When Annalee Hunter went to bed at around 7:30 p.m. on the night of Jan. 5she had no idea that when she woke up in the morning she’d be able tohave breakfast and meet her new sister Kinslee.
Kinslee Maya wasborn just a few hours later at 10:13 p.m. to Jaimie and Nick Hunter in their Irondale home making her the first Haliburton County residentborn at home in 2020 in the care of the Midwifery Services ofHaliburton-Bancroft.

“In the morning it was really nice because myhusband got her up and got her breakfast and when I was ready I saidwhy don’t you guys come up and he brought her up and we told her ‘Your new sister was born last night’” said Jaimie. “So she got to meet hersister right first thing in the morning. It was pretty special.”

Jaimie had been excited for the morning introduction and for the chance to be comfortable at home. Although the local midwives offer support forhospital births including c-sections or home births this time Jaimieand Nick opted for a home birth after Annalee’s hospital birth about 19months ago was more exciting than planned.
“I think it was the drivethere with Annalee was … not the nicest” said Jaimie hesitantly and then laughing: “Um our car actually broke down on the way to thehospital. So that was very stressful.”
While on the way toPeterborough Regional Health Centre where Annalee was born theirmidwife Annalee Winter who little Annalee is named for turned back topick them up when it was determined an ambulance would take longer.
“…it being my first baby I didn’t really know. I just had all of thesethoughts of oh my goodness I’m going to have her on the side of theroad” said Jaimie. “We were just an emotional wreck but Annalee [themidwife] she has this little tiny car and we loaded everything we could in her car and she got us there and she delivered Annalee andeverything worked out wonderful. And I mean she has a beautiful nameso it all worked out.”

The experience is one that Jaimie and Nick won’t soon forget.
“I found it prolonged the whole experience whereas if I had stayed homethings would have transitioned smoother and quicker” said Jaimie. “With this one I kind of thought back and envisioned if we had of hadAnnalee here how it would be different so we wanted to do it thistime. And I mean the weather we didn’t want to worry about the driving conditions and whatnot. Just the trust I had in the midwives was veryvery reassuring.”
Jaimie had also heard positive stories from friends who had chosen homebirths and Nick was supportive of the choice.

The midwives gave Jaimie what she said was a “pretty simple checklist ofnot a lot of things” that needed to be prepared for Kinslee’s arrivallike receiving blankets. They also provided a birthing tub should Jaimie want it during her labour.
“We didn’t end up using it but it was a lovely option to know that I had it” she said.
“With Kinslee she did come quick” said Jaimie of a faster second birth.“The midwives got here around 9:20 p.m. maybe and she was born at 10:13. I knew I wanted to labour at home just on my own keeping in control I knew they were just a call away. [The midwife] was here in 20 minutes.Everything went perfect.”

The homebirth experience is one that Jaimie and Nick are grateful to have experienced.
“It was so lovely ” said Jaimie. “We had her and they check her vitalsevery little bit. I think they stuck around a couple of hours but whenthey were done they tucked us into bed and it was magical to be at homewith our new baby. I had had a shower so my husband was doing skin onskin with Kinslee. When I got out I got into bed they packed up theirbig huge backpack and put a blanket on us and we said our goodbyes. Itwas really like a dream almost to be honest.”

Kinslee’s due date was Jan. 4 and leading up to that day Jaimie said “every day was likeis she coming today? Is she coming today?” Learning that Kinslee is thefirst baby to be born at home in Haliburton County this year is “veryspecial” said Jaimie.
“I just can’t recommend the midwives enough I’m so appreciative of everything they do” she said. “I think veryhighly of them all. We knew right from the start we wanted to have ahome birth with this one. It all went just as planned and she’s herenow.”
Kinslee is also welcomed by grandparents Kelly Morris of Minden and Jeff and Nanci Hunter of Gooderham.

Seth Koster of Bancroft was the first baby born under the Midwifery Services of Haliburton-Bancroft care this year on Jan. 3 at PRHC while LennonSkelding of Eagle Lake is the midwives’ first baby from HaliburtonCounty born this year at PRHC in the afternoon of Jan. 5. Last year the Midwifery Services of Haliburton-Bancroft supported 106 babies – 48boys and 58 girls. Seventy-two of those babies were born at hospitalwhile 34 were born out of hospital. The midwives are currently bookingclients up to and including September 2020.