The Birth of Elliott Oliver 6/25/23

Christina and Stephanie are parents! And they are parents to a baby boy! I got to know them over the course of my 7-week childbirth class and Spinning Babies® parent class, investing a lot of time in preparing for their upcoming birth. Conversations with her providers prenatally had Christina and Steph aware that the likelihood of an induction was high. So, when the decision was made to be induced in the 40th week, they were comfortable with it.

Sometimes putting a date on the calendar helps kick the body into gear! This is not a proven fact but if you are a suspicious birth worker, it can ring true more than you’d think. Christina felt regular cramping four days prior to her induction date. She rested a lot that day and woke up the next morning with cramping that wasn’t constant or consistent, so she continued with her day once again, only to wake up the next morning with far more consistent cramps. With regular contractions 4.5 minutes apart, she and Steph decided to head to the hospital to get checked and see what was happening.

Walking about the triage room Christina thought her water might have broken. The preadmittance paperwork was started since it seemed she would be staying to have a baby. She was dilated 2 cm at 6:30 am but by 8:00 am she was dilated 3 cm, 90% effaced, and her baby was at -1 station.

Christina’s early labor was manageable, and she giggled and chatted through a lot of it. By the time 12:00 rolled around, we incorporated positions to help Christina manage the pain and maintain progress. She labored over the CUB on her hands and knees, she slow danced with Steph, and sat upright in the bed pulling the rebozo through contractions.

She thought she might want a Lemon Head and quickly spat it out into Steph’s hand. Now, that’s love! ;) They had a wonderful playlist for labor that kept the feeling in the room loving and encouraging. One of their preferred doctors was on call which helped immensely. They didn’t have to defend their choices or explain their reasons. They were involved in conversations with their team the entire way. And the feeling of trust went a long way.

The hospital midwife kept stopping in to visit. We had a feeling she really wanted to be part of the birth and maybe even catch. After all, she had met them when they first arrived and if you know Christina and Steph you probably love them. They are just that way. During one of the visits from the midwife, Christina felt a pop and a drop and exclaimed, “My water!” It broke right then and there. It was just before 1:30 pm.

The next stop was the shower, but Christina didn’t like it as much as she thought. She was in and out in just 15 minutes. She returned to hands and knees over the CUB but the nausea overcame her. “I don’t want to be a pain, but can we put the bed back up in a seat?” Christina asked. She was not being a pain, by the way. And we quickly returned the bed to the throne position so she could feel more in control.

Wet cloths and sips of water and cranberry juice and sprite helped her as her body heated up with active labor. The first F-bomb was dropped at 2:30 and we watched as Christina tugged and twisted the rebozo through the peaks of her contractions. She had crossed a threshold for sure and wanted an exam before making the decision for an epidural.

At 3:00 pm, Christina was dilated 5 cm, and 90% effaced with baby still at -1 station. She thought it best to move forward with an epidural and was happy to have made it to 5 cm before getting it, knowing it would be less likely to slow down her labor.

She was comfortable soon after and we continued to change her position to continue her baby’s descent and her dilation. There came a point where we noticed her baby’s heart rate drop, so we rolled her to her left side. But as the variables persisted, we rolled her to her right, and then back to her left. They got the delivery meds and delivery cart set up suspecting that her baby was close to being born and the dips in the heart rate were more an indication of labor’s rapid progress.

And at 5:30 pm, just 2.5 hours after she was 5 cm, Christina was dilated to 9 cm, 90% effaced, and her baby was at 0 station! We had her labor down in the closed knees position, then with the peanut ball between her ankles for more of the same. Right before 7:00 pm Christina labored down until she felt the steady pressure in her bottom like she had to poop. And at 7:00 she was pushing.

Once again, the closed knees position was effective as Christina made big changes after pushing twice like that. There were big changes that had her baby’s head in view and a few more people heading to the room for delivery. At 7:50 pm Christina felt her baby’s head with her hand and just two contractions later she had her baby in her arms!

Steph made the gender announcement since they had waited to find out, and it was a thrill to discover they had a boy! Elliott Oliver was born at 7:56 pm and looked a lot like Christina from the start. Steph noted that he even looked like her when her furrowed his brow. He was met with such love and joy. The look of glee on his mothers’ faces upon meeting him was so moving.

There might have been a couple of extra people who came to welcome the baby since Christina and Steph quickly became patient favorites. It was a true celebration of love and life in that space, and I couldn’t be happier for this loving couple and their new addition. They were partners in the truest sense, and it warmed my heart to witness their coming together in birth.