Amy Machado was recommended to me from my mother. She lived over two hours away yet she was the most supportive person I knew throughout the entire pregnancy. Before I was pregnant I would email Amy and ask her questions about=2 0trying to conceive. When I thought I might be pregnant I called Amy up and she was so excited that even though she was on vacation she told me to email her a picture of the stick to confirm the double lines. From that point on, we talked about everything from how having a child would change my husbands and my life to the timing of contractions and post partum.
I was a week overdue and Amy came to visit me. She motivated me to walk up to the top of the Barnegat lighthouse with her, two days later I went into labor. When I woke up and was having contractions I was not sure if it was the “real thing” or not so I called Amy. She instructed us to walk around the block to see if there were any changes such as the contractions going away. My husband and I went to the hospital for a scheduled appointment and they had confirmed I was in labor. We decided to get some lunch and when my husband called Amy to let her know what was going on she informed him that she was already on her way.
My husband and I walked around our (conveniently located) college campus, I preferred not to sit. When Amy arrived she casually asked my husband how I was doing. She quietly watched me and took notes tracking the contractions and such. During the transitional phase when I was most uncomfortable she helped me to redirect my thoughts. I remember telling her in a stubborn manor, “ok, I’ll pretend I’m a bean bag chair”. She said she never thought of that before. Having someone to laugh with made the experience much better.
When I decided it was time to go to the hospital I was between 8 and 9 centimeters dilated. I had again become uncomfortable from changing locations and having monitors hooked up to me. Amy had me sit on the birthing ball and every time I had a contraction she had my husband pat a damp cloth across my forehead which felt wonderful. She always knew where I was at with my contractions. I found it to be very helpful when she would say, “you are coming down now” it would give me a sense of hope. She could say that every time and it always made me feel better.
The pushing was like nothing I expected. Amy let me squeeze her hands while pushing. At the time I wondered if that was hurting for her but she did not seem to mind and she kept getting more excited with every push. I’m glad someone was happy at that point. She told my husband to push on my back which made me feel much much better. After our baby girl was born and while I was getting cleaned up I asked Amy and my husband to watch the nurses with our baby. I felt safe knowing she was there with the baby.
My husband and I took a Bradley Method class and with everything we learned and practiced in class it does not compare to the real situation. My husband and I educated ourselves in the months and weeks prior to the birth, we had two midwives with us the entire four hours that we were in the hospital however, we both know we would not have had as enjoyable of a birth without Amy being there. She is such a good Doula that when one of the Midwives came to visit me the day after the birth she said it was such a pleasure working with Amy and that she had learned a lot from her. I have already given Amy notice for our next birth which we are planning for two years from now.