The Birth of Zachariah Julian (Chi) 8/1/23
Christine and Mark welcomed their first child together on August 1. They had previously become parents with other partners, but found each other, fell in love, got married, and decided to further connect their families with a child. This would be the first son between them since Mark had two daughters and Christine had one. This birth was a new beginning on several levels. And this time would be different for both. They took a 1-day refresher childbirth class and my Spinning Babies® parent class, investing time in preparing for the birth they envisioned. This was also the first time they had a doula.
Christine had a strong desire for an unmedicated birth, something she had not yet experienced. And Mark was all in to support her in her goal. I could see right away they had a strong foundation of open communication and mutual respect. I looked forward to seeing that play out in the birth space and had a strong suspicion it would be beautiful.
Christine experienced an induction for her first birth and was very driven to experience spontaneous labor this time. She was optimistic since her body was gearing up for labor ahead of time. She was dilated 1.5-2 cm at 38 weeks. She experienced some digestive upsets that sent her to the ER that night, but things petered off once she was able to relieve her digestive tract. And Christine continued to have bouts of contractions that week. It makes it confusing to know when to pay attention, but after experiencing several of these episodes Christine knew to not pay too much attention to them unless or until they grew longer, stronger, and closer. She was able to manage them fine with hydration and rest, otherwise.
On July 31 Christine texted about low back ache and shooting pain. She had already been dealing with it for 24 hours, but it had intensified since 1:00 am. She took baths, hydrated, and did the Miles Circuit to help baby improve his position if that was the culprit. She felt baby move in big ways that day and felt contractions all the while. Then around 6:45 pm she wondered if her water might have broken. She had her 40-week appointment in the morning and knew there might be some answers then. However, her body helped fill in the blanks as her contractions were consist at 7 minutes apart by 11:30 that night.
By 3:00 am, Christine’s contractions were intense enough to the point of needing support. She called her midwife and was told to come in. Her contractions were erratic, ranging from 5-9 minutes apart but they were strong. An exam at 4:00 am confirmed she was 5 cm dilated. It was exciting to know she was progressing. She had been laboring at home since 10:30 pm, conserving her energy and staying hydrated. It was time to assemble her birth team, so her arrival was well timed. I arrived by 4:45 am.
Christine was having a lot of back pain with her contractions. She asked if she could still labor in the tub with an epidural, but she was told it wasn’t an option but that the tub was the “midwife’s epidural.” Christine knew she was committed to an unmedicated birth at that point because she wanted to be in the tub so badly! We used a warm rice sock to help, and I offered peppermint for her nausea which was also part of her experience. Her nurse was asking her the admissions questions someone was busy setting up the labor tub for her. And as soon as it was ready, Christine got in.
We made the space conducive, with votives, dim lights, twinkle lights, and instrumental Christian music.
Christine felt more and more pressure as her labor intensified. The nurse tried to get a vein but struggled so they had to find someone else to help. All in all, it took three nurses to finally get a vein at 6:15 that morning. I figured if Christine could labor through all of that she would be just fine.
Mark was a steady, loving companion to Christine. He never left her side or took a break. He was offering gentle reassurance and touch between contractions and did counter pressure. We took turns pressing on Christine’s back, knowing that was where she felt her contractions most intensely. She got out of the tub about an hour later just before 7:00 am. Christine took Mark’s hand and leaned into him for strength as she made her way to the bed. She continued to hold his hand there.
Christine was asking what was next. She looked ahead at what was to come and didn’t feel sure. She got an exam at that time and was 7cm dilated. This was good progress! She then felt her water break somewhat, another good sign of things moving forward for her labor. Her baby was on the right side of her belly, so we did some side-lying release to create more balance in her pelvis.
She felt more pressure after that and told us she felt like she might need to poop. We love to hear those comments! The doctor came in at 7:33 am to follow up on those sensations with an exam. Christine wanted to know where she was and was encouraged to know she was dilated 8 cm, 90% effaced, and baby was at 0 station. There was a fore bag there, so she was comfortable with the doctor breaking her water completely. The hope was it would help her baby to come down upon the cervix and melt it away.
Less than 10 minutes later, we could hear Christine make pushy sounds. It was around 7:40. The doctor lingered in the room just in case, since those sounds can signal baby’s arrival was imminent. But she stepped out just before 8:00 and stayed nearby. It was nice to not have her watching and waiting, freeing up Christine to labor with her core birth team.
She went through waves of hot and cold, as transition can do. We alternated a cold cloth and a heating pad to relieve those temperature fluctuations, knowing they were strong indications that baby was coming soon! Her doctor returned to find Christine’s pushing urges were growing. She was on the bed at this point, moving in ways that felt right. She was on her hands and knees for a lot of it though. As expected, Mark was always the closest to her physically, holding her hands, looking into her eyes, and generally loving her through labor.
The doctor wanted Christine to wait to push since she wasn’t fully dilated at the time of the check, but her nurse and I reassured her to listen to her body and she would know. And Christine’s body took over almost immediately and the time to push was upon her. Christine didn’t have to push long, her body had a memory from her first birth, even though it had been 12 years. We all spoke encouragement to her, but she didn’t need guidance, just support. She was on her side and pushed mightily with contractions and rested between. It only took 10 minutes which by then was only 2-3 contractions. And at 8:38 am her sweet baby boy, Zachariah Julian (Chi) was born!
“I can’t believe I did that! We did it!” was what I heard Christine say in those first moments. Mark’s words were equally wonderful. He exclaimed, “Holy cow! Oh wow!” upon witnessing Christine bring their son into the world. Then the tears! If his eyes didn’t give him away, then his hand wiping the tears did. “The panda can eat bamboo,” Christine said. And when I asked what that even meant she explained that it was the code to announce to her daughter that baby brother had arrived.
There was so much love and joy in that space. Birth is always a celebration but this one seemed particularly sweet to me. It might have been Christine and Mark’s second chance at love in finding each other and bringing a child into the world. It might have been the sense of accomplishment and empowerment that can come when a woman has an unmedicated birth she had hoped for. And their little boy was about the cutest thing I had seen in a long while. I do remember something else Christine said. “He looks just like Mark! That’s what I wanted.” And she looked up at her husband with adoring eyes. It was precious. And he looks like his daddy. I loved being in that space and was honored to assist Christine and Mark in welcoming their first child together.
