Third birth

Not MY third birth...but my third birth as a doula took place about two weeks ago. One of my closest friends had her first baby! This mom was a trooper. She was basically in labor for two days straight. Longer if you count the contractions that were further apart. She went to the hospital only to see if she had dilated at all from her appointment. I think she wasn't very hopeful when she went in, but she found out she was completely dilated! And had the baby about 1.5 hours later. Here are some pictures of Mary holding her new little friend:

This birth was especially fun for us because it means a new stay at home mommy friend for me and a new little baby friend for Mary. She LOVES him (and all babies, notice her baby doll is next to her). And I have to say this was the most well supported birth I have been at including my own. The nurses were so very supportive and praising of her choices. They actually told her she didn't need an IV! Wow. You don't see that much. It's true...but you don't see it much sadly. They kept telling her how she could be the poster mom for birth and how she was just a pro. Every woman should hear such encouraging things after giving birth! If only all L&D nurses were this way!

I again will contend that dad's are one of my favorite parts of the team. I've known this dad for a while and he is usually pretty even tempered and laid back. He was literally jumping up and down at one point after his son was born. It was the coolest thing to see.

And I learned/practiced a valuable lesson. If you walk with authority you can basically do whatever you want. In YL I always walked around like I owned the high school even though I really didn't "belong" there so much... But I knew that if God called me there, I belonged there and his authority was what really mattered. I apply this when I'm in the hospital too.  I know God has called me to this work, so I walk with confidence. I even walked through a door that said authorized personnel only. It didn't say authorized by whom...so I took that as a go ahead. Plus I had come out of that door when leaving the laboring mom's room to get her stuff for her. I knew I was doing a good job of looking like I belonged when a lost family asked me if I worked there. Nope, I must look professional though:)

The next birth I attend will be my own! A few more weeks and we will meet our third kid. Crazy! I'm looking forward to the process and praying for a supportive team and healthy birth. Wont you pray with me?