Naomi's birth

I had Naomi all natural at a Cascade Midwives and birthing center. I had never even heard of a midwife or having your baby anywhere except the hospital till my sister had her baby Brooklynn there 3 years ago. I loved it when I was there for support during Alli's labor and instantly decided I was going to have my babies there as well. I would HIGHLY recommend for every pregnant lady to at least research and think about having a natural birth especially with a recommended midwife. Did you know that you have a 95% chance of having a vaginal delivery(with out forcepts,vacuum or episiotimy) when you deliver at a midwife center or a home birth? Pretty cool huh? Our bodies were made to make and deliver babies! I have learned from my experience that my body knows exactly what to do and when to do it without someone telling me. God is pretty much awesome!
On baby alf's due date(we did not know the gender of our baby) I had a check up. They checked me and said that baby was really low and that I would be having baby by the end of the week. Midwife Kyla asked me if I wanted her to do a membrane sweep. Since she was already in there I said yes. It was quick and painless and let me tell you... it worked! She felt a contraction while in and seriously I began feeling contractions after that. I went to work with Sean and felt contractions the whole time! Of course I texted all my family and close friends and called a few! I told Sean "we HAVE to go grocery shopping!" so we did. I had contractions all through FredMeyers which gave me some anxioty. We decided to relax the rest of the day because we were certain we would be meeting baby Alf the next day. We watched Mr.Bean all afternoon and all night. I think we picked Mr. Bean because it is funny and we thought something funny would keep my mind off of the contractions. I think it worked though I remember not really sleeping and asking Sean what time it was and it was 1230am so I think it worked! My sister texted me "I am straightening my hair so I am ready when you call me :)" Everything happened so fast for me but for Sean it dragged on and on. He was such a trooper and was so helpful! At around 4am Sean called Alli and all he said was "it's time" My contractions were so strong I couldn't do anything except deal with them. Once Alli came she sat with me through a contraction and said to wait to call the midwife till 5am. She let Sean rest too which I know he appreciated! When we called Kyla she listened to me through a contraction and told us to meet her in an hour at the clinic.
We got there a little after 7am. The room was warm and smelled yummy. They had soft music playing and the tub was filled with soothing hot water. I embraced Sean and started crying. "we are going to meet our baby." I said. It was a very special emotional time. When she checked me I was 7 cent. dialated which is where they want you when you come in. I was amazed that Kyla knew when to have me come in by how I sounded during a contraction. She rocks!

Here we are in between contractions. It was awesome! I got to eat and drink all I wanted. I labored mostly in the tub. I tried the ball but I hated it after the first contraction on it. Sean and Alli switched helping me so that the other could rest and eat. I especially needed some one to breath with me. For some reason it helped me to keep my mind on something other then the pain. The pain is so undescribable I won't even try. BUT it was worth it.(Seriously I think the worst part about having a baby is your stomach afterwards! It is the most gross and weird looking thing ever! Luckily it goes away after a couple weeks!) Pushing contractions had their pros and cons. Pros: it gave me something to do Cons: it hurt like heck! Baby Alf was born a little before 11am after about 5 pushes! She was crying and already holding her head up!

After lots of mommy snuggles Kyla asked "So who wants to know what this baby is?" And she showed us all "It's a girl!" My heart sang! A daughter of my own?! Oh what a beautiful gift from the Lord! I asked Sean "Naomi Alice?" and he said "Yes!" It was so emotional. Just amazing! I felt pretty good too! All the pain was gone and all I felt was joy. When it was time for me to get out of the tub Naomi got to snuggle with daddy and auntie alli

Once I was all taken care of I got to nurse her. It was challenging as neither one of us knew what we were doing but with the help of nurse Ana we got it down :) Naomi was 9lbs 1 oz and just as cute as could be :) It was the most amazing experience! I could not of done it without Sean, Alli, Kyla, Darlene, Ana and our classes at the Pregnancy resource center. I really believe that educating ourselves on childbirth and labor really helped us to stay calm and equipped us for this amazing event and partnering with people who had the same views on natural childbirth helped me to know that I could do it!
Here are a few more pictures from that day!

So was the pain worth it. HECK YES! A few hours of pain and look what I got? The CUTEST baby ever! I will do it again for sure! The next baby alf to be born we plan on having at home.