My Second Born’s Birth Story

My son James is officially a year old now as of January 18, 2026, so I figured it was time to finally document his birth story here on my blog (a little more comprehensively than a few Instagram posts that I published last year).

When I got pregnant with our second child, I felt called to have a home birth, but never pursued it; I just settled back into what was comfortable and established care at the same hospital I had my daughter at. Throughout my prenatal care there, some things just didn’t sit right with me, but I brushed off my intuition, knowing that I was firmly set on my preferences for birth and wouldn’t let anyone push me into decisions I didn’t feel comfortable making. However, at my 38 week appointment, that all changed. It was my last appointment at that hospital birth center; I left in tears, I was angry, I felt betrayed and like my trust in them was broken. I needed a new plan. BUT I was 38w pregnant and didn’t think there was anything I could do to change the trajectory. I felt scared and hopeless that my options were limited, and I was fearful for the first time of how my birth would unfold in the hospital setting. I was told it was “too risky” to decline an IV and that I would “need” to get antibiotics in labor because I had tested GBS+ (yes, despite the probiotics, garlic, etc.) I could sense that I would be shuttled into hospital interventions that didn’t align with my preferences and wishes, and the last thing my husband and I wanted was to fight an uphill battle the whole time. I had worked too hard in my birth prep for everything to fall apart at that point.

Thanks to the encouragement from my good friend Paige, I reached out to a midwife (that I actually had reached out to when I was considering a homebirth nine months prior!) to see if she had any availability to take me on this late in pregnancy. And she did. So I prayed. I prayed for discernment in the decision and trust in my body to know what would be best and safest for me and our baby. God answered and I knew I wasn’t going back to the hospital birth center. This was His plan all along. That’s why He placed intuition on my heart to have a homebirth when I was considering it at the beginning of pregnancy; I just needed to trust Him.

After making the care plan switch and mentally preparing for a homebirth, I had days of prodromal labor leading up to my due date. That was mental gymnastics, for sure. I was stuck between the frustration of things not progressing and trusting that my body was just preparing. I went to the chiropractor and acupuncture twice the week of my due date and definitely felt like things were picking up. On Saturday the 18th, I did the Miles circuit while my in-laws took our daughter for a walk and then again during her nap. When she woke up from her nap at 2:45pm, my contractions were more intense and I texted my midwife to warn her it could either be the real thing or I was crying wolf again (prodromal labor gets in your head like that!) Once I stopped being able to talk to my daughter through my contractions, I timed a few and my midwife left immediately since they were 3-4 mins apart for 60-90 secs. Just like that, I jumped straight into active labor after 4 days of prodromal torture. These second babies…

At 3pm, I asked my husband to take our daughter and dog outside so I could get in a zone and focus on laboring by myself for a little while. To tune inwards and really focus on what I was feeling and what I needed to do. I grabbed my comb and scented scrunchie and folded myself over my yoga ball to breathe through each wave. Things got very intense very quickly and I needed my husband back with me for counter pressure (something I hated during my first labor but desperately needed this time). He came back inside to start packing a bag for our daughter to have a sleepover with his parents and he made me a protein hot chocolate to sip between contractions (winter baby things). He brought our daughter to me for a few hugs and I shed LOTS of tears. Nothing prepares you for the emotions of knowing your first baby is about to become the biggest, and will no longer be your only baby.

Once he got her and his parents out the door, we called my midwife at 4pm and I moved to the dilation station (toilet) to try to fully relax into the intensity that had skyrocketed. My comb wasn’t working anymore and I felt a little out of control because I had entered transition so quickly. Our midwife was about 15 minutes away at this point and I think we all came to the realization that she wasn’t going to make it before this baby did. I looked at my husband and felt all my love for him bubble to the surface knowing he was about to deliver our baby all by himself. He’s an absolute rockstar and I have no clue how I’d do anything without him. Our midwife suggested I get off the toilet and to our bed, so I took the 15 steps from the bathroom to our bed and laid on my side to try to slow things down and feel a little bit more in control.

