I just got home from my second birth, my friend Amanda’s birth of her beautiful son Jackson. It was an incredible, beautiful experience. The call came at 7am on Halloween and baby Jackson was born 13 hours later, though Amanda had been laboring at home most of the night. It was a beautiful vaginal birth with no tearing, though Amanda did choose an epidural. What a joy to be present at a good friend’s birth!
Thank you for letting me share this sacred time!
You were born on the first cold night in autumn. Your mother and I talked on Tuesday, October 5, and she told me her doctor wanted to induce labor, which your parents wanted to avoid. At her appointment the next day, almost a week past the estimated due date of September 30, The OB stripped the membranes. Your mom was 3 centimeters dilated and fully effaced. It was just a matter of time before you arrived. At 5pm your parents texted me saying that contractions were pretty close together and they needed help timing them. I arrived and we used my iPhone app Labor Buddy to track contractions. At that point, they were irregular, between 2-5 minutes and lasting anywhere from 50 seconds to 2 minutes. Your mom rocked on the birth ball and did a great job using her Hypnobirth training to stay calm and relaxed. She loved having your dad and I run our fingers down her arm to distract her from the intensity of the contractions.
The three of us walked around the neighborhood, stopping every few minutes for a contraction, your dad talking about how it probably looked like we were peering into the neighbors’ windows. When we got back to your house, contractions became more intense and your mom was getting tired, so she laid down to rest for a few hours. All evening, your mom was drinking apple juice and eating apple sauce as we reminded her to nourish herself before we got to the hospital. Your dad serenaded your mom with the song “Sailing” by Christopher Cross changing the word “sailing” to “birthing,” which made us all smile. It was beautiful to watch your parents sway together in the birth dance.
Around 9:30, we decided it was time to start the walk to the hospital. It took us 20 minutes to walk a few blocks, because we needed to stop for contractions every few minutes, but we eventually made it down the hill.
When we got to the labor and delivery room, around 10pm, the nurses checked you and your mom. Everyone was doing fine. Your heartbeat was strong, and your mom was fully effaced and at -1 station, and had already progressed to 4cm! To make sure your mom stayed hydrated, they gave her a liter of fluid and then she got into the Jacuzzi tub, with your father nearby to help ease her through the contractions.
When the nurse checked your mom’s status again, she had dilated all the way to 8cm in only a few hours. Your mom got on the birth ball and your dad led her through the hypnobirthing meditation, imagining the sound of thunder, soft sheets and the scent of lilacs. It was incredible to watch how your mom relaxed as your dad rubbed her back and she listened to his voice.
The contractions were really intensifying at this point, and your mom was experiencing a lot of back labor because you were in the occiput posterior position—sunny side up. We tried a few position changes to ease the pain on your mom’s back, and your dad and I took turns applying counter pressure on your mom’s back.
Around 1:15, your mom started feeling the urge to push, and the nurse discovered your mom was 10 cm dilated, but there was a lip of cervix present.
She helped us set up the squatting bar, so that we could let gravity help you and your mom out. After fifteen minutes of pushing, the water broke and we knew you were coming. The urge to push was very strong, and your mom was doing a great job, but getting tired, since you couldn’t move down any further in the occiput posterior position. Things got much better when the OB arrived and was able to turn you around. You dropped down further into your mom’s pelvis and pushing finally became more productive. Your dad and I each held one of your mom’s legs as I counted to ten for each push. Your mom got through four counts of ten with each push and we started being able to see your head! Now the room was bustling as the nurse and OB set up for delivery. Your dad stood my your mom’s head wiping the sweat from her forehead and helping her stay in the Hypnobirthing mode. The nurse and I held your mom’s legs and she watched herself push and caught glimpses of you during each push. Seeing how close you were to arrival invigorated your mom and she pushed harder and quicker and stronger. The look in her eyes was ecstatic; she couldn’t wait to meet you.
Even during crowning, your mom was relatively quiet, focused inward and trusting her body and you to know how to come into the world. The nurses couldn’t believe she was doing this naturally, without an epidural, she was doing so well. Your head emerged at 6:30 and the rest of you slid out with one more push a few minutes later at 6:32. They placed you on your mom’s chest and you greeted your parents and grandparents with a loud cry, all the while shedding your meconium all over your mom’s belly, faster than the nurses could clean you up!
You weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and were 20.5 inches long. As soon as the newborn tests were over, you were back in your mom’s arms, a natural at breastfeeding, and you didn’t want anything or anyone to keep you from doing just that. Even switching from one side to the other caused you to howl.
Everyone agreed what a beautiful, strong, healthy baby you were. Your parents did an incredible job helping you come into the world and we were all so happy to meet you!
Congrats to my first clients, Meg and Jason, who welcomed a beautiful baby girl to the world at 5:32am on October 7. It was the first birth for all of us and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The couple attended Hypnobirthing classes and Meg did such an amazing job. The nurses all said they thought she’d had an epidural, because she was so calm and collected and managing the intensity of contractions and pushing like a pro. She really trusted her body to birth her baby. Did I mention the baby was occiput posterior? Even with painful back labor, Hypno worked for her and the doctor turned the baby and all went smoothly and naturally. I felt prepared as a doula, but no amount of study and birth videos can prepare you for the wonder of a birth experience, happening a few feet from your face. Wow!
Congrats again to the new parents and thank you so much for allowing me to share the special time with you.
