Cindy's Easy and Painless Birth

 CINDY'S EASY AND PAINLESS BIRTH 

 i started having contractions early tuesday (18th of March) morning around midnight. they did not get organized until about 3:30am, at which they were lasting a minute long and continued at that pace until about 5:30-6pm. i rested the best i could during contractions, showered and bathed. rodney left for work at 5:30pm and his mother came over to sit with me. he took the cell phone with him and i told him i would call him if they got closer together. 

 around 6pm they were 8 minutes apart and lasting a minute. they required more concentration at this point. i took another shower and had planned to call rodney after i got out and let him know to head home because within the hour i suspected we would head to the birth center when they were about 6-7 minutes apart. after i got ouf of the shower i called him and told him to come home. then all of a sudden they were 4-5 minutes apart and lasting a minute. i paged the midwife to let her know they had changed and we were heading to the birth center and would be there about 8:45pm. 

 rodney got home and we left about 7:40pm. about 20-25 minutes into our 70 minute drive the contractions changed to 2-3 minutes apart; at this point i knew i was in transition.i told rodney to turn on the hazard lights and go. i had seriously thought we would not make it and i would have to deliver the baby myself - which i was totally okay with. i had packed extra blankets just in case :o) we were about 10-15 minutes from the birth center and my bowels had emptied. i knew this meant the baby was coming VERY SOON! rodney had asked if i wanted him to pull over i said no, keep going - run stop signs and lights when we get off the freeway. 

 we were about 10 minutes from the birth center and my body started pushing and i started praying that the baby could hold on just a few more minutes. we arrived at the birth center and i hopped out of the car without shoes, pounded on the door and the midwife let me in. we went quickly up to the room i had chosen, i took off my pants and they cleaned me up. rodney was turning off the car while they were cleaning me up. he came up stairs and i was kneeling on the bed, told him to come towards me so i could brace myself on him. i put my arms around him and pushed for about 2 minutes. my waters broke and Jonas surfed on out....about 4.5 minutes after we got to the birth center. i caught my breath, looked down and exclaimed "it's a boy!" he was born at 8:57pm, weighing 7lbs 4oz and measuring 19 3/4 inches. 

 the midwife told me not to move too suddenly because the cord was short. i leaned back and they brought him up to my chest. the nurse rubbed him with a blanket. it happened so quickly and suddenly it took me a while to take it all in, it was so surreal! the midwife and nursed kept telling me how amazing it was and how awesome i was. i delivered the placenta about 8 minutes later and had rodney take pictures of the placenta. 

 i packed a bag full of goodies to eat during labor, candles and music to use - none of which i used. i told rodney to get one of the cd's i packed so i could relax. Jonas nursed about 20 minutes after birth. he was alert and wide awake for 3hrs after birth, two of which he nursed for off and on. he hasn't stopped nursing since! 

 rodney's parents brought reed up to the birth center around 11:30pm. the first time we told him to give the baby a kiss he actually liked the baby's head, lol! he hasn't stopped kissing the baby, he kisses the baby about every hour! he is handling this even better than we anticipated. he is very curious about where the baby is and what he is doing. we are doing well! 

 on a side note rodney is MUCH more comfortable with a home birth now and having seen a midwife in action and having seen birth occur outside a hospital. he knows midwives are fully capable and that birth is safe. he knows that next time we will be having a home birth and fully supports it :o) 

 it was amazing!!! nearly painless:o) it was so trans-formative. INCREDIBLY different from my first birth. i know my birth was so easy and nearly painless because it did not occur in a hopspital. 

 before the birth i was slightly *concerned* about giving birth in the car. then when it became a real possibility and the thought of going to a hospital to give birth to have a "professional" birth attendant was NOT an option. i became so much more confident in my body's abilities and my maternal instincts to deliver this baby without a trained birth attendant. i knew i could do it myself without a doubt. i was so calm and confident my husband (who was uncertain of home birth) was put at ease and also became confident in the fact that i could deliver this baby without the help of a birth attendant.