Normal birth stories start with the mother going into labor. I feel that in order to get the proper understanding of our birthing atmosphere we need to go back to the very beginning.
Once we found out we were expecting our first baby, without hesitation we knew we wanted to have an all-natural birth with a midwife. We were living in California with the plan to relocate to Colorado, so I immediately began my search for a midwife who has awesome reviews in Colorado. After speaking with Carmen over the phone I knew she was “the one”. She answered all the questions we had, explained the process, and made us feel good about becoming first time parents.
Throughout our care with Carmen, not once were we nervous about giving birth. I was more nervous about passing stool in labor than the actual pain or process. Carmen provided us with a sense of peace and relaxation when talking about the birth and with the relationship we had formed with her.
Most of my sisters (three to be exact) were pregnant at the same time as us. All of them went the traditional OB method and had multiple doctors they were working with. I was very thankful that we saw the same person who knew us and our wants/needs for the birth of our daughter.
Fast forward a long 42 weeks and it was time to have our little one. I was getting super impatient and at 41 weeks and a few days we started to induce. The day we induced, we decided to go see a movie. That was fun… I had many strong contractions, but nothing worth leaving the movie for. The next day my husband made a smoothie for me and his exact comment was “I hope you are able to finish this one, yesterday your contractions stopped you from finishing it.” I promised I would finish it as I took a few sips…
I suddenly felt sick and started having bad contractions. Needless to say, I didn’t finish the smoothie! It was 7 P.M. and I jumped in the shower and started contracting quite a bit. When I got out I yelled for my husband and he insisted we contact Carmen. He sent her a text while I sat on the toilet just trying to get comfortable. For whatever reason at that moment he felt the need to start the dishes (he wanted the house clean for the baby and Carmen). Finally, after many eye rolls on my part I told him to stop dishes and give me the comfort I need. He rushed over and held me. Once a few pretty bad contractions passed he sent Carmen a text and she was on her way. He started preparing the pool, and it was ready by the time she arrived.
Carmen got things ready and I got into the pool. BEST DECISION EVER!! The warm water felt amazing! I remember the hours were passing and I felt super tired, and there were a few times I felt like we weren’t getting anywhere. I remember watching the clock and seeing the seconds and minutes pass. Part of me was over the whole labor part and the other part of me was excited it was taking a while. There were two other family members with the same birthday, so I wanted our sweet baby to take her time, so she could have her very own birthday! There were many encouraging words and such love and peace in the atmosphere.
Carmen would constantly check on me and make sure I was as comfortable as possible. Once it was almost go time we relocated to the bedroom and was able to push our sweet little girl out within 20 minutes.
The first thing out of my mouth after Sophia was born was “oh my goodness it’s a baby!” as if she would be anything other than a baby (insert face palm). The best feeling in the world was hearing she was healthy and getting to hold her for skin to skin. I always tell her “I made you from scratch!” Carmen was amazing throughout the whole birthing process. She held my hand when I needed her and made me feel so comfortable and calm. While I was soaking in every little piece of our new baby Carmen was cleaning up and making sure I had food and a drink. She helped me get into the shower and made sure we were all nice and comfortable before leaving.
We were able to sleep quite a bit the following hours and received a check-in phone call and text from Carmen. It was so nice to feel cared for, especially while learning what to do with this tiny little human. It was so nice of Carmen to come to our house for follow up visits, so we could stay home and focus on our baby and my recovery.
Becoming a parent has been the most amazing and rewarding experience. I can’t help but gush over this awesome child we created. Thanks to Carmen, we have a healthy, spunky, and intelligent little one we get to call our daughter. Carmen was the best decision we could have made to start this new chapter of our lives. It saddened me when our time with Carmen came to a close. She was our first friend in Colorado and will forever be such a huge person in our lives. Thanks to Carmen, we have a new addiction to Hurts Donuts!
We love you Carmen!
Brandon, Alexis, and Sophia
NOTE: Printed with permission.