My sweet Graycen Kerry Sorensen was born on May 23, 2012 at 12:30 in the afternoon. This was such a special birth for me because I decided and was successful in having him all natural. I can honestly say I loved every minute of this experience. I prepared by taking a hypnobabies class here in Eagle Mountain. It is something I so wish I would have done with Kadens birth. It not only helped prepare my mind to have Graycen natural but also taught me so many things that I did not know about having a baby in the hospital and my rights and what is really good for me and baby. It helped me know how to ask for support and it helped Kyle know exactly how to give me that support. I also prepared by putting together my team of support that would be there during my birthing time. There was Sara my dear friend and one of my biggest supporters in my life she has also been a Doula for many years, and my other friend Julie who is a pillar of peace for me in my life and spends a lot of her time in Energy work and massage. My sister Ariel was also there for the first time to help take pictures and video. My birth story began on Sunday May 20,2012. I started feeling mild birthing waves every hour or two. This went on for several days. Kyle was with me everyday to support me and be there for me. Finally the evening of Tuesday May 22 I was feeling worried about Graycen and if he was OK because I was having a hard time knowing if he was moving or not. We called my neighbor Emily and had her come over and sit with the boys while we went to the hospital. We got to the hospital at 9pm they hooked my and Graycen up to the monitors and then checked me to see how dilated I was. I was hoping for some good news because of what the previous days had brought but the nurse just looked at me and said " You are not quite a one yet but close enough." So they kept us there monitoring us for the next 4 hours. Not enough was happening to keep me there so they sent me home. We got home around 2 and both Kyle and I hit the pillows and were out. At 3:00am I was awakened by a fairly strong pressure wave(contraction). I worked through it and did my best to get back to sleep. The pressure waves game every 20 minutes and were getting really strong. It started to scare me how strong they were and I started to resist the pressure and they got even worse! So I decided to get out of bed and to calm myself down so that I can relax like I was taught in my Hypnobabies class. I did not want to wake Kyle because he was so tired from the evening that I decided to let him sleep through this part of my experience. So I got up and got in the bath tub to help myself relax. The amazing thing that happened was once I could relax and calm down every contraction seemed doable. I learned that working with my body was the way to go. So at about 5:00am I called my sweet friend Sara to come to my house and support me through the next few hours of pressure waves because they were getting stronger and closer together and I was experiencing some major back labor. So I got out of the tub, got dressed and we downstairs to wait for Sara and work through the pressure waves. She got to our house around 6:00am and she helped me find different positions and things that would help relieve the back pressure. At about 8:00am the pressure waves were now 5 minutes apart or less. I decided it was time to go to the hospital. So we called my sis-in-law Sarah to come and get the boys and I woke up Kyle and off we went to the hospital. We got to the hospital and I was so happy to see that my nurse was one of my old Young Women leaders Denise.(During my pregnancy I had set an intention that I would get exactly what I wanted when it came to my nurses and Midwives and the support I had through out my birthing time. I had in great detail in my mind what that looked like and I visualized it every day.) So I got checked in and they put the monitors on me to make sure I was really having my baby. After an hour Denise came in and said "Good news is you are definitely having a baby, bad news is we have so many women here that we do not have a room right now." So I decided instead of being upset and arguing again reality of what I envisioned I decided to embrace reality and see the perfection in it. It was so funny because Denise I think expected me to be somewhat upset because she was shocked by my reaction and ended up writing on her tag "Don't argue against reality". I also wanted to use a portable monitor at this time so that I could move around but they were out of those also. So we did with what we had and I did my best. The next stage of my birthing time was one that I learned so much about how I want to live my life. As a pressure wave would come I would be reminded by sweet Sara to check that one off my list because I will never have to do that pressure wave again. As I focused on the moment and getting through just this one pressure wave at a time it felt so empowering and doable. So is the same with my life as I focus on one day at a time when I am going through hard things if I just take it one day at a time and find joy in the journey then hard things in life are so doable. During this time I also learned so much about gratitude. After ever pressure wave I would give gratitude for what my body was doing and what I was getting to do and for the time a relief from the pressure. It was amazing! Those moments seemed so much longer than the moments I was in a pressure wave. I will always remember this! As I focus on the precious moments and the good times in my life those will to seem so much more of what my life is than those hard moments. Yes this takes practice and a conscious effort on my part BUT like with all