Joy and Dirk welcomed their third baby, Glawen Margaret, on January 14, 2023. Our initial interview was over video chat as I was driving to visit family over the Christmas holiday! In fact, our prenatal was also virtual. So, the first time I met Joy and Dirk, was on the day of the birth. Since they had just moved to the area, it was more important to Joy that Dirk stayed home with the other children so she could feel confident that they were well taken care of. She knew it would help her labor progress. When her labor began, the plan was for Dirk to drive her with the children, and then return home when I arrived. This was a unique situation but was what Joy needed in her birth. That is what good support looked like to her.

Joy felt her first contractions on January 13, the day they planned to move from their Williamsburg home to Virginia Beach! So she sat in the car feeling waves of contractions as they literally moved to their new home. Joy also had an induction scheduled for the very next day, but it became clear she would not need it. I got an update a few hours in and then nothing until 2:00 am, telling me she was on her way to the hospital. Her first exam revealed she had done a lot of work that day because she was dilated 5 cm. Needless to say, Joy and Dirk were very relieved they made it to Virginia Beach before it was time to go to the hospital! I arrived soon after they texted me with the update.

By the time Joy was out of triage and in her rightful labor and delivery room, she was ready to get an epidural. It was always part of her plan, but she did consider waiting longer since she felt more confident with her contractions this time around. I remember Joy telling me she felt more confident with me there. But then there was one particularly strong contraction that reminded her that she really did want the epidural, so the anesthesiologist was paged to come and Joy was able to get her pain managed soon after that.

We continued to move Joy into various positions while also encouraging rest. But it wasn’t too soon after the epidural that Joy said, “Oh! There’s something!” Her water had broken! It was 4:35 am. Her nurse hadn’t even placed the bladder catheter yet, so she went ahead and did that and confirmed that Joy was dilated 7 cm. Her cervix was very thin, and her baby was at -2 station. It felt like there was some time, but with multips (women who have previously given birth) you really never know! Their cervixes can stretch like a rubber band.

And at 6:00 am, Joy was already completely dilated. Her doctor came in and noticed there was a fore bag so she broke that with Joy’s consent. We positioned the bed like a throne to encourage Joy to use gravity to bring her baby down since baby was still a little high. And Joy gave her first push at 7:05 am. joy was just as her name describes, joyful and happy to be meeting her baby soon. She was sweet and positive the entire birth, come to think of it.

And after just 15 minutes of pushing, Joy brought her daughter into the world at 7:19 am! Glawen came with the amniotic sac wrapped around her foot like an accessory, and she had a full head of dark hair. She was a beautiful baby! And she didn’t want to miss a thing, with her eyes wide open from the start! Her eyes and nose looked like her mom, but she definitely had some of her dad in her too. Glawen was the perfect size, weighing in at 7 lb. 12 oz. and 20.5 in. long. Joy snuggled her baby and hummed to her and spoke sweetly to her. She handled her with confidence and was excited for her husband and children to come meet her soon.

But first, breakfast and a nap! Joy gave birth just in time for a breakfast tray to be delivered! So she enjoyed some food while her baby had her first exam. Dirk arrived with the children a little while later and they were all overjoyed to meet their newest family member. Dirk and Joy were grateful for a safe delivery during which their children were in their beds sleeping and woke up to daddy’s familiar face, knowing Joy was surrounded in support. It was a joy for me to serve Joy as she welcomed her baby and I will forever be grateful that she and Dirk trusted me to serve in his stead. And I am amazed at how carefully they mapped out their support plan, and how perfectly their baby executed it, right down to labor starting just an hour or two after pulling up to their new home.

The Birth of Glawen Margaret 1/14/23