After thinking about my labor and delivery process, I just want to say that even though I endured the worst physical pain of my life, it was one of the best experiences of my life. One of the reasons this is true is because I had WONDERFUL support. Not only did I have my husband and mother by my side, but I had one of my closest friends, Sarah, act as my doula. She was able to be the “clear-thinker” throughout the whole process who kept me on track and provided me with natural remedies and techniques to have my baby without any pain medication. She did tons of research beforehand to be most effective during my labor, and I am forever grateful for everything she did for me during this time. One of my favorite things that she did for me during my labor was take a long piece of cloth called a Moby wrap and wrap it around my waist and pull when I was having a contraction to counteract the pain. It was wonderful! Even my nurse was impressed by this technique. She had never seen it done before, but even she could tell that it was effective.
With this said, if you plan on having a natural child birth, or just wish to have a positive birth experience in general, I STRONGLY encourage every pregnant woman to consider having a doula at their baby's birth. Having a doula at Kobe's birth was one of the best decisions I ever made. Furthermore, I strongly encourage them to consider having Sarah act as their doula. She is actually in the process of getting her doula certification right now and is offering to do some free births. If this is something you would like to consider, just let me know, and I can get you contact information. Just know that if you do have her at your baby's birth, you will not be disappointed.
Sarah and I the day after Jakobe's birth
