Wife was having light contractions for an hour. (7am)

Woke me up. (8am)

Made waffles for our two kids 6&8 (9am)

Called midwives about timing of contractions (9:30am)

Wife took a shower while I stayed nearby (10am)

Contractions jumped from 7 minutes apart to 30 seconds apart (10:15)

Called midwife’s back after her water broke standing next to me and as she was crowning (10:20)

Delivered my daughter (10:30)

Midwife’s got here and we cut the cord (10:40)

You can do all the planning you want. The only way to be prepared is knowledge. The more videos you watch, and classes you attend and births you see, the more comfortable you will be. I knew the midwives weren’t going to make it and I never felt more prepared for anything in my life. Can’t even describe how proud I felt in that moment with my wife.

3rd homebirth.

Good luck in your preparation and I hope you have an amazing experience.

With my first home birth I switched care from an OB at around 20 weeks so my options were limited on midwives with availability. I ended up loving the midwives I chose, it was a group of 3, and some of my SILs had also used them. They do use students which I personally don’t love. But I had an amazing experience overall. They have since added another midwife to their group whom I have not met. They always respected my choices. I think our worldviews differ a bit, but it never got in the way of my care! One of their offices is in my neighborhood and the other is about 35 minutes away.

This time, I have an opportunity to work with a solo midwife who is very highly praised in the community. I originally wanted to use her for my first home birth, but she was booked up. I met with her yesterday and ended up loving her. She’s older, wiser, is about 40 minutes away, but said she might be able to do some home visits. I don’t loveeee (but also don’t really know) the midwife she uses as an assistant. I don’t know how coddly she’d be with emotions or if she uses tinctures and things. But she brought such a warm friendly vibe and I feel sort of a pull towards her.

I’m having such a hard time making a decision. I don’t want to hurt feelings, burn bridges, lose relationships, or make the wrong decision.