the little things in life it pays off. I also remember between 10:00 and 11:00am as I was starting into transition(I started to get the shakes) I was listening to music that I put together and I know that my Redeemer lives came on. I remember so vividly in that moment feeling the spirit so strongly and reaching out to my Savior for comfort and strength to be able to get through this birth. I remember specifically asking for comfort from my mother in Heaven that she and many other women in my family who have passed would be there to comfort and strengthen me. I was so overwhelmed with the spirit of peace and great power in what I was doing, that I started to sob. It was one of the most spiritual times in my entire life. At about 11:30 my Midwife came in and said that she had fought to get me a room and won. So I moved into a room and got right in the jetted tub. It was so great to spend the last 45 minutes of my birthing time in the tub, it helped me through some pretty hard pressure waves. I do want to make sure I mention throughout this whole experience I had Sara, Kyle and Julie helping me through the pressure. Sara and Kyle where usually right by my side pushing on my back or my knees to relieve the pressure from my back, while Julie got me cool rags and used oils to defuse in the air. I really was so very grateful for this help, I know it would have been so much harder without all of them helping and supporting me. The last few minutes I was in the tub and remembered something that Julie told me about focusing in and listening to my body and working with Graycen as a team. I remember at that moment closing my eyes and telling Graycen lets work together to get you here, and listening intently to what my body was saying. After just a few seconds I knew it was time to get out and this was it. I had been waiting for 9+ months to hold my sweet baby and in just a few minutes I would. With that in mind I got out of the tub and laid down and my Midwife check me and said I am nearly complete and asked if she could pop my water. She said she believed that if she did that Graycen would be here within the hour. So she popped my water and within the next 5 minutes or so I felt it was time to push. This was the moment that I felt least prepared for. This moment was the only one in which I remember feeling out of control. I was so worried about the pain and what it would feel like that I lost focus and I felt absolute fear come over me. So I asked Kyle please turn on I know that my Redeemer lives. I remember at that moment turning it all over to him and begging for comfort and peace. I remember my sweet friend Sara on my left side whispering in my ear "you can do this, you are doing so great, you can do this Dana". There are no words to describe the spirit that was there as I realized that I get to pull and little spirit through the veil and into my arms. I remember feeling angels all around me to comfort me and encourage me that I could do it. My most cherished moment of my birthing experience was right I as I was getting ready to push for the first time I remember Kyle looking me with tears in his eyes saying "you did it hunny!" Kyle is not one that cries or even tears up much so this was particularly special to me. It meant the world to me to have him by my side the whole way supporting me. So after about 2 pushes my sweet baby was here and in my arms. It was such a special experience with Graycen when I held him for the first time. It was a feeling that is hard to describe but you know that feeling when you get to hug one of your best friends that you have not seen in a long time? That is exactly how it felt to hold him. I feel like Graycen and I were really great friends for a long time. I feel as if he has been one of my little angels watching over me since I came to earth.
It has been such a honor to be his mother and to love him and care for him these few months. I feel like this time around I am soaking up the moments with him because I know how fast it will go. I know that soon he will be grown and no longer my little snuggle bug. I feel tremendous gratitude for the opportunity I have had through classes that I have taken this last year to get out of my own way and get rid of the things that were holding me back from truly living life and soaking it ALL up! I feel tremendous gratitude for my Heavenly Father and the hand he has had in my life. I am so very very grateful for my dear friend Jamie Utley for following through on his prompting to invite me to his class where he opened the door and gave me the tools to get out of my own way so that I can truly LIVE. Not a thing in this world can replace these precious moments that I have with my children now and how present I am. I remember back in 2008 reading this talk by President Thomas S. Monson
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2008/04/treasure-of-eternal-value?lang=eng&query=live+present . I remember thinking and wanting so badly to know how to live in the present. I remember praying to know how to do this. I finally feel now that I am there that I life this way everyday of my life. There is no amount of money in the world that I wouldn't pay for the opportunities and friendships and knowledge I have gained. I know without a doubt that the Savior is real. That he wishes us to come unto him and be comforted by him. I know he is there for us if we will just stop and take a moment to feel and recognize him in our lives. I know that when we do what God asks of us no matter the sacrifice that he will bless our lives and strengthen us. I am so grateful for the opportunities of learning I have received the past 2 years. I have never been so truly happy in my life.
