"I remember counting the contractions with my app and following how my partner was doing. Secretly I sent a message to the midwife to let her know that my partner was uncomfortable but I think the contractions were still not closer than 5mins apart. The midwife came to our house and was about to leave but then told me that she would stay, as my partner was advancing in the delivery. This is when it hit me that, when that person leaves the house, we would be three to stay, I would be a father and everything would change after that.
I had my anxieties about being a father and doing a homebirth, and my role during the delivery. In the end my part was to be there, to support my partner mentally and physically. The delivery finally took much longer than anticipated, we were going all evening and over the night. The support was much needed... Even though for me it sometimes felt like I wasn't helping at all. My partner didn't want any massage, no snacks, no water, she just felt uncomfortable. All I could do was to try to let her relax in other ways. Over the night she was anxious that the neighbors might hear the noise, so I made louder noises to hide it! We were howling like wolves.
The end was time for the physical support. The best position to deliver was the standing squat, so I held my partner from under her arms so she could push and lean all her weight on me. It was intense. Taking a shower after all this, my legs were shaking. Then I looked at my partner with our newborn baby, looking all fresh and happy. How did she do that?! All my respect to this woman, to all women."