Faith in YAH AdaraYAH's Birth

Shalom (Peace). I wanna talk about the home birth of my first born daughter AdaraYAH. It happened 5 yrs ago (2011) in Denver Colorado. I was inspired by another sister I saw on you tube and thought if she can do it so can I. I talked it over with my husband who thought I was kidding. I told him I saw myself having this baby and then going on with every day life afterwards. So we looked into getting a midwife. They only wanted me to come in for an exam every month and of course charge 130.00 bucks each time but would not assist in the labor and birth. So we went online and ordered a book on water births and the supplies we would need like clamps for the umbilical cord then went to a nearby used book store and from there I purchased a funny but truthful book about first time pregnancies. I will post both books at the end of my blog for those interested. I never went to Lamaze's class nor did I go in for check- ups. The only thing I experienced was heart burn of course and a terribly itchy rash called PUPPS (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy), also known as PEP (Polymorphic Eruption of Pregnancy) is a fairly common skin condition seen in pregnancy.

It is estimated to affect approximately one in 200 women. I used Tiger's Balm to stop the itching and drank lots of tomato juice to make sure I was thoroughly cleansed internally too! Throughout my pregnancy my diet changed from Laffy Taffy candy, Ramen Noodles, Nachos exclusively from 711, Popsicles, Double meat tacos with sour cream from Taco Bell, Popeye's spicy chicken, Pizza with extra cheese and extra tomato sauce from Pizza hut or any other pizza delivery place, Ben and Jerry's Peppermint ice cream and last but not least....Orange Juice!!!! Orange juice all day - every day!!! For severe leg and thigh cramps I simply drank Gatorade and Powerade. I remember about three months into my pregnancy whenever my husband put his hand on my stomach the little one would play with him. It felt like she would press her hand against me and when he placed his hand there she would move away really quick!! As time moved on I started sleeping on the couch due to an ever growing belly and I got tired of using my husband to turn over in bed and to get up out of bed!

I used to grunt and have to count to ten before raising myself up out the tub after taking a bath. I was also a night owl as most pregnant women are and couldn't believe how much peeing I did! Around the 9th month I started shedding my mucus plug and could only sleep in a fetal position on the couch. The very night before my labor pains kicked in I had a strong craving for dairy products. How I wished I wouldn't have given in!! The moment the pains set in my body used all my energy to empty out my stomach!! KAYN I mean DIARRHEA big time!!! I literally had to go every 5 minutes!! So any first time moms please do not give in to that strong craving of dairy!! My ish and I had stayed up pretty late that night so he went to bed and I stayed up and watched "The Jeffersons" online. At daybreak..BAM the first pains set in. I started praying.

The contractions were like 20 minutes apart then 15 then 10 then 5. Oh, I earnestly and diligently prayed for a break..nothing! So I obeyed scripture and cried out to YAH and woke up my ish. It's funny because the first thing he asked me was if I wanted to go to the hospital. What a temptation it was but I kept my faith and trust in YAH that He would see me through it all and of

course He did - Bless His Mighty Name!! MikaYAH my ish did everything he could to help soothe me. He prayed and read scripture but labor is what it is - a lot of PAIN (lol). He sat next to me on the couch just as a pain set in. I wailed and called his name and my fingers ripped through his jeans - no joke!!! Then my water broke. I told him and asked why does it have to hurt so much? He ran a tub of warm water and helped me in, but first my body had to finish emptying out my stomach.

The strong urge to push set in and boy does that hurt. The first one started when I was on the toilet and MikaYAH told me not to do that. I grunted " I can't help it!!" to him. He put his hand under me and said he could feel the baby's hair and told me this baby comin fast. "HALLELUYAH!!" I responded and got into the tub for a little while. It helped a little bit and my ish brought me something to drink. I immediately threw it up and assured him the pregnancy book said that's normal and I needed all my energy for birth not digestion. He tried calming my pain with scripture and just let me be. Every time he would leave the room for something I would immediately ask him where he was and what he was doing!! MikaYAH is blessed with great patience and understanding. He's a very level headed cool calm and collected Man of YAH.I got out of the tub and walked around and laid on the floor.

The pregnancy book suggested doing so because the coolness of the floor could bring some relief. My ish asked if I fell. I told him no then laid on the bed and wailed and hoped the pushing urges would go away but they didn't!! The desire for MikaYAH didn't go away either. Finally the last of the labor and I'm back in the tub. MikaYAH is there and the pushing is bringing her out and my ish is encouraging me to keep pushing. With all that I was experiencing I still could not believe I was having a baby! Arrival time and to my surprise I was blessed with a little girl - not a boy. How did I know because my ish said "Babe this a girl. "We both started laughing. I've heard people say babies can't see when they're first born - not true.

When my daughter came out she looked around like "Hey this ain't where I was a minute ago!" and started to cry(complain). MikaYAH fell in love with her the moment he saw her and so did I.I was able to stand after having her and felt little to no pain. With a water birth you don't have to worry about clean up because everything goes down the drain- just clean out the tub. We let her stay on the umbilical cord for at least an hour or longer until Elder AsaYAH and ShobiYAH showed up to cut the umbilical cord and to anoint everyone. HalleluYAH! I cleansed myself in an antibiotic that I cannot remember the name of right now and used an antiseptic spray for my slight tear. Two days later I was up and cleaning the house and doing everything I would normally do. HalleluYAH! What a beautiful time it was and for every fear I had prayer to YAH abated it. I hope my story will strengthen and encourage someone. Joshua 1:9 says: Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for YAH your YL is with you wherever you go. Until next blog, YAH willing be blessed Ysrayl.

As promised here are my book references: Pregnancy Sucks: What to do when your miracle makes you miserable by Joanne Kimes, Leslie Young MD

Second Book: Water birth: From a midwife's perspective by Susana Napierala.