The Birth of Isaac James 6/16/22

Madeline and Brian welcomed their first child, a son, on June 16, 2022! Love surrounded this journey from start to finish when an excited expectant grandma offered to gift her son and daughter in law a doula! (Isn’t that a great gift?) Maddy and Brian enrolled in my 7-week childbirth class as well which gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better as we explored pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.

Things seemed to be straightforward without surprises, but very rarely does a pregnancy or birth not encounter something unexpected. In the last month or so, Maddy’s providers noticed her son wasn’t growing as much as they would have liked, which led them to wonder how the placenta was functioning and whether perhaps an induction was the safest route.

Maddy’s providers watched closer with NSTs and ultrasounds and were pleased when a few weeks out from the EDD, their son had a growth spurt, bringing Maddy’s fundal height up to normal as well as a glowing NST. Maddy was dilated 2 cm and 60% effaced to boot, so it was a very encouraging appointment.

Less than a week later, on June 15, there was some bleeding that caught Maddy’s attention. Since it didn’t stop, she reached out to her providers who suggested she go to the hospital to get checked out. Wisely, Maddy and Brian hastily packed their hospital bag just in case, then made their way in.

They got to the hospital around 1:00 am, and once on the monitor she got checked and was dilated 3 cm. They would reach out to the OB to decide next steps. They kept Maddy overnight to see what was going on, and by 8:00 am there was an exciting update. Maddy was admitted because her body appeared to be in spontaneous labor, dilated 4 cm, 70% effaced, with baby at -2 station, and her water had also broken. She just made it to 37 weeks on the dot, thank goodness, so everything could proceed as normal. Things were early yet, so Maddy and Brian would provide updates as things progressed and she was in a more active labor pattern.

At 3:00 am, Maddy graduated from triage to an L&D room, with the plan to do another check around noon to confirm whether things had progressed. In the meantime, Maddy rested as long as she was able to, knowing her body would require her to work harder as the contractions intensified. And then at 8:00 am her water broke. Everyone hoped it might move her into active labor, but time would tell.

Discussing options, they decided to have the midwife break her water since there was a fore bag of fluid in front of her baby’s head. The hope was after breaking her water, the contractions would get stronger along with some Pitocin. Within the hour the Pitocin was flowing, and Maddy’s contractions were 3 minutes apart, lasting 30 seconds, but getting stronger. I grabbed my go bag and was there 30 minutes later.

Right when I got there, Maddy’s contractions turned a corner. She was breathing with each contraction and struggling to remain soft as they washed over her. Brian was always right there, applying counter pressure, holding her, or saying encouraging things. I was not surprised by this at all, since my impressions of Brian from our initial interview was that he was eager and excited to support Maddy lovingly the entire time.

Things became much more difficult over the next hour, with Maddy quickly descending from the “small talk phase” between contractions to the “I can barely talk at all phase.” She continued to breathe and soften from head to toe, as tears trickled from her eyes revealing just how challenging it was. The shower was next, and Maddy and Brian, both entered it to help progress Maddy’s labor and maintain more relaxation too.

The epidural was placed speedily but it never gave Maddy complete relief from the pain. Her baby’s heart rate dipped, a sign she might be progressing quickly, and she was. Her cervix was dilated 7 cm at 3:38 pm! Maddy continued to breathe and focus through each one and moaned low to stay relaxed. And we all held on to the likely chance that she would be pushing soon. She was moving fast!

Just past 4:00 pm, and after more heart rate decels in her baby, another exam confirmed Maddy was dilated 8-9 cm! They turned off the Pitocin to give her baby a break and with confidence Maddy’s body would continue to fly to 10 cm. We shifted her position to accommodate her baby’s heart rate, and Brian was so excited he helped keep Maddy’s mood elevated in spite of the painful contractions. She coped with them like a trooper, continuing to breathe and vocalize through each one. She stayed the course knowing she would have her baby in her arms very soon.

And then at 4:55 pm, an exam by the midwife prompted her to say, “Your baby is right here!” It was pushing time! Maddy gave her first push at 5:00 pm and she was an excellent pusher. Brian was ecstatic and so thrilled to be meeting his son soon. And he did, because after just a couple of pushes we could already see his head! Maddy reached down and felt her baby’s head with her fingers and couldn’t believe just how close he was!

The midwife offered for Brian to help catch so he put gloves on so he would be ready. His mom also happens to be a midwife so Brian came by it honestly! And just about 10 minutes later, after pushing just 25 minutes, Maddy brought her son, Isaac James, into the world into his daddy’s hands at 5:25 pm! One Republic’s song, “Good Life” was playing, and the room was awash with tears and love! I don’t cry at every birth, but I might have cried at this one! Isaac cried out and Brian and Maddy had teras running down their faces amid smiles and words of love. “We have a baby boy,” Brian said to Maddy, as he continued to cry out his first breaths.

Since there had been growth concerns, Isaac went to the warmer briefly after Brian cut his cord, but he was back in his mom’s arms within 10 minutes, pronounced healthy and perfect. He even weighed more than anticipated at 5 lb. 9 oz. and had excellent Apgar’s of 8/9. Fun fact about Isaac’s birthday: He was born the day after his Grandpa’s birthday, and the day before his Grandma’s birthday (both on daddy’s side), making a birthday sandwich! Isn’t that the coolest?!

Isaac snuggled against his mom’s chest and was latched within his first hour, well on his weigh to chunking up. Just over a month later, at the time of this writing, Isaac weighed 8 lb. 14 oz. at his one-month checkup! He and Maddy are finding their way with breastfeeding, and the spotty sleep is made easier by such a sweet little guy. I loved accompanying them on their journey and seeing them off to such a great start parenting. Brian literally loved Maddy through labor. Their love for each other and their baby was just beautiful to witness.