Braxton Hicks contractions, please tell him to stop stopping by unexpectedly! Some strange reason my queen would have the Braxton Hicks contractions every night right before we go to bed or in the middle of the night. While I heard it can happen any time during day or night.  If you don't know the Braxton Hick contractions is known for false labor or practice contractions that often happen closer to labor sometime it not felt until the 2^nd or 3^rd trimester of pregnancy.  All I know I wasn't scare but I was just trying to be ready and awake for my queen. I just want to be there and I felt like a person who kept calling to bug you and awake you up just to asked if the baby came for every 45 minutes as you go back to sleep.

                    What did I do to through this? Well... I had to change my emotion in myself (heart) instead of getting up set-up with Braxton Hick - I had to say it getting me practice to get up and run to labor. There always bottle of water set near be where ever we go. I had water bottle in the bathroom, on side of the bed, living room, in the car, everywhere. Water was the number one key to beat the Braxton Hicks contractions for us. 

Braxton Hicks contractions would fade away the more water she takes. Not disappearing fully but slowly bringing the contraction down.  Water wasn't just the only thing. Breathing in a nice classical 4/4 slow marching Rhythmic beat.  Doing that gave her a good mediation.  Whenever she or we mediate, it gave us faith and calmness to know everything was fine and going to pass.  When the Braxton Hicks contraction are in kick don't give her any stress at all in fact leave her alone without leaving her alone.  Meaning always be near by but be as if you're trying to hope no one notice you are there, when they know where to find you.  Last might find yourself running to get the liquid calcium magnesium. Sometime it does the trick but you won't see m running to get it much because water was very much the useful tools in my case with my queen. 

So those were all the helpful things to "stop" the Braxton Hicks contractions however don't be shock that it come back 2 hrs later after you already feel a sleep.. Would I be scare that I would never get any sleep, well no? I'll tell you why..

                  Two days later 8am My Queen is having cramps but she said it is nothing. I thought to myself ok, She said it nothing but my guts said, "naw" but it then I look at her and she is fine so I wasn't scare at all. My after putting my hand on every books about birth and taking birth classes all my fear was so small I forgot I was scare at all. In fact it felt like later I wasn't scare of anything. There a reason for that, we were ready to expect the unexpected. Later that day, my queen was 41 week pregnant and filmmaker came over our house and asked about home birth and questions about how we were getting ready. A funny thing was, because of the wonderful questions we were asked; it reminded us our planned and learned new things about each other. I did not know my queen idea of birth changes a little like, we planned to have music on while birth was going to help smooth her birth but now she felt like she won't have any music playing at all because he felt it might distract her. It was wonderful to hear us speaking out loud about our worry/fear, goals/expectations and so much more. We took a break from the filming and my queen came form the bathroom; I was inform the mucus plug came out. Mucus plug is like a core on the bottle of wine and basically it keep the bacteria out. So the Mucus plus is gone which mean she is in labor! Am I scared? NOPE! Is she in pain? NOPE! We continue to go a head with the film we thought it very important to education our community about Homebirth.   One of the biggest questions the filmmaker asked me. "Baba, Are you ready to catch the baby in your home?"  Said firm yes, I am. I never had been more ready for anything. I am going to be there every step of the way. I'll stay up as long as it takes. I'll do what she wants. My job is to protect the queen and protect and catch our baby. I guessed the filmmaker was impressed and excited for us.

                  After he left I began to think about everything that was said and I felt even calmer and ready. My queen and me had to errands to run all over the city basically all day. We stop by food store I can tell cramps was bothering my queen because we made a few silent pause as we did in the past during the Braxton Hicks contractions. It wasn't until we were leaving the store that I asked if she was having contraction and she would say No just cramps. No pain, no strong contraction but just mild cramp. I wasn't scare at all and believe her. After a long day, finally my queen was ready to go home. She was tired of running all over town. I was ready to do anything to make her night happy as possible, knowing we had a long day. Ice was what she wanted and if I didn't tell you our refrigerator was dead for week now. Which mean I ran to the store and back with ICE and made her ice water.

9:21P.M, my queen tell me to text the mid-wife to come over now and the 1^st real pain came out of nowhere. I ran to the shower and place to hose and added water to the homebirth pool, ran to my queen to be there for every pain that came contracting, did everything she wanted me to do and not do and use my common sense, the hot water ran cold ran to turn off the water and ran to the queen, then to the stoves for boiling hot water, ran to the queen, to the pool, stay with the queen, grab camera set but forgot to turn it on, text family for prayer but fail because new phone was giving me a hard time, unlocked the front door for mid-wife to come in at anytime and she on the freeway, drop my pants (sorry but true) and got in the pool with my queen.  The contraction got so strong I realize it can happen any second now... My queen was asking our baby "Star" to move slowly and take it time. We are been planning and hoping for a 9 hours labor of birth but "Star" was rushing, I took nothing personal, when My queen asked me not to move and just hold her, I did, I held her and finally I rub her back. She began to say, "It's ok, I am at birth" and I said, "Yes you're having a baby. "Then her eye gotten bigger and said slow Star, slow down, I began to say it with her our head touching each other saying it with her. Finally I look to her stomach and said Slow down star then I realize this was a Pisces baby if it was going to be born tonight, then we must flow with the baby so I said Flow with the baby. She said ok then suddenly she said I feel the baby, the baby coming out so I look down in the pool and then came Star spinning out - I caught it and my queen caught it a second after me. We both caught the baby. She rubbed the baby's back, and Star began to cry. It's a GIRL! I text message the mid-wife "the baby came please come soon".  Got my queen to bed and the mid-wife came in. Helped me cut the core. Before we could cut the core my queen's other 3 yrs old son had a nosebleed in bed. Rushed back and forth a few time.  Washed my hand so many times. Finally cut the core, mid-wife handled so many other things and I was happy she was there. Then got into bed and looked to see what time was the baby born and remember the clocked said " 9:41pm!" Yes, it was 20 minutes of labor!!  I have pictures, and text message to prove it.

Was I scared NOPE! I don't think I had time to be scared I knew my job and my job was to protect her and my child. I took nothing personal and did whatever she asked of me. Sometime she said don't move, sometime she said don't touch her please, sometime we ran in and out the tub but I let nothing distract me - just be there with her was my goal.  I held my little girl so many times I was really proud and took so many picture then finally passed out.

Woke up, next to two beautiful ladies. While looking at them both a sleep, I realized 20 minutes didn't feel like it. It felt much longer than that but it was. I was proud and I felt everything we did to get ready for birth helps me get thought it. Birth class I asked many question as I could and expressed all my worried and the film shooting that day play important roles because it got me mentally ready. Even yet I wasn't scared I was nervous for her and her pain but I was faithful and I knew we were going to be ok. I believed and pray for smooth birth and we went mighty silky "fast" birth. I love it!  As I looked at them again and all the picture I took, I realized even more it was her, the baby and us - THEIR LOVE, OUR LOVE GAVE ME THE FEARLESS COURAGE AND STRENGTH TO BE THERE TO AS PROTECTOR OF MY FAMILY.

P.s

I also wanna thank Braxton Hicks contractions because now I am used to getting up in the middle of the night almost every 2 or 3 hrs after my queen breast feed "Star" so that I can burp "Star". We're a great team: she feed her and I burp her. Thank you Braxton Hicks contractions.