I met Karen late in her first trimester when she decided that for her second baby, she wanted to have a home birth. Her first had been born in the hospital setting and she knew that for her second baby, she wanted a different experience for all of them! We were excited to see when this baby would join us as Karen was due the day after I was! Her first baby came two weeks early so we anticipated a similar outcome making it possible for me to make it to her birth, or at least we were hopeful! Karen’s pregnancy progressed wonderfully and we were all pleasantly surprised when she made it to 39 weeks! We made an appointment to see her at 40 weeks and waited to see when this baby would arrive!
The day before her due date, Karen texted me to let me know she had been contracting and thought she might be in early labor. I encouraged her to keep me posted and went about my day. I was excited as this was supposed to be my due date and I figured if I couldn’t deliver on my due date, someone should! I received a call at 11:30am from Karen letting me know her contractions were getting closer but they were still shorter and she was coping well. We decided to follow up in an hour to see how the pattern changed. I went to run an errand and drop off my little guy when 30 minutes later I got a call from Karen’s mother letting me know I needed to come NOW! My heart dropped as I panicked about what was happening and if she really was moving that fast! I raced to Karen’s home an arrived at 12:23pm to Karen visibly trying not to push! I threw some gloves on and tried to listen to baby while we helped Karen into bed. Everything was going very fast but very perfect! With the next contraction, Karen pushed with all her might and brought her sweet baby girl into the world at 12:30pm on April 20, 2017! I couldn’t believe I made it! We all breathed a sigh of relief as we helped mom and baby settle and breastfeed. Little Emma weighed in at 6#12oz and was welcomed by her mom, dad and big brother. Thank you so much to your sweet family for allowing me the privilege to serve them! What a fun time!
