Three years ago I joined Lesslie for the birth of their son Wyatt at Fort Worth Birthing and Wellness Center. It was speedy, intense, and they barely made it to the birth center before his arrival. As is the case with every pregnancy and birth, you really never know what will happen. Even if a baby is born fast with the last pregnancy, it may take much longer with the next birth.
From Lesslie:
“Wyatt came super fast, like less than 20 minutes after we got to the birth center, so I was anticipating an equally precipitous or even faster birth this time around. I had literal nightmares about not making it to the birth center in time/complications/everything going wrong in the middle nowhere on 281, so the midwives offered to do a “natural” induction when my cervix was favorable enough so that I would already be there and be able to relax and just labor. Not really my first choice either because I like my babies to come on their own timing, but I liked that idea better than a car/side of the road baby 😂 We had planned to start that process on Monday afternoon…. but in true, unpredictable birthy fashion, I started having consistent contractions Saturday afternoon instead. When they started getting stronger and closer together, I called the on call midwife, Dana, to let her know… I took a long bath and laid down for bed around 9, and they spaced out a bit, but didn’t die out completely. A couple of hours later and they were back to being every 5 minutes on the dot. I knew it was still pretty early, but decided to head in anyways.”
Shortly after Lesslie arrived and the midwives gave her and the baby a through assessment, contractions began to die down. Knowing Lesslie’s concerns about having a car baby and that it would be an hour and a half drive back home, they all agreed to start a natural induction that included a quick release balloon catheter, castor oil, herbal preparations, nipple stimulation with a breast pump, and lots of lunging up and down the stairs.
“The hours ticked by and I was getting exhausted as well as more & more annoyed that she was not there yet. What was taking so long? Why was my body not doing its job to get this baby out as fast as last time? Why were we still waiting on her? (Also note: patience is not my strong suit 😉 Could ya tell?) The induction methods kept the contractions coming & kept them strong. Wes did endless hip squeezes (he knows his job WELL by now lol) because I would not let a contraction pass without one! 😂 Another round of antibiotics, more stairs, more walking.”
“I distinctly remember blubbering to her and Dana about how frustrated I was. She offered to break my water to help speed things along, which I also begrudgingly agreed to because I remembered how much more intense contractions became when my water broke while in labor with my first baby, and I wasn’t completely sure I could handle it.”
Despite how discouraged Lesslie was, especially after another mother in labor came into the birth center and then baby cries were heard shortly after, Lesslie kept going. With the sun coming up it was suggested that a change of scenery might help, but instead Lesslie’s instincts told her it was time to get into the water.
“That warm water felt SO good. I still could not make it through a contraction without Wes doing a hip squeeze so he got in with me. Most of the rest of labor feels like a blur, but I remember knowing I was in transition, and just telling myself over and over and over that she would be here soon. Just make it through ONE more contraction. Just ONE more. Just ONE more….”
Just as the panic was setting in and the “I’m not ready, I don’t want to do this!” thoughts became so loud…
“I felt her coming down and an intense sensation to push. One contraction later, and her head was out. I remember thinking that I needed to push her out the rest of the way, but I couldn’t move a single muscle. Delilah and Ashlyn appeared in front of me (not even sure if they were in there before that or not 😂) coaching me through what to do next since my brain clearly wasn’t functioning appropriately. On the next contraction I reached down to grab her, and pulled her up out of the water. 😍 She was born at 9:52am, weighing in at only 5lbs, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. My sweet tiny miracle baby.
“🥰 Ashlyn was an excellent student midwife, and of course Dana and Delilah were amazing, too 😘 I am so, so grateful for everyone at FWBC for their excellent care and support throughout the whole pregnancy & delivery, especially with all of this COVID-19 mess 🙄. I wouldn’t want to have a baby any other place 😊”
Dallas and Fort Worth Birth Photography – Elaine Baca | Lane B Photography 2020