Finnigan- A Birth Story

Finnigan’s Birth Story

Elizabeth is a laid back happy young mother who has a beautiful little family. She has a supportive husband and an adorable little boy. This story is the birth of her second little boy. Elizabeth knew she wanted a natural birth and choose a midwife for her pregnancy care. She had goals to have a home birth in a hospital setting. She did so magnificently.

In the weeks leading up to labor and birth, Elizabeth’s body did a lot of practicing. In the three days leading up to labor, Elizabeth even had contractions as close as 3 minutes apart for several hours at a time. This valiant mother’s sleep deprivation began well before the arrival of her baby. On the day before labor really began, she had several hours of prodromal labor. Her body seemed to be playing “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” As with many women who have prodromal labor, when true labor set in, it went fast.

On the morning of baby day, Elizabeth was awakened at 4:30 in the morning with contractions that she could not sleep through. These contractions felt essentially the same as the ones that she had experienced on and off for several days. By 6:30 am, She began to realize that this was not another false alarm. It was three days before her due date, and true labor had begun. She called her mother to drive her to the hospital and texted her doula (Vahati Vaari) at 7:00 am.

Only minutes later, Elizabeth was brought to her knees by a strong transition contraction. Her husband looked at her and said

“Your mom is not going to make it is she?”

Elizabeth knew they had to go. Thoughtfully, while Elizabeth made her way to the car, Bryce gathered a garbage bag and towels to save the car. It was lucky he did because her water broke en route to the hospital. Elizabeth could feel her baby’s head crowning. She reclined the seat to slow delivery and relieve some of the pressure she was feeling. She narrowly managed to avoid having a baby in the car. This delivery was so rapid that it was missed by her mother, doula, and even her midwife.

Upon arrival to the hospital, Elizabeth addressed the nurse at the desk in her sweetest “customer service voice”

“My water broke in the car. I’m going to need a room.”

Quickly the nurses jumped into action. They got her a room and a clean gown. During intense labor, stalling delivery as well as she could, she managed to change and address the nurses questions. Elizabeth got into bed and began pushing in a semi reclined position. She immediately realized that this was uncomfortable and ineffective. She jumped to her hands and knees and quickly felt the baby’s head crown.

She alerted the nearest nurse. The nurse looked out the open door and began to yell

“Can I get a doctor? A midwife? Anyone?”

Soon, a doctor, possibly not even an obstetrician, off duty and there to pick up a paycheck, arrived to deliver the baby in jeans and a flannel shirt. This man did a wonderful job. Together, he and Elizabeth worked to slow the delivery. Elizabeth never even had to push. Seven minutes after arriving to the hospital, at 7:34 am, a healthy baby boy came into the world.

Finnigan was 7 lb 5 oz, 21 inches, and all perfection. His head was covered in soft, short, red/brown hair. He had full, plump, pink lips and his mamma’s nose. He also had a tiny widows peak over the left side of his forehead. This special little boy was tricky to name and his mom and dad took their time to find the perfect one. At ten days old, this little boy was finally named Finnigan.

The 3rd stage went smoothly, if only slightly excessive bleeding. This was quickly remedied with pitocin and uterine massage while this beautiful mother enjoyed her sweet baby. Her early post partum nurses were fantastic. Within ~forty-five minutes, breastfeeding was established. Elizabeth had struggled for months to feed her last baby who was born with a lip tie. She dealt with hours of pumping, sleepless nights, endless bottles, and lots of tears. Now here was this perfect little boy with a perfect little latch. This time, when the tears swelled, they were tears of joy.

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