Giving birth in a completely empty house
Of course, it wasn't intended, but in the end, I gave birth in an empty house!
Let me take you back to July 26, 2015. The day I was due with Lilly, but nothing happened. Jackie (our eldest daughter) was born at 40 weeks and 1 day, spontaneously, at home with a dream delivery, quick, intimate, and painless. But this time, everything was different, as we were in the middle of moving. We had planned that I would give birth in the old house and then quickly move to the new house. But Lilly had other ideas. It went to 40+1, 40+2, 40+3, 40+4, and 40+5. By then, I had been stripped twice, but even that didn't help. On that day, five days overdue, we had an appointment with the midwife. I remember it clearly, it was Friday, July 31, 2015, and by then our house was almost empty. There was no floor left and hardly any furniture. The midwife told me that I was probably 'holding it in' unconsciously because of the stress of moving. Once I moved, she would likely come quickly, so she advised me to just go ahead with the move.
It was in the middle of summer and I was retaining a lot of fluid. I was determined to give birth at home again, so it had to happen quickly. We decided to move the very next day, Saturday, August 1st. My in-laws live an hour and a half's drive away and were going to come over to sleep and help with the move. In our old house, there were only three beds left (our bed, Jackie's bed, and the guest bed in the attic), everything else was pretty much gone. We managed to rent a van for the move just in time, as it was already late Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, my in-laws were also on their way. My husband called his parents to joke that I was in labor and they could turn back. My father-in-law got the jitters from this and said, "I'll keep my bag packed, if it starts then I'll grab my bag and go right away."
No, first we had to move...
But then that night, it all started! And it all happened so fast, suddenly she was there. Around 4 AM I woke up with contractions and by 6 AM Lilly was already there. Just a quick moment at home (that's how it felt) to enjoy together, shower, change the bed, back to bed. There I was, Jackie and my in-laws slept through everything. THANKFULLY! And in the house, there was literally nothing left, only our beds. The emergency bag with the first clothes and items was even already at the new house. My husband asked if he should warn his parents, but since we knew it would happen quickly, we deliberately didn't do that. The delivery was done within two hours. Wow, ideal! We brought Jackie in and could enjoy a moment together, the four of us. Around 8:30 AM, my husband took Jackie upstairs to tell them that Jackie had seen her sister. My in-laws didn't believe it because the same joke had been made yesterday. But no, this time it was no joke! Well, then the day turned out very different than planned. A maternity nurse in a house where nothing was left, my in-laws who were supposed to help with the move (which they ended up doing all day), and me, who really shouldn't be thinking about moving but was in a house where nothing was left. The maternity nurse told me she couldn't do anything in terms of housekeeping (no, there was nothing left). She couldn't even mop the floor because it was already gone, so she asked if she could help with the move. Well, yes, please! We immediately made a plan for the next day, August 2nd. We were really going to move! First, the bed had to be moved, so I could continue 'nesting'. So off we went with a one-day-old baby in the car to the new house. They (my dear husband, in-laws, parents, and maternity nurse) all arranged that beautifully for me! Luckily, we were only moving a few streets away. Then my maternity period could really begin. Amidst the moving mess, that is! But everything turned out fine, although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
SHIRLEY
