Christian

If you haven't popped over to my husband's blog to read our "official" announcement, go take a peek.

FAIR WARNING: Birth story ahead.  Read at your own risk!

Christian's birth went as well as could be!  Started labor at 10:20 p.m. and was at the hospital by 11.  Lisa was an incredible doula/friend/support- she kept rubbing my lower back and let me cry all over her shoulder during transition.  Our much-loved CNM sat back and allowed me to just labor anyway I wanted, which was mostly on my knees or squatting on the edge of the bed.  She never demanded that I do anything other than what I was doing- she just watched me to gauge what was going on.  The nurse watched the monitor, but the midwife didn't seem to care about it.  Very nice!  Then when she saw I was in transition, she calmly put on a gown and came over to assist.  The only thing she told me to do was to lean back a bit so he could get over my pelvic bone.

I felt like I had to push a long time, but my membranes never ruptured until he was born- they were bulging out and he had to push through them.  Head, shoulders, and body all came at once!  No oxytocin- the midwife let me deny everything, including a hep-lock, and she just massaged my uterus until she told me to cough and the placenta came out quite easily.  No tearing, either.  Praise God!

The whole labor/delivery was so smooth and terrific.  The nurse God Providentially gave us was an MK who grew up in Africa and she returns for weeks at a time to assist in a clinic in Sierra Leone.  She had no problem with the way I was laboring or our denial of anything routine that wasn't necessary.

Feeling very, very blessed!