I got an unexpected surprise when my
client texted me at 11:30 pm on Sunday night saying her water had
broken! Sitting at 37 weeks, I never thought I would be attending a
birth this week! I encouraged her to try to sleep (ha!). In the
morning, contractions were still pretty mild and far apart. Around
11:00 they decided to head to the hospital and make sure everything was
ok.
Contractions
still weren't picking up, so around 3:00 pm, mom was given cytotec to
try to get things rolling. And it worked! Dad texted me at 4:2o to
head over, and I arrived at 5:00 pm. Mom was leaning over the bed and
moaning through each contraction. I couldn't believe how intense things
already were!
Around
5:20 I helped mom to the bathroom and she got the urge to push!
Several minutes later the nurse confirmed that she was complete and it
was ok to really go for it. By 5:45 we were in full pushing mode.
Dilation
occurred quickly, but pushing proved to be more of a challenge. We
pushed in every position we could think of, and it didn't seem like we
were making any progress. Mom not only had to find endless amounts of
energy, she also had to deal with a lot of anxiety and self-doubt. I
would tell her she was doing a great job, and she would respond with "I
am?"
Then
she would find times of inner strength and say things like "I'm ok" and
"I can do this." Her affirmation going into this birth was "All the
strength I need is within me." And that proved to be very true! This
mom was tough, and she pushed for hours!
We
tried so many different positions, and upright positions helped her the
most with focusing her energy to her baby. But they are also very
tiring and her legs were very tired and crampy. One charlie horse left
mom in agony! But she was a total champion and pushed in at least 10
different positions.
During
a time of strong discouragement, dad told her she was doing a great
job. She honestly asked "How do you know?" Then her sassy personality
came through and she yelled "you don't know!" to him. It was pretty
hilarious. I assured her that I knew she could do it! In between
contractions she would also say "this is so dumb!"
By
9:30 we needed more help. The doctor came in and turned on the lights
to get her adrenaline going and the nurse administered a low dose of
pitocin to make the contractions stronger and longer. We also changed
the music from relaxing to energetic. Mom turned on Rihanna, and this
doula had a very hard time not dancing. :) The lyrics "where have you
been all my life?" played loudly and I thought about all the years of
infertility this couple had gone through, and how they were so close to
finally meeting the baby they had been dreaming of.
And at 10:14 pm, this sweet little girl was finally born!
This couple did not know the gender of their baby, and mom instantly turned to her husband and said "you're screwed!". Ha!
(And PS, I super love this photo!)
Emotions
were strong and it was an amazing experience to see all the hours of
pushing, and years of waiting and dreaming come to this moment.
Dad
was hesitant to hold his baby, saying he wasn't ready or capable. He
was, of course, wrong! He immediately settled into fatherhood!
Baby latched on quickly, and I snuck out of the room in complete wonderment that my Dec. 14th client delivered in November!