Born at Home: The Birth of Milo
When I first met with Kody and Matt back in November, we talked about what their hopes were for the birth of their baby. Kody shared with me that her late mom’s birthday was a few days after her estimated due date, on April 21st, and how special it would be if her baby could share a birthday with her mom.
When April arrived and Kody’s due date started to approach, she began experiencing prodromal labor. After 1-2 weeks of false labor, the official “Baby’s Coming!” call came… and it came just after 1:30 am, on April 21st!
I arrived around 3:00 am to such a peaceful environment: lights were dim… water boiling on the stove… music playing softly… and Kody and Matt were in the best spirits; just so ready to meet their baby.
As many of you know, third babies bring the wild card births! In these early morning hours, baby just wasn’t engaging like we were hoping, and things seemed to stall out some.
Around 7:30 am, the midwife and I agreed that it would be best to leave for a little while, to allow Kody and Matt to rest, and labor without added eyes and bodies in their space, to hopefully allow Kody’s body to fully relax and for things to become more consistent.
Kody was so determined. She went on a long walk and practiced parts of the miles circuit outside, and it was exactly what her body needed to move things along. By 12:00 pm, her contractions were getting strong and were coming every 2 - 3 minutes.
The surges were getting intense. Things seemed to be moving quickly at this point.
When Kody settled in the birth pool again, something incredibly special happened… a cardinal landed just outside of the windows where the birth pool was set up. It stayed near by for several minutes, and it kept turning its head towards the house, as if it was watching over the hard work that Kody was doing.
If a cardinal appears, an angel is near.
”Symbolic signs appear in many forms, but the red cardinal has long been embraced as the most notable spiritual messenger who has been sent by our loved ones in Heaven to watch over us. To this day, red cardinals are one of the most common spiritual signs that people receive from Heaven.”
Kody was transitioning, and made the decision to move to her room.
After trying several pushing positions, it was apparent that baby’s head was in a slightly wonky position and was having a hard time fully coming down. This is when Kody’s instincts really came into play, she continued to move her body until she found a position that would work for her, and with the help of Matt’s support, Milo was born.
Kody and Matt, welcomed Milo, on April 21st in the comfort of their home.
After the newborn exam, Kody and Matt settled in, and that’s when big sister and big brother returned home, ready to meet their new baby!!
