I met Mave early in her pregnancy after she decided that she’d like to go the home birth route when her first labor was barely 6 hours and she had delivered at Mountain Midwifery Center in Denver. She assumed she may not make it there this time! Her pregnancy progressed beautifully and as we passed the same number weeks she was when she delivered her daughter, she was anxious to be done! 41 week came and went and Mave was amazed that she too had carried for so long! I began to notice a pattern and though Mave did not know what she was having yet, I suspected she was having a boy since all the boys for the month already seemed “sticky” and content to stay for as long as possible! She decided to have her membranes stripped at 41 weeks and 3 days and hoped this would be just what she needed.
As soon as my head hit the pillow after finishing Stephanie’s birth, I received a call from Mave that she was in labor! I couldn’t decide if I should laugh or cry, I was exhausted already having been up all night but was excited to welcome another baby in the world. We talked briefly and I decided it was probably too early for me to come in but gave her clear instructions on when to call me back. I woke up at 6:48am and realized it had almost been two hours since I heard from Mave so I called her in a panic to make sure she was ok! They were getting her daughter off with a friend and things were still the same as before. I gave her those same instructions and laid in bed restless knowing I’d be getting up soon. I finally decided that tossing and turning was not worth it and got up around 7:15am. I made myself some breakfast and something in my gut told me it was time to leave for Mave’s house. I was climbing in my car when her husband called to let me know that she was actively laboring and ready for me! How awesome as I was already on my way! I drove to Mave’s house and pulled in the driveway. I got all my things together and knocked on the front door. A young woman answered and for a brief moment, I panicked that I was at the wrong house (this is a true fear of mine)! Fortunately, I wasn’t and I stepped inside to find Mave rocking her labor. Both her and baby were doing so well so I set up the room for baby’s birth. Mave’s contractions intensified and I could tell she was transitioning as she was telling me how good an epidural sounded right about now and how done she was! I agreed with her but reminded her how amazing she was doing and that she was almost done! She then told me that almost done meant she still had a long ways to go and that baby was never coming, we all shared a quiet chuckle and I continued to encourage her. I talked with Mave about trying some different positions to help move baby down and when she attempted to put her leg up in a kneeling lunge, a strong contraction took over her body and Mave threw herself into the side of the pool! She lifted her upper body so high out of the pool that if her doula had not been there, I’m pretty sure she would have fallen out as I was on the other side of the pool opposite supporting her! We all breathed a sigh of relief that she did not fall out of the pool and within two contractions, she was pushing strong. Mave roared with each contraction as baby crowned and she slowly and intentionally delivered his head. With the next push she was finally done and lifted her sweet baby to her chest! What a relief she was done!! She proudly announced that it was a boy (I knew it!!) and settled back to look at his sweet face. Baby Townes joined us weighing in at 8#13oz at 8:46am, just 3 hours after I had left the previous birth! What a busy morning! Welcome to the world sweet one, thank you for allowing me the privilege of being present for your birth!
