34 – hours of good hard labour.

2 – Emergency (unplanned) C-sections

1 – Planned c-sections

200 – lbs was my weight at the end of my pregnancy. There is not other time in my life that I could be 5 foot 1 and 200 lbs and people say to me, “oh you look so good”. It will NEVER happen outside of pregnancy, so why not embrace it? Right.

3 – Wonderful children

1 Amazing patient no longer bashful husband

1 Patient and kind doula

Incredible midwives

Countless blessings and amazing Grace

There are my labour and delivery stories told in numbers. Every momma has her favorite labour stories, and why wouldn’t they, it is the most incredible and miraculous time in their life. I mean the idea that there is another living soul in your own body should scare the crud out of you as well as completely overwhelm you with amazement.

For our family, we are not sure if we are done having children at this point… if you ask me the answer changes from hour to hour. But one thing is for sure, I would not want to deliver another baby without the guidance and care of a midwife.  When I was first pregnant with my first baby my sister-in-law (a mother of 4) recommended I try a midwife.  I am so thankful she did.  I planned on having my babies delivered naturally.  But that was not how it went down. No for me, as for many others, it was a medical procedure that lacked the intimacy I had dreamt of during my pregnancy.

It was still special and there was a level of intimacy, just not anywhere close to what I had imagined.

Regardless of the birthing process, my midwife was there by my side from the time the contractions were a consistent 5 minutes apart at my house until I was resting with my new baby in a quiet room in the hospital. For the first two, that process was well over 24 hours.

Many people are surprised to hear that I choose to be in the care of a midwife even though I must have a planned c-section. However, the care that a mother receives during the delivery is only a portion of the care that a midwife provides.

The prenatal care from my midwife empowered me with confidence. They helped me to make informed decisions and gave me the information I needed to prepare for labour and delivery.

I even was comfortable enough to bring up the crazy pregnancy fears that mommas face while expecting. And once had the nerve to mention that, due to my strach marks, I would never again look good in a bikini.  (But I have never really looked good wearing a bikini. I’m a full piece kinda girl)

One of my favorite things about being in the care of a midwife was that our appointments took place on a cozy couch in a comfortable room.  Our appointments were for the whole family… yup, my husband and my children were always welcome and present at all the appointments. Sometimes there would be all 5 of us in there.

During the labour and delivery the midwife is there to get you through it and catch the baby. Yeah, that’s what they say, “catch the baby”. It makes it sound like it`s just gonna come flyin`out of there. But when it does not go as planned as it did with me, my midwife was there to advocate for me. After a c section there is an hour of more wait in recovery. While in recovery there are no visitors and no baby. BUT not for me. My midwife was there making sure that my baby and I were together experiencing skin to skin contact in the first hour of their lives.

The recovery nurses were checking to make sure I was thawing properly and I was nursing my babies flat on my back. I had hungry babies, there were in the 10 lbs range (hence the c-section) so nursing with their face straight down was no big deal for them.

The postnatal care was also incredible. The first 2 or 3 post natal visits took place on my couch, yeah, in my home on my couch. I was wearing a house coat and would never be caught dead lookin` like that in public. I even had the staples from my c section incision removed in my own bed. (Sorry about the too much information)

During one of my pregnancies I was in a car accident that put me into premature labour.  My midwife rushed to the hospital and was with me there until the labour stopped.  She worked side by side with the nurses and doctors. I had great care.  Thankfully my son was born at 39 weeks by a planned C-section. Thanks by to God. 

As you can tell I loved my experience of having a midwife.  My family was welcomed into Sharon Barber’s practice, Abbotsford Midwifery Group. I saw all the midwives at the practice, but it was Sharon who was there for the birth of all three of my babies. She will always have a special place in our family`s heart.  Being surrounded by these women and learning about their passion has made me consider becoming a doula. If you are unfamiliar with that term check out the link. There will be a post soon about the befits of having a doula at your birth. Watch for it!

Hear me when I say – I have nothing against doctors. It was a doctor who performed all of my c-sections. What I am saying is that a midwife is specially trained in the business of babies. They are passionate about it and that is evident in the care they provide. I would recommend a midwife to anyone. The care that I received from my midwife was incredible.I also want to give a special shout out to Trina.  She made Abbotsford Midwifery Group amazing.  She was more than a receptionist she was a bright shinning face who was so willing to help beyond expectation.