Tanya and Rich Veitch along with big sister Nellie welcomed sweet Kestrel Rain to the their family on Tuesday, September 13th at 1:47 pm. Tanya had been my client for the birth of her first daughter Nellie who was ultimately born via C-section after an epic and valiant 3-day labor. Nellie had rotated posterior while trying to navigate through the birth canal with her arm up around her neck. We could see and Tanya could feel Nellie's head while pushing but the combination of the arm plus a posterior presentation was just too much to be able to fit 8lb 3oz Nellie through. I was very confident in Tanya's ability to have an HBAC (Homebirth After Caesarean) and super excited to be part of what we hoped would be a much shorter labor and triumphant VBAC!
Tanya had a feeling the 13th was her day--it would have been her mother's 60th birthday and the full moon was the night before and it just felt like her time. Sure enough contractions began just around midnight but they weren't into an active labor pattern until close to 9 am. At that point though things shifted rapidly and Tanya found herself immersed in a fast and furious intense labor--completely different from the last time around.
Some relief was found in the tub but it didn't slow the labor down. Understandably, Tanya needed reassurance that her body was working, that she was progressing and most importantly that this level of intensity wasn't going to last too long as it was much harder to cope with than the intensity of the surges last time. (Note from Christy- fast and furious labors are as hard or harder than the slow and steady ones as the mom's body has to open up just as much only in a shorter time period so each contraction can be that much more intense!) We reassured Tanya that she and baby were moving right along and that she was laboring beautifully and effectively! It was such a powerful and exciting moment when Tanya felt the baby surge down while pushing in the tub and I saw that in that very instant she truly and absolutely believed that she was going to push this baby out at home. Determination and renewed strength set in and before long the head was crowning.
Laura Cochran, CPM (a former apprentice of mine when I worked with Karen Webster and now owner of Sunrise Midwifery) was on-hand to assist me at this birth and her calm and steady presence was very welcome as the birthing time approached. She had been an apprentice at Nellie's birth so it was sweet to have us all come full circle. Janeyne was also on-hand as Nellie's doula and she did a brilliant job of keeping Nellie happily occupied and unfazed by the noises mommy was making. At one point Nellie came over to Tanya and kissed her and said "I love you mommy" and "You are doing a great job" and then went back to playing with Janeyne.
And back to the birth...the baby crowned in the water and then Tanya had to work very hard at the end of the labor to push out 9lb 5oz (!) Kestrel Rain as her shoulders needed some help to pass through the pelvis. The baby transitioned beautifully and soon was earnestly at Tanya's breast and greeted by her big sister Nellie. Daddy Rich was calm and loving throughout the labor, birth and postpartum and is thrilled about having another daughter.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you as midwife again and for inspiring this hopeful future VBAC mama with your strength and determination!