While September 30th is now a day I’ll be celebrating for the rest of my life, September 29th was probably the most difficult day I have ever experienced. My momma and I arrived at University Hospital around 9:00 am on Saturday morning where we were met in the waiting room by my brother-in-law and my sister’s Doula. My sister Jessica spent the night before laboring at home… She wouldn’t go to the hospital until her contractions were 1 to 3 minutes apart. Upon arriving, she walked the halls with her Doula until she was given a room… Let me pause this story for just a second to tell you one very important thing. It is this: A Doula is worth HER WEIGHT IN DIAMONDS! This woman knows what she is doing, what you need, how to make you breathe and calm you down. I was absolutely blown away by her! Poor Jess was only dilated 1 cm when she arrived at the hospital… so we waited…

She labored…

We played soft music…

She labored…

We held her…

I won’t lie, I’ve never felt more helpless in my entire life as I stood there offering moral support, sips of water, essential oils, prayers to Jesus, and healthy- peace - filled thoughts to my sister. Pain is no easy thing to watch especially if there is nothing you can do to ease it along. I found myself fighting tears way more times than I would like to admit. Every time she would almost give up someone would remind her that at the end of this pain there would be a baby… every contraction brings your baby a little closer to yours arms!