The day my son was born, a labor of love.

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 Unfortunately, I live in a town where midwives are taboo- so, for me finding a midwife was a bit more challenging. I had severe morning sickness during the first trimester and lost 20 lbs. but gained every ounce of it back before birth, believe me. Once I saw the midwife she was upset that I didn’t come to her sooner as she told me I could’ve lost the baby. I was told by my sis’s office that I had to be 8 weeks before they’d even schedule an appointment. Which just didn’t sit right with me, at all. Before I became pregnant, I always knew I wanted to birth naturally. Having a child was something I believed women were capable of. I figured if my Aunt could nurse a child, she never gave birth to, then I could manage a labor and delivery- in other words, give birth to a child. She told me she was interviewed by the La Leche League and they asked her how she was able to do it over so many other women and she told me that she said ” because, I never had a doubt in my mind”. That stuck with me and I never had a doubt in my mind that I was completely capable of giving birth. We found a midwife in Simi Valley which is 1hr. and 15 minutes away and everything was going so well until 36 wks. of pregnancy when she told me she could no longer see patients due to an underlying legal battle. It was at this point, I made the decision to have a homebirth and was thankfully able to find a replacement in the “eleventh hour”. Our appointments were now in Santa Monica and a few times before the birth they came here to see me. The day before my son arrived, April 21, 2007 I had my first sign of labor – bloody show…I called the Midwife right away and she informed me that it could still be a few days or even weeks. Once I hung up the phone, I knew it wouldn’t be long before my son arrived. The Poppy Festival happened to be that weekend so my husband and I thought it would be a good idea to walk around for awhile in case labor was near. We did a lot of walking and a lot of people were commenting on my huge belly. We finally drove home after some time. That evening I began to feel cramps, period like cramps. My husband went to bed and I tried to also but could not, so I went out to our living room (11pm) and about halfway through I began to feel the cramps intensify. During this time, I was watching a movie (not really by choice) called “Never say Never”, The Deidre Hall story- the  movie is about infertility and surrogacy. Weird huh? It was around 2 AM that the cramps turned into contractions and it got to the point that I had to get off the couch and walk them off or rock them off. I’d swing my hips back and forth and feel my belly. I felt like a mama bear giving birth to her cub in a cave. Once the contractions started to get closer together (5 minutes apart) I woke my husband up around 6AM. where he then proceeded to run around like crazy managing to get the water birth pool inflated. I was moving from the birth ball to doing my own circles around the bedroom. I wasn’t really getting any relief from the birth ball or the circles or squats and the contractions were getting closer and closer together. My waterbroke at 7:30AM - My husband contacted the midwives and they said they were on there way (1 hr. 1/2 away).  At this point, I moved to the toilet where I sat and relaxed. The toilet had never been such a comfortable place to be. So much pressure was being relieved while I was sitting on the toilet- it opened up my pelvis and it felt great! Really. I just remember thinking that my baby and I are working together, that we were a team. After about a 1/2 hr. of sitting on the toilet I moved myself to a chair we bought at Ikea. My hubby had it completely covered in towels so that I could get comfortable. He had the birthing pool inflated but did not fill the tub with water yet as the midwives had warned that getting into the pool to soon can stall labor. That’s all my husband had in his head. My husband called my mom to let her know what was going on. She then raced over to the house, and thank goodness she did because within 15 minutes of her arrival I started to contract harder and I could REALLY feel my uterus expand and release…it was the weirdest feeling ever but empowering at the same time. I was yelling at this point, that the baby was coming and that my hubby needed to get the water in the tub. Well everything happened so fast that it didn’t get done in time because before I knew it- hubby was back on the phone with the midwife telling them that my contractions were right on target and that I felt the urge to push. All in a matter of a phone call, my mom looked back down at me and yelled out she saw Tristan’s head. The midwife announced that I could continue pushing and that she was going to guide us through the phone. She was about 15 minutes from the house. My husband was scrambling to put her on speaker so she could assist me but before I could even hear her voice and  as soon as she said prepare (all at the same time)…in 2 pushes Tristan William was born @ 9:44 AM. My mom and husband caught Tristan and laid him into my arms. I was so shocked that he had come so swift and fast. He nursed within the hour while we were still attached and we cut the cord an hour after birth. Looking back, I realize that so many things could have gone wrong and that we were lucky. Another part of me feels like this just wasn’t luck either, it was how I felt about pregnancy and birth that gave me the confidence to feel relaxed and at ease while in labor. All those hours through the night, I never once felt the dire need to contact the midwife. I was laboring happily and quietly without even knowing it when I think back on it. I honestly, didn’t know what to expect and didn’t expect it to go the way it did, that’s for sure! I conditioned my mind and that was a huge part of it. The midwives finally made it and could not believe I had given birth so fast. They were expecting the typical ”first time mama” birth- hours and hours of labor. The fact that Tristan pretty much slid right out must of had it’s advantage because I did not tear at all! Although, I didn’t deliver the little man in the water as planned…it was divine timing. Tristan was 2 1/2 wks. early but was born on Earth Day! He surprised me in so many ways!   The midwives suggested that he had signs of being overdue because his feet were a little more wrinkled on bottom than normal, he had no vernix on his skin and his nails were long. In any case, the little guy made his debut and I felt so relieved and was pleasantly surprised at how my delivery went. Everyone was surprised!!!  After, I delivered the placenta I was pretty much able to walk around and felt great. My midwife showed me the placenta and pointed it how healthy is was and that she was impressed. She suggested that she could dehydrate it and make it into a pill. She further explained that it had many many nutrients that I could benefit from and that it helps with postpartum and energy. So, to say the least, I had my placenta dehydrated. It made about 200 pills and I took one everyday for approx. 3 mos. afterward!! I’m so glad I opted for a natural birth and feel blessed to say that my son was born at home!