*Photos done by Emily Rose Photography. Follow her on instagram @emilyrosemade

• First Time Mom
• No pain meds
• 40 weeks 5 days
• 7 hours labor – 2 hours pushing
• 8lb 2oz
• No tears

Amara Nifemi Ruth Lawal

My due date, October 7th, came and went with no signs of baby.
The day before, I had my first acupuncture appointment, where she worked hard to open me up and prepare my body for labor.

The next few days were full of long walks, spicy food, pineapples, pumping, homeopathics, and any other ideas anyone threw my way.

On Wednesday the 9th, I had an appointment with my midwives where I opted for a cervical check and a sweep if possible. I was 3cm dilated after she stretched me for a bit, and she was able to give me a sweep. That night I ran out of the bathroom, excitingly high fiving Lukeman about losing my mucus plug!

On Friday evening I went to see my acupuncturist. She noticed that my body was much more open and she told me baby wasn’t too far behind!

Saturday morning I woke up feeling pretty inconsistent menstrual like cramps. We had made plans to spend the day at the Pumpkin Patch with the family that day. Because the pumpkin patch was 45 minutes away from home and right next to my birthing center, with wishful thinking, we packed my bags for our day outing, just in case…..

On our drive out to the pumpkin patch I noticed my cramping feeling from the morning was happening more often. By the time we arrived and began walking around, I was having to intentionally breathe and move through the cramps. I was in complete denial that these were contractions, or that labor was even close.

Around 2pm, we stood in line for the corn maze. Everyone asked me if I was fine committing to the time it might take. I thought they were silly for asking, there was no way I was actually going into labor anytime soon.

As we walked, and the surges increased with intensity, I started timing them with my Freya app. After a few recorded surges, the app informed me that I was in established labor. I immediately began crying, overwhelmed with emotion. I couldn’t believe that this could actually be it….

We came across the halfway point in the corn maze, and made our escape. I called the midwives and they told me to drop by and get checked.

When we arrived, my surges were about 45 seconds to a minute long, about every 2 minutes. They checked me and I was 6, almost 7, centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. Today was gonna be the day.

They told me to leave and go eat, since I hadn’t eaten all day, and maybe go take a walk to move things along. So we all went across the street and had some red robin. By the end of the meal, there was no way I was up for going for a walk anywhere far from the birthing center. It was time to go back.

We arrived around 4:45pm and walked around the garden for a bit.

I was then checked and was told I was between 7 and 8 centimeters dilated. STILL, I could not believe this was happening.

They set me up in my room and attempted to find Amara’s heartbeat. This girl moved around constantly my entire pregnancy, and made it extremely hard for any one to keep her still long enough to get her heart rate. This quickly became a challenge my entire labor lol

I then went to the shower for some relief, where Lukeman brought me the ball to lean on and kept hot water running down my back. This was by far my favorite form of pain relief.

The real MVP was Lukeman. He was so patient, loving and supportive the entire time. I don’t know how I could have done this without him.

When he wasn’t rubbing my back, he was filling my water. When he wasn’t holding me, he was feeding me grapes. When I felt defeated, he gently encouraged me. I didn’t think it was possible to fall more in love with this man.

Around 11pm, we decided to move into the tub. My surges had increased in intensity and were closer together.

The relief I felt in the pool was unbelievable.

The intensity continued to increase, and after a while I began to feel the need to bear down.  My water still had not broke, and was keeping baby from putting any more pressure on my cervix. So at 12:30 they broke my waters.

Shortly after the intensity increased and I felt the urge to push. I began pushing around 12:45 in the pool.

After a few pushes the midwives thought it would be best to get me out of the tub to move things along a little quicker. I had a moment of hesitation, but trusted their judgement completely.

I got out of the tub and on to the bed where the urges to push became stronger.
I accepted some coached pushing while pulling on a rope that one of the midwives held during every contraction. This helped immensely to get me to focus on where to send my energy and push.

Lukeman and my Mom were in my ears encouraging me through and between every push. Michelle was wiping cold wash cloths on my head ( this was heavenly ). And I had a team of midwives putting in hard work of stretching my perineum and applying counter pressure.

Baby girl had her hand on her face, which made it extremely difficult for her to make her descent and for me to push her out. On top of that, I took the advice to work on my pelvic floor during pregnancy a little too seriously. After pushing her down, when the contractions ended, I would pull her right back up. My strong pelvic floor and her little hand were working against us.

This was by far the hardest and most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do. By this point I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to tap out and give up (as if that was an option).
But the encouragement from my entire team was literally everything.

Eventually they were talking about seeing her head and they were in awe of how much hair she had. At one point they brought a mirror out for me to see.

That was the point that I knew I was doing all this work for something (I was still in denial that it was really happening) and I was ready to get baby girl out.
After reaching down and touching her head, I was ready to go.

The last few pushes were the hardest, but the excited sounds of my large audience gave me the extra push I needed for the final push.

Her head finally came out with her hand and arm extended as well. We waited for the next contraction and I breathed her body out at 2:46am.

They placed her immediately on my chest and I fell in love…

We held her on my chest for the next 30 minutes. They then had daddy take his shirt off and hold her skin to skin while I stood up and delivered my placenta.

Lukeman, baby and I then laid down in bed as I breastfed her for the first time. We were made breakfast in bed and enjoyed our first moments as a family.

Shorty after we were discharged and on our way home around 6am.

Giving birth to our baby girl was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But never have I felt more powerful. I will cherish this experience forever.

A HUGE thanks to my birthing team.

Lukeman. I love you so much. Thank you for being my strength and my encouragement. I love this magical experience we shared together.

Mom. Having you there brought me peace that nothing else could have. I love you so much. I can’t wait to be a mother just like you.

Emily. Thank you so much for documenting the most important of my life. I loved sharing this experience with my sister. I love you.

Michelle. Thank you for being an encouraging voice in the background and putting cold towels on my head. I can’t emphasize how much I loved those things lol I love you!!

Grandma. I feel so lucky to have had my grandma share this moment with me. I love you so much.

Dad. Thank you for being there for anything we need! I loved that you were there for the moment of your first grand daughter entering the world! I love you.

Stacie. Thank you for literally traveling the world to come be here for me. I love you!

Josiah. Brother thank you for being there for me! I love that you waited the long hours to meet your niece. I love you so much.

Jude. Thank you for being so patient and caring for your auntie. I love you.

Midwives & Students. Words can not express how much I love and appreciate every single one of you. The months of care before the grand event and the marathon you encouraged me through. I could not have had the confidence and strength to do this without you all.