Taylor and Steven graduated to parent status on September 16, 2021. From the first meeting I could tell that Taylor was a thoughtful person who did her research. And that’s quite frankly what lead her to hiring a doula. We got along great from the start, and she even enrolled in my childbirth class. As she learned and explored her feelings about her providers, she decided to take a leap and switch her care to providers that were on the same page about how she envisioned giving birth. Taylor had a strong desire to birth without pain medication and with minimal intervention, so she chose to birth with midwives.

Taylor practiced patience as her due date came and went. And hours following the scheduling of an induction she felt the contractions of early labor. It was 1:00 am when she reached out, and in less than three hours they had moved to the 5-1-1 mark. She continued to labor at home, preferring to arrive well into active labor. But the intensity escalated over the next three hours that she felt it was time. After all, her contractions were 3 minutes apart and lasting 1.5 minutes. Surely something was happening.

And it was because Taylor was dilated 6 cm! Unfortunately, there were no available rooms and hardly enough triage rooms. She was nestled in a cutaway in the hallway behind a curtain temporarily until she could be moved to a rightful triage room. When I arrived, Taylor was blowing through horsey lips to ease the pressure she felt, all while Steven pressed diligently on her back and hips. A few minutes later she was moved to an actual triage room but the room situation on labor and delivery was still grim, forcing some creative thinking on the part of her midwife. Her triage room didn’t have a shower, but one next door did! So once the room was available, we grabbed up their things and moved in.

Just before 4:00 pm, shortly after Taylor moved to the triage room with a shower, an exam confirmed she was dilated 9 cm! It was shower time! Wild horses couldn’t keep Taylor away from the shower as she bounded off the bed straight for it. It took some finagling to get the temperature right, but we got it.

Music played, the perfect balance of upbeat and love songs. Taylor swayed to the music and leaned against the handrail. She found the hydrotherapy very effective as her body began to show signs it would be pushing soon. Taylor sat on a portable potty which doubled as a sort of birthing stool, and then she squatted. She kept moving, was always moving and it helped her baby to descend. Steven manned the handheld shower head, holding it right where Taylor instructed, and managed to stay on task with hydration. It was also around that time that he looked and me and said, “I don’t know how anyone does this without the help of a doula!” I just smiled.

Just past 5:00 in the evening, after nearly an hour in the shower, Taylor was pushy. She labored down in the shower a bit more, but a concerning heart rate on the handheld doppler had her midwife recommend a break from the shower. It was basically time to push anyway. Taylor crawled upon the bed on hands and knees by 5:30 as Steven continued to massage her back and hips.

And just three minutes later Taylor’s water broke! There was light meconium, but it ultimately wouldn’t be an issue. She was soon pushing full on and followed her body’s cues. She was fully dilated with baby’s head at +2 by 5:56. To be less intrusive, the midwife mentioned wishing she had a flashlight. I went for my phone and Steven grabbed a flashlight out of his cargo pocket! He was ready for everything! And he later admitted he had the hospital bag packed 4 months earlier. The flashlight sat upon the bed giving the midwife enough of a view without having to be “up all in there.”

Taylor pushed with control and precision, much how she approaches most things. And she had an open ear for the cues she received from her midwife and me. “You’re pushing great!” said her midwife. “You know how I know? Because I saw your baby’s head!” I love when providers get so excited about birth! Steven was over the moon excited as well, standing on the verge of becoming a father. It melted my heart.

And Taylor continued to push gradually with determined effort, and brought her baby into the world at 6:29 pm, as the beautiful (and thematically perfect!) song, “Homemade,” by Jake Owen played. And the song that followed was also perfect, “It’s My Life,” by Bon Jovi. The midwife passed Taylor’s baby up through her legs to her arms and she knelt there and took in her son, Owen Jack. The cord remained juicy and pulsed to Owen for 12 minutes before it stopped. And only then did it get clamped by the midwife and cut by Daddy.

Once the placenta was delivered, Taylor got the confirmation from her midwife that she did not tear. This is a feat in and of itself and it a great credit to Taylor for listening to her body and to her midwife! Her recovery would be much less complicated because of it. She snuggled with her boy as he settled into that perfect nook under her chin.

Taylor’s birth was beautiful and empowering. Even though it was a record-breaking birthday for the hospital. Even though she labored in the hallway for a while. Even though she moved from one triage room to another. Even though they had to setup a baby warmer and bring in some extra folks for delivery in a smallish space. It was all worth it for the way she was treated and respected through it all. Birth can be scary and overwhelming, especially when you haven’t done it before. But there is intuitive wisdom in the cells of a woman, and Taylor trusted this. She navigated her journey step by step and did the work. She also had unfailing support, which doesn’t hurt either. I’m grateful to have been part of the team.

The Birth of Owen Jack 9/16/21