Christmas Sugar

I had one last client due before my baby comes. This was her second baby and she took my CBE classes with her first baby and had an unsatisfactory first birth with the "medwives" at the local hospital.

She called me this time when she was about 5 minutes pregnant to hire me as her midwife. We had maintained social contact since her first birth, and I knew them both really well. Prenatally, as I palpated the baby, I thought "This is a bigger baby than her first (8# 5oz)." Turns out I was right! I also assured her she could have a big baby without any issue. (Right on that one too). I estimated the weight a week ago as 8.5 to 9 lbs.

She had called with some menstrual crampy stuff on Saturday night. I told her to call me back by 10:30 if she felt things pick up so I could call FaeryLady to come and drive. I didn't hear from her. She said things petered out and she slept well.

Sunday AM she called and said she was still feeling crampy and that they were about 10 minutes apart, lasting 30 seconds. I told her to keep me posted and went to church. After church I called to check on her. They were a bit closer together, but not lasting as long. I went over to check on her and suggested she go about her day. She could still walk and talk through them, so I suggested she talk a nap and make sure to eat well all day.

I tried calling again on my way to our Christmas Eve Candlelight service at church. She was on her way home from her service. She said that the contractions were about the same, maybe slightly more intense, but that she was singing in church, etc. I told her to call by 9:00 PM with an update.

At 9 she called to say that they were definitely more intense, but she was tired and was going to go to bed. I called FaeryLady who said that she was going to go to bed too, that she didn't want to drive over here and then have to drive home again at Christmas if it was a false alarm.

At 11:30, the phone rang. It was the dad. I asked, "Is it time for me to come?" He said, "Yeah, I think so." I asked what was happening and he said, "I don't know. She just looked at me and said to call you." LOL. OKAY! I'm on my way.

I called FaeryLady who got on her way and I got to their house about 10 minutes after they called me. The mom was working hard and having lots of sacral pain. She tried the toilet, the ball, the shower, laying on her side, etc. Finally, what worked well for her was the belly lift from Back Labor No More. I checked her at 1:15 AM. She was 5 cm and stretchy to 7. She was paper thin. This encouraged her a lot. She tried sitting on the ball and me or her hubby would sit on a stool behind her and lift her belly. FaeryLady arrived around 2:15 AM.

At 3 AM I suggested the mom get in the tub and sit in the dad's lap so he could lift her belly. At 3:15 she was starting to feel pushy. By 3:25 she had flipped to kneeling against the side of the tub and her bottom was bulging.

I have never seen such great control during pushing. She totally breathed that baby down every millimeter saying every so often "That feels SO GOOD".

Soon we could see a little forehead. The face came out to the eyebrows! Then to below the nose, then the chin, then finally the whole head. I thought, "The baby's not restituting......." I felt for cord. There wasn't one. But I could feel those shoulders were a tight fit. It wasn't "shoulder dystocia", it was "baby dystocia". The shoulders were not caught on bone, she was just so big, it took effort to push her out. FaeryLady said afterwards, "Those weren't tight shoulders". Well, she didn't have her hands there! It felt tight. It took two contractions for the head to even restitute, then another three to get the body out. We then passed her through moms legs and dad lifted her out of the water to mom. She only had that one vaginal exam, and that one was offered only to encourage her that her body was working, and she chose it. I love that. APGARS were 9 and 10.

She had a minor first degree tear along her old episiotomy scar (didn't need any stitching) and some "skid marks" up towards the top that she says don't even sting. She said several times yesterday, "I don't even feel like I had a baby!" What a difference from her first with the episiotomy and stitches!

The baby was 9# 14 oz of pure sugar. 14" head and 14 7/8" chest! She even had a fat little neck and double chin. So pretty too. The mom is Puerto Rican and is stunningly beautiful. The dad is Caucasian, very handsome. This baby is gorgeous.

She latched on at about 20 minutes and nursed for an hour. The parents were so thrilled with the whole experience.

What a fantastic note to go on "Maternity leave". FaeryLady has two more moms I'm helping her with by mid-January, and the other midwife who signed off my skills has one mom at the end of January, then I can just be a "mom".