Jubilee Hope’s Birth Story

The best place to start a birth story is at the beginning, I suppose.

I’ll even go back before the beginning to give some background to this special little life.

The Back Story

January 2020, I miscarried our fourth baby. It was a time of growth and learning…the Lord certainly used that incident to teach me so much. I still look back with thankfulness that I was brought through a dark time and could see the good in a tough situation. If you are interested, you can read that story here.

In May of 2020 I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive! But I started bleeding the very next day. Had I waited to take the test, I would never have known there was a life beginning to grow. But for some reason I was allowed to know, and even now I’m hesitant to call it another miscarriage; but if I believe that life begins at conception, which I do, I will just wait to find out if there is another child in heaven waiting for us one day.

Anyways, the next month I had another positive pregnancy test. You can imagine I was very nervous that this one too, would end in disappointment. But a few weeks passed, and everything was “sticking”, as I was thinking in my mind! Thank God. I was anxious and fearful pretty much constantly, though. I practiced confessing the fear and giving it to the Lord multiple times a day…sometimes multiple time an hour! One resource that really helped me was a book I had bought early on in this pregnancy called Expectant by Heather Cofer. The chapter on fear was such a great help!

Facing More Fears

Fast forward to our search for a midwife. I had delivered my last two boys at home with the same midwife, but she had decided to step away from practicing for a time, and I wanted to see what else was out there. So we interviewed with Paige, our new midwife.

At our first appointment, I was 12 weeks along. So far I had felt really good as far as nausea was concerned. I had minimal sickness with my boys, so I was expecting to not be too sick, but I still felt really good and in the back of my mind I was always nervous that not having strong pregnancy symptoms meant something was wrong.

We couldn’t find the heartbeat with the doppler at our appointment.

I had even kept up with early bloodwork…to make sure my levels were rising, which they were. But now with no heartbeat I was sure I was miscarrying again and I was distraught.

We went home, I was expecting to start bleeding…I calculated and calculated my bloodwork…I drove myself crazy trying to add up the numbers to make sense. To somehow have HOPE that this pregnancy was still okay.

I scheduled an ultrasound for a day later, and anxiously awaited my fate.

After two days I still hadn’t shown any signs of miscarrying so I was beginning to feel a little more hopeful.

Then at the ultrasound, there was a bouncing baby on the screen, with a strong heartbeat to match. We were definitely relieved and I was so thankful to be carrying a healthy baby.

Now I’ll speed up the story for you all!

We went ahead and also had an anatomy ultrasound at 20 weeks, where we decided to find out that we were having a GIRL!! I knew that it was a girl from the beginning…and my gut was actually right for once!

I had a girl’s name picked out from the very beginning. I was doing dishes listening to music, and this song was playing…I’m going to include the lyrics here if you care to read them:

Lyrics From Jubilee by Michael Card

The word provided for a time for the slaves to be set free
For the debts to all be cancelled so His chosen one could see
His deep desire was for forgiveness
He longed to see their liberty
And His yearning was embodied in the year of Jubilee

Jubilee, Jubilee
Jesus is that Jubilee
Debts forgiven, slaves set free
Jesus is our Jubilee
At the Lord’s appointed time His deep desire to give a man
The heart of all true jubilation and with joy we understand
In His voice we hear a trumpet sound that tells us we are free
He is the incarnation of the year of Jubilee

Jubilee, Jubilee
Jesus is that Jubilee
Debts forgiven, slaves set free
Jesus is our Jubilee

To be so completely guilty and given over to despair
To look into your Judge’s face and see a Savior there.

So…Jubilee was going to be her name. I felt delivered from fear and free because of all that the Lord had done for us. He had given us hope in a sweet little girl.

The remainder of my pregnancy was really unremarkable…thank goodness! I much prefer to have a boring pregnancy! I felt pretty good most days. Fatigue was real. But I actually managed it very well, looking back! My husband may say otherwise, but I feel like my capacity for handling the house and boys grew pretty significantly. Not because of my own strength, it was definitely from God!

