Heather and Tim welcomed their son, Micah on September 5, 2021! This couple was so eager and inquisitive from our first meeting. I could tell just how strongly they wanted to do what was best for their son. So, when contractions started overnight on Micah’s birthday, Heather reached out to me. She also was concerned about bleeding and wondered if perhaps her water had broken. Her midwife recommended going in for a check to confirm. Her contractions were also coming steadily, if not erratically, and they thought some added information would be helpful in determining next steps.

The good news was that Heather’s water wasn’t broken. And the other good news was that she was 80% effaced and dilated 2-3 cm. Her baby was at -2 station, and she had the option to return home to labor until things were more active. Heather chose to do just that. She labored in the shower and the bath and made good use of the birth ball. Things were intensifying and it wasn’t much after I arrived that we caravanned to the hospital.

An hour and a half after she arrived, the epidural had been placed. And about an hour later she was dilated 4-5 cm. Heather felt pain on her right side, which can add an additional challenge when the goal is pain relief. But she was patient as we tried various positions with the peanut ball to encourage her pain medication to distribute more equally. 

A little bit of Pitocin helped get Heather’s contractions close together again. They had drifted apart after the epidural which often happens. We continued to make sure she changed positions from one side to the other. And three hours later she was dilated 8-9 cm! Her baby was also low at 0 station. It wouldn’t be long before she met her sweet baby and Heather was overwhelmed at the thought. It just all felt so fast!

An hour later she was fully dilated with her baby at +1 station. There was no need to jump right into pushing when she could continue to rest and labor down. So we fashioned the bed into a seat and rotated Heather’s knees and feet inward so as to open the outlet of her pelvis. And that along with gravity did the trick because her baby was at +2/+3 station within the hour.

Heather pushed for about an hour and a half. It wasn’t easy because at one point she dry heaved from the pressure. But she stuck it out and pushed on one side and then the other, and even did the rebozo tug of war to help with pushing. It really helped because her midwife joined us soon after and remained for delivery. 

The room filled with people as Heather’s baby’s head began to crown. And when we could see it sitting there and not drifting back, we told Heather she could reach down and feel her baby’s head if she wanted…and she did! Her eyes got so big and she was shocked and thrilled at the same time knowing her baby was so close she could touch him. Needless to say, it only took one or two more contractions (5 minutes), and Micah Timothy was born at 10:20 pm! 

Micah was born surrounded in love, with his mom, dad, and even his grandma there. He was wide-eyed and taking in his surroundings from the start and showed readiness for nursing too. He weighed 8 lb. 4 oz. and measured 21 in. long, just perfect. And even daddy got a chance to snuggle him in the first 90 minutes of his life. And Micah was transfixed!

There was so much joy in the room during Heather’s labor. I can’t quite put my finger on why. It could have been her loving support team, her deep desire to become a mother, her strong faith in God’s blessing of a child, or simply the joy of meeting her son. It definitely felt like a birthday party, and I was so honored to have been one of the guests to celebrate!