Our Stork Came Early!!

Alayna Maureen Foster

Born August 5, 2008 at 8:55 am

7lbs 4oz & 20.5 in long

A HOME BIRTH!!

We could not have asked for a better birth experience! Labor and delivery went beautifully and Alayna was perfectly healthy. Originally we were going to deliver at the birthing center in Rigby, but after a kind offer from my sister Ryan and I decided that Amber and Jon's home (their master suite to be exact ;) would be the perfect place to have our little girl. Not too long ago I remember telling myself I could never do a hoe birth; but from the moment Ryan and I decided to do so, IT JUST FELT RIGHT!

On Wednesday morning I woke up around 3:45 having contractions. I tried to relax and time them for a while, but when I discovered they were already ranging 7-10 minutes apart and some over 60 seconds long we called the midwives, loaded the car made it to Amber's just after 6 am. Ryan, my mom, and Amber went to work transforming the room into a comfortable delivery room and soon Valery (the assisting mid-wife) arrived. She helped me from the couch to the large bed where I settled into a comfortable side-laying position and proceeded to work through one contraction at a time. It was a real team effort I tell ya--Ryan putting counter pressure on my lower back, mom rubbing my feet, and Valery talking me through each contraction. At some point I got too comfortable and the contractions began to space out. Valery suggested I stand up and find a new position off the bed to help speed things along. Crazy as it sounds, I found that draping my upper body over an exercise ball and slightly rocking side to side was very relaxing and labor sped up immediately. Soon my water broke, I worked through a couple more contractions and two pushes later Alayna was here. It was AMAZING!

Thank you Ryan for your confidence in my ability to do this. I leaned on your strength more than you could ever know.

Thank you mom, Valery, Kathy, and my sisters for making our home birth such a perfect experience. A very special thanks to Amber and Jon for opening their home to us!

Hope you enjoy all the pics ;)

Brielle was adorable. As soon as she saw the baby in my arms she left the room and came back with a baby of her own!

I haven't seen any major signs of jealousy from Brielle. She wants to hold her and love on her all the time. Sometimes she gets over excited and loves a little too hard.