Midwives: Samantha Crickmore and student midwife Virginia of First Coast Midwifery Services

Doula: Danae Bunso of Jacksonville Birth Services

Birth photographer & videographer: Dallas Arthur of Dallas Arthur Birth Stories & Support

Location: home birth in Jacksonville, Florida

“At 39 weeks and 1 day I had a midwife appointment at First Coast Midwifery with Samantha Crickmore and we were hoping that I would have a baby in the next few days. I left the appointment and had tightening all day, just like I had had earlier in pregnancy. It was a completely normal day and that evening we had dinner, put Coco to bed, and then sat on the couch. I then noticed the tightening was more frequent than they had been earlier but they felt the same. I mentioned it to George and he told me to text our doula, Danae Bunso.

I started timing at 7:30 and they were 5 mins apart but I could walk and talk through them. I texted Sam and our birth photographer, Dallas with Dallas Arthur Birth Stories & Support, to give everyone a heads up, just in case.

At 8:30, they were 3 minutes apart but I was still confused because they just felt like my stomach tightening and no other symptoms. It didn’t feel like anything was actually happening. Maybe I was dehydrated? The birth team said that they would be heading over soon due to my quick labor with Coco. I was really hesitant for anyone to come over and said “I don’t want to be a false alarm and have everyone just sit on my couch and watch Netflix for 12 hours.”

At 8:45, I had a painful contraction and everyone said that they were on their way. I started getting a little nervous because I felt like I had just gone from being completely normal to being in active labor because they were 2 minutes apart and pretty intense. This was exactly how Coco's labor started and I was hoping this one would take a little bit longer than the crazy fast 2.5 hours Coco's labor was. Haha, I was about to be in for a shock!”

Knowing Lauren’s history of having such a precipitous (meaning unusually fast) birth with her first baby, I knew that any signs of early labor would need to be taken seriously. My whole life revolved around being ready to run to Lauren’s birth from about the time she was 35 weeks along! Thankfully we live less than ten minutes apart, and I was at her front door within a few minutes of the “It’s go time!” text message.

“The birth team all arrived around 9:15. We stood in the kitchen for a few minutes while I contracted and my parents came and picked up Coco.”

Around 9:25 I felt nauseous and went to the bathroom to throw up. I knew it was getting close so I wanted to head to our bedroom so we could fill the birth tub and I could labor in bed.”

Throwing up is a classic sign of labor progression, and that was the moment when Lauren’s demeanor shifted. She went from laughing with us between contractions to fully focusing and being in tune with her body.

“I got to the side of the bed and my body decided we weren’t moving.”

Midwife Sam and student midwife Virginia quickly inflated the birth tub in the corner of their bedroom, stretched a liner over it, and started filling it with warm water from a hose connected to the shower. In order to be able to safely birth in a birth tub, the water has to be at a certain level, high enough to keep the baby completely underwater until the entire body is born. I glanced at the slowly rising water level and wondered if Lauren would make it in time to get in.

Her doula, Danae, rubbed Lauren’s back and spoke words of encouragement. She was a calming balance to the intense sensations Lauren was feeling as she was speeding through active labor.

“Around 9:35 my water broke while leaning against the bed. I looked over and saw the birth pool only had about 3 inches of water in it and knew I wasn’t going to have a water birth, ha!”

George and Danae helped remove her pants and put a chux pad down. The midwives shut off the water to the tub and settled at Lauren’s feet. This is where she would be meeting her baby!

Lauren was so surrounded by calm, loving energy. “Everything is going exactly as it should be,” George said confidently as he rubbed her back.

“At 9:45, I started feeling baby descend. Sam told George to squat down and get ready!”

“And just like I had envisioned, George caught our baby and announced it was a boy!”

“We’ve got a baby boy! It’s a baby boy! Hey, handsome!” George laughed. Sam beamed ear to ear, finally able to support Lauren during her moment of birth after waiting over 2.5 years. (Her first birth was supposed to be a home birth with Sam, but their daughter Coco was born at 35 weeks, too early for a home birth, so she was born in a hospital.)

Lauren sat down and laid back into bed, and Sam maneuvered her baby boy under her legs and up onto her chest. He immediately threw his head up to look for his mama, and then rested snugly on her chest. Lauren let out some cries, relieved and joyful to have this sweet baby in her arms.

The team was all smiles and gave them their space as the family caught their breath and looked over their little boy. Sam was excited that everything went as planned!

Soon enough was the dreaded uterine massage. If you know, you know! There were some concerns about her bleeding, but her uterus was firming up quickly and Sam kept a close eye on things.

The rest of the evening slipped by blissfully, with lots of skin-to-skin, shock at how fast the birth had actually been, and phone calls to family and friends.

Lauren is a chiropractor and the owner of Revolution Chiropractic in Jacksonville. Watching baby Steel get his first chiropractic adjustment was just so special. Lauren’s passion and career is centered around chiropractic care, especially for newborns and children, and this was a moment she had looked forward to.

She made gentle adjustments, expertly pressing her fingers along his neck, while he calmly looked around.

Lauren was in the mood for a hamburger and her doula Danae was determined to make that happen for her! She drove around until she found a restaurant that would make one for her, even at 10pm!

“My dream of having a home birth happened and it was as magical, empowering, redemptive, and beautiful as I had always hoped.”

Lauren and George, I’m so grateful that you asked me to be part of your birth team. The night of Steel’s birth was such a joyful experience and I’m just so glad we all made it in time!

PREGNANT AND THINKING ABOUT BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY?

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