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birth stories
birth stories the fast and the fabulous
June 13, 2007 at 12:12 PM 
grandma and baby... this is NOT my baby, i still have 8 weeks to go!tuesday morning i woke up to hear that my friend was in starting labor, but wasn't ready for me to come help quite yet. she's a second time mom and had a really difficult first delivery. she asked me to come and support her, along with her mom and husband. this pregnancy she had taken bradley method classes and was much more relaxed and at ease about the delivery. she called me at 2:30 to say that contractions were finally down to about 5 minutes apart.
this was such a beautiful delivery. mama handled it so well and needed just little reminders to breathe down and relax her body. nurses can be so silly though. when we got to the hospital her contractions were 1 1/2 minutes apart, 60 seconds long, and she was moaning, "I WANT to PUSH!!!" so after about 10 ridiculous minutes they finally get her to the triage room and checked her... sure enough this baby was on her way out! about 10 nurses and doctors and midwives rushed in, just in time to catch the baby after 3 little pushes. baby was born at 5:25 pm, with only 3 hours of active labor.
i am SO happy that i got to be a part of this birth. my desire to become a doula and eventually a midwife was completely cemented, i can feel it in my soul. when i first started this journey i was asked what my ultimate goal was for wanting to participate in birthing babies: was it natural childbirth, support of the mother, or support of the baby? i really thought it was a silly question, because all three were so important to me. but this experience drove it home that i LOVE to support mama's in their goals.
i was surprised at my reaction to the birth. so many people talk about crying at the birth. but i felt very little emotion. it wasn't until evening time that the beauty of it all finally hit me. i say this not so that you'll think i'm calloused, but rather it was amazing to me how clear my head was. i could see everything that was happening, and without emotion to cloud my judgement, i was able to help her make decisions, stay calm, and enjoy her birth.
within five minutes of delivering, she turned to me and said, "I could do this again!" i can't think of too many mom's that are so optimistic after pushing an 8 pound human out of their own body! it was all so beautiful.
Reader Comments (3)
YAY! I want to be adoula or midwife too... someday I just might be:)
What a great experience, I bet you are amazing to have at a birth.
xoxo
oh how absolutely fabulous and what a beautiful baby :) thank you for sharing this beautiful story!! xox
Kudos to you! Sounds like a beautiful experience for all.
I delivered with my best friend (who was just testing the "doula" waters at the time).
She was fantastic, wonderful and I couldn't have done it so naturally without her and all her coaching.
I delivered my daughter after being in labour for about 12 hours, without even a tylenol!
(applause!)
I think this is a perfect calling for you! Be proud that you were able to stay focused and make this a wonderful birthing experience for her.
Oy...only 8 more weeks, huh?
Get ready...you're next!