After the nice bath I went out to the family room sat on the couch for a while and watched a little TV, not really concentrating on anything. I piddled around in the kitchen for a while and even called my very best friend at 2 in the morning (she’s a night owl), to apologize for a misunderstanding we had been dealing with for a while.

Funny, this pregnancy brought out a new spiritual side of me and I truly felt it was Christopher’s wish that all things be good for me when he arrived. About 3:30a.m. I could no longer handle hanging out by myself and decided to wake up Sean, who was blissfully sleeping and had no idea I had begun labor. I still didn’t believe I was in full labor. My contractions were inconsistent, some coming at 5 minutes apart some one on top of the other. Sean would even ask, “Are you sure your having another contraction?” “Yes, honey, I’m SURE!” I would say. I decided to get back in the bath and around 4:30 a.m. we called Michelle our wonderful midwife and told her what was going on. She recommended that I try to get more sleep mainly because the contractions were still irregular. So I drank some tea and went to lie in bed. I really couldn’t lay there very long and needed to walk. Plus, I didn’t want to wake up my older one, who still slept in our room.

We moved out to the family room. On my way there I had to stop and wait for a contraction, which also came with a strange pushing sensation and some bright red blood dropped to the floor. (I was only in a t-shirt) My water still hadn’t broke yet and the blood scared me. We called Michelle back at 5:30 and suggested she be on her way. She calmed me down that the blood was normal, informed Sean what to prepare and she proceeded on her way. I still had no idea how far I had progressed and was still prepared to go 48 hours if I had to.

My contractions were becoming stronger and stronger and poor Sean seemed to be running all over the house trying to make me tea, prepare the bed, settle Brian down, who had woken up during all this and be with me for each contraction. I sat on the edge of our L-shaped couch and continued to Labor. Completely focused and ready, I remember feeling more relaxed than the first time I gave birth and felt better prepared. Michelle and Nancee showed up about 6:20 a.m. She took one look at me and knew this baby was coming very soon. “If you want to move to the bedroom, now’s the time,” Michelle advised me. But I wasn’t going anywhere. Everything was so intense that I could not imagine going anywhere. Not that I had planned on giving birth on the couch in the family room but it was now the spot I loved.

Michelle noticed my bag of waters was still in place and expected it to burst at any second. The pushing sensations I had experienced earlier were stronger than ever. I never had to bear down or force a push. Every contraction was doing it for me. Michelle informed me that the head was on its way and the bag of waters was still intact. Meanwhile, poor Sean is trying to take care of Brian, who has now gone to the bathroom in his pants because he didn’t want to go into the bathroom alone. So, Sean is trying to clean him up, calm him down, and be with me all at the same time.

The head of the baby was now on its way out with the bag of waters intact. Michelle gently removed it and cleaned the baby. “One more push and you’ve got a baby!” she exclaimed. I still didn’t believe it was happening so fast. No, I’m ready to go 2 whole days, I thought to myself. But Christopher James Anthony O’Rourke was ready now, and out he came just like that. On the edge of the couch in the family room at 7:00 am in the morning on a beautiful misty October morning. Michelle laid him on my bear chest and he suckled in right away. It was amazing and awesome. Looking back I have to laugh, the whole time I was laboring on the couch, the TV was still on and it was playing Dr. Doolittle 2,with Eddie Murphy. So every time I looked up I was looking at that. Everything happened so fast it never occurred to me to put on music, change the channel, or turn it off. Luckily there was no sound, just a picture, but it always makes me laugh at the difference between what we expect and what we end up with. What I expected: flowers everywhere, softly lit candles and Enya playing gently in the background.

Either way it was spectacular, unique and so special. I labored for exactly 8 hours. What a difference and how wonderful it was. We didn’t even have time to enlist our family and friends we had previously set up for help. My mom was flying in that day and my girlfriend lived an hour away. So, in the end I secretly had exactly what I wanted, to give birth to my child in my own home with my husband, my son and my midwife by my side. It was truly a perfect birth for me and Christopher and Sean and Brian. It will always be a sweet and wonderful memory. Just thinking about it again makes me look even more forward to the next birth coming up in December. How honored I am to have Michelle present for this one too. Honored too, that we have the means and ability to plan such a wonderful birthing experience, in the privacy and relaxing environment of our own home. As we come upon Christopher’s 2nd birthday, it’s wonderful to relive his birth and see how he has changed over the last 24 months. He is easy, relaxed and truly the spiritual being I thought he would be. Welcome to this life Christopher. We are honored to be your mother and father and family.