Meet my team that helped make everything happen. We had a much smoother labor process than with Eli. As a quick reminder, I had complications with the epidural during and post partum, leaving me in and out of the hospital for 2 weeks after giving birth. Therefore, we eliminated that all together and went all natural. YES, WE DID IT!!!! I am still amazed, but I could not have done this without my team.
The Key Players:
1) AMANDA! Praise the Lord for Amanda. She is one of the nurses at my doctors office that also happens to be a Douala. A Douala is essentially a birthing coach to help you through the labor process. She has had 2 natural childbirths, so I thought it was only fitting, plus she already knew my background story and how important all natural was to me and my health. Her knowledge and encouraging words were huge, and she helped me through all of the tough contractions.
2) DEREK! Derek was absolutely amazing. He was ready to go the first hour, so much that I had to tell him to just hang out for a bit until things got "real". So instead, he turned the room into a karaoke bar, jamming out to my playlist and singing to every word ... out loud. Hilarious at first, but there was one moment in the tough hour where I think I told him to be quite - politely of course :). Derek was in charge of squeezing my hips and massaging my lower back during each contraction. The counteractive pressure on my back during my contractions made all the difference. Towards the end his poor arms were shaking, but he never stopped. My hero!!
3) MOM! I don't have any pictures of mom in the room, because she was the behind the scenes specialist that made the environment comfortable and encouraging. She took the pictures, kept the essential oils going in my room and on my pillows/bed, music was key (so I could keep a steady beat moving during the contractions - yes, musicians are weird :). Without these essential elements, I would have had a totally different experience. Thanks mom, love you!!!
Derek and Amanda - the calm before the storm.
This picture cracks me up. This was just the start of it. It felt better to be sitting and leaning over the bed, but my leg was falling asleep and I needed Derek to massage it while having a contraction, and poor Amanda was on the ground making sure the monitor on Everley was properly positioned so we could monitor her heart rate. Like I said ... #myteam #ittakesavillage
Derek's massages!!
Poor Derek was shaking at this point, but we were almost finished.
The first picture of mom with Everley, just minutes old.
No comments:
Post a Comment