Our Birth

It was Saturday night and we had just decided we needed to go to church in the morning because last week we didn't go because we didn't want people saying (or at least I didn't want people saying) "still no baby?"...but we'd used that excuse once, and there STILL was no baby. And then I thought my water broke, so we made some calls and had our midwife and doula on alert. 30 minutes later it was apparent that we would not be at church in the morning, but that would be because there would be a baby! How exciting. Labor progressed fairly quickly with no complications. My dream birth was a natural one with no interventions, and we achieved this. Our doula, nurse, and midwife were a great team for Ryan and I. I used a birth tub to labor in, but Maddie was not born under water. Ryan decided at 5 in the morning he should make the calls to the family to let them know they should be on their way to the hospital...and it's a good thing, because at 6 the midwife made it to the hospital and discovered I was ready to birth a baby, and 1 hour later Madeleine Ava entered the world at 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 21 inches long. We have a few pictures of the birth we'd like to share. Our experience was wonderful and beautiful, and are thankful to our LORD for such a precious gift.