As a Mother First...
It is with much joy that I share my family with you and a little bit about my own babies' births.  My partner and I have been married since 1995.  We have resided in Chico for about four years, and we love this city with all it has to offer growing families. 

After being married for a few years and making the decision to start a family, it was with much disappointment that pregnancy eluded us for quite some time.  This was a frustrating and trying time for me.  It seemed all around us, people were getting pregnant and having babies, and yet it was not happening for us. 

When I finally did get that positive pregnancy test I was more than elated.  My pregnancy was very uneventful.  I had a female obstetrician, and I was very confidant in how my birth experience would go:  I wanted the epidural.  But wanting it was not enough -- unfortunately, the anesthesiologist was unable to attend to me, and I was forced to have a pain-med-free birth (coming from a full induction as my doctor was worried about my baby "being too big").  After three hours of pushing, my doctor finally pulled my baby out with a vacuum.  He was 9 pounds, 8 ounces, and he was perfect.

Seeing what I was able to do without pain medications (and no prior plans or education regarding a birth with no epidural), during my next pregnancy I decided to use the nine months to learn all I could about labor management without medication.  Another change I made was to receive prenatal care from midwives instead of a doctor; I felt my doctor was not able to fulfill some of my basic needs for more one-on-one time prenatally, and I envied the way midwives often spent more time "labor-sitting" with expectant women, leaving a woman feeling more supported and cared about, versus having a rushed experience with a doctor running in and running out.  I waited patiently for my body to go into labor -- something I had not experienced with my first baby.  It was hard, but it was amazing to see what my body could do!  My second labor was about 8 hours from start to finish.  I still had to push for a while (90 minutes), but I was left in such great shape afterwards.  My second baby was born posterior (face-up), and that made his delivery a little more difficult, but it was an incredibly empowering experience for me.  He was 9 pounds, 9 ounces, and he was perfect, and I was happy.

My most recent birth experience (11-05) was also amazing to me.  Instead of waiting around until almost 41 weeks, this baby decided to come on his due date (by 44 minutes!).  He was also positioned in a posterior presentation, but thanks to an in-tune midwife and the hindsight of my second baby's labor, I remedied that by lunging.  That allowed my pelvis to open up in such a manner that this baby was able to flip from face-up to face-down -- in a matter of mere seconds!  Because of that, my pushing time was dropped to about 5 minutes and one contraction.  I expected my third baby to be a cake-walk, but he had what is called a nuchal hand (nuchal meaning neck; his hand was up by his face).  Not only did I have to push out his 14 inch head, but I had to deal with the extra diameter his arm and elbow brought with it.  My labor was just under 6 hours in length from first contraction to baby.  He was 8 pounds, 2 ounces -- and not much easier than his bigger brothers, really -- and he was perfect, and I was thrilled.

I have learned so much from my birth experiences.  I treasure them as some of the greatest memories in my life.  I love to share them and look back at the pictures surrounding those moments.  The most incredible part of any birth experience, in my opinion, is that moment when another person emerges from a mother's body -- that is when the wonder and awe of the previous months spent gestating mix with the reality that there was, indeed, a baby for all that hard work!