I gave birth exactly 1 week ago and...

Now seems as good a time as ever to revive this dormant blog of mine!

My daughter, Jasmine, is 1 week old today.  My amazing Doula, Michal Melamed, posted the following story about our marathon labour. That may sound funny, but I say "our" because she shared in the event just about as much as I did (okay, so maybe I had the slightly greater share!) and I say "marathon" for two reasons, which will be made clearer once you read her awesome post, which I have embellished with pictures and a ridiculous video of me dancing my way through contractions (Yes, I am one of THOSE women!)  :)

So, without further ado, and yes, I am taking the easy way out by blogging this time round with the aid of a "guest blog" - More from me next time - whenever that may be! (I know my track record doesn't look too promising but I'm going to do my best!)

"Birth Before The Marathon" - by Michal Melamed- Doula, childbirth counselor and dance instructor

I had seen signs the Friday before when I was walking on the beach in Tel Aviv with another laboring Birth Mama (trying to help contractions progress). It was 5:00am, a simply gorgeous morning and the boardwalk was filled with runners preparing for the Tel Aviv marathon. Many religious women, something I noticed, being one myself. She had mentioned the roads would be closed next Friday 24/2/17. I started to get a little concerned, being a doula and knowing that there might be a "small chance" that I’d have to drive to a birth in Tel Aviv that day.


Two wonderful, exhilarating births I had back to back that Shabbat and thought, Fantastic, the next birth should be early. It was her third pregnancy and she looked and felt "cooked". Sunday goes by – no news. Monday, nothing. Tuesday, Wednesday, and I’m getting a little concerned. Wednesday I was exercising with my personal trainer, who happened to be running in the Tel Aviv marathon. She knows I’m a Doula and waiting anxiously for the next birth. She quickly looked up the schedule for road closings for the marathon on Friday and tells me that from 4:00am until 2:00pm on Friday all the roads will be closed. Even the marathon participants will be taking the train to get in.


Of course, I’m getting a little nervous and text my client if "something’s doing". Other than irregular contractions, nothing else to report, she says. She heard acupuncture treatment is wonderful with helping labor progress. I said Yes, it is highly recommended. Go for it!


When I say this Birth Mama was “cooked”, I mean she was 2 days away from week 40, with an excess of amniotic fluid, belly very big and low, gestational diabetes, last ultrasound estimating baby weight to be 4.3KG, and she had been experiencing contractions for 2 weeks already. Considered “high risk”, her medical care providers had already given her a limit and she knew that if she were to turn up at hospital at 40 weeks, all things considered, it was most probable she’d be a candidate for medically induced interventions or a C-section. Her feet were swollen and she wasn’t sleeping well. Exhausted, and “over it”, she was determined and ready to bring on her own labor marathon in the comfort of her own home, using supportive, opening, releasing techniques.


Wednesday night at 11:30pm, a few hours after she’s had her acupuncture treatment, she calls with contractions every 5 minutes. Lasting a minute or more, for the last 45 minutes. I thought, Yahoo! This is the phone call I’m waiting for. Knowing it’s her third birth, and knowing third births could change to 2-mins apart  in an instant, I headed out to her apartment in Tel Aviv. I drove up to her front entrance and she calls to tell me her contractions have died down. False alarm. A little disappointed, but I said, Okay, if you can sleep through the contractions maybe it’s best you get a good night’s sleep, and wake up with energy in the morning in order to have this baby. Because Thursday is THE DAY.


I drove home at 1:00am and slept with my clothes on, hoping I’d get a phone call in the middle of the night. I woke up to a nice sunny day, no phone call and still thinking, OMG, marathon tomorrow!


I called my Birth Mama and said I’m coming over and we are having a "Birth" Day Baby Party Today!