Week 38 and 39 came and went. I had Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks. They grew increasingly more intense, but would fizzle out at night.

What I Did to Help with Labor

I was making red raspberry tea, brewed strong, by the quart every day! I was also eating 6 dates a day, because I heard that it may help when the cervix started dilating. I will pretty much try anything to help have a quick labor, because in the past, I wouldn’t exactly call my labors quick!

I was doing exercises, and stretches…walking, relaxing…everything I knew to do I was doing! I wanted this baby to come! I also went to the chiropractor once a week since about week 20. To ensure my body was aligned and adjusted to make way for baby. My back pain was very minimal, and I attribute that to the frequent adjustments! I started out the pregnancy with some neck tension and headaches, but after a few adjustments these went away too. I’m a huge fan of chiropractic care, can you tell?

First Time for Everything!

On my due date, March 27th, my water broke right before I was going to soak in the bathtub at 8:45 pm! I had never had my water break like this before. It usually breaks when I’m in active labor, or the midwife breaks it for me. So I really had no idea what to expect. I was having zero contractions. I called my midwife, and she said for me to go to sleep, and if nothing changes overnight, she would come see me in the morning.

Well, nothing happened overnight…except that I couldn’t sleep because I was both excited and scared! My main fear was that if contractions didn’t start that something would go wrong and I would have to go to the hospital.

Paige came over that morning around 9. I did a Miles Circuit early that morning, to make sure she was in a good position, which she was, and then just walked around trying my best to relax to bring on contractions.

I learned something about myself during this time of trying to relax. I could of chosen to listen to music while laying down drinking tea or something, ya know, traditionally relaxing…

But I found that the most relaxing thing I wanted to do at this time was do dishes slowly. Weird, I know! I usually put off the dreaded chore, but for some reason, it helped me clear my head and RELAX!

Even after a few hours of clearing my head, reading my Bible, praying, and readying my mind for labor…still no contractions.

So Paige did a stretch and sweep of the good ol’ membranes, and at this point I stretched to 3 cm.

Castor Oil Cocktail

She said if things didn’t pick up in three hours, to either do an enema or castor oil. I chose the castor oil! I had heard amazing, miraculous things…so I was ready to try it.

I mixed up about 3 oz with some banana, kefir, milk, and protein powder. I guzzled it down.

About 1 pm, the castor oil kicked in (if you know what I mean) and the contractions started!

The contractions were very manageable. I basically locked myself in my bedroom with some music and did my own thing. I rather liked being alone, as opposed to having a buddy in there with me. Now…this was when contractions were easier…I was definitely just in the first part of labor.

I had worship music playing…and during the worst peak of a contraction, I would breathe deeply and pray that I was making progress! It really was nice just being in my own head…not worrying about anyone watching me!

I was so glad to have some music in the background. I had never done this before, but thanks to the recommendation in Redeeming Childbirth, by Angie Tolpin, I was prepared to make this birth experience a more worship/prayerful time. It was pretty awesome to be in this state of mind.

My husband had our three boys outside pretty much the whole day. They rarely disturbed me. In fact, I think having my family there helped me. It was what I wanted, and although I had no clue what having three little boys around for childbirth would look like, we were playing it by ear and it ended up being incredible.

The Part Where I Was Going to Give Up

Labor went on for several hours, and there came a point to where the fun wore off and I was getting tired. Same old contractions…I knew that I hadn’t hit the toughest part yet.

My midwife came to check on me, and asked if I wanted to see how much progress I was making. I knew it wasn’t going to be as far as I wanted…and indeed…I was only 5 cm. My heart sank and I became super discouraged.

So I laid down on the bed and took a nap for about 15 minutes.

I woke up….and WHAM. Real big intense contraction. I think I got up to find food…or a drink…I don’t remember…all I remember is leaning up on my couch with Paige pushing my back during some intense contractions.

They had definitely picked up now! But since I was just at 5 cm…my thoughts were that I had 5 more loooong cm to go, and I didn’t know if I could handle this intensity for several more hours. I told everyone I don’t think I can go on much longer.