That’s when my body fully took over and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I felt the baby descending and reached down to feel for the head. Instead, I felt the sack of waters bulging first (a very welcomed sensation knowing I could still be GBS+, since risk of infection is next to nothing if the water hasn’t broken) and then it broke with my next contraction and the head emerged, followed by baby’s right shoulder. No forceful pushing, just my body doing what God designed it to do. Then, maybe a minute later, I felt my uterus push the rest of the body out to land safely into my husband’s hands at 4:27pm. Again, no pushing, no excess strain on my pelvic floor, just fully surrendering to God’s perfect design. I’ve heard people talk about the fetal ejection reflex, but to get to experience it for myself was truly the coolest experience of my life. My husband then passed the baby up to me and told me it was a boy. I was SHOCKED because I really was convinced we were having another girl, but so grateful to be holding a healthy, screaming baby in my arms; and so relieved to be done with pregnancy! Surprise gender births will forever be my favorite thing; it’s such a special and surreal moment to learn about your baby’s gender when you’re holding them for the first time.

Our midwives busted in at 4:35pm and wasted no time attending to me and our son. About 10 mins after their arrival, my placenta was born. Not tugged on or encouraged like it was with my first born in the hospital setting, just slowly birthed by me through one final push indicating the end of the long journey of pregnancy. I had lots of preferences for this part of birth because I wanted it to go differently than the first time, and with this midwife and the tools she had in her toolbox, I knew it would. But because everything happened so naturally and everything was left alone/not intervened with, I had extremely minimal bleeding and needed no laceration repair. I didn’t have to fight against postpartum Pitocin, I didn’t have to endure awful Misoprostil shakes, and I didn’t have to be monitored every few minutes for side effects of drugs I didn’t need because my team trusted me and my body. What a beautiful gift these midwives were in the sacred space of my bedroom on that cold and rainy night. Such an answered prayer that I will never forget.

I couldn’t believe it. I had just given birth to our baby boy after the most intense ~90 minutes of my life in the comfort of my own home. I was curled up in my own bed eating my own food. My husband baked the loaf of sourdough I had prepped that morning and warmed my Restorative Roots rice pudding I had defrosted, all while my midwives seamlessly cleaned everything up and started a load of laundry. What a glorious feeling; there is nothing like being tucked into your own bed after giving birth. The midwives honored time for the golden hour while we all just bonded over what a whirlwind we just went through together, and then they finished up and left by 7:30pm after my husband cut the umbilical cord and weighed our little guy.

What a story we just wrote together…from a planned hospital birth 2 weeks prior, to an accidental freebirth… nothing like THAT to make you both fall in love with birth all over again. We couldn’t get over the fact that I felt SO good and how incredible it was to be in our own space. Homebirth warriors, I get it now…thank you to all my homebirth friends who provided tips, suggestions, encouragement, and prayers over those last two weeks. Your prayers were so deeply felt throughout this story and I’m eternally grateful for you.

To my friends and family that may have thought we were a little nuts, we might be! But I hope hearing about this experience has changed your mind about what birth can be. It’s not scary, it’s not a medical event, it’s not anything that needs to be messed with. It’s a primal instinct and a true miracle. I thank God for making me a woman and blessing me with the ability to experience such overwhelming joy in childbirth and motherhood. If you’re located in MA, CT, RI, or southern NH, reach out to Kim at Metrowest Midwifery if you want an incredible homebirth experience. If you want to be trusted, seen, and empowered in your birth, Kim is the ultimate gem of a midwife. We are so grateful God led us into her arms and that He blessed this birth so deeply.

Thank you for being so interested in my story and for coming along on this journey with me. I’m the most open book when it comes to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, so please never hesitate to ask me questions or chat about all the TMI things. We weren’t meant to become mamas alone, and I’m here for you :)