An inspirational birth story

Warning:  Possible too much info for some people!  Proceed with caution...

This is the recent home birth story of a dear friend of mine and she gave me permission to share it here.  I hope it inspires you as much as it has me.

***We took the kids with us to the cottage this time. My hubby felt more comfortable getting down there before labor set in so we went for a visit a couple weekends ago - hoping for labor because my due date according to the charts was on Dec 16. But nothing happened so we came home to get a few things done. We left again for the cottage last Friday Dec 19. My midwife checked me and was able to hear the heartbeat but it was faint. She was concerned that the baby was possibly breech. She has delivered many breech babies so we weren't extremely worried - just wanted to be sure and more informed. She wanted me to get an ultrasound but we were not able to over the weekend. We had planned a trip to a doctor (she knows very well) on Monday. We were going to get a referral for an ultrasound so we could have a better idea of where the baby was. But Sunday night I started having some pretty good contractions - nothing regular, but felt more real. Monday morning she checked me and the baby was head down and engaged. :) I was not very far along but the baby was in the perfect position. During most of Monday I was getting pretty good contractions every 45 minutes. I did an enema after lunch. It didn't rush anything long but I felt better getting cleaned out. Around 6:00 PM she mentioned the idea of Hubby taking me for a bumpy car ride. I did not think this would do anything but I was up for it. We took Joshua (our 1 yr old) with us and left the other 3 kids at the cottage with the midwifes and doula - I had 3 ladies assisting my birth. :) We drove around for about an hour - Hubby hit every bumpy rode he could find (ouch!). ;) The contractions by the time we got back to the cottage were every 10 minutes. I got immediately in the tub and things picked up pretty quickly. Nothing got too intense until after the kids were in bed - around 9:00. I had thought of letting them watch the birth if they had wanted, but it worked out so much better with them being in bed. I stayed in the tub until about 10:30. I had considered a water birth but changed my mind. My midwife got me out of the tub earlier than I would have preferred, but we wanted to be sure not to get stuck in there if I indeed wanted to be out when pushing. I labored on my side on the bed with my hubby massaging my back - most of the pain was in my back. This labor hurt a little more than the last because of being out of the water sooner. But the laboring at the end went slower than the last - I got more relief in between the contractions. I can't remember exactly when I started pushing - maybe around 11:15? The baby was born at 11:42 on Monday December 22. A little girl - Livia Faith - weighing 11 lbs and 21 in long (big girl). My daughter had told me earlier this year before we even knew about the pregnancy and were not trying - "God was making her a baby sister". I told my husband that I possibly was pregnant although I would not find out until 2 weeks later. So, Madeline was right - God gave her a baby sister and she is beside herself thrilled! :) The whole labor and delivery went beautifully - very similar to Joshua's birth. Absolutely no tearing at all - amazing! I don't even feel sore down there -maybe just a bit tender, but nothing bad at all. I'm trying to make myself rest even though I feel well enough to go around doing stuff. Hubby has lots of off time so he is helping bunches! :) We came home on Xmas Eve so it was nice to spend a quiet Xmas at home as a family. Livia is doing very well. Nursing beautifully and does not appear to be slowing down on her weight at all. ;) 

This was actually an email to someone else, so I did cut out a few parts pertaining specifically to that, but left the main story in tact.  I also changed a name to keep this a little more private since it isn't my story.  Isn't that a cool story?!  I love it.  I hope you enjoyed it.