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The
birth story of Aramae Olivia Herro It was a sunny, windy spring day. I had a doctor's appointment at 9 a.m. I planned to drive myself, but my mother and father-in-law said they would take me. The appointment went fine. I found out I was already dilated to 2! Good thing I didn't drive myself! After the appointment, we drove down to the Pier on Lake Michigan. The waves were huge on the lake. We drove close enough so our car was getting splashed. When I got home I continued nesting. The past few days I felt the need to keep cleaning and keep busy by preparing food for after the birth. The freezer was stocked with my favorite soup and lasagna rolls. We went grocery shopping the day before. I had been making list after list about what I needed. It felt so good to cross things off of it. At around 2 pm I bent down to pick up a tiny scrap of paper and felt a pop! Then a drizzle of liquid seeping out. Did my water break? I called Jan. As I spoke with her, the drizzle became a gush. I was soaked. Yup, my water broke. I called my husband Dan and told him to come home. Labor started at about 3 pm, with my contractions coming at regular intervals. They were 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute. Jan and I kept in touch. We decided she could wait to come over. I called my mom in Minneapolis, MN. She was so excited. She shut down her computer at work and said she was on her way. My parents' had already packed their bags. Their plan was to start driving to Milwaukee once my labor started. I wanted my mom at the birth, but knew we needed to leave it up to the Universe. Meanwhile Dan got home. I needed him. His presence is grounding and comforting. We called his mom and she was going to pick up a few more things for us. I labored in the bathroom, the bedroom and on the phone with Jan and our family. It was getting harder to talk during contractions. Jan got to our house around 6 pm. I grabbed the birth ball on our bed and hugged it. My favorite way of laboring was being on my knees with my arms and belly draped over the birth ball. During contractions I made any sound I felt like. In between them I told our baby how much I loved her and laughed and talked with Mary (my mother-in-law), Jan and Dan. In the meantime all around me, Dan and Jan were setting up the birthing tub and organizing supplies. Dan got the hot water bottle and put it on my lower back. I also felt them in my hips. My contractions were getting stronger. I remember being in the bathroom and having about 4 contractions before I left there. Jan called to me and asked how I was doing. She decided to check my cervix. I was already dilated to 7! Now they really started into high gear. People found all of our biggest pots and began boiling water on the stove. The birthing tub was only partly full. Our cat Asher was very curious about it and kept wanting to play in it. Finally I was able to get in the tub. It felt wonderful! The warmth surrounded my muscles. I felt so loved and comforted by the water. I was filled with gratitude. Meanwhile, people were pouring water from the stove into the tub. I said "I feel like I little girl in my pool." I stretch out my legs. This is the part of the story where it becomes dream-like, when I went inside myself, calling on women who came before me, my grandmothers, my ancestors. This is when I turn to my journal. This I wrote days after the birth. Hands
and knees ~Jess Herro |