I met Lauren early in her pregnancy. She had had a home birth with her previous child and knew this child would be no different, she was excited to get started! Lauren’s pregnancy progressed perfectly with the usual amount of crazy Braxton hicks that a mama having her fourth baby experiences! She faced the challenges well and when we passed her 40 week appointment, I wondered if she was pregnant with a boy (this baby was a surprise) and we would see her carry this pregnancy longer just like all the other boys due in August were doing!
Exactly 41 weeks into her pregnancy, I received a call from Lauren’s husband saying that her contractions were increasing rapidly and they needed me to come. I asked my usual questions and let them know I was headed their way. A few minutes later, I received another call from Neil letting me know Lauren’s water broke and she was feeling pressure. I told him I would call in my back-up hoping she would be closer to them than I was! I called Jolene and she thought she was 5 mins away. I texted Neil this information but felt I needed to call him back. When he answered I could hear Lauren in the background and I could tell delivery was close. I told him to stay on the phone with me and I would coach him through the delivery. He kept me appraised of every detail as Lauren tried not to push (her body was doing just fine without her!). He told me he could see the head so I encouraged him to help her breath slowly to allow the head to deliver slowly to reduce tearing. I encouraged Lauren to stay calm as she worked so hard! He told me the head delivered and I told him to have her push one more time to deliver baby the rest of the way and bring baby skin to skin with her and cover him with a blanket to stay warm. Baby was born with the next push at 9:21am and I could hear him give out a big wail! I heard Neil helping Lauren put baby on her chest and cover them with a blanket. I told them I was 10 minutes away and would help with the placenta and everything else and to take a breather since they just accomplished something so big!! From the first phone call to delivery was 11 minutes! This baby was waiting for no one, not even Jolene! I arrived around 9:45am to find mom and baby calm and skin to skin in bed and helped them finish cleaning up and delivering the placenta. Everyone was happy and healthy even if the midwife didn’t quite make it! Luke came into the world weighing in at 7#13oz and 19.25in long! Welcome to the world little Luke, thanks for being such a perfect first missed catch!!
