K.N. - April 4, 2022

K contacted me a mere 2 weeks before her baby was due! Luckily, this was her second baby and she was ready to do the work to be prepared for her son to be born. After a jam-packed prenatal meeting, we felt excited for what was to come.

Early in the morning on April 3, I met K at the hospital as she was in early labor. Her mom was making tea and giving her snacks, as any good birth partner should be doing. Her husband, S, was assisting where needed and blowing up the birth ball. I set up the essential oil diffuser, hung the string lights, and we got to work.

K's contractions ramped up pretty quickly. Within a few hours she was already having contractions 2 minutes apart, but when checked, she was only 4-5cm. This was certainly a devastating blow to the moral in the room. At that time I took a break to rest my body for the long night ahead.

When I arrived back an hour later, K was on the bed ready to get an epidural. After being in labor for hours with contractions coming fast and intense like hers were, we were all supportive of her decision. Birthing people should be able to cope during labor, not suffer.

Although K went into this wanting a natural, vaginal delivery, she made the best decision she could in that moment, and I am so proud of her for that.

Once the epidural kicked in, we turned off the lights and all got some rest. K's mom and I kept rotating her from one side to the other every 20 minutes or so. For most people, epidurals can be the start of a whole train of interventions that end in a c-section. This is not the case for some, and certainly not the case for K. Her epidural allowed her body to rest, and allowed her body to RELAX and open up and dilate. After only about 4 hours with the epidural, it was pushing time!

One of the common side effects of an epidural is low blood pressure. K tried to push on all 4's, but her blood pressure was just too low and she was on the verge of passing out. Since we can't have mom fainting on us, it was the best decision for her to be flat on her back. not an ideal pushing position for most cases, but it was in this one. It was agreed that K's two support people to be me and her mom. We both grabbed a leg and helped coach her into bringing her baby into the world. K pushed like a CHAMP. She really didn't push for very long (maybe 20 minutes) and her over 9lbs son was born. around 1am on April 4, 2022.

Although this birth did not go "as planned", with the addition of the epidural, I cannot emphasize enough how fierce of a warrior K was through this. She trusted her care providers and support team, she voiced her opinions, and she made tough decisions. I am so so proud of her.

Happy birthday, baby boy!