On my husband’s birthday, we found out we were expecting baby #2. With elation running through my veins at the concept of a growing family, I found myself back in the hospital going through the pregnancy motions that were familiar to me. As weeks went by and appointments felt like a to-do rather than a joy, I noticed my mind daydreaming about alternative options. At 30 weeks gestation, I made the decision to switch my care over to New Birth and bring my baby into the world at their birth center. Every prenatal appointment with each midwife made me feel seen, heard, cared for, tended to, cheered on, and known. Though I had only a brief 10 weeks left until my baby arrived, the midwives spent hours getting to really know me and answer every single question that I had. At 35 weeks, we learned baby was breech; this was new for me. Leaving the birth center that day, I felt discouraged at the news but encouraged at the belief the midwives had for me that this baby would turn head down. Their faith fueled mine. With many tips and frequent visits paying careful attention to baby’s position, we did it! He flipped head down and I was going to get the birth my whole heart desired.
On January 7th, just 2 days shy of my “guess date”, I woke up abruptly at 1:30am with infrequent cramps. I told my husband that I was going to take a shower to see if the cramps would persist or cease since I felt wide awake. Not long after, I woke my husband up and said “I think it might be time to meet our baby” with the giddiest intonation I have. I was so nervous about having false or prodromal labor that I didn’t want to wake anyone up if this was not the real deal. As my rule-follower husband would have it, we decided to call my doula and the midwives to keep them in our loop. To my delight, Sarah answered the call and encouraged us to call back as labor intensified. She seemed to be more sure that I was in labor than I was. I was incredibly thankful for her discernment, knowledge, and expertise every moment of my labor and delivery. Around 5:00am, my contractions were really starting to intensify and I was ready to get settled in at the birth center. As I arrived at the birth center, the midwives calmly greeted me, had created the most lovely ambience in the birth room, and stuck by my side every moment through the rest of my labor. Although I did not want to know where I was at, I consented to a cervical check so that they would know how my body was doing. I was fully dilated! As requested, they did not tell me, but one of the midwives did say, “mama, your body has been doing some amazing work. How does the birth tub sound?” If my heart could dance, it certainly was! About 5 minutes before baby was in my arms, my tender-hearted husband started to feel lightheaded. The midwives and my doula surrounded my birth tub like an army of angels and were prepared to carry me through. My husband quickly recovered and it was time; our sweet baby Banks was swiftly born but gently delivered. My tiny hallelujah!
Nikki accompanied Sarah at my birth. These two are confident, competent, and peaceful – a dream duo! They stepped in when necessary and gave space to let my body do what it was naturally created to do. After birth and doing all of the important checks, they honored this special time with our newborn and gave us alone time. This was a pivotal difference from my hospital birth with my first born. How simple, yet profound- a time carved out to solely gaze upon the beauty of our baby in sacred solitude.
Endlessly grateful for the whole New Birth team!