Nurses and Midwife

We really liked our nurses and midwives that we had for Ellen's birth. The nurse on the left in the first picture was named Alyssa and had been a labor and delivery nurse for 30 years. She is the one that suggested a new position at the end that helped me deliver Ellen. The nurse on the right was named Kris and had two natural deliveries, so I felt her support from the beginning.

The midwife that was on call was Jessica. I had only met with her a couple of times during my monthly check-ups. As with most of my appointments, they treated me like a baby delivering machine since it was my 2nd pregnancy and didn't spend a lot of time with me. I got the same impression when I arrived at the hospital. As I was walking the halls Jessica would happen to walk out of another room and she would say, "Looking good! Do your thing girl" or something like that. I was like, am I doing it right??? Anyway, looking back, there is nothing more she could have really done because we were just waiting on Ellen to be ready for delivery. When transition started around 9:00, Jessica was totally there to help me. She was especially helpful the last 30 min or so during the pushing stage. I could tell by her voice that she knew what she was doing and let her guide me in the last steps of the delivery.

Here are Ellen and I with the team an hour or so after her birth...