**please forgive me for i have forgotten exact times and details of this birth. it has been several months, but i wanted to share my experience with you.
that sweet smell of birth and newborn baby. some of you have the privilege of knowing the smell. especially if you have been to/had a natural birth. to me, hospitals smell like poop and hand sanitizer so i never noticed that sweet smell. oh i love it.
it was a normal monday. i had a prenatal appointment in canton with my midwife pam. we discussed my pregnancy. we discuss daily life. we connected and bonded the way we always do. then she said "hey one of my mama's might have a baby soon, would you like to be there and document it?" (or something along those lines. i don't remember the exact quote. im pregnant.)
ummm yes! yes i would absolutely love to be there! so she told me she would call me and keep me updated if anything progressed with this mama.
i got the call around 4 pm that same monday. i had just arrived home from picking up my daughter from school. i gave my husband instructions for dinner and getting our girl in bed on time, i wasn't sure when i'd be home! i was so excited! i packed up my photography gear, a few snacks and waters and headed out. the birth center was only 30 minutes away but i was in such a hurry to get there and experience everything i could.
when i arrived i was introduced to the beautiful couple. kelcy and andy. having never met them before felt a bit awkward, as if i was intruding on such a special moment. i assured them they would not know i was there and that i would be as quiet as possible. i was relieved to find they quickly accepted me as a friend and opened their hearts to me. it was such an honor and it made me feel so special.
kelcy, andy, pam, brooke (the apprentice) and i walked around the woods to help get kelcy into a good labor pattern. kelcy tried a make shift sling (made from a bed sheet!), she tried resting, walking up stairs, making out with andy, castor oil. she did this late into the evening and through out the next day. we all rested as much as possible and gave kelcy her space as her body did what it needed to do.
she tried everything. her body wasn't ready.
early wednesday morning pam sent me home with instructions to keep my phone close by. i went home and had some rest.
later on that evening my phone rang. i rushed to the center because pam said that kelcy was in active labor and this was it! when i arrived i could tell that something was different. kelcy was ready. i could see it in her face and her body. she was more inward than she had been earlier in the week. she was coping more, swaying her hips to the music in her soul. moving her baby down. it was so beautiful to witness.
it went fast.
about an hour after i got to the birth center kelcy was ready to get into the birth tub. she was eliminating, coping...it was time! i remember kelcy saying she needed to go to the toilet. soon after that i remember pam asking to check kelcy because she knew something was holding kelcy back (gotta love a midwife's intuition). kelcy laid on the bed in the birth room to let pam check. sure enough there was a cervical lip found. as soon as pam reduced the lip, kelcy jumped out of the bed so quick and jumped right into the birth tub. it was lighting fast!
one contraction and one push later, keilani was born into the hands of her father, andy. he, with the help of pam, pulled keilani out of the water and placed her into kelcy's loving arms. it was a beautiful sight! keilani had a head full of dark black hair and cheeks that i wanted to nibble on. she was perfect. kelcy was perfect (she didn't even tear!), everything was perfect! the whole room just paused and for a minute no one said anything. we watched the bonding of mother and baby and it is something i will never forget. andy was so loving and was cooing sweet words to keilani.
once the cord stopped pulsing, it was cut and the single lifeline between baby and mama became two.
keilani ruth was born on 12-12-12 at 11:22 pm weighing over 8 pounds.
kelcy i know i've said it time and time again but i want to say it once more. you are such an inspiration to me. you are so strong and powerful and everything i hope to be with my birth come may. not once did you cry out or complain. you trusted your body and had faith that God would provide. you are a worrior.
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