The Birth of Waylon William Bay 9/25/23

Jessica and Nathan welcomed their son, Waylon, on September 25. He is their first son after three daughters! I had the honor of serving as their doula for a previous birth, so it was especially exciting when Jessica reached out to work with me again. Jessica was hopeful for a different experience since her third child was born right at the beginning of COVID when hospitals were trying to figure out safest practices during a pandemic. We were all looking forward to a more “normal” birth experience.

Jessica developed some mild polyhydramnios late in pregnancy and her son was measuring large. While she wasn’t eager for an induction, she was worried about pushing out an 11-pound baby, as she says. She was also wanting to give birth without pain medication as she had when we worked together before, and she knew the longer she waited the larger her fear would grow. And she didn’t want that fear present in her birth.

She reported to her hospital in the evening for cervical ripening in her 39th week. She also had low dose pitocin through the night to help nudge her cervix along. After 12 hours she was dilated 6 cm which was exciting, however, her contractions were still far apart and not too painful yet.

Several hours passed with no update so I checked in. Jessica was still 6 cm dilated, and while her cervix was thin at 80%, her baby was still high at -3 station. Her midwife was able to break her water though and the hope was that her labor would pick up. After an hour had passed, Jessica reported that her contractions were varying between 3-5 minutes apart, but they were more intense, but no longer than 20 seconds or so. Since Jessica was a multip, I felt it was a good time to head in just to be on the safe side.

When I walked in the room at 3:15 pm I could see that Jessica was still comfortable. She breathed through her contractions, but they didn’t require a lot of focus from her. The feel in the room was light with the anticipation of a baby at some point. But the birth did not appear to be imminent. Knowing her water had been broken and the pitocin had been running since the night, it was time for some labor. It was time for some Spinning Babies. We got started 30 minutes after I arrived.

Jessica was game for it all! I explained that we would do the Three Balances in case Waylon’s position was the reason her labor had not yet become active. That was my strong hunch, anyway. And I told her they would each occur during contractions to maximize their effectiveness, and it would be uncomfortable. And she was ready to do it. Nathan handed Jessica her comfort blanket for support. We started with the jiggle through 3 contractions to help loosen her pelvic floor and maybe jiggle enough to make space for her baby to chance his position. The second step was 2 forward leaning inversions which Jessica did like a champ. The third movement was the side-lying release done twice on each side through two contractions. Nathan rubbed Jessica through it to help her relax and feel encouraged (and loved!).

I could hear Jessica moan through contractions during the three maneuvers and was hopeful they would impact her labor. We finished the Three Balances around 4:00 pm or so and Jessica labored through a few contractions on her hands and knees over the CUB in bed. Nathan was a constant presence, stroking her face and her arm, reassuring her and loving her.

The contractions were instantly longer and stronger. I recommended Jessica do lunges over the cub to make more lateral space for baby. She did them without complaint and we could hear in her breath that her labor kicked up another notch. She labored standing beside the bed through a few and the plan became to move her labor to the shower.

I prepared the bathroom with votives and started the water running to let it heat up. Jessica felt like she had to go to the bathroom so the made her way to the toilet, pulling the iv pole beside her. But when she sat down, she felt the urge to push her baby out. It quickly became obvious the shower would not be the next stop. In fact, Jessica needed to make her way back to the bed and the simple act of walking in that moment felt impossible to her. But we walked beside her and one step and a time she got there.

Jessica climbed back up into the bed and rested on her hands and knees. Her nurse checked her and she was “complete and plus two!” It was time to have a baby! The midwife was called, and the nursery nurse was in the room momentarily. We put a cold wet cloth on her back, and she had her comfort blanket nearby.

No sooner did the midwife put on her paper garb and pull the delivery cart to the bed, did Jessica push her baby’s head into view. He moved but the midwife could tell he was a bigger baby than her others. She had Jessica stand in the fire hydrant position (aka a side lunge) and push that way, and her son came barreling out! He coughed and sputtered out fluids and cried out just fine. Waylon was born at 5:06 pm!

He was passed into Jessica’s waiting arms, and I think she was in shock to already have him! Although she had been there nearly 24 hours before meeting him, her active labor was just about an hour long! She clutched her son and tried to let it all sink in as we helped reposition her to sitting in the bed and her midwife waited for the placenta. Nathan cut the cord and was reeling with how fast everything went too.

Jessica’s sister-in-law happened to have left to pick up the girls from school, right as Jessica’s labor began to pick up. And it went so quickly, when she returned with the girls around 5:25, Waylon had already been in the world 20 minutes. The timing was perfect for their pickup and arrival to meet baby brother, although not so perfect for being present at the birth. They were gushing over his cuteness, and I just knew there would be some helpers in those big sisters.

Waylon was indeed Jessica’s heaviest baby weighing 9 lb. 2 oz. He was 21.5 in. long. But Jessica did not let fear affect her labor and pushed out her heaviest baby was all the confidence of her smaller ones. I was so proud of her and how she labored. It was quick and intense, but it was by no means easy. It just goes to show how much baby’s position can impact the way labor unfolds. And I’m very glad what we did worked! (And so is Jessica!)