SHARING

birth stories is a common thing to do within the birthing community we have come to know and value here. This, of course, is the blog-friendly version. For delicate details, ask and you shall receive. Here are the highlights of the most wonderful, magical, transformative 20 hours of our lives:
- On Friday, shortly after midnight, Marko opens a beer to celebrate the end of a long and exhausting work week. Hanna reminds him very gently that he might also think of packing his hospital bag, just in case. She says "The baby might come any day now." In order to really make a point, her water breaks in that second ...
- Only an hour later the surges come every hour, Marko calls our wonderful doula Laura.
- Hanna spends the next 10 or so hours in the bathtub with only a few interruptions. The whole night, all three of them sit in the bathroom (or actually in their own little world), breathing, sleeping, meditating, losing every sense of time. It's the most relaxed night ever. Barely a word is spoken. And: It's truly enjoyable!
- At some point Laura says that the surges come every 1-2 minutes and that they should go to the hospital. So they do.
- At the hospital it becomes clear: Hanna is ready, the baby is right there, he should be out any minute. Hanna gets into the birthing pool, surrounded by the most wonderful team of midwives, Laura and Marko.
- But suddenly everything seems to stop. Is is the change of environment, the baby's hand over his ear, Hanna's nervousness, the all-too-soothing water? Whatever it was, we need to get labor going again. So with a lot of excellent coaching and support from the team, a whole array of gadgets and tricks and, when nothing else worked well enough, a mini dosage of pitocin, the little boy was born. There are no words to describe the moment when one of the midwives put him on Hanna's belly. He was perfect! WE ARE THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET.