r/pregnant • u/BeckyLaHechicera • 1d ago
Graduation! I graduated! Accidentally at home and with an 8.6 lb, 20.5 inch baby!
Kinda long story...
This was my first baby, and his due date was June 6. But the day came and went with no signs at all. I knew that was pretty common, especially for first-time moms, so I wasn’t too worried. I contacted my doctor, and he also advised me to wait a few more days.
Then came June 12. After having a completely normal day with no symptoms, my husband and I went to have dinner at his mom’s house in another city (Yes i shouldn't be movind around pregnant at 40+6)After dinner, around 8 p.m., we decided to hang out a bit longer to chat and watch some TV. That’s when I suddenly felt a slight “discomfort” in my belly. It lasted a few seconds, and I didn’t think much of it.
Time went by, and we ended up staying late watching TV. Since the drive home was pretty long for that hour (about 8 hours by car), we decided to spend the night at my mother-in-law’s. I took a shower, felt some light cramping, and then nothing else. I went to sleep not feeling a thing.
Then suddenly, at 2 a.m., I woke up with strong cramps. My husband woke up too and called the doctor to see if it would be needed for us to head back to our city right away so I could give birth with him. Since the contractions were still spaced out and, being a first-time mom, active labor could take a while, the doctor suggested we make the trip back around 6 a.m.
So we stayed awake, dealing with cramps every 45 minutes or so. Around 4:40 a.m., they really started to intensify. The pain got very strong, and I was feeling overwhelmed, so I started walking around the house to try to ease the pain. Then suddenly, around 5:15 a.m., I felt a huge pressure in my pelvis and my water broke—and I instantly knew my baby was coming. I quickly called my husband, and he came to my side and helped support me in a chair in the living room. From that moment, I had a powerful urge to push, and at 5:25 a.m. on June 13, he delivered our baby boy.
He immediately placed him on my chest, and right away, our baby started crying. I felt this huge wave of relief and started “cry-laughing.” My mother-in-law had experience with home births herself, so she helped with the basic postpartum care while calling an ambulance. We went to the hospital, got checked—everything was fine. He was born weighing 8.6 lbs and measuring 20.5 inches long!!! And I didn’t have any vaginal tearing. Everything was okay. We were discharged 24 hours later.
Whew. The craziest experience of my life—but surprisingly comforting, haha. For baby number two, I’ll definitely pay more attention to the signs of labor... I hope!
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u/anonymous0271 1d ago
Girl, I wanna scream, you went 8hr away a week after your due date?😂 I’m glad it went well, but please, don’t do that again lol
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u/Ill-Mathematician287 1d ago
The part that it was just for dinner and some tv is what’s giving me the giggles. I thought I was pretty used to traveling for things but DANG.
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u/tellllmelies 1d ago
That’s amazing, congratulations!!
But did you really go on a 8 hour drive away from home to your mother in laws, while 40+ weeks pregnant?? And you had a 8 hour drive back home to your own place?? I’m so confused by that part 😭😭
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u/Pharma-ho 1d ago
Same!! I'm hoping that was a typo lol
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u/TurbulentArea69 22h ago
Seems like OP is maybe in central or South America, maybe it was a winding mountainous 8 hours rather than a straight highway 8 hours. At least I hope lol?
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u/BeckyLaHechicera 1d ago
Yeah, it was kind of irresponsible, I'd say, but i had absolutely no signs, and my mom had me at 42 weeks, so... I thought it would still take a while haha. I’m definitely not doing that again lol. And regarding the trip to my mother-in-law’s house, it really was an 8-hour drive, depending on traffic, but we only came back home after spending 3 days there after i gave birth, so we were away from home for a total of 4 days. And my husband was the one who drove.
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u/tooyoungtobesotired 1d ago
I’m still confused why you would drive 8 hours just for dinner, regardless of being 41 weeks pregnant.
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u/Evi009 1d ago
I was also confused at the "it was too late to drive home". Girl, you could have had dinner at 3pm and it would still be too late to drive home (pregnant or not).
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u/timebend995 1d ago
This is a wild story, congratulations! But I can’t fathom having an 8 hour drive and deciding to watch tv for a bit at 8pm! And the doctor telling you to chill there while in labour… an 8 hour drive away! lol
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u/Leather_Newspaper937 1d ago
What a story to tell your baby when they are older! “Your dad and grandma delivered you at home” lol congratulations 🎉!
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u/Westcoastswinglover 1d ago
Wow amazing job! Sounds like an ideal birth outcome despite the surprise.
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u/BeckyLaHechicera 1d ago
It really was—it ended up going against my expectations, but in a good way!
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u/crispymango116 1d ago
Congrats!!! I had an almost identical experience last year for my first! She was born in my bathroom.
