Our Little Rebekah Caroline
It was early November and my husband and I had just moved into our first home when I started to feel a little different with my body. Some of the foods I loved didn't look so good and I felt tired all the time, and thats when we decided to take a trip to the dollar store to purchase a pregnancy test. Later that day I took the test and the results put us on top of the world with joy.
When January came around I decided it was time to find a midwife. I interviewed about a dozen midwives and finally God led me to Chris Duffy, who's website really impressed me with her knowledge and experience with natural childbirth and her ND degree in Naturopathy. So I met with her and knew she was the one I've been looking for. During the pregnancy Chris guided me in the right direction, at each appointment she would talk with me for over a hour and listened to how I felt and taught me things I never knew about pregnancy and nutrition.
June came and I was getting very excited to deliver our first child. Not knowing the sex of the baby made pregnancy more exhilarating for us, we didn't have a preference on whether we wanted a girl or boy, just as long as the baby was healthy. My parents had arrived from Idaho for the birth, they were a huge help with the last minute house chores and keeping us company with the waiting.
June ended and July was here and my husband and I were praying our little one will come on the 4th, Independence Day. On the morning of July 4th I started contractions and we were so excited, we called Chris and came over to check me and I was 3cm and 90% effaced, so she went home and told me to call her when the contractions started to get closer together. All day the contractions didn't seem to strengthen or be consistent, so Chris came that evening and we tried a few herbs to help things progress, but nothing got any better so we though we would get some sleep and see what the next day brings.
July 5th came and the contractions were still the same, so my mom and I continued to walk throughout the day. Then around 4 in the afternoon the contractions were finally consistent and were coming about 5-7 minuets apart and then about 6:30 at dinner they started to become stronger so we called Chris and she was on her way. She arrived shortly after 7 and checked me and I was dilated to 4cm and 95% effaced, which made me excited knowing our little one was on their way. Within the next hours I labored in our den doing lunges and using the birthing ball and laying on the floor. Then we headed into the birthing pool were we had it set up in our breakfast nook.
The pool was from Toys R' us and had bright colored fish all over it that I didn't think would bother me during labor, but it did. For some reason the eyes of the fish seemed to pester me. So I found a few bubbles next to the fish to focus on. The time in the pool seemed to go by fast and before I knew it Chris was telling me I could "push" so I waited for my body to give me the signal to push and continued to do so for about 20 minutes (I think, I don't really remember time during labor). Finally, the head came out and everyone said, "the eyes are open, look, the eyes", my belly was in the way and I couldn't see, but it made me push extra hard to get the shoulders out. A few more pushes and our baby was in the water with open eyes that looked back at me, and the time read 12:55 am, July 6th.
Words can't describe the way my husband and I felt at that moment. Then we forgot about the sex and Chris's assistant moved the cord out of the way to see what sex the baby was, which revealed our little Rebekah Caroline, a girl, hair of red with a 'widow's peak' and little red lips.
After the birth and delivering the placenta we headed up stairs to our bedroom
where we had Rebekah try 'chest to breast,' which is where she finds her way to the breast on her own. After about 7-10 minutes she found her way and knew exactly what to do, how amazing. Then we just let her nurse for a little bit while we had something to eat. Next, Chris examined her and weighed her, and the scale read 6 pounds 2 ounces and she measured 19 inches long, our little peanut.
That morning was the most amazing moment of our lives and we thank God for our little girl and the joy she will bring us for the rest of our lives. To conclude my story I'm so thankful for the guidance and knowledge Chris supplied me to have the natural uninterrupted birth I wanted and to have it in the comfort of our own home. When our next baby comes we will definitely call up Chris again and experience another home water birth, with a sheet over the pool to cover up those fish eyes that bothered me so much.