Rikki and Nathan became parents when they welcomed their baby girl, Roxie Wren, on January 12. 2022. When I first met Rikki, she had many questions for me. She understood the value of good support for many reasons, but the education component was a huge one! We had our prenatal visit at which point I met Nathan for the first time. And about halfway through our time together, Rikki blurted out, “Aren’t you so happy we have her, Nathan?” It was sweet, but I hoped that in time, Rikki would realize that she would be the one to do the work of birth and she already had everything she needed within.

Soon after our meeting, Rikki’s body started gearing up with contractions that were surprisingly painful. The first round came overnight on January 9, and then settled down enough for a little bit of sleep, only to return the following night. Rikki and Nathan wondered if it was baby time, but things chilled out again. The third night her contractions were regular at 8 minutes apart. So, by the morning, with consistent but erratic contractions, she went to the hospital and was dilated 1-2 cm. They waited an hour and checked her again and were happy to report she was dilated 3-4 cm already. This was happening! Rikki assured me things weren’t too serious yet and not to hurry to the hospital. But she would tell me if things changed. Currently her contractions were ranging from 4-9 minutes apart.

But a few minutes later she texted that they were steadily every 5 minutes so we decided to play it safe I should head in. Rikki was handing her contractions well, staying loose from head to toe and breathing deeply. But she knew things would continue to escalate and she was open to getting an epidural. Being up most of the past three nights wasn’t helping anything either and the promise of sleep once she was comfortable was very tempting. Another contraction wave came and went, and Rikki was ready for relief. The CRNA came shortly after that and Rikki was comfortable by 2:00 pm.

The contractions spaced out after the epidural, a common occurrence, so Pitocin was incorporated to make them stronger and closer. In the meantime, her baby’s heart rate dipped so they checked to make sure she hadn’t surprised everyone by making rapid cervical change. She was “over 4 cm, but not quite 5 cm” and she also had a bulging bag. So, we focused our efforts on helping Rikki into various positions to continue labor’s progress while also enabling her to rest.

It took some time to get the Pitocin titrated to the level that would produce consistent contractions but eventually it did. Whether it was the positions, the Pitocin, or (most likely) both, at 10:15 pm Rikki was fully dilated! Her baby was still rather high at 0 station, so it wasn’t quite time to push. We used that time to use gravity-enhancing positions and to give Rikki some sugar (aka a popsicle). There was also the ever-present oxygen mask that had been incorporated during the initial decel. But she didn’t seem to mind it.

There were some late decels that Rikki’s nurse noticed, and she also developed some back pain, likely due to baby moving lower in her pelvis. Nathan rubbed Rikki’s back to help her relax and we rolled her to the other side to hopefully ease the pain. She grew warm so we turned a fan on nearby. Her nurse lowered the Pitocin to give baby a break too, since everything seemed to be a bit more intense for her too.

By 12:05 am, Rikki felt pressure down low. Her contractions were also getting more painful, despite the epidural, requiring her to breathe deeply through them. We helped Rikki roll to her hands and knees in the hope that position would move her to pushing with baby’s head low enough. Rikki swayed her hips as Nathan rubbed her back, and she maintained this position for 25 minutes. But at 12:40 her baby’s head was still at 0 station without molding, so there was still laboring down to do.

Rikki continued to breathe courageously and calmly through her contractions as they grew, and at 1:30 am her nurse had her give a push to see if her baby would move down. She gave a good effort through several contractions on her side, but her baby was showing some signs that it was just a lot. Her doctor came in and explained her concerns about baby’s heart rate dips, the tachycardia that had developed, even after the Pitocin had been turned off. She recommended a vacuum assisted delivery, if Rikki was on board. After getting a clear understanding of what it entailed, Rikki agreed to move forward and at 2:00 am she gave her best push as her doctor assisted by vacuum. And her baby was born just two minutes later at 2:02 am on January 12, 2022! With all the 1’s and 2’s we thought Rikki and Nathan should play the lottery!

Baby Roxie was born sunny side up, as suspected. It helped give an explanation to Rikki’s erratic contractions for three nights as well as her back pain. It was all forgotten though, as her focus was 100% on her baby in her arms. Rikki spoke to Roxie about how excited she was to meet her. She also introduced her to her daddy who makes pizza, likes photography and is a skateboarder. And Rikki also made a point of letting Roxie know she really values her sleep if she didn’t mind helping preserve that. She was soon on a Facetime call with loved ones, expanding the circle of those who had been anxiously awaiting her arrival. She weighed a petite 5 lb. 12 oz. but was working on her first feed by 2:40 am.

This couple was so sweet in their excitement and expectation over becoming parents and finally meeting their baby girl. And to watch them journey together through a challenging labor was heartwarming and a good indication of their loving partnership. They were clearly more equipped for the twists and turns because they had each other to rely on.

Photo credit for the last two pictures in the gallery above goes to Roxie’s daddy who is also a gifted photographer. You can find him on Instagram: @nathaninstagrams

The Birth of Roxie Wren 1/12/22