Last year my dear friend Katy told me that she and her husband were trying to get pregnant. She was a little worried but I kept reassuring her that she was a health woman and that I was sure they would be pregnant in no time. I was right. That very next day, she told me that her pregnancy test was positive. I was ecstatic for her.
She was going to be the first close friend that I have ever had that I could be around throughout her pregnancy. I wanted to be as supportive as possible so I decided to expand my yoga knowledge and take a certification course for prenatal yoga. I soon became a certified prenatal yoga teacher and started teaching prenatal yoga at Yoga of Los Altos, 377 First Street, Los Altos, CA, a studio I often taught Ashtanga Yoga at.
The day I started teaching prenatal yoga, she became my first student. We spent 9 months, lunging, breathing, meditating, loving and learning about birth together. We offered each other books about pregnancy, shared our thoughts on various prenatal classes, and cemented our already close bond.
I became engrossed in everything related to birth and I decided to get trained to be a doula (labor coach), so I could assist Katy before, during, and/or after childbirth. I wanted to be able to give her continuous emotional and physical support throughout her pregnancy and after childbirth.
Her response was to ask me to be in the delivery room with her. I was honored because her husband, Steve and she would be willing to share this very intimate experience with me.
By the time the big day came, I thought Katy, Steve and I were ready.
We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 a..m. and began a sleep deprived, beautiful journey.
Holding my beautiful friend's hand, making jokes, feeding her ice chips, stroking her hair, getting her food and water and reminding her to breath was the most amazing experience of my life.
Childbirth can be scary but there was so much love in the room when she began contractions. Holding his wife, Steve would dance with Katy, whisper sweet words of encouragement into her ear that melted my heart.
Watching her labor was like watching a beautiful movie about life. Seeing the strength, resilience, happiness, and determination on her face as each minute ticked away was like looking at love and compassion in it's purest form. My heart grew bigger with each push, those childlike eyes of wonderment that is so often lost as adults was rekindled as the baby entered the world. Congrats to Katy and Steve on their beautiful baby girl. Thank you for letting me be apart of that amazing 9 month journey.
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