My Birth Story
Mommy and baby NZA Photo credit: David M. Alvarez
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
-Jeremiah 29:11
Our dearest daughter, N.Z.A. decided to make her debut a lot sooner than we anticipated. She arrived earth side two weeks earlier; we have our plans but God has his own.
It all started on Saturday, February 15th. I had some light cramping throughout the day but didn’t pay it any mind. I relaxed, watched TV, and folded and ironed N.Z.A.’s clothing in her nursery. In the evening around 10 pm, I kept having increase cramping and felt better when I sat down on the toilet. It’s funny because when I asked my husband if this is “it", he replied: “No way that today is the day!” I knew I wanted to early labor at home for as long as I could before going to the hospital. This is something that my OB, Doula, Husband and I discussed as part of my birth plan. As a first time mother, early labor can last for hours or even days. To help ease the pain I got in the shower to allow the hot water to hit my back, and swayed with my husband during the contractions.
All of a sudden I had saw my mucus plug (looks exactly how it sounds) and the pain was getting more intense. At that time my contractions were a bit erratic and hard to keep track. I thought for sure I would have been able to follow that “5-1-1” rule. I called my OB and let her know what I was feeling, she felt confident that I had more time because I was talking through my contractions. She gave me the option of coming in right then or waiting a few hours. I decided to wait because after all it was my first labor and they usually take longer and I wanted to be able to labor as much as I could at home before going to the hospital. Moments later the contractions were out of control. I was shaking, crying, and had trouble finding my breath. My husband called my Doula and she walked me through breathing techniques and assured us that she was on her way. My husband had laid out a yoga mat in the bathroom with pillows to prop my head on.
After that last powerful contraction, I felt something was in my canal when I reached my hand down there and it didn’t feel like a head of hair. It felt like a smooth balloon, that was when I panicked. At first I thought it was my umbilical cord prolapsing. We called EMS and told them I was having a baby. They instructed me to lay down and fight the urge to push. This was impossible because the urge was so strong. During that moment, I closed my eyes and began to pray. I had no idea if my baby and I were going to be ok. The textbook medical side of my brain thought of all the scenarios that could go wrong. This was not part of my meticulously written birth plan, I was not in control. I began to take deep breaths and spoke in my prayer language (the gift of tongues) trusting that God would help us and see us through. EMS arrived shortly and so did my Doula. They saw that I was crowning with my amniotic sac still intact, my waters never broke!
Inside our small Brooklyn bathroom, my doula came by my side and instructed me to take deep breaths and ran a cool cloth over my head. She told me to push when I felt the need and to relax in between. The paramedic was right in front me awaiting the arrival of the baby, you could definitely tell this was his first live birth. The other EMS crew stood outside the bathroom just observing. My husband played relaxing music in the background and took as many video and pictures as he could. The pushing was so difficult but I tried my best with each urge I felt. It got to the point where I asked the paramedic to pop my amniotic sac because the pushing was too intense. I just wanted the baby out of me at that point in my labor. After about twenty minutes of pushing, once the bag was popped I endured the infamous “ring of fire” and the head popped out followed by the body of our baby girl. Looking back, I wish I would have endured the pain to see my baby born in “En Caul” (born in their amniotic sac).
I will never forget the moment I knew she came into this world. The relief my body experienced when her whole body slipped out. I’m so grateful for my Doula advocating for me, I was able to have delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin with the baby laying right on my yoga mat. My husband even cut the umbilical cord. EMS gave me some bonding time then did some quick vitals on us (Praise God everything was within normal limits). They then whisked me off my yoga mat onto a stretcher and placed our little girl on my chest and wrapped us in a stockpile of blankets. The temperatures were in the twenties fahrenheit that morning. As they are wheeling me down our hallway past the living room, I see our cat just causally sitting on the couch like nothing happened. My cat Frankie is a 9 year old rescue cat that is not phased by anything.
During the ambulance ride I witnessed our baby girl climb on my chest to my right breast and latch! She nursed the entire ambulance ride , it was incredible. When we arrived to the delivery room, my OB and the rest of the team were shocked on how rapid my progression was . She also made a note to say my pain tolerance must be very high because I did not sound so close to delivery over the phone. She stated to me that I had a precipitous labor. I was shocked to hear this because most first time mom have very long labors. Baby N.Z.A. was assessed and was doing great, we were so relieved. We rested in the labor and delivery room until a room on mother baby was available. After close monitoring, we were discharged in two days and we were overjoyed to bring our little nugget home.
My birth plan from the very beginning was for a natural birth with as little intervention as possible. I guess I got what I wanted in the form of a unplanned home birth! I’m still amazed by my strength in being able to endure all of that. I’m so thankful that our baby girl arrived on earth side safely. I’m thankful to my husband who stood by my side the entire time, the Paramedic who helped deliver my baby safely, and I’m grateful for my Doula who supported me and advocated for me when I needed it the most.
I am now a mother. My whole perspective has changed and my number one purpose is making sure our little girl is taken care of. My birth has changed my life and my relationship with my husband. He sees me in a whole new light after what we went through and it has made us stronger and fall in love with each other on a deeper level. I’m so grateful and thankful to Jesus that I have my little family.
love + light,
danielle