Best. Vernix. Ever.

I received a text from my client yesterday at 5:00 pm saying she thought she might be in early labor, but she wasn't sure yet, and was going to rest.  I had just arrived at Roaring Springs with my kiddos and figured I'd get called into work in the middle of the night.  With her last birth, almost 3 years ago, she didn't need for almost 10 hours after she alerted me that she thought she was in labor.  So I really thought I wouldn't hear from her for hours!

But at 6:40 her husband contacted me, saying they were ready for me to head over!  I ran around like a crazy woman to gather my kids, raced home, got dressed, and raced to her house!  It sounded like things were progressing really quickly, and with this being her fifth baby, I was worried I might miss it!

I arrived at 7:45 pm and found mom laboring in the tub with the support of her husband and midwife.  She was really calm, and her newly remodeled bathroom was amazing!  It was begging for a homebirth!  I cued up her relaxation playlist and got myself organized.

At 8:15, her 9 year old daughter came in to join us.  She was such a sweetheart all night, as you will see in the upcoming photos.

Mom was starting to struggle to relax in the tub and felt like her limbs were going numb.  She decided she needed a change of pace, so we went for a walk on their gorgeous property at 9:00 pm.  Mom enjoyed the cool breeze, and the sunset was beautiful.

At 9:30 mom got back in the tub and I put her daughter on fan duty to help keep her cool.   Dad rubbed moms feet and I rubbed her head and neck and encouraged her to breath deeply and find her focal point.

Things appeared to intensify and mom's vocalizations grew louder and longer.  We all thought the baby would be born any second!  So the midwives and I were pretty perplexed at 10:45 when the urge to push had still not come.  Mom decided to get out of the tub and have her cervix checked to see where she was.

I had to snap a quick photo of these cute rocks that lined the counter in the bathroom.  This mom is so loved by her children!

At 11:00 pm the midwife checked mom's cervix, and we were all surprised to hear she was only at 5 cm.  Mom was very discouraged, and had a hard time focusing.  She even said she wanted to go to the hospital and get an epidural.  We talked about what that would look like and how it would probably be at least 2 hours before she had epidural relief.  I pulled up the blog post from her last birth and saw that last time she had her baby just 3 hours after she was 5 cm.  That still sounded like a really long time to her, but she was able to find her focus again and remain laboring at home.

She labored in/on the bed for a while, and snacked on honey and grapes in between contractions.  Getting some calories and rest in between contractions helped immensely!  She changed positions often to help encourage her baby to descend and rotate.

At 12:15 she wanted to get back into the tub.  Her vocalizations grew louder again (a good sign of progress), and she said she was starting to feel more pressure (another good sign!).

At 1:04 am her water broke and it was go time!

Welcome Isaiah!

Born Saturday, June 23rd at 1:11 am
Weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces

Covered in the thickest, yellowest vernix ever!
Seriously, it was amazing.

Big sister helped keep him warm by pouring water down his back, and she even cut the cord!

 It was so fun to support this family, and watch them support each other.

By 1:45, mom and baby were tucked into bed.  He was so alert, and so strong!  We couldn't believe how much he was lifting his head and looking around.  He was definitely hungry, too!