Logan’s Waterbirth
I chose a home waterbirth because I wanted a safe and gentle environment For me and my baby. Women have been giving birth for centuries. It’s a normal process, not a medical event. The more research I did, the more confident I became and the more maddened I felt by the standard managed medical approach. My waterbirth was and forever will be the most cherished time in my life as a woman. There are no words that can describe that great triumphant feeling. But I will try:
The light through the water cast blue waves across the ceiling and wall. I wearily climbed into the inviting water and my body instantly started to give in and relax. The awful pain and pressure was gratefully reduced from the buoyancy. It felt like a warm blanket safely shielding me. My body listened to what it was saying without my mind even having to think about it. I kept reminding myself to take a deep breath from my stomach whenever another contraction started; one more contraction closer to holding my little one in my arms. “Let the contraction do the work” Paulette softly reminded me.
I reached up inside between my squatting thighs to see if anything was happening. Fully dilated, I thought; that’s good, the time is near. I was getting tired and agitated from the long wait. I tried to pierce the barrier between me and my baby with my finger. It was like trying to go through leather. No such luck. I gave that idea up. A few more contractions, then POP, all on its own, it happened. “Oh?” I said, “My water finally broke,” that feels SO Good! Well, about only 2 seconds went by. “Oh shit, that doesn’t feel so good now.” (It gets worse, I thought) “I can’t take this any more” I said, despairingly. I felt like giving up. I was starting to feel like a failure.
“I think it’s time for you to get in the water.” Paulette told Shane. She knew. She didn’t even have to check with any protruding devices. My hips swayed in the water like sea kelp flowing with the tide. I could feel him coming down closer to the moment I have longed for. I reached down and touched the wet grassy bulge coming out. I wondered if the pressure from my canal hurt him as I felt across the wrinkly ridge on top of his head. OK, now this was really getting exciting. I couldn’t stop pushing, no matter what. I just wanted him out and now; I was getting sick of waiting. I spun my hips around to face Shane. We felt the cord around the neck. Out he shot with the cord untangling itself when he was out.
TOTAL TRIUMPH!!! I did it. I really did it. Shane lifted him up to my arms and to my chest. He was so calm and relaxed, like nothing major had happened. The cord was still pulsing. We rubbed him until he started to breath. “Hello little one of mine, nice to meet you.”
What a relief. I instantly had enough energy to run a marathon. I joyfully licked the salty water that streamed down from my eyes. My smile just about reached each ear. “It’s a boy” I told everyone. “We have another boy!” I kissed him and held him to my breast. He quickly latched on. After a little bit Shane got out of the tub and woke Brandon and Wyatt to meet their new brother. Down the steps they ran. I held him in the palms of my hands as he gently floated in the water looking up at me with those big dark eyes. “Well, hi, Logan Skye. I love you.”
— Mona