Amaya's Birth by Jeanna

At 1:30 a.m. on November 2nd, just two days before my due date, I woke up with very mild contractions. I sent a message to my boyfriend who was at work, to let him know that I might be in labor. By the time I went to the bathroom, I realized it was real. There was no way I could go back to sleep and they were coming very regularly. The contractions were still mild and I figured I was in for a long day.

Two hours flew by, and my boyfriend got home around 3:30am. He had just worked ten hours, so he laid down for a quick nap. I rested too - as much as I could - until about 5:00 a.m. when I decided it was time to call my doula. As expected at five a.m., there was no answer. I decided to wait awhile because my contractions weren’t too intense yet.

Finally, at 7:00 a.m., I decided that I should call the birth center and let them know I was in labor. After that, I called my doula again and she answered. Since I was still talking through my contractions, she suggested that I ask a midwife friend to come over and check my progress. I knew I wanted to stay at home as long as possible during my labor, so I agreed. She arrived quickly and told me I was just 2 cm dilated. This just reiterated the fact that it was gonna be a long day!

My doula dropped her boys off and arrived at my house just before 9 a.m. She rubbed my feet, we talked, and I called family. Since I was having a hard time getting comfortable and had a lot of back pain, she called a doula friend to ask if we could borrow her birth ball. Then she suggested that I take a warm shower while waiting. I spent about thirty minutes with the shower right on my lower back. Everyone made me some peanut butter toast which I thought I wanted, so I decided to get out. I spent a lot of time resting on the toilet - getting out of the shower was way harder than getting in!

When I came out of the bathroom, I didn’t want my toast anymore. I sat on the couch, then moved to the floor, then on the birth ball, and then back to the couch in a matter of minutes. I told them I wasn’t going to be able to do it without drugs. It was only 10:45 in the morning and it hurt SO much. My doula kept encouraging me and told me how great I was doing. Then I got the urge to push! This shocked all of us. When we checked my cervix, it was definitely time to go!

I rode in my doula's van with her other friend by my side. My boyfriend followed with my car. It was incredibly difficult to climb into the van and the hospital seemed so far away. I reminded them that I really wanted to push, and they said I could just a little bit to relieve the pain of the contraction. As soon as I did, I felt a big POP. “Something happened… my water just broke!” I shouted. My doula told me to reach down and touch the baby’s head. I did, and I felt her! I thought I was going to have my baby right there, but we quickly arrived at the hospital.

When we got there, they told us what room to go into and my doula gestured that I was ready now. They followed us into the room and I climbed right up on the bed before they could even lay blankets down.

“Where is my boyfriend?!” I asked. Mind you, he had no idea my water had broken on the way, so he was taking his time parking and calling people. Someone found him and ran him to the room, so I started pushing right away.

At 11:14 a.m., Amaya was born. I pulled her up onto my stomach and just looked at her with total awe and disbelief. I finally got to see the little girl who had been growing inside of me for so long. As they cleaned everything up, I nursed her for the first time. I had no idea how much I would love breast-feeding. There’s nothing better than knowing your body, which so perfectly provided for nine months, can continue to perfectly provide everything to keep this tiny being alive and healthy outside the womb.

I had no idea Amaya’s birth would go so quickly, but I’m thankful that it did! There is nothing that I would change about the entire experience. It was perfect. I’m so happy that I did it and I can’t wait to do it again!

Amaya Lillian was born at 11:14 am on November 2, 2005. She was Jeanna's first child. Jeanna is expecting another baby in May of 2008.