Looking back on that day, it was one that transformed my life forever. Mara's birth healed my heart in ways I didn't know it could. The labor and birth, itself, was an amazing experience. But on top of all that, I was given the most precious gift of being the mother of such a fun loving and expressive little girl. I can't wait to see what the future has in store!
2 years has taken us from this:
To this:
For good measure, I leave you with a the shortened version of Mara An's Birth Story:
I went to bed on the evening of Tuesday, August 28, 2007 with no signs of impending labor. I had almost 2 weeks until my due date and I was definitely getting excited to be so close to meeting the newest addition to my family. That night, I was sleeping in the twin bed in the guest room while Jackie and Jaden slept on our king in the master because I was very uncomfortable at that point in my pregnancy. I remember waking up around 3am feeling a little bit off. I went to the bathroom and returned to bed since I knew I would be up early with Jaden. Around 6:30am, I awoke again feeling crampy. I went downstairs and tried to focus on my cramps to determine if they were contractions or not. I timed them for about 30 minutes and they were coming 4 minutes apart and lasted 45 seconds long. I immediately woke Jackie up just to let him know I thought I might be in early labor. But, I told him not to worry too much. At 8am I called the doula we had hired to let her know what was happening. She told me it sounded like early labor and that my contractions needed to last longer and to call her back in a few hours time if things continued to progress.
I went to bed on the evening of Tuesday, August 28, 2007 with no signs of impending labor. I had almost 2 weeks until my due date and I was definitely getting excited to be so close to meeting the newest addition to my family. That night, I was sleeping in the twin bed in the guest room while Jackie and Jaden slept on our king in the master because I was very uncomfortable at that point in my pregnancy. I remember waking up around 3am feeling a little bit off. I went to the bathroom and returned to bed since I knew I would be up early with Jaden. Around 6:30am, I awoke again feeling crampy. I went downstairs and tried to focus on my cramps to determine if they were contractions or not. I timed them for about 30 minutes and they were coming 4 minutes apart and lasted 45 seconds long. I immediately woke Jackie up just to let him know I thought I might be in early labor. But, I told him not to worry too much. At 8am I called the doula we had hired to let her know what was happening. She told me it sounded like early labor and that my contractions needed to last longer and to call her back in a few hours time if things continued to progress.
At this point Jackie and Jaden were awake. He called his mom to have her come and take care of Jaden when we needed to go to the hospital. I called my mom, grandmother, and aunt to have them come spend time with me at my house while I labored at home. While we waited for them to arrive, Jackie and I decided to take Jaden for a walk around the neighborhood to make things stick. I was having consistent contractions through the entire walk but they were manageable.
When my family arrived, Jackie left to drop the cat off at the vet. My family and I just hung out in my living room watching Jaden and my cousin Elijah play. My aunt timed my contractions and they were still 4 minutes apart and no more than 45 seconds long. They were getting stronger, to the point that I had to stop and breathe through them, but I wasn't in so much pain that I felt I needed to leave for the hospital.
Around 11:30am, my aunt and grandmother left to get everyone some lunch. We had called our doula and told her we would meet her at the hospital around 12:30pm. I decided to go lay in bed and my mom joined me. Jackie was home from the vet at this point and was laying down with Jaden in the other room to get her down for her nap. While laying in bed I put my MP3 player on to listen to my Hypnobabies Birthing Day track. As I layed in bed listening, things just suddenly got very intense. My contractions started coming one on top of the other. My mom was getting worried that we needed to leave for the hospital immediately. She started to help me out of bed but everytime she tried to get me up I would have another contraction and wouldn't be able to move. She finally got me into a sitting position, at which point I felt a lot of pressure on my bladder. I told my mom "I think I need to pee" and suddenly we both heard a "pop pop" sound and my water broke. My mom started working quickly to get me up and let Jackie know we needed to leave asap.
Jackie came in the room and handed Jaden off to my mom. I started to feel more pressure so I felt down with my hand and felt Mara's head already crowning. I told Jackie and my mom that she was coming out! Jackie helped me get my pants off and started throwing blankets under me (I was standing). I pushed and Mara's head came out, I pushed one more time and her whole body slid out into Jackie's hands. I immediately sat down and held her and just stared in amazement.
At this point my aunt, who my mom had been calling intermittently with updates while she was getting lunch, came running up the stairs into my bedroom. When she stopped in the doorway she had the most shocked look on her face as she saw me sitting there peacefully holding my new baby girl! My mom had called 911 at that point and they told us to tie off the cord. My aunt found one of Jaden's pink hair ribbons and tied it off. When the paramedics got their they cut the cord, loaded us into the ambulance, and we were transferred to the hospital.
Mara An was born on August 29, 2007 at 12:15pm. She weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long.
"An" means peace in Chinese. As crazy as this birth experience may sound while reading it, in reality it really was such a peaceful event. Everyone involved did an amazing job under the circumstances. I got the homebirth I had truly wanted and Mara showed everyone that she will do things her own way and in her own time, which is true to this day!