So I asked my husband to clean the bathtub for me, to maybe give me some relief in the water. I had the option for the birth pool, but decided against it.

He got the tub cleaned, and they filled it up for me. I had strong contractions on the long trip from my couch to the bathroom (it’s not that far) then after I used the bathroom, it was another contraction or two then I sat in the tub.

It made my legs feel amazing. But then I had back to back contractions that were so powerful.

I had never seen my uterus out in front of myself before…(I usually gave birth on hands and knees or squatting holding onto a bar) so when I saw my muscles rise straight up during the contraction, I was in awe. It was just that…powerful and nothing I was doing, that’s for sure. My body was doing this all by itself. And boy, did it know what to do.

After that powerful surge of my uterus…my baby’s head came out.

I mean, it came right out! I did not push! (Ever heard of the Fetal Ejection Reflex??)

So my midwife and husband lifted me out of the tub, then as I stepped over, the rest of her body started out!

She about dropped on the towels that were on the bathroom floor! But thankfully Paige was ready to catch her. I was in shock, because I didn’t even have to worry about pushing her out, she just CAME!

If you have given birth before, you will very well remember the feeling of complete relief and love as you hold your baby. If they could bottle that feeling up, it would be the most addicting substance in the world, right?

My mama walked in our house literally just as Jubilee was making her grand entrance. So my mama and my little boys had a very clean view of her birth!

Homebirth is a Blessing

You all, homebirth is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever experienced. I’m so blessed to have been able to do it three times. (My first was unmedicated hospital birth…do not recommend laying flat while in labor. ha. ha. Not natural.)

My midwife and husband helped me get up after her placenta was delivered, and we walked to my bed. It felt so amazing to lay there with my sweet little girl already nursing.

The midwife’s assistant took care of all the cleanup. We never had to worry about anything. All the towels, the pads, the junk…all gone. Another blessing of homebirth. They leave your home feeling so clean and cozy. They tuck you into bed with your baby and leave you feeling like a million bucks.

Jubilee Hope was 7 lb 10 oz, and 20 inches long. She was born at 7:10 pm on Palm Sunday. She is a special little girl.

As I’m writing her story, she is a week old! Although we celebrated Easter a little differently this year, I’m so grateful that she is here.

I’d love to hear if you have had an encouraging homebirth experience. I just love birth stories!

Additional Resources I Loved For Pregnancy and Birth

I love listening to and reading good stories. Along with the book recommendations in my story, I also loved listening to the following birth podcasts:

Happy Homebirth This podcast is amazing! Such great stories that stuck with me even while I was in labor.

Empowered Birth Podcast

Birth and Body Podcast by Bethany Stricker Midwifery- I found this based off a recommendation from an Instagram friend.

Nutrition and Exercise

As always, I am a huge fan and will once again sing the praises of Trim Healthy Mama. Basing my eating plans on the principles of THM…I gained a safe amount of weight, and feel good about the way my body and baby was nourished during this pregnancy!

Evidently I’m super loyal, because I have used the same workouts with all four of my pregnancies! Lindsay Brin’s fitness programs are awesome. I use them while I’m pregnant…and also when I’m not. Moms Into Fitness if the absolute best, in my opinion. I completed her 6 week pregnancy barre program at the end of my 2nd trimester and the beginning of the third, and felt amazing.

I used these supplements and tolerated them well:

I used three from MegaFoods: Prenatal Baby and Me 2, Blood Builder Mini, and Magnesium. I started using these probably the last part of second trimester through the remainder of pregnancy.

My first trimester through most of the second I used Best Nest Wellness Mama Bird prenatal vitamin and probiotic.

Red raspberry, alfalfa, and nettle tea. I bought bulk herbs for this. But you can easily find tea bags, too. I really started drinking my tea early on, although not everyday. I would make big half gallon batches starting around week 34 or 36, and guzzled a quart a day especially after week 36! I double strengthened to just plain red raspberry leaf the last two weeks. I sweetened with stevia and drank it iced. So refreshing and almost addicting! I bought the herbs from the local health food store, and also ordered through Mountain Rose Herbs.