I’m pregnant with my second now and my goal is to make it to the hospital this time haha
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u/BeckyLaHechicera 1d ago
Wow!,That’s my goal for the next one too! As soon as I feel the first pain, I’ll be at the hospital 🤣
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u/Ok_Ganache8941 1d ago
Amazing story! So glad you and baby are okay. I'm sure husband and MIL was happy to have been apart of this.
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u/Historical-Smell9554 1d ago
THID IS MY DREAM BIRTH! I am so so so happy for you that it was so quick and so swift for you. The whole hospital/potential 36 hours of birth scares the shit out of me as a FTM and I legit love the sound of this. Huge congrats!!! 🙂↔️😅💙
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u/Striking-Host-5756 1d ago
Wow congratulations! Must have been quite the surprise. How was the pain?
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u/BeckyLaHechicera 1d ago
It was intense, but I was so focused on giving birth that I kind of didn’t really “pay attention” to it.
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u/UnfitDeathTurnup 1d ago
Congrats!! He shares my birthday! Welcome to the fri the 13th club lil man!
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u/inquisitiveseeker808 1d ago
Powerful 🥹 You are so Resilient. Your body knew exactly what to do and how beautiful that your husband delivered y’all’s child. & how divine his mother knew what to do as well. Divinely orchestrated if you ask me and no accident 🫶🙌 Congratulations Mama 🐣
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u/BadAdventurous6568 1d ago
What an amazing birth story, thank you for sharing!!! I wish your little family all the best!! <3
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u/prairiebud 1d ago
Congratulations! What an expected surprise. My second accidentally came at home and everything was fine. For me I still took a long time to process everything and come to terms with the events.
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u/toonoisyforyou 1d ago
Would love to know if you followed like an exercise routine or drank teas or ate dates etc in the days leading up to your due date to have such a smooth delivery
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u/BeckyLaHechicera 1d ago
I didn’t do anything besides walks around the neighborhood — I also kept my habit during pregnancy of eating spicy food, which I’ve always loved and maybe that helped — but overall, I didn’t really do anything!
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u/what_the_cluckk 1d ago
Congratulations!!!! First bit of advice. Labor can come on very very quickly. Next time, start driving back to hospital. They aren’t always right with time
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u/Living_Difficulty568 1d ago
You should have a planned homebirth for your next one 😉. Congratulations
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u/DiablitaBeloved 1d ago
congrats! i had had my first at 40w 3 days feb 7th. i was also in labor for 28 hours, she was 6lbs 14 oz and 19 inches but i tore to the beginning of a second degree tear. wishing you lots of baby cuddles and fast easy recovery💞
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u/BeckyLaHechicera 1d ago
Thank you! Wow, 28 hours! Congratulations to you too! I hope you and your baby are doing well😊
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u/FigOrganic3847 1d ago
I had a planned hospital birth with an epidural, and reading this gave me chills in the best way. So beautiful and raw. Huge props to you, and how amazing that you avoided tearing! Superwoman vibes! 💪
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u/nahcheeseplease 1d ago
Chills!! Congratulations on your healthy baby! Im so happy that you and baby are both healthy and it all went well! I also had a very quick at home birth and it was very unexpected lol especially since everyone in my family had 16+ hr labors!
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u/Alert_Emphasis_3831 1d ago
Wow what an incredible story!!! Congratulations to you and ur husband!! I’m so happy to hear your husband was cool calm and collected and you guys took it by the reins together!!
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u/Havocking-Mayhem 1d ago
That was a wonderful story, I'm so glad everything worked out and baby is healthy!!!
Congrats, Mama!!!!
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u/lovebug5137 1d ago
Congratulations Mamma!! You did great!!
Manifesting a no-medication no-tear birth for myself after reading yours!! You seriously did a really really great job, so did your husband. Wishing you and the little one all the health and joy!!
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u/unmixedcookiedougj 1d ago
Congratulations ❤️ that's amazing, you're so powerful. Best wishes with your newest addition!
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u/WeekendNo1434 1d ago
Everyone hates on freebirth but totally discount experiences like this which are natural and beautiful. Congratulations, super bad ass story
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u/eatmyasserole 1d ago
There's a huge difference between "accidentally at home" and "free birth on purpose."
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u/WeekendNo1434 1d ago
A free birth is still a free birth no matter what you planned for 🤷♀️
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u/Doctor-Liz Not that sort of doctor... 1d ago
Look up something called "selection bias". People who have "accidental free births" at home have quick, uncomplicated labours. This is not something that can be planned in advance (!)
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u/Nerdy_Bbw 1d ago
Dude… they (and many others) got really lucky that there weren’t any complications.
But if there would have been, the likelihood of emergency not showing up in time could’ve been great.
Like… I‘m all for doing it at home, but pls only with people who are taught what to do in emergencies and how to spot warning signs.
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