Red Stick Mom

In my early teens, I learned about natural childbirth from a close family friend who had a homebirth. I thought her story was awesome. She was actually the one who allowed me to witness my first vaginal birth, unmedicated at the hospital. Even at the ripe age of 16, I thought that this is how I was going to birth my babies. Fast forward to 23, and I get pregnant while living in Japan. I was uber excited and spent all my free time at work (where I was paid to sit in the teacher’s lounge and look American and pretty) browsing Japanese birth centers, waterbirths, and midwives. I found one that looked pretty and we went to our first...

I never thought a home birth would be for me. Only crazy people did that, right? Then my best friend had a home birth. Soon after, I joined a natural birth community in Louisiana when I was pregnant with my first daughter and it opened my eyes a bit more. But, it still seemed too “fringe” for me. One unnecessary cesarean and a hospital VBAC later, I began planning a homebirth during my third pregnancy. Initially, my husband Taylor was nervous about the idea, understandably so. Midway through the pregnancy, something clicked for him. After a visit with our midwife he said, “It just makes sense. Why wouldn’t we have a homebirth with Sherri? She has so much experience.” He...

It all started with a heartbeat. That strong, simple, yet deafening sound that you hear the day you nervously walk into the ultrasound room hoping for the first glimpse at your new life. Sometimes the heartbeat doesn’t last. They flutter for a while and then slowly and unfairly fade, and those precious, limited moments are held close to the mother’s own broken heart. Other times, they grow stronger and faster and bloom into little miracles. And by God’s grace, her heartbeat was strong, and we saw Audrey Faye Roussell for the first time in grainy Technicolor on a cold January day. Nine long months later, I sat in that same ultrasound room, having just seen our nearly eight pound baby and...

December 22nd was a chilly, downright cold Sunday that started the same as any other. Except I was 41 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Tim and I were going for a walk, and on our way back I kept feeling weird pressure. Tim suggested I call my doula Carolynne to let her know. She suggested that I take it easy so we had a movie Sunday.  Around 4 pm, I heard a strange popping noise, and it felt as if the baby had passed gas inside me. I can’t explain it any better. I mentioned it to Tim and then had the urge to pee like I had so many times during pregnancy. But, this was different. When I...

As I approached my due date, it still felt surreal that I was even pregnant.  Little did I know that the morning of my due date, April 28, was when we would finally get to meet our Judah. My water broke around 6:45 am—I heard a quick grumbling in what I thought was my stomach, only to quickly realize my water had broken.  All I had to say was, "Ummm...Joel..." and he was there in an instant.  As he packed our toiletries, I called the hospital and let them know I was on my way. It felt like an eternity until we got to the exit for the hospital. The ride was a mix of excitement and anticipation.  In fact, Joel...