We started off with yoga. She drank her raspberry leaf tea and a spoonful of castor oil washed down with an egg and some orange juice. Then we were off for a long speed-walk at Tel Baruch Beach, which I must mention is a gorgeous beach. We chatted, stretched, watched the stands of drinking water being set up for the runners, worked on the public workout gyms, stretched some more and stepped up and down on benches...

Then it was time to head back home.

"Should I call my acupuncturist again?" She wondered. "Definitely!" I said. 

Another spoonful of castor oil, some more raspberry leaf tea, and her husband cooked us an amazing real Moroccan Shakshuka lunch with Sudanese hot chillies and eggs, spicy enough that any fire-breathing dragon would have loved it. Poor Birth Mama, who is not a fan of chilli, is now sitting with mouth on fire, exhausted and nothing much doing with labor. But baby is looking pretty low. Back to a bit more yoga positions and spinning baby positions.

We put on some good music and start dancing, moving those hips and having a good old time until her acupuncturist turns up at 3:00pm. Acupuncture treatment for an hour. This gives my Birth Mama a much needed chance to lie down and relax. Today he ups the treatment a notch with electro acupuncture (EA) for labor induction! While she’s getting her treatment, I’m playing with her other two older boys who are just delicious and I feel like I’m now the third Grandma.

She’s exhausted after a full day and the treatment and would like to rest for an hour. That’s fine, sometimes a Birth Mama just needs a good quiet calming rest, away from the world and that’s just the moment when baby wants to enter the world. So she’s resting in her bedroom, I’m playing soccer with her son, like a good doula, taking care of everybody. Her husband had already called the police for road closure updates and both of us are concerned about the marathon. They said even for births, no drivers allowed, you will have to take an ambulance.


Her husband’s getting a little more nervous, but has a great outlet, stress cooking. So he starts making pregnancy sushi, which we all benefit from.


I go into my Birth Mama’s bedroom to ask her how she’s feeling .... Hhmmm, some contractions, a little more regular, but nothing she can’t manage. Knowing the kids are in the living room, I suggest it might be best to go for one more short walk in the evening fresh air. It’s 6:20pm. She stands up, starts to get ready and oops, her waters break!


Hallelujah. Change of plans. This is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. While she’s in the bathroom, changing her soaked clothing and having a shower, a chain reaction of events begins to set off and she starts feeling a lot of pressure. Barely standing, but still calm, she’s talking not your usual "this is it" contractions. She’s taking her time to leave the shower and she’s begun low-octave oooooohhs to breathe and hum through contractions.


7:00pm. Her husband’s cousin comes over to watch the other children. Birth Mama is feeling hhmmmm, I think the hospital might be a good idea. She’s feeling a lot of pressure and it’s very difficult to stand. Time to head out and it seems this baby is ready to meet its Mama.


We depart at 7:30pm and Waze says 28 minutes to Tel Hashomer hospital - that seems like a long time when you’re feeling pressure. We take separate cars, because again, marathon approaching and in a few hours there would be no way to get my car on Friday. I drive up to Sheba and I see their car is illegally parked out front, where the ambulances pull up at the entrance. Uh-huh. No monitor room, no check in, "green light".

It’s 8:08pm. I head straight to birthing rooms, ripe and ready to go. I get to room #3 and I can hear her wails reaching the high octaves. My couple are there and she’s pushing. Her last ultrasound estimated baby's weight at 4.3kg, which I know is usually off. But pushing seems slightly difficult, and in a small place in the back of my mind, as much as I’ve seen ultrasounds be off, I’m thinking maybe it was right. Thinking this just for a few seconds, but positive and knowing that this Birth Mama has the strength for this no matter what the weight of this baby would be as I’ve seen her in action at her last birth and know what she’s made of.


It’s 8:31pm and in a matter of just 20 glorious minutes and two or three great pushes, this beautiful angel entered our room covered in all the beautiful baby fluids that come with birth. Straight to her unbelieving Mama’s arms, their 3.7kg beautiful baby daughter is here.

Like Nike tells us, “Just do it” – and we DID IT! What a marathon!