My First Doula Job

I attended by first birth as a doula (a professional birth coach) yesterday. One of my best friends from High School had a beautiful baby boy! Her brother called me yesterday morning at about 8:30AM and some what flustered told me that she had gone into labor early (again) but that this time they couldn't stop it and the baby was coming! I was totally unprepared, the baby wasn't suppose to come for another month. Anyway, in a whirlwind I got dressed, threw my hair up (later I would realize I forgot my make-up and that my hair looked strange, but oh well...), packed Asher up to go to my mother-in-laws, called the neighbor to re-schedule babysitting, called Jon to tell him I was going (and to get some moral support) and drove to Logan faster than I thought was humanely possible!

She did SO wonderful. Her sister and I were there to support her because her husband was in Houston, Texas. Needless to say he jumped on the first available flight and the nurses felt certain he would get there in time. But the baby decided to go fast! When I got there at 10:30 AM she was dilated to a 2 and was just getting into the jacuzzi tub at the hospital. In an hour and a half she went from a 2 to a 6! She did a GREAT job of breathing and relaxing through the contractions, but decided she wanted an epidural because she was SO exhausted (she'd been up since 4AM). After the epidural she went from a 6 to 10 centimeters in two hours. At about 2 PM she was ready to push and little Odin was born at 2:59 PM! Right when Odin was born her husband was getting on to his transfer flight in Las Vegas. He turned his phone onto speaker phone so the whole plane could hear his new baby boy. There were lots of cheers and the stewardess even gave him a bottle of champagne:). He finally got there at about 6:30PM, and he looked like he'd had a hard day too.

It was an AMAZING experience and I am so honored that she let me support her during birth! She was so capable and strong! It was the first time I've seen a baby being born, because I have to admit that during my own birth I was much to focused and preoccupied with getting him out rather than watching. It was everything I thought it would be and more. There is nothing so beautiful in this world than seeing a new human being take his first breath and snuggle into his mother's arms. It makes you realize what a miracle life is and what a privilege it is to create, nurture, and bear God's children. Women have the MOST amazing bodies!