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My brother's moving experiment in montage storytelling takes a while to load and is worth it.

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This is Becca's story of her birthing experience. All her life Becca had a very strong desire to have a baby. For years she researched childbirth, talked about childbirth, danced, meditated, and empowered herself. Throughout every setback she persivered and found her way. She was my greatest teacher. This was her work. She did it well, she gave me Adeline and she gave me a life. Thank you Becca. . .

1/5/2003

Well, my darling child is finally here. This is her birth story!

I woke up on Saturday, Nov. 30th, with very strong pain in my left hip. I had felt it throughout the night, but by 6 AM it became very intense. For some reason this let me know that something was happening. I went to the bathroom and there was a little blood. This confirmed my suspicion. All I could think to do in my drowsy state was take a walk. I felt as though I was in a dream of sorts. My senses were totally heightened, and I watched the sunrise and all life began to wake. When I returned home, my husband Patrick started to fill the birthing tub. He was working to get everything in order, even though he didn’t fully believe it was happening. A little later I needed to walk again. This seemed to be the only thing I felt like doing. My contractions really started coming on, and this walk was a little harder on me. I decided to call the midwife and she didn’t believe I was in labor either. This was about a week before my edd. She timed my contractions over the phone and they were still quite sporadic. They began to hurt me though, and I started to have a hard time with them. I called my mom and my friend and told them to come over. I knew I was in early labor, but I couldn’t seem to get into a rhythm. I was still fighting the pain. (This is my first baby.) At about 2 PM the other midwife came to check me. I was only 2 CM, and she said to tell everyone to go home because I wasn’t concentrating enough. She also recommended we take an hour long walk. So we did and I walked the hills around my house. This was really helpful. It felt so good to have something to do during a contraction. I walked right through them. By the end, I was exhausted though.
Patrick and I decided to get some rest. He was so tired and it looked like we had a while to go still. He fell fast asleep, while I lay in fetal position and breathed through my increasing contractions. They were now stronger than ever, and I had to focus so deeply within. I went on a spiritual journey and talked with my body and my baby about opening and getting ready for the big event. This was a very intense time for me. I think that this is when I fully made the commitment to do this birth with strength and grace all at the same time. I really wanted to bring my child into the world in the healthiest way possible. After a few hours, I felt like I needed something else to do. I just couldn’t keep on in bed anymore. I woke my husband and said I wanted to take a shower. When I got up, my water broke. It was now 5:30 PM. I took a shower and then finally called the midwife. They were about a half hour away at another laboring woman’s house. Then they needed to check on a baby that was born the day before, so they would be awhile. They said to take another walk. So we did and I could barely make it to the end of the block. I was not able to talk either. I had hand signals for Patrick. I needed to get back home and so badly wanted to get in the birthing tub. My midwife recommended I not get in until I was at least 5 CM, and I had no idea where I was at so I didn’t get in. They finally arrived at 9 PM and when they checked, I was 8CM. Yipee!!!!! This was such a relief to hear. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go. My bag of waters still needed to break more, so they did that with the next strong contraction and I got in the tub! FINALLY! My back pain immediately disappeared, and I felt weightless. I was so glad we had this tub! It took a few very intense contractions and I was 10CM. I hit transition and it scared me for a moment. My midwife immediately let me know I would want to push soon. Hearing this calmed me, and I was able to focus on the next stage.
The next 25 minutes are a blur. The midwife sat on the outside of the tub and leaned her head into mine. She whispered in my ear and even though I have no recollection of what she said, I remember how comforting she was. I asked my nervous, sweet husband to get in the tub with me. He was so busy running around taking pictures and setting up the video camera. I needed him to hold me while I moved our child into the world. A force of nature moved through me and I began to push with each contraction. In some ways this felt less painful than early labor. I guess that all the right hormones were released just in time. But this was also the most unbelievable sensation I have ever felt. The most intense! It was as if the Universe was moving through me. Like I was this vessel in which life was born- and I was! This was also the most empowering feeling in the world. To move a baby through you…down and out…to expand so wide…to soften and let go…is beyond words! She crowned and I reached down to feel her head. This was such a beautiful feeling. She was soft and squishy and I took my husbands hand to feel for himself. He began to cry. She was near and this gave me strength to continue.
This was a timeless experience. It was neither long nor short. I kept talking to my body and my baby, telling them to open and move down. The sooner we did this we could be together. And before I knew it my midwives told me to reach down and pull my baby out. I didn’t hear them the first time, but quickly reached down and grabbed my baby and pulled her up to my chest. She felt so small. I was instantly in love. I woke from my trance the minute she was in my arms. My husband was holding me, holding our new baby! We were now a family. A perfect moment indeed. After we sat loving her for at least 5 minutes it occurred to me that we didn’t know the baby’s sex yet! We were so sure we were having a boy the whole pregnancy that I guess we just assumed it was a boy. But when we looked we were pleasantly surprised to find out we had a daughter. We both secretly wanted a daughter. Adeline Prae was born 10:15 PM, November 30th. She weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz. 21.5 inches long.
I got out of the tub and onto the bed to deliver the placenta. It took me to nurse her to get it to come out. We let the cord pulse for a while and then my husband cut the cord. I drank a protein shake and was in heaven. I just nursed my daughter and stared at her, and thanked my wonderful midwives, and loved my Patrick.
He called my family and told them they could come over. The midwives left just as they arrived. They made me fresh vegetable soup and we talked and loved the new addition to our family. After they left, Patrick and I lay in bed with our Adeline sleeping between us and just stared at her. We smiled and laughed and stared. She was so beautiful. So perfect. And she gave us a big smile as she slept. She seemed so peaceful and content. She looked happy to be with us.
Now as I look back, I see what a great birth it was. I am proud to have had a home birth. I am glad to have given that to our child. Now, 5 weeks later she is calm and happy. She is all smiles and has even let out a few laughs. Her body is relaxed and she sleeps really well. I attribute a lot of this to the way she entered into the world.
I feel so blessed.