The Birth of Lukas 9/2/22

Sasa and Tyler welcomed their second son on September 2, 2022, in a beautifully healing birth. Sasa did not emerge from her first birth feeling confident and like she was listened to. She hoped to have more agency and a voice this time, and Tyler and I were intent on helping that happen. We were by her side the first time, so we had an understanding of what that journey entailed.

Sasa’s body had bouts of warm-up contractions for weeks. She was an expert at minimizing and ignoring them, not ever reaching out to me once. In fact, the first heads up I got from Sasa was a quick text on the way to the hospital! It was 8:30 pm on Thursday, September 1, and a phone call right after the text help solidify that these contractions were different, and I should just make my way to the hospital.

Later I would learn that her contractions were different that evening around 5:00 pm, leading her to think it was the real deal. She didn’t want to trouble anyone unnecessarily by raising the alarms too soon or for nonlabor, so she waited. It was a wise decision to leave because Sasa was dilated 7 cm when she got to the hospital. Those second baby labors can really fly!

She breathed through the triage questions and the hep-loc setup which took a bit of doing and maintained her labor groove. Once she was shown to her room the call was soon made to have the tub setup for labor. Sasa felt back pain with her contractions, so I applied counter pressure and a heating pad. Tyler was always right by Sasa, encouraging her and believing in her.

By 10:15 that night the tub was blown up and filled with water, however it was a bit too hot, so some ice was dumped to tweak it to the optimal temperature. THEN Sasa was able to get in. She was feeling tired from her labor, so we gave her some coconut water and added encouragement. Labor always makes women tired but not letting it get in their head is the challenge. Sasa got out of the tub at 11:30 for something different, then labored over a chair through some contractions until she eventually found herself laying on her side in the bed.

Sasa exhaled “ooh” with her contractions as the pressure mounted at the peaks. “I don’t think I can do this,” she confessed at 11:00, but I reminded her that her baby was very close. Her voice continued to climb with the intensity and her growls were stronger. Shortly before midnight, changes in Sasa’s demeanor and voice hinted that she was pushing. Her midwife asked if she felt different, and Sasa confirmed that she was pushing. “Nothing helps anymore,” she said, and then rolled over onto her hands and knees before the next contraction hit.

Sasa’s midwife gave some verbal encouragement about how this birth was different than her first and she was doing amazing. It was important that she had a safe space in which to labor as she wished, and we all understood that. Sasa lay back down on her side and then rolled to the other, and then got up to stand at the foot of the bed. This birth seemed harder to her than her first and it might have been. It also might have been that she was in the hard spot between transition and pushing and many women give pause in that space as they wrap their heads around what is to come.

Sasa moved her hips back and forth and made the sounds she needed to make as she brought her baby down. We placed cold cloths on her neck while continuing to place the warm pack on her back. The midwife pulled the delivery cart near as Sasa pushed unmistakably just before 1:00. The midwife got dressed in the paper clothes and moments later Sasa’s water broke all over the floor. It was 1:19 and her baby was coming!

Nursery was notified as Sasa roared her baby to her perineum. She breathed and paused and was patient at the right time, and then brought her baby’s head out. The shoulders were next, but they took a little effort. But Sasa mustered all her strength and brought her baby out with the next push at 1:37 am!

Baby Lukas was passed through Sasa’s legs into her arms for her to get a look at him and take a moment to realize what she had done. Tyler was just as astounded and overjoyed as Sasa was, taking in everything as Lukas cried out. Once we helped Sasa upon the bed, Tyler cut his baby’s cord. This was not something he did the first time, so it was extra special.

Lukas weighed 8 lb. 8 oz., just 3 oz. shy of his brother’s birth weight. These boys were big for Sasa, but she did it! Lukas latched well and Sasa basked in the oxytocin that follows a particularly amazing birth. She felt different. I could tell she even looked different. Her midwife leaned in before leaving and told her what an amazing job she did. Sasa smiled to hear it and settled into to getting to know her son.

Sasa’s birth was a beautiful example of how every birth is different. Her birth journey was a healing one that allowed her to feel strong and heard, and one in which she had choices and respect, and the freedom to labor as she saw fit. She shined in that environment and under the supportive team that surrounded her that night.