Sophie Nicole Barlow

Here's Sophie's birth story copied from Facebook:

The story starts on June 4th. I got a call at work at 8:00, Nicole thought she was in labor. I ran home to take her into the hospital. As we rushed into Salt Lake Nicole's whole stomach was tight, stuck in a contraction. We got to the hospital, Grandma Linda waiting with a wheelchair. The nurses frantically hooking up equipment an IV. They checked Nicole, tonight was not the night for the baby. Nicole was passing another kidney stone, they offered Nicole an induction of labor. As long as you are here, let's get things going. After an hour of pain meds, we decided to go home. We made it home at 2:00 am, and tried to sleep. Nicole passed the stone in the night, with a lot of relief.

The next day we got up like normal. We had a slow, restful morning resolute with waiting another week. We drove into Salt Lake to pick up Jackson, he spent the night with grandma. We went to some yard sales, and drove by the place a church used to be. We picked up a brick that was left over, we got married in that church. We picked up Jackson, ran some errands and got lunch with Nicole's parents. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and a biscuit. A meal Nicole would soon regret. Nicole started having contractions, about 15 minutes apart and irregular. We dismissed them, and went home. We tried to rest at home. By 7:00 the contractions were regular and 7 minutes apart. Back into Salt Lake we went. We arrived at the hospital at 8:30. At 9:00 Nicole was checked, she was dilated to a 5, no turning back now. After a few walks, by 10:10 she was almost at an 8. She progressed quickly, by 11:10 a 9, and 11:35 fully dilated. After many contractions, and various positions seeking comfort, at 11:43 a miracle happened. Sophie was born; 7 pounds 9 ounces, 21 inches long, with a full head of dark curly hair. Baby Sophie immediately went onto Nicole's chest while she went from purple to pink. Sophie let out a few whimpers. As Sophie and Nicole were getting to know each other from the outside, daddy cut the cord.

Nicole managed the entire birth naturally. She handled the contractions like a pro, and only had to push twice. Everyone was so proud of Nicole, she handled the birth so well.

I was privileged to be there for her birth, and I just still am in awe of how amazing my sister did. Her husband too- both of them were unsure of natural childbirth although Nicki was definitely intrigued after being at Brayden's birth. It went fast, but she was helping it along- she didn't stay in any one position for more than 5 minutes, she walked the whole circle of halls, used the birth ball, the tub, vocalized when she wanted pressure on her tailbone during contractions, applied pressure herself on her pubic bone during some contractions, opened her mouth and relaxed her shoulders, etc. In short, she was a rock star! And this whole pregnancy hasn't been easy for her. She's dealt with pneumonia, swine flu, UTIs, kidney stones (including the one she passed just short of 8 hours before giving birth!), etc. Luckily, this birth went a lot faster than her first... which gives me hope! Not that mine was long, it was actually pretty good for a first-time mom, but still it would be nice to cut down on the pushing time.

Sophie is so beautiful with all that dark hair! After taking a minute or two to latch on, she nursed for a good 15 minutes within half an hour of her birth.

This was the 4th birth I've been present at. Each time, it just amazes me all over again. How miraculous the whole process is, how strong women are and how perfect our bodies are for bringing babies into this world.