It was a sunny day...

This the story of Nyla's birth. I had been having false labor pains for weeks but just like my due date they came and went. For this reason after dinner on Tuesday night even though I was having mild, consistent contractions I didn't make a fuss because I was confident it was another false alarm. I was completely caught off guard when after I put Marianna to bed I was greeted by three hours of intense contractions. Although it felt very real I was still skeptical and we waited until 3am before we called Dianna to come over. By this time my contractions were painful and were about 5 - 3 minutes apart.

My midwife warned me at our last pre-natal check-up that I should not hang around the house too long as the second child comes quick and we didn't want to be stuck in traffic in active labor. So although I was still unsure of my progress we decided to leave the house at 5:30am to beat the morning traffic.

We called the hospital ahead of time to let our midwife know we were coming, so you can imagine my disappointment when we got there and the nurse staff didn't know where she was. They instead sent in an intern who was eager to check my progress. He looked like he was not a day over 20 and I felt immediately uncomfortable around him. He was 'pleased' to inform me that I was only 3cm dilated and could not be admitted until I was atleast 4cm. He suggested a stroll around the UCLA campus for a few hours. As if this wasn't enough of a blow to my

confidence he then felt my belly and exclaimed "ohhh this is a big baby!" He pulled out his iphone and punched in a few numbers before predicting the baby would be 8 pounds 15 ounces. What!? Why would you tell a woman who is psyching herself up for child birth that according

to you iphone app she is going to have to push a huge baby out!?

Sadly, a big baby turned out to be the least of my worries. We grabbed our little orange suitcase and headed out of the hospital. On our way out we bumped into my midwife who barely acknowledged us. When I told her what had happened while she was away she just shrugged and said "you'll be back eventually."

So at 7am we hit the streets of Westwood. College students hiding under UCLA hoodies whized by us as I stopped to moan through my contractions. It was cold, I was wearing pajamas and I was exhausted from not sleeping or eating. This had to be a nightmare.

At 8:45am I was standing at the entrance of UCLA's football field, in the middle of a contraction when I suddenly was surrounded by a pool of liquid. William was excited that my water had broken which would mean immediate admission into the labor and delivery ward. I was pretty sure I had peed my pants. I had been needing to go for awhile. However I was willing to believe I was wrong partly because I was already feeling humiliated roaming the streets in my state. When we arrived back in labor and delivery I was informed that I was only 4cm and I had indeed peed my pants. On the bright side a very nice nurse admitted us and took us to our room.

The beautiful morning light flooded our hospital room and I was feeling more hopeful that we were on our way to having a baby. William convinced me to have a snack as we waited for our midwife to make an appearance. When Susan finally came in the first thing she said to me was "you better wipe that miserable look off your face." I don't know what she expected from someone who had just spent her morning urinating on a college campus. She then asked what I wanted to do? I want to have a baby, obviously. "Well judging by the fact that you are sitting around eating, it is not going to happen soon and there are other people waiting for this room", she replied. "What do you suggest?" I asked "Pitocin and an epidural," was her answer. And despite my firm disapproval she continued to push this every time she would returned to check my progress which was the only time we would see Susan and I was glad about that. Every time she did come in she made

me feel like I was wasting her time.

Thank God for William. He never faltered. He was always ready to suggest ways to distract me and progress labor. He walked me up and down the hospital hallways coaching me through contractions and keeping my spirits up.

At 2pm Susan made one of her dreaded visits and she informed me that I was barely 6cm. Again like a street dealer she listed the array of drugs available to me. I began to doubt myself and was for the first time tempted by her offer. William quickly whisked me into a hot shower and

assured me that we were close. I didn't believe him.

At 3pm my contractions were strong and very painful. I was unsure if I could stand another minute of this but was terrified I would give in to the medication so I decided to ask for my waters to be broken in the hopes that it would move thing along. Our nurse paged Susan with my request. She then did a routine fetal heart rate check and noticed the baby's heart rate was low. Susan arrived and when told the news she stared at the screen concerned and then turned to me and said: "Oh Johanna, I think you are going to need a C-section." As soon as I heard the forbidden word leave her lips I snapped up and yelled: "NO!"

That was the moment I took charge of the situation. I had been very polite up to now but I chose natural child-birth because I wanted it to be an empowering experience. However I had

spent the last 6 hours doubting myself and apologizing for my performance. It was time to step up to prove to Susan that I would be having this baby naturally with or without her support.

Good news was that with the help of the nurse who gave me oxygen and an IV we got the baby's heart rate up. Bad news was that because of this scare I had to remain on the fetal monitor and IV until delivery.

It was now 4pm. My water was broken and Susan said that she would have to stay and monitor the heart rate for an hour to make sure it remained normal. She took a seat next to my bed, crossed her hands over her chest and stared at the monitor.

My anger and disgust must have thrown my body into motion. I got out of bed and although I couldn't go far I positioned myself so that I could not see Susan. With William by my side reassuring me that "she would be here soon," I squatted and with every contraction I could feel her dropping down into my birth canal. At one point I had forgotten that there was a midwife

there and was ready to push this baby out on my own. William recognized this new stage and turned to Susan and said "this baby is coming."

I don't think she believed him because she casually asked me to lay down so she could check me. I was disappointed to involve her and I immediately started to doubt myself again. Although I could feel the baby in my birth canal and I had that burning need to bear down, I was convinced that she would check me and tell me I was still 6cm.

As soon as I opened my legs for the exam I didn't need her to say a word. I knew it was go time. I wish I could remember the look on her face when she saw Nyla crowning. I do remember her frantically paging the nurses and the pediatricians (there had been meconium in my amniotic fluid so there needed to be pediatricians available at the delivery to check the baby's lungs).

The nurses rushed in just in time for a powerful contraction. I was in the middle of pushing when Susan yelled at me: "Stop pushing, we can't do this without the pediatricians!"

I spent so much money on birthing classes and birth books to learn how to push a baby out but no one had taught me how to stop pushing.

"I can't!" I yelled back. And out she flew.

Susan who was reaching for a towel on the table behind her, turned just in time to catch our baby girl.

I sat up in shock. I watched as they rushed her over to the pediatricians, still unable to believe what had happened. William went with her but he returned to give me a kiss on the forehead and I remember him whispering: "she is here". I think he could see the disbelief in my face.

Moments later she was in my arms. As I looked down at this tiny, perfect creature, I quickly became a believer.