her length was 20.5 inches. She has the longest toes and big feet just like me and all my sisters and nieces. I guess that family trait is dominant. She looks less Korean than Kage did when he was born and her skin looks like it might be lighter like mine. I guess we will see as she grows.
Here she is just a few hours after her birth.

She was very alert and stayed up into the early hours of the morning nursing. It truly was an amazing experience and I am so thankful that I was able to have her at home. Like I said, the pain was intense, but fleeting. Being able to labor in the comfort of my own home, with only my midwives and husband present was really sacred. It was such an enormous difference from all the lights, strangers, noise, commotion and chaos that I experienced in the hospital with Kage. I do hope we have more children at some point and if we do they will be born at home. I want to thank my midwife, Peggy, and her midwife apprentices, Desiree and Kim, for doing what they do and doing it so well. You all are a blessing to women!
Ember Sun Short – one day old, wearing her Born At Home shirt.


And more squishy baby goodness from today, day four.


