At 3am I woke up to a strange feeling in my abdomen. I laid there and thought it might have been a
contraction. I got up and went to the
bathroom. Nothing new. Went back to bed. I would have a contraction again. Not to intense, but more than the light ones
I had been having here and there for weeks.
I tried to time them. Some were
ten minutes apart, some three. Some
weak, some stronger. I stayed in bed for
an hour trying to sleep, watching the clock and hoping this was it. I was thinking that if this was labor, then
why are the contractions so inconsistent.
I wondered if she was in a good position. But the contractions were low in front where
they should be, so I didn't do anything about it. At 4 am I decided to get up and move around a
bit. If this was labor, I would rather
get it going before the kids were all up, but at the same time I wanted to let
my birth team sleep as long as possible.
At 4:30 I woke Brian up. The
contractions were steadily coming and getting harder. He called the Midwife and Doula. They were on their way.
I had planned on a water birth and really hoped to catch my
baby this time. I had fears that I would
be alone. I had fears that she would be
in a difficult position. I had filled my
bathroom wall with positive affirmations and words of encouragement from
friends. In the time leading up to the
birth I read these things often. The
positive affirmations helped me a TON!!
As I was standing in the bathroom and when I would have a
contraction, Brian would rub my lower back and hips as I leaned on the counter. That felt good and I wondered how he knew to
do that. Usually I would want my hips
squeezed, but that didn't feel right this time and I never had to tell
him. He was filling the tub and getting
it ready. I would rotate between leaning
on the counter and sitting on the toilet.
At one point as I leaned against the counter I felt her come down quite
a bit. I told Brian she is coming
soon. I told him she is moving
down. He called Chris and told her I was
going to have the baby soon. She said
she was 2 minutes away.
I climbed in the tub and it seemed like no time at all she
told me to reach down and feel my baby.
I remember thinking it was too early for her to be there. But I felt her crowning. I felt her head emerge. I kept my fingers on her and felt as her
shoulders slowly came out and then her body. I do not know if my eyes were open
or closed because everything I "saw" at this time was through my
hands. It is hard to describe how this
felt. It was amazing to feel her body
emerge from me. I reached down with my
other arm and lifted her up out of the water.
I had done it! We had done
it! It was over. I had never felt so aware during any of my
births. It was an amazing feeling and I
was so happy to see her and know the journey of this pregnancy was over. She was here and now we would begin our new
journey together. The fears I had could finally be put behind me. I loved seeing her stretch her legs and arms
out. The cord quit pulsating rather quickly and the
placenta was delivered. We kept the cord
attached as the placenta sat in a bowl.
 |
| I just caught my baby! Born at 5:05am |
After I got out of the water and into bed we got Aubryn to come in and
cut the cord. It was more difficult than
I think she thought it would be. She was
proud of herself and has enjoyed telling people her big role in the birth. She also was taught all about the placenta by
Chris. Aubryn loves to hold the baby and would do it all day
if I let her. She has been so good with
her.
This was an amazing birth experience for me. There is no way I can think of to improve it
in any way. Now it was done. Everything was well! Everyone was there that I needed! I was able to catch my baby! The birth went smoothly! ALL IS WELL.
 |
| 9lbs 2oz |
