The Birth of Breckyn Larguier 1/4/23

Lindsey and Alan welcomed their third child, Breckyn Larguier on January 4, 2023, which also happened to be her due date! I remember when I met with Lindsey she had a strong desire for natural childbirth, something she had not experienced with her previous two births. She felt like she could do it but wanted the added layer of support a doula provides. She and Alan also kept the gender of this baby a surprise! We had our prenatal meeting in which Alan expressed his belief that Lindsey could labor without an epidural. His solid support was a wonderful thing to see. And we all were excited to learn truly who this baby would be!

Lindsey had contractions off and on, which tends to happen with any pregnancies that aren’t the first one. In fact, on January 2nd around 9:45 pm she texted she had been feeling contractions since 2:45 that afternoon but they felt like they were getting stronger. She would reach out if things changed and had an ultrasound appointment the following day which would likely give more info.

I didn’t get an update about contractions, but the following afternoon around 3:30, Lindsey called to say her blood pressure was running high and the recommendation was induction. This was not how she hoped her birth journey would go and wondered if she could see her natural childbirth through. I encouraged her and would be ready to join her once she was having regular contractions 5 minutes apart that she couldn’t talk or walk through.

The induction plan was to start with a membrane sweep and then go from there. Lindsey’s body was already showing some signs of readiness and her cervix was opening, so her provider was hopeful it wouldn’t take much. After the sweep they started off with a dose of Cytotec and would give another dose and see if that worked.

My phone was quiet for many hours, but the Cytotec dosing is spaced far apart so I wasn’t surprised. Then Lindsey called me at 3:20 am saying, “These are getting really bad. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?” At the time of the call, Lindsey was at her wits end and Alan was fresh out of ideas of how to help. This was the first I heard from her about contractions, so I mentioned hands and knees and possible use of the shower. Then I grabbed my bag and was on my way!

I got there about 30 minutes later. It was about 4:00 am. I knew that Lindsey was feeling overwhelmed and struggling with the intensity of her labor. I reminded her to breathe deeply and to let go of tension and fear, keeping her thoughts positive and reminded her of her strength.

Lindsey was sweaty from her labor, so I prepared a cold cloth and placed a fan nearby. She was having a lot of back pain, so I demonstrated counter pressure to Alan and warmed up my heating pad for her. Lindsey labored on her hands and knees over the cub birthing chair for about 10 minutes before her doctor came in.

It was time to check on progress and possibly break her water if Lindsey was on board with that. She was dilated 5 cm and 90% effaced and her baby’s head was at -1 station, all a very good place to be! Lindsey was courageous and ready to get things going so she gave her doctor permission to break her water. The plan was to move her labor straight to the shower.

Lindsey paused at the toilet, wondering if she had to make a bowel movement or maybe it was her baby moving lower. She couldn’t get anything out, so she went into the shower. It was 4:45 am. I put citrus essential oil on a washcloth in the shower to help energize Lindsey. She instinctively swayed her hips and leaned forward against the molded seat in the shower.

Lindsey held some tension in her shoulders, so I reminded her to drop them and to sigh low tones with her contractions. And it wasn’t 10 minutes, maybe 15, before she felt pushy. First, she felt it, then we heard it! I told Alan to let the nurse know and then we helped Lindsey out of the shower to the bed. Her nurse was is the room right away and confirmed by exam that her baby’s head was right there! (We, of course, already knew this based on Lindsey’s body and what she was feeling, but it confirmed things.)

Lindsey landed on her hands and knees on the bed and that’s where she pushed. “Make it stop,” she implored, but we told her to breathe calmly and to simply push and her baby would come. And then it would stop. It only took a couple of contractions before her sweet baby was born right into her nurse’s hands at 5:03 am! There were three nurses present and then a midwife arrived right after to see that Lindsey had done it! Her baby had a lot of dark hair and we all saw it as the nurse passed the baby through Lindsey’s legs into her arms.

Alan made the gender pronouncement, “It’s a girl! She’s the tie breaker.” He knew big sister would be so happy to have a little sister. Lindsey settled into the bed with her daughter in her arms. The look of euphoria and surprise was priceless! It’s always a special moment to witness but those looks are particularly shocked after a quick birth! The stats wouldn’t be revealed until after the magic hour, but Breckyn weighed 6 lb. 13 oz. and was 21 in. long. And for the record, Lindsey pushed without any tears!

She put the pieces of her labor together in her mind and giggled over the fact that she was modest until she got into the shower and then when she got out, she didn’t care! I loved talking through the timeline with her and Alan so they could see the time stamps of how active labor unfolded. It didn’t take long at all and she rode the crazy tornado of a labor like the strong woman she is, the strong woman she thought she was, and the strong woman she has always been. I was so proud of her, and she was proud of herself. Alan was awfully proud too. It’s worth noting also, that Lindsey felt so good she asked her nurse if she could take a shower. For the record it was just 5:20. Breckyn was only 17 minutes old!

As a doula, I am not there to guarantee a certain outcome. But I am there to support a plan and to accompany my clients on their birth journey. I hope to also help them see their own wisdom and power in their birth. It is always an honor to be present during such a vulnerable and empowering time, and when the birth unfolds in the way my clients had prepared and hoped for, that’s the icing on the birthday cake! ;)