I learn something from every birth I attend. The birthing process continues to surprise me and I am always humbled by how much I don’t know. This mama was known for birthing fast and she was a record hour and a half away from me. We had talked beforehand and I told her I was worried about making it in time (her last birth was 2 hours start to finish). She told me it was okay for me to bring my kids if I needed to, she swore she didn’t mind noise and enjoys a full, noisy house. When I got the call in the middle of the night that it was time, I sort of panicked. I made the decision to take my youngest with me (my husband could get the big kid off to school without my help) and we took of on a night ride together. The moon was REALLY bright, it was the “supermoon.” My son and I had a peaceful drive until we got off the interstate. We turned right instead of left and I was trying to get directions off my iphone, I somehow missed the speed limit sign. So, at 4 in the morning, I was being pulled over with a very awake and confused toddler in my backseat. Luckily, when I told the officer I was on my way to a homebirth and totally lost, he helped me get oriented in the right direction and was nice enough to issue me a warning instead of a ticket (thank GOD!). When I got there, mom was rolling right along, happy enough to converse between contractions. She said she felt like she was in transition and maybe feeling a bit pushy. I was sure I had heard her wrong. How on earth was she sitting here so calm and happy in transition?! I looked at the midwives, wondering if there was a secret code I was missing. A bit later, she felt ready to push and I was still confused by her calmness and the ease with which she seemed to be laboring. I’ve seen some awesomely calm mamas, but she still seemed to be in early labor, by my judgement. Sure enough, a few minutes after starting to push, she reached down and lifted her own baby girl up on her chest. Her oldest son was sitting behind me, cheering loudly, her younger son cuddled with his grandpa. Even my son was walking in and out of the room, happily playing with the boys toys and surprisingly oblivious to the fact a new life was entering the world. Mama turned out to be totally right, she was happy be surrounded by family and friends, both in the room and via skype. It was amazing and beautiful and perfect

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