Tabitha and Danny welcomed their second daughter in a home birth environment on February 8, 2022. When I first met this couple, they were students in my childbirth class in preparation for the birth of their first. They were very motivated to have an unmedicated birth and had a strong belief that the body was made to grow and birth a baby with little help. But sometimes plans change, and when your water breaks and you need contractions, Pitocin is a good tool. Tabitha birthed without pain medications, even with the addition of Pitocin, so she knew she could do hard things.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, very shortly after she gave birth the first time, it became very clear to her and Danny that they would rather forego the hospital experience all together. With mask mandates, required COVID tests, and restrictions on support people, their desire for a homebirth grew and grew. Tabitha found her perfect fit with a midwife who also had a birth suite available, giving the comfort of a homelike environment with a bit more space than they had at home.

We met prenatally and our conversations consisted mostly of Tabi telling me she believed she could do it, but also wondered how it would unfold without Pitocin. There was also the unknown variable of their firstborn, a spunky sweet toddler who had never been away from her mother. Tabi preferred to have her daughter present for the birth and knew Danny could take care of her if the need arose. It was up to her body and her baby as to when the time would be right for labor. And we suspected it would likely unfold when big sister was tucked away in bed asleep since she preoccupied so much of Tabi’s attention.

And sure enough, that’s what happened. Tabi went into labor before her due date just as she had the first time, with the first text to me coming in at 1:37 am on February 8. She sent a screen shot of her contraction pattern, an erratic one with short but close contractions. She didn’t feel they were very strong, so she planned to take a shower and go to bed. But those second babies tend to come into the world in a hurry and that shower can be an excellent comfort measure, perhaps a little too excellent.

Tabi emerged from the shower with much stronger contractions and her body was very changed. She managed another text to me saying, “the contractions really hurt; I’m scared and excited. I don’t know if I was sleeping between them or what, but I’m nauseous too. She wanted to cry from the pain and was groaning through most of it.” Clearly, it was time to alert the midwife and head to the birth suite.

As she searched for her midwife’s number, and right around the time I texted it to her and she found it, her water broke. She called her midwife who told her to go, go, go right away to the birth suite. She would be waiting there. But rushing out the door is a challenge with a toddler and when you don’t quite have all the things gathered up that you need. They were out the door about 20 minutes later, and I arrived at the birth suite shortly before they did.

Her midwife and I waited at the door, and we soon saw Tabi and Danny pull up. Tami was crying, their daughter was crying, as she made her way up the front walk, clutching a towel between her legs to catch the drips. She wasn’t wearing her pants that cold night, too far into active labor to even care. She told us between contractions that she had been pushing in the car, so we helped her up the stairs into the house, a particularly difficult task at the end of her journey, and onto the bed in the birth suite.

There was no need to check a cervix to confirm it was time to push. Tabi followed her body and growled into the intensity of her contractions. Her midwife and I reminded her that she was safe and strong, and to open and soften for her baby to come. Meanwhile, I reassured big sister that mommy was growling like a bear to bring baby sister into the world. She settled down quickly in her dad’s arms, and became a junior doula, watching her mom push out her baby.

I leaned in close to Tabi, so she knew I was there. She didn’t need much from us, just our support and a hand to hold, and our faith in her ability to birth. That became our chorus to her, that she was safe and strong, and her baby was ready to come. And Tabi repeated it to us, saying, “I will open for my baby,” “I am safe,” among other encouraging words. They were wonderful self-affirmations! And she pushed so softly, bringing her baby into her midwife’s hands in a short amount of time. We heard her baby cry before her body was all the way out! She was literally born ready! And one more push brought sweet Alexis Teagan into the world at 3:07 am, in just barely 2 hours’ time.

Tabi received her daughter into her arms and lay back upon the pillow with her firstborn right beside her, petting her, and petting baby, and beaming to each of us her content at her promotion to big sister. It also didn’t hurt that mom was no longer a growling bear and was instantly returned to her normal mom self. She would remain beside her mom for several more hours, eventually falling asleep in bed beside her. Danny was next to the midwife ready to cut the umbilical cord after several minutes of pulsing. After a couple of hours, Alexis was weighed and examined so gently she didn’t even cry. Believe it or not, babies rarely cry during the homebirth exam. It's just different. Alexis weighed 5 lb. 14 oz. and measured 21 in. long.

Tabi had conquered her fear of childbirth; such a strong and independent woman in a small frame. She was powerful in her birth, claiming it for her own, just as she had imagined. When the heightened hormones of birth eased some, and details came into focus, Danny and Tabi laughed over how unprepared they were. The car seat wasn’t installed, the car was badly in need of a charge, and the red lights all conspired against them the entire drive to the birth suite.

But even with the missteps and oversights, everything came together wonderfully and peacefully. As the world slept, Tabi and Danny welcomed a miracle. And we were all the better for being present for it. After a few hours of rest at the birth suite, I got a text from another client in labor, sending me out the door an hour later. As I stole off into the early hours of the morning, Tabi and her girls were stirring with the sunrise. Their only destination was to return home to continue resting and healing they had already begun. It was beautiful how seamless the transition home was: from a homebirth in a birth suite back to home.

The Birth of Alexis Teagan 2/8/22