I gave birth to my daughter almost two years ago on August 25, 2001. The
Lord gave me a dream
before I became pregnant. In the dream, I learned that I was to have a baby girl and name her Shaela, that she would be born in
the summer, and that I was to follow these instructions:
stretch and exercise throughout my pregnancy, do not get an ultrasound,
take only a natural
childbirth education class (not the ones offered at the hospital) and get
myself prepared for a
four hour labor with a natural waterbirth.
Of course all the unbelievers in my life thought I was insane when I
presented this to them. But
I didn't care. This was what my Heavenly Father had spoken to me and I
was standing by it.
Sure enough, a few months later I found myself pregnant without actively
trying. She was due in
the summer. I never had an ultrasound because the Lord assured me
everything was fine and one was
not necessary. I was having a girl and that's all I needed to know. She
visited me in dreams.
On Friday evening, August 24, my labor started. I felt crampy and thought I
might be getting sick
because all of a sudden I couldn't stay off the toilet long enough to do
anything. My husband came
home from work and asked me if my cramping was coming in waves. I said
yes, and he said, "I think
you're in labor." I assured him I was not, for I had been told I would "KNOW"
when I was in labor and I
did not "KNOW" it, so therefore I was NOT in labor. Two hours after the
cramping began, I had my
husband call our midwife for some insight. By that point I was sitting in
my bathtub throwing up
all the water I had just drunk. My midwife had me explain the cramping to her
and told me it didn't
sound like I was in labor and perhaps I was just dehydrated. Off we went
to the birth center to get
me rehydrated.
The cramping continued and got worse. I became a little frightened
because I just knew I wasn't in
labor, because it was nothing like what everyone had said it would be. But the
cramping was getting
stronger and more constant.
When we arrived at the birth center I again had to use the
bathroom. I
called my midwife in when I
saw blood on my toilet paper. She said "Hmmmmm, um, if you don't mind,
maybe I should check you
when you're all done." Okay. At this point I started phasing out of
consciousness into what
seemed like a half-sleep other-world, but I managed to mention that every
time I felt the crampy
feeling I felt the urge to push (still thinking I'm not in labor). My
midwife gave me an internal,
turned and mumbled to the nurse, and again I was hit with fear when she
said to me, "Abbie, would
you be terribly disappointed if you didn't get your waterbirth?" I was
trying desperately not to
fade out again as I prepared myself to hear that something was terribly
wrong and I was about to
have a cesarean section. "Why, what's wrong?" I asked. "Well, nothing's
wrong. But you're fully
dilated. You're having a baby."
"Soooooooo, everything's okay then," was my response.
PRAISE GOD! I'm not dying!
I told her to fill up the tub, as I was going to let this baby descend down
my birth canal on her
own.
Two hours of listening to worship music, singing and sipping water in
between cramps, and swimming
during them, and Shaela was ready to be born. I stood up so gravity would
help with the actual
birth, and one push later I was holding my beautiful baby girl in my arms.
Needless to say, I was the talk of the ward. They rarely see such a
beautiful, peaceful, easy
birth.
I would not call what I felt pain. It was not tickling, but it was a
natural feeling that was
strong enough to warrant all of my attention, as it should, because
birthing a baby is no easy
task. It takes concentration and teamwork and grace. My birthing
experience was the best thing I
have ever done in my entire life, and I am looking forward to the next time
I can give birth.