I don't know if I had my eyes closed or not, but all my memories are purely physical at this point. I don't remember seeing anyone, or if anyone spoke. I was in a squatting position, with one hand behind me holding me up. I cupped my vagina with my hand. I felt my perineum start to burn and slowed down a little. I gently eased out the head into my hand. I remember saying "Head is out," and I waited for the rest to slip out the way Ricky had. I checked for a cord and there wasn't one, and I remember feeling a tiny ear. I stroked the soft hair which flowed in the water. I gave a little push to slide the shoulders out, but nothing happened. I realized I was going to have to work much harder to finish than I was used to, but I had this perfect sense of faith that if I needed help, Stephanie was there and capable. Like my sign on the wall said, I truly had everything I needed.
I heard Stephanie calmly ask about the shoulders, and I said "They're coming," and then pushed again, as hard as I had with the head. I felt the shoulders turn now, my push was forcing them around, and the baby slid out into my hands. I brought her to the surface of the water and cradled her at my breast. She was blue and seemed to be gasping, so I suctioned her mouth a little with the bulb syringe Scott handed me. It didn't seem to help much, so I quit and asked Stephanie about her still being blue. She said she was doing perfectly otherwise, good muscle tone, and she listened to her chest and her heartrate was good and her lungs clear. So I just stroked her back and talked to her and she eventually pinked up. Stephanie said later her Apgars were 8 and 8; she took 2 points off each time for her color. Scott put a hat on her.
I was so happy and excited to see my baby. Throughout the pregnancy and in labor I had called the baby "she," partly because Tommy and Sam had insisted it was a girl and got upset if we said otherwise, and partly because I just had a feeling it was a girl. I sat in the water talking excitely to and about "her" and Scott and the others were doing the same. I heard someone say "So it is a girl then?" and realized I hadn't checked yet! I moved my hand that was on her back down past her butt and between her legs...I can still remember the odd feeling of finding nothing there! Oh yes, she is a girl!
Later I learned that Tommy stayed next to the pool and watched the whole thing. Immediately after the birth, he ran back to the toy room where my mom was waiting with Sam and Ricky, watching a video. He said "The baby's here RIGHT NOW! And there's two of them!" and then all three boys ran back out to see. (He tells everyone there are two babies because we have "Baby Ricky and Baby Macha!")
I delivered the placenta in the water; Stephanie commented that it looked like it had separted & could I feel it? I felt inside and there it was; I pushed it out into my hand. The membranes were trailing and because of my position, I couldn't wiggle them out, so I asked Stephanie to do it. We brought the placenta up together. It was a little on the small side, but otherwise perfect. We never saw any sign of meconium during labor, but she had a little green stuff on her face and the membranes had a greenish tint. It was so neat to move the placenta around in the water; Stephanie put her hand in the bag and we could see how it must have looked intact, full of water.
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