Dear Ava Rose,
Your birth was one of happiness and I was so blessed to be a
part of it! Being the first girl after four boys was one reason for this
special joy, but your mother also wanted a beautiful natural birth experience.
She spent months preparing mentally and physically. She exercised regularly to
stay strong for you and she educated herself with the Hypnobirthing Method to
stay peaceful for you.
Your parents and I were in the same ward at church and met several
times to talk and plan and prepare. I called to check in with your mother on June 6th to wish
her a ""Happy Due Day!" She had been having some contraction
that day and later that evening she said that "we would have a baby by
morning." I encouraged her to get some rest if she could and keep me
posted. She called at 2:15 am and said, "It's time for you to be
here!" We worked together for a couple hours and the contractions were
steadily increasing in length and frequency. Your mother was totally at peace
though. She barely made a sound! When a contraction came she just closed her
eyes and listened to the Hypnobirthing CD, breathing calmly - it was beautiful
to watch. I was rubbing her back and giving counter pressure and
encouragement. At about 4:14 am she came
out of the bathroom after a potty break and said calmly, "It time to
go." You daddy got the stuff in the car and we waved goodbye to your
grandparents who were in the living room.
We parked the car at 4:45 am and started making out way into
the hospital. Every time a contraction came your mom would turn to me and I
would wrap my arms around her and hold her up. This was kinda fun because I was
pregnant at the same time so we were belly to belly, working through each
contraction together . Labor was getting much more intense at this point. Your mom kept saying things like, "Oh,
Estee, she's coming! She's coming right now!" I even got a little worried
that we wouldn't make it to the room in time! We even took a wrong turn getting
to the maternity wing. We made it eventually and they (thankfully) put us
straight into a delivery room.
There comes a point in labor for every women when they hit
some sort of wall and think they can't do it anymore. This means that they are
very close to the end. You're mother was working very hard and in between these
last few contractions she turned towards your Daddy and said, "Nate, I'm
sorry, I made a bad choice...I can't do this, I changed my mind...I'm so sorry
Nate!" We cheerfully told her that she was
doing it and she was doing it wonderfully! We experimented with a few different
positions, but we found that the most comfortable one for your Mother was with
me sitting behind her on the bed with my arms wrapped around her, leaning back
and holding her up.
We breathed and pushed through together and you came into
this world 5:37 am. The Midwife, Katie, put you immediately up on your mothers
chest and you let everyone know you were here with your tiny girly voice!
Your mothers started crying and saying,
"I'm just so happy!" over and over. It was a beautiful moment. As
things settled down I asked your mother, "Ok Ann, would you like me to
move out from behind you so you can lay back now?" And she replied,
"Actually, Estee, I am just really comfortable here in your arms!" So
that's how we stayed! After a while the baby in my tummy started kicking against
your moms back, haha!
Ava, your birth was so joyful! We all felt it and your
mother expressed her happiness repeatedly as soon as you came out. I got a
delicious dose of happiness by being a part of your birth and I pray that this
special joy will continue to be with you as you grow.
Sincerely,
Estee Ragsdale
Doula
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