Another Pink Kit Story

17 February 2007

Here's another Pink Kit Story we've just received. Then I'll continue with the correspondence Annette and I are having from the last few blog entries.

Hello Wintergreen
I do hope that you will remember me. I contacted you about a year ago, wanting to purchase the Pink kit. My name is Aida Stephens and I am an independent midwife working in England. When I contacting you, I was expecting my 6th child. You put me in touch with a lady in UK who managed to send me a copy of the Pink Kit.

Wintergreen, I must tell you how my labour went. It was 3 days following my due date (but who cares??) and I was somewhat expecting my baby to arrive then as it was a full moon. I remember having plenty of braxton hicks which were very strong (in retrospect I was actually having regular contractions). My midwife had come to see me earlier in the day and left at lunch time after having my permission to go somewhere an hour and half drive's away. I remember lying down on my bed, just fingering this bead necklace that my friends had made me at my blessingway, and I was reading a website of this woman who birthed her baby naturally. It was wonderful.

Not long after, about half an hour, I said to my husband that I needed to have a bath, just so that I can take the pressure of the braxton hicks. he suggested that I went in the pool but I was reluctant. he asked if I was having contractions and I told him they were only braxton hicks, but they were coming every four minutes. Surely I was not in labour (I had asked for gas and air LONG before this last time). He called my midwife on the phone who asked him to time the 'braxton hicks'. I, by then changed my mind about the bath, whilst standing at the banister curling my toes with the contractions.

By the time I got downstairs, my husband had timed my contractions as being 90 secs apart and lasting over a minute. I had a visible purple line on my sacrum. My midwife is an hour away. I got in the pool. I remember putting my finger in and realising that I was fully dilated. funny how difficult it is to switch the midwife head off. My midwife arrived an hour later and the contractions by then were strong and intense. It was wonderful.

It took another 2 1/2 hours for me to give birth, but for me that was quick. All my other labours exceeded 12 hours. Baby Maia was tricky to come out, I had to work her out of my birth canal, she was the biggest of them all, being 8 lb 11 oz, and me being 5'2. She was slow to breathe coming out of the pool, in fact her heart rate was 60 per minute in the first 5 minutes. She required some gentle resuscitating but all this was done with her cord intact so there was no rush. By 15 minutes, she was breathing well. Maia had a lotus birth and said goodbye to her placenta 5 days and 1 hour later.

I wanted to say thank you, Wintergreen. And I wanted to say that we are well. I am now looking to start a holistic pregnancy & childbirth clinic near me and would like to talk to you about possibly stocking the Pink Kit and other related items in the clinic. It's very much in its infancy but I am keen to get this sorted by July. Would you be interested in me stocking the Pink Kit? I think it is fantastic. I would be very pleased to hear from you.
love
Aida S'

Sorry but I don't offer people's last names. I believe in privacy when it comes to these stories. The Pink Kit is going to become the childbirth BUZZ, standing along side Birth Plans and Informed Choice. That's a good solid 3 legged stool.

I went to a museum exhibit called 'Reason for Being'. The artist started us off then left a box, paper and pen. I'll write some of my favorites in the next entry.