the Birth of Oliver Read 7/14/23

Laura and Tyler have graduated to parent status with the arrival of their sweet Oliver Read on July 14! They were students in my 7-week series and the Spinning Babies parent class, so they were big on being as prepared as possible. But sometimes (oftentimes) babies have their own idea of how things will go, and Oliver was one of those babies.

Laura made it to her 39-week appointment wondering how much longer she had to go. Her baby was on the larger side, which in and of itself wasn’t a concern, but it meant an induction conversation might occur at her 40-week appointment. Laura wanted to try “all of the things” but I reminded her that labor was not something she could make happen and to spend her efforts more on pampering herself and enjoying time with Tyler before things changed in a big way.

And not 12 hours later, just past 8:00 am on July 13, I got a text from Laura saying, “today is the day!” I had just returned from being out of town 2 days before, so we were all very relieved for the timing. Plus, it meant that Laura managed to avoid an induction which was another bonus. Her contractions began around 2:00 am and had progressed to 3-4 minutes apart but were still short at 30-45 seconds. She ate breakfast and planned to labor at home as long as she could.

About 5 hours later an update from Laura had her contractions more frequent and intense but still short. She was hydrating, resting, and moving, and had the Spinning Babies know-how, but with 12 hours of little change in her contraction pattern it had her wondering if she might want to head in.

Laura spoke with her midwife just before 5:00 pm and she reminded her to eat and continue to hydrate and once the contractions were more consistent and intense to come in. At that point the contractions were 5 minutes apart and ranging from 50 seconds to 1:15 min. long.

And 3½ hours later she was ready to go to the hospital. She was confirmed dilated 3 cm just past 9:00 pm and they began the admissions process to stay and have a baby. Laura and Tyler labored several more hours through the early stuff, but by 3:00 am things had changed. Laura was dilated 5 cm and moving into active labor!

It was time to get moving so we had Laura lunge over the cub birthing chair while applying the heat pad to her back. Next, I did some belly sifting to help her baby move toward the left. And by 5:30 am Laura was doing the flying cowgirl. At 6:20 am she was dilated 5-6 cm, which wasn’t a big change. Her baby was lower though, and her cervix was 100% effaced, both good changes. She decided to have her water broken at that time in the hopes it would continue the forward momentum of her labor. She had already been at it for 28 hours, after all.

Tyler was so present to Laura. He kissed her between contractions and offered shoulder rubs and loving words of encouragement. He was an active partner as we helped Laura through various positions to further her labor and encourage their baby to navigate the pelvis. Around 7:00 am we sat the bed upright and tied the rebozo on the squat bar so Laura could use gravity and the rebozo during contractions but lay back upon the pillows between.

At 7:45 am Laura was ready for the shower. We set up some aromatherapy with valor and lavender on a washcloth, but it didn’t take but 25 minutes for Laura to realize the shower wasn’t helping. She got out and sat upon the birth ball facing Tyler. She was extremely tired and ready for relief. A cervical check helped bring clarity to her next steps: she was dilated 6 cm, although her baby was moving down. Laura was ready to get an epidural.

It worked well and soon she and Tyler had the chance to sleep. Her contractions spaced out, which can be a common result after an epidural, but pitocin was incorporated to bring them close again. And after just under an hour of a little bit of pitocin, Laura’s cervix dilated from 6 cm to 8.5-9cm! Her baby’s heart rate decelled which was the clue of rapid descent! Everyone was excited and we continued to use the peanut ball to change the angle of her pelvis to help the last bit of cervix slide away.

But her baby continued to have heart rate dips. They checked her cervix just before 12:00 and she was dilated 9 cm and her baby was at 0 station. They turned off the pitocin and gave her some fluids. And they proceeded with caution, knowing her baby didn’t love the big squeezes.

But three hours later, Laura still had a cervical lip. Her baby was a bit lower, so we tried a variety of positions to bring her to pushing. She did a right lunge over the peanut, then hands and knees. But when the doctor came in to do an exam, she was the same, and her baby’s heart rate kept dipping. He also confirmed that her baby’s head was asynclitic which can be a challenging position especially when coupled with a larger baby as well as being the first baby. He recommended a c-section but left open the possibility of a vaginal birth. He didn’t feel it was likely given the way Laura and Tyler’s baby was responding, so Laura and Tyler trusted the doctor’s recommendation and agreed to move forward with a c-section.

Laura and Tyler were at great peace with the decision and their excitement and relief over soon meeting their baby helped get them through the last few hoops required before going to the OR. The staff matched their excitement and were sure to keep the feeling of celebration in the space. It was a birth, after all!

Oliver Read was born at 4:26 pm wide-eyed and ready to take in the world! And he had amazing lashes, I might add! He weighed 8 lb. 1 oz., not quite as large as was expected. But his asynclitic presentation was definitely the culprit and made his and his mom’s journey much more involved. Oliver was in his mommy’s arms within minutes of coming out, and he had his daddy by his side through it all.

Laura did absolutely all she could to prepare for her birth, and at our postpartum visit she expressed to me how good she felt about the birth. Postpartum and breastfeeding were requiring her focus at the time, but she and Tyler were taking it day by day together, much as they took labor hour by hour together. It’s a beautiful thing to see new parents link arms and support each other through the early days. I’m so proud of them for that.