My second pregnancy was completely different than my first one (read Melinda's first birth story). This time, I felt tired all the time, my allergies went haywire and my stomach was HUGE. I was working full time, had a toddler at home and my husband and I were doing a house addition. I had less time to exercise and generally felt more stressed. I hired a doula to assist me this time and it was one of the best decisions I made. Even though I had less time to physically prepare for this childbirth, I knew what helped me in my last childbirth so I focused on those areas. What a great payoff – I was actually much more emotionally and mentally prepared for this childbirth experience.

I had contractions throughout my pregnancy and these increased during the weeks prior to delivery. This didn't faze me -- I knew at some point I would know when I was in labor. On 6/23/04 I went to bed about 11 pm with my regular nightly contractions starting. One of the contractions woke me up about midnight and I knew this was the real thing. I began timing the contractions and they were about 8-10 minutes apart. I woke my husband, Dan, up around 1 am and he timed them, too. I remember they went from 10 minutes apart, down to 8, then 6 and the last one we timed was 3 minutes apart. Dan went to the phone to call the doctor's office and I got up to use the bathroom. Before I could get to the restroom I had another contraction. Our midwife, Beth, said to come on in but she would not be able to deliver Casey because she had a chemotherapy treatment in the morning. Our doula, Kendra, agreed to meet us at the hospital at 3 am. We stopped timing the contractions and got ready to leave. As with my last pregnancy, my husband ran all over the house finishing any task he could think of. Finally, I said we have to go NOW and we left.

If you read my last story you know I felt some loss of control when I got to the hospital to deliver my first child. Not this time. I insisted I would walk to the labor room and the nurse gave in after some back and forth negotiating. Kendra was waiting for us and helped me get out of my clothes. While we waited for the nurse to check me, she asked if I wanted to know how much I was dilated. I thought about it and said yes because I wanted to know where I was starting out. The nurse was very calm and after a minute of checking me out said, with some surprise, "You're 9 centimeters". We were all stunned and the only thing I could think to say was "Damn." Kendra commented that I wasn't acting like I was in transition and, honestly, I didn't feel like it. I felt calm and in control. The nurse said she was going to call Beth and the next thing I knew she was there. What a gift.

The next hour was hard. The intensity of the contractions picked up and I felt like I was on the cusp of a wave -- about to fall off but maintaining my balance. Kendra was awesome. She applied counter pressure to my back, kept me on the birthing ball and encouraged me. After an hour I went to the restroom and thought I might push to see if Casey's head would break my water. It did. Then I felt like I needed to poop and told Kendra. She sent Dan for the nurse. The nurse was skeptical my water had broken -- I think she thought I had mistaken it for peeing. While she was quizzing me I suddenly knew I had to push -- it was absolutely overwhelming and I stood up immediately, announcing it to everyone. Beth came right in, directed me to squat on the hospital bed and push. Kendra told me later she had never experienced a birth in the hospital in which the Mom delivered in the squatting position. I did feel overwhelmed at this point -- the pain was intense and I felt as if I had no control to push even though everyone was telling me to. The labor nurse was great -- she put her forehead against mine and gently talked me through it. Kendra and Dan rubbed my back and everyone encouraged me. My Enya CD was playing in the background and the lights were low. After about 3 contractions Casey Lee was out -- it was 4:08 am -- about an hour after we arrived at the hospital. My entire labor was about 5 hours long. I was amazed at how quickly everything happened.

While I was still squatting and catching my breath, Beth suctioned Casey and said "Here." When I looked down she put him back on the bed between my legs so I could pick him up -- the cord had not even been cut yet. I still have the picture in my mind of seeing Casey for the first time lying on the bed. He was totally calm, just laying there, looking at me. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. I remember scanning his entire body from head to toe before picking him up while he just watched me. I remember this in great detail, almost as if a video in slow motion, although it probably didn't take more than a few seconds. Then I picked him up and it was a peak moment for me -- I don't remember anything for a while. I have no idea how long I held him before the nurses took him to check him out.

Beth told me later that Casey's birth was a Holy Moment and I couldn't agree more. I had an incredible birth team -- my midwife, my doula, my husband, the delivery nurse - and experienced the unity of all of us working in harmony. Casey entered the world surrounded by love and I often think what a lucky baby he was to have had such a great birth! I couldn't imagine a better experience.

Read about Melinda's first birth, Jed's story.

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