Baby is born...at home

Oren Kai Purdy was born at home, in our laneway house on September 21^st at 5:09am. At 7lb 12ounces he was healthy, beautiful baby boy.

We had been considering a home birth for a while but didn't share our plans widely just in case Oren had other plans for his birth. There are a few reasons we wanted to have our little guy at home. First off, I didn't believe that I had a medical condition that needed treatment. I was just pregnant - a perfectly normal state of being that women all across the world experience. And because I wasn't sick nor did I fall into an 'at risk' category, it just felt strange to me to consider giving birth in a hospital

A second reason that swayed us towards a home birth was the comfort of being in our own space. I knew that labour was going to be intense and because our intention was to have a natural child birth free of interventions, comfort was going to be key. Being at home meant that we could create our own little sanctuary free of bright lights and full of good music. The fridge, bath and bed would all be nearby when we needed it, during and after birth.

If those weren't strong enough reasons to sway us, the professionalism and experience of our birth team was. Midwives are birthing specialists and have more experience delivering babies than most doctors. And our doula was an expert labour guide and pain management 'specialist'. 

Our birth story could not have unfolded more perfectly. Labour started at 10:30am on September 20^th. I baked cinnamon buns and made a loaf of olive bread in anticipation of the little munchkin. Brendon got the birthing room ready for the new arrival. We went for a walk in the evening and even managed to sneak in a movie before things really got started at 11pm. Nancy the doula arrived soon after the contractions became more intense and was a Godsend for both Brendon and myself. Our team of midwives (and one family doctor) joined soon afterwards and helped me over the next few hours. Oren was born on our bed. Brendon was given the incredible role of ‘baby catcher’ and 20minutes after birth added ‘cord cutter’ to his list of accomplishments. I came out of the experience in awe of my body's birthing ability and in love with my new family. 

Thank you for all the love and support you've shared with us over the past few weeks. Looking forward to sharing more stories or our growing family in our small home.

Passing time during early labour...

Being born...