by Lisa, Canada
Aiden was born Sept 9 2008 – My water broke at about 5:30am on the 9th, at our Albert Street home. I went up and told Jay we were having the baby today, and called Jay’s work to let them know he wouldn’t be coming in. Then I called our midwife, and my birth assistant and things got rolling.
Jason and Noah set up the birthing tub in our kitchen, and my birth assistant arrived and started doing some reflexology to help me relax through the contractions… I relaxed so much, the progress almost stopped! We sat in the living room and chatted while Noah played; We had soft music going in the background, and lots of fresh air through the windows. I went outside for a little while, just to do a little walking in the sunshine, and things started picking back up.
At about 6pm, the midwife told us that we might have to consult a pediatrician if the labour went on for 18 hours – I was very disappointed and distraught. I DID NOT want to go to the hospital. The baby was turned the wrong way, and had more or less stopped the progress of the labour. Jay and I sat and meditated for a while, prayed for a bit, tried different positions to turn the baby the right way and after about an hour, it worked.
If we had gone to the hospital, he would have been taken by c-section. At about 10pm, I started getting sick to my stomach – It had been 17 hours since my water broke, and I was getting pretty tired and frustrated. One more hour and we’d have to go see a doctor. The midwife checked me and said I was 9 cm dilated – Suddenly, I got the urge to push – Everybody went a bit frantic as I dove (head first,) into our birth pool – The baby came so fast (only 2 pushes total,) and was born 4 minutes after the midwife had just checked me.
At 10:55pm, Aiden was born directly into his daddy’s waiting hands – I carried him from our birth pool in the kitchen to the bedroom with his umbilical cord still in tact! It was the best possible 17 and 1/2 hour labour anybody could have hoped for! We had no medication, lots of wonderful alternative relaxation techniques and a perfect birth.
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