I started my pregnancy with April when she was still doing hospital births. When I went to my 37-week appointment April told me that she was no longer doing hospital births. I was devastated. I thought my only options were to go with the OB she practiced with or start looking for a completely new provider. I scheduled my next appointment with the OB and by the time the appointment was over I was even more upset. I had a feeling I was going to go past my due date and one of the first things he...

On Tuesday I started having contractions throughout the day but they were irregular and they didn’t really hurt so I just continued in with my day.  I went out to dinner with my friends Melissa and Tiffany.   During dinner my contractions started coming more regularly but they still weren’t painful.  When I got home at 10:00 they were coming about every 5 mins but they still weren’t painful.  I told Ricky that this might be it but I didn’t want to...

I was astounded when my daughter, Pua, announced that she planned to have a home water birth. Having her baby at home was one thing, but doing it in a tub of water was another.

Home births are not new, but neither are they the majority choice. I asked my daughter the questions any concerned mother would have. Is it safe? What is a water birth? Are midwives licensed?

Pua assured me that if complications occurred before or during the birthing, she would immediately go to the hospi­tal. She...

I was so excited when I found out I was pregnant, I have wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. I have always wanted to have a water birth at home, I can’t think of a better place to experience such a miracle than in your own home. Soon after we found out about our pregnancy, I started researching homebirth and looking for a midwife. Baby’s 1st Day was the first webpage I looked at and I felt an instant connection with April just reading what she had to say about her...

A due date is an elusive thing. I had been told not to set too much store by it, and I’m happy now that I didn’t…

My story begins in mid-September 2007, when my husband and I discovered to our immense joy that we were expecting. We had recently experienced two miscarriages while trying for our second child. We decided to wait at least four months with this one before we told anyone. Just in case.

I am blessed with mild morning sickness. My nausea was minimal and I never...

Edward is my first child, my February baby; so sweet from the very beginning.  He knocked on my door at exactly midnight of the eleventh of February 2008.   I both hoped and knew in the deepest part of my heart that the eleventh would be our day.  Brand new sheets were on the bed, cucumbers were in the fridge for my husband to munch on for when I didn’t cook and I slipped into my laboring night gown (long, very soft cotton full of buttons so it was easy to bring my...

Before I became pregnant, I heard the name Lydia and knew that would be my daughter’s name. A few months later, the morning of May 1, I had a dream where I saw a beautiful little girl with blonde pigtails and the widest, most contagious smile. While still dreaming but beginning to awaken, I thought, “That must be Lydia…” I awoke with a start—“Who is Lydia?!” I thought it might be a good time to take a pregnancy test, and this time the result was...