On November 28, 2004, I woke up around 2:30 am with contractions that were about 5 minutes apart. I woke Jim up at 3:00 and told him that we were going to have a baby today. We called Jackie a little before 4:00 am and she was leaving her house to check on another woman that was in labor. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t so I just rested until about 5:00. Jim and I then got up and ate some breakfast. We didn’t wake anyone up yet. We thought we would let them sleep since it would probably be a while before it got serious. I worked on Abigail’s baby book until Mom and Nana woke up. Jackie had another midwife come and check on me around 8:30 and I was at 4 cm. She was surprised I was still smiling and comfortable! She offered to stay with me, but I told her she didn’t have to. My contractions stayed between 5-10 minutes apart most of the day. I watched tv and did stuff around the house most of the day. Jim and I went for a walk around 2:00. 
After we came back from the walk, we played a game of cards with my mom and MIL until about 3:30 when the contractions were getting pretty intense and I couldn’t concentrate on the game anymore. Jim called Jackie again and she was on her way over. When Jackie got there, I was at 8 cm and 80%-90% effaced, so she said I could get in the pool any time. Getting in the hot water helped so much! Jackie gave me antibiotics by IV for the GBS infection when I first got in the pool. After that I wasn’t really paying attention to the time, but things got more and more intense from there. Jim was in the pool supporting me through every contraction. I overheard Jackie say at one point that things would move more quickly once my water broke, so I asked her if she could break it. 
She said she would check me during the next contraction and see where I was at. When she checked me, part of my cervix was still in the way, so she stretched it during the next contraction. My water broke soon after that, and I started pushing for a few more contractions. Jim said I pushed around six times. It was so amazing to feel her come out of me! It hurt a lot, but it was worth it to have a drug-free birth and to feel the whole birth. She was born at 7:16 pm and she was perfect! I caught her when she was born and Jim cut the cord. It was so nice to just get in my own bed afterward and to have her with me the whole time. After a while, Jackie helped me to the bathroom so I could get cleaned up, but I got really dizzy and almost passed out when I got there. They took me back to bed abd cleaned me up there. I had three very small tears, one on each side and one on the bottom. Jackie put three stitches in each tear. When I tried to nurse Abigail, she 
latched on the first try! Jackie was amazing and I really appreciate her kind spirit and loving disposition through the whole experience. She is one of a kind and I feel blessed to have had a natural birth with her guidance and assistance.
Abigail’s Stats
Born on Sunday, November 28, 2004, at 7:16 pm
Weight 7 lbs 12 oz
Length 19 1/2 inches
