My co-pregnant lady Heather had her baby last week. She was due October 31 but her water didn't break until the afternoon of November 10th. I headed over on the ferry as soon as I could and got to the hospital at midnight. Due to her testing positive for Group B Strep the doctors decided to induce her when labour didn't start past her water breaking. After a long long long night and day (with only an hour or so of sleep) she was still only at 6 cm! Poor girl. I was there in the capacity of a doula (haven't actually started my training but have been studying) and did what I could to make her more comfortable and have less pain. I tried to focus her on her breathing as well as rubbed her wherever she was sore and held her hand through the contractions. It was quite the experience and I am glad I was there for her. There are things I wish I could have done more of (learned better relaxation techniques, helped her focus more) but all in all I found it a positive experience from my end. I don't really think she felt the same though! By the end of her labour (around 3 pm Nov 11) she was frustrated and tired and angry and scared. She went in for a C-Section at about 4 pm. I had to leave by 6 to catch the ferry back home so I only got to see her for about 3 minutes or so and I didn't get to see Heather after that. Hopefully I can go back for a visit soon.
Heather's labour really helped me decide on a lot of things I want for my labour. I have some experience with meditation and focusing my mind on my goals (mostly due to spell work) and I would like to develop that further. I also really want to get a copy of "Birthing from Within" and would like to take the birth class based on the book. I signed up for my pre-natal classes through the Public Health Department today which will start in February. They are pretty basic though so I really want to explore more options for coping with pain and getting the most out of the labour and birth.
16 Weeks, 3 Days
