My Dream of Birthing

On my Hypnobabies yahoo group, we have a thread going where we are all sharing what our dream birth would be like. Here is mine:

Mild pressure waves start around dinner time on a Saturday. We eat a good meal, watch some tv and put the other kids to bed. We don't say anything to them, because we want them to sleep for the early part.

We go to bed around 10 PM. At midnight, I am woken by an intense pressure wave. I get up and go to the bathroom. On the toilet, I feel another intense wave and I know this will be a fast and easy birthing.

I put on my deepening cd while my hubby fills the tub with warm water and lights candles. I call my doula and my midwife. I know my midwife won't make it though. She's almost 3 hours away.

My doula arrives 15 minutes later and I am peaceful, riding the waves in the tub. Each wave I welcome with joy and pleasure because I know they are bringing my baby to me.

I soon realize it will be time to breathe the baby out before long. I use the toilet again and feel incredible, wonderful pressure. I quickly kneel on the rug in front of the toilet. My hubby and doula quietly spread soft towels under me. No one speaks. I allow my body to open and gently exhale, feeling my body press the baby out. I picture myself opening and stretching perfectly. I can feel her little head just inside the opening. I continue to breathe her down gently and peacefully. Soon I can feel her head fill my palm.

With the next wave, her head slowly comes all the way out. I feel her soft little ears and the bumps of her face as she easily rotates to face my right thigh. I quietly say, "Get some pictures, please" as my doula takes pics and my hubby kneels next to me on the floor, but doesn't touch.

Soon I feel another wave and her top shoulder slips out easily and gently. I breathe her back shoulder out right after and she slides into my hands onto the towels underneath me. I tell her "Hello baby!!! I love you so much!!" I tell my doula the sex of the baby. She is taping with the video camera. I look at my baby laying on the soft towels beneath me, and gently touch her body and face with one finger. She takes a breath and cries a bit. Her body is pink and her heart is beating strongly. I place my palm on her chest and feel her breathing and her heart. It is 2:43 AM.

After a moment I pick her up and hold her to me. My hubby and doula wrap a warm blanket around me and help me to my rocking chair, which is covered with a waterproof pad and towels. I nurse the baby. She latches herself on perfectly and nurses. I have no bleeding.

It is 3 AM. My midwife and her apprentice arrive soon. They say congratulations and catch the placenta as I push it out. My bleeding is very scarce. They tuck me into bed while my hubby goes to wake the other children. They are disappointed to have missed the birth, and I am disappointed about that too, but it just went so fast and easy that I didn't have time to think about waking them. They gather around me to touch and love on the baby. I am so overwhelmed with joy and love for my family that I cry.

The midwife and her apprentice eventually examine the baby, clean the bathroom, help the children dress, measure and weigh the baby, and examine the placenta. They check my bottom. I did not tear at all. I nurse the baby again, with all my family around me, while the midwife and her apprentice give me a hug and kiss goodbye.