I found her through an ad in the yellow pages. My husband and I called and set up an appointment to interview her. We got lost on the way, but that was in no way an omen for what was to come. We probably spent a good hour talking with she and her assistant, just that first day. Happy with what we heard, we had found our midwives!

..... Months pass.... June 14, 1996.....

I wake in the morning and make my usual first thing in the morning trip to the bathroom. And that is when I discovered the first sign of what was to come.... my bloody show (or the cervical mucous plug, for those of you who need technical details). Feeling a bit weird... I get out a book... Husband Coached Childbirth and leave it by the john with a note for my husband.... "I think you really need to read this TODAY!" I go ahead and begin getting dressed for work.... slight backache... I remind myself that a bloody show could mean 3 days, 3 hours, or 3 weeks... and try to get my mind off it....

Well, before long, hubby begins to notice that I am acting very strange... and gets up to find the book and the note by the toilet.... Gee he must have LOVED that! So he begins following me around and trying to figure out what was going on. My due date was still 3 weeks away still. He finally decided since I wouldn't stay home, that he would come with me to work that day, so I could get things in order.... The day passes with backache getting slightly stronger, and began to notice more of a contraction type quality to them. I told a few of the women at the office that I could be in labor, and if I didn't show up on Monday, that was why....

Flash ahead to later evening... about 11:30pm... Contractions are finally getting uncomfortable. I call my mother and ask her if I can borrow a hotwater bottle. She must have sensed my strange mood, because she asked if we had a clock with a second hand in the house. She told me to come on over, that Dad would be waiting for us. By this time I was spending an awful lot of time in the bathroom.... I never got around to telling my husband that we were going to get the hotwater bottle... a half hour or so later Mom calls again and asks him if we were still coming... she chats with him a bit and then we call R. our midwife.
She only lives about a ten minute drive away, so she's there in 15 mins.... 1:30am She arrives and checks my dilation... I was at 4 cm. She tells me that I will probably have my baby between 6 and 8 am. I continue to get in and out of a steaming hot tub with my contractions. Labor progresses quickly, two hours later, and 15-20 minutes of pushing... by 3:49am it is over! In my arms I hold a beautiful, perfect little boy... 7lbs 11 oz, 20 1/2 inches long. I gave birth in my bathtub, by candlelight, just as I had planned.

The midwives get the bathroom cleaned up (they had also folded clothes and done the dishes while I was laboring! Try and get that in a hospital!). I take a shower while my husband and parents bond with little Aidan. (Again, could I have showered in the hospital- I don't think so)! Soon, I am in bed with my little one, holding him close and beginning our nourishing relationship. I am soon given a glass of crisp cold orange juice, and fed cantalope by my mother, both very refreshing! By 5:30am, the sun was rising, and I was drifting to sleep, content, happy, holding the fruits of the full circle of womanhood.

I share my experience partly to share the joyous occasion that motherhood brings, partly to show others that birth does not have to be a frightening painful thing. Childbirth and motherhood bring together the full circle of female sexuality. The birth of my son was to me, what it should be, empowering.

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