Here I am, on Sunday, June 18^th, 2006 after spending a relaxing day with Jeremy. We walked 4 miles to and from downtown Long Beach and saw the movie Cars as our last flick as a couple.   Jeremy and I spent the last few hours as a couple enjoying each other and planning for the arrival of our baby.  I went to bed ready to get up for work the next day and continue my regular routine until I started labor.

     At about 1:30 am on June 19^th, I woke up to empty my bladder, but what had become a normal routine for me presented the first signs that our baby would come soon, the "bloody show". I was expecting this show to be heavier, so I wasn't sure it was time.  I woke Jeremy up, because I needed a second opinion. We went to back to bed expecting labor to start in I or 2 days. At about 2 am I had a contraction, followed by another one 20 minutes later.  I started timing the contractions all night until about 5 am when I woke Jeremy up. We then began timing them together for about an hour to see how consistent they were. They were about 10-20 minutes apart and 45 seconds in length.

     We tried to go back to bed for about an hour or so but the contractions were intensifying. We were very excited to know that we would soon meet our baby. Jeremy made the eminent call to work to say he would not come in for the day and I called Sub Finder to notify LAUSD that I would not work any longer. We tried to keep ourselves busy by going to Big Lots to stock up on supplies we would need for our planned home birth and notifying our midwife Sue of the onset of early labor. At I I am, Jeremy and I were reviewing the positive signs of the start of labor when my water broke. From that point on things moved really quickly.

     We called Sue and she prepared to come over. Upon her arrival, I was pacing up and down our small apartment as contractions came on.   Sue checked to see how far along I was and, sure enough, I was 4 cm dilated. After about an hour, Meadow, Sue's assistant, had arrived and began setting up the pool for our water birth. At this point the labor pains were increasing in length and it was getting harder to tolerate them. Jeremy helped by massaging my lower back and giving me words of encouragement.

     Before, I knew it I was 6 cm dilated and was ready to use the pool.  I was in there for 2 or 3 contractions, it helped with the pain, but I felt I dealt with them better if I was able to move around. I walked some more up and down the living room and Jeremy followed with massage balls; the pains were so intense that I was grunting.  I never thought that I was capable of such sounds!  Of course, Jeremy encouraged my grunting, because it was more effective than yelling at the top of my lungs. Sue decided to check me again because my contractions and grunting were sounding like it was time to push.

     I was finally fully dilated at about 2:30pm and Sue said it was time to push.  Pushing turned out to be the most difficult part of labor.  I went in the pool to help with the pain but could not stand it; I came out, I squatted and finally I used a birthing stool and Jeremy as my back support, which gave me the support I needed to get through the hardest, but most rewarding part: the birth. After, grunting, and pushing for what seemed to be forever, I finally understood what effective pushing was and I was able to help our baby greet the world at 4:06pm on June 19^th, 2006.

     We named her Adila Pixan (Adila meaning "righteous" or "just" in Arabic and Pixan meaning "soul" in my mom's native tongue, Chuj).  I was at a loss for words and shocked at how quickly she came out.

     Shortly after her birth, we encountered some challenges but Sue, Diane (Sue¹ midwifery partner), and Meadow were an amazing team that got us over the hump.  I was unaware of how serious the situation wasI apparently bled too much before and after the placenta was born. The team worked really quickly and gave me Pitocin and Methagen to stop the bleeding. During all this, I was spending time with my baby and breast-feeding. That's what I remember most of the whole situation: the first initial moments with my little girl; everything else is a blur.