From Doula to Mama: My Unscripted Birth Journey – Part Three

Despite time blurring together, I had been listening to my body’s urge to push since around 8 a.m.,

and at 11:30 a.m., I felt it was a good time to make my way from the bed to the bathroom before hopping back into the tub. 

I was ready to meet our baby!

Over the next hour, I asked if there was anything I needed to do differently to help with the birth of my baby. My midwife, Joanna, reassured me that my baby and I were doing everything we needed to do and that my baby's head needed time to mold. I was encouraged to feel my perineum as I pushed to help guide myself through the process.

I continued to push in different positions, making space for our little ones as they nestled lower into my pelvis, and the urge to push became stronger. It was tough not to resist the instinct to push, as I worried about tearing, and the sensations being quite intense. However, I understood that I needed to let go and fully embrace the moment to meet our baby. I felt ready, determined, and prepared to bring our baby into the world.  

There was a moment when Jarrod asked if I wanted him to be in the water or to catch our baby. I replied no, as I knew from our conversations during the pregnancy that he didn’t want to do those things. So when I asked if he wanted to feel our baby’s head and he said yes, I practically pulled him into the water—shoulder deep!

We joke about that moment now, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It is such a special memory that I will never forget

—the hands that first touched our baby were ours.

Someone asked him what he felt, and he said he felt hair, which took me by surprise. I find it especially funny because I had been feeling that same little head as Jarrod, but I hadn’t put two and two together! I always figured my kids would be bald since I practically had no hair until I was two.

At 12:43 p.m., while I was kneeling in the water in a sort of lunge, our baby started to crown. Jarrod asked if he could touch our baby again, and I, along with a couple of other voices, enthusiastically said yes!

It was a few minutes before my next contraction, and let me tell you, that ring of fire is absolutely real! As the next contraction began and I pushed to meet my baby, I couldn't help but roar, "FUUUCK." Apparently, I had only vocally sworn once, although I sounded like a sailor in my head!

Our baby's head was born at 12:48 PM, and I remember mentioning that I felt a cord around his neck. Even though I knew this was common, it felt important to say. My midwife responded with a calm, reassuring voice, saying, "It's okay."

Thirty-four seconds later, his body slipped into the warm water, where I caught him with my hands and pulled him to my chest.

Our baby boy was here! He was small, lanky, and quiet. He was alert but needed a little time to transition to this new world outside of the water. Following my midwife's guidance, I gently gave him a few breaths by placing my mouth over his nose and mouth, helping to expand his lungs and encourage him to take steady breaths on his own. Three minutes after his arrival, he let out his very first cry; his sweet little voice was quiet, calm, and, as we would discover in the coming days, only used when necessary.

With Jarrod just over my shoulder, we looked at our baby in awe. He was perfect and we couldn’t have been happier!

Surrounded by love, we took a moment to absorb everything that had just happened, and at 1:07 PM, with a gentle push and tug, I delivered my placenta in the water before moving to the bed. It was important to me to wait to cut the cord until after the placenta was delivered and the cord had finished pulsating because I wanted to capture a photo of our little one still connected to the placenta.

So, at 1:30 PM—41 minutes after our son arrived—my husband cut the umbilical cord at the foot of our bed. For those familiar with the process, cutting an umbilical cord takes a bit of effort because its outer layer is quite rubbery. In Jarrod's case, he had to put in a little extra work, as the medical scissors we had turned out to be a bit dull.

Jarrod held his son for a few minutes before passing him back to me as he began to show signs of hunger. Then, at 1:47 PM, just shy of being an hour old, he latched on for the very first time!

While all of this was happening, I was asked if I wanted anything to eat, so I asked Jen how often she had made a placenta smoothie. She mentioned she had done it often enough, then took a small piece and headed to the kitchen with Jarrod. 

They soon returned with the smoothie, which tasted just like a regular smoothie; Jarrod even took a little taste to make sure I would like it!

At 2 PM, when our little guy appeared to be content, we felt it was the perfect time to carry out the newborn exam. I gently passed my sweet baby to Jen, who began the examination by swaddling him snugly before checking over his little body. It was all happening right at my feet, so I could see everything and stay involved!

The highlight for me was placing him in the adorable crochet cocoon to weigh him. Any guesses on what he tipped the scales at? I was convinced he wouldn't be over 7 pounds and thought he might be closer to 6.5 pounds—he seemed to be such a little peanut!

… DRUM ROLL …

He weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 4 ounces—my husband’s personal best! As a fisherman, he happily used that line to share the news of our son’s arrival with his fishing buddies.

Soon after, at 2:38 pm, the newborn exam was complete, my vitals were checked, and our Chipotle arrived, leaving us to revel in our new life as parents.

Our son’s name was chosen after many thoughtful conversations and actually added to our list during our babymoon in Nashville. On his second day of life, we finally landed on the perfect name…

Beckett William

He arrived peacefully on his own schedule, entering this world into a warm pool of water in our bedroom on June 17th, 2024, at 12:48 pm. He weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces and measured 20 inches tall.

Here's a fun little tidbit: the 17th holds a special place in our hearts. We first met on August 17th, got engaged exactly a year later on August 17th, exchanged vows on February 17th, and now, our little one was born on June 17th!

Shout out to my incredible Midwives and Photographer!

Joanna Pust of Oak Tree Midwifery, Student midwives Pauliina Hillukka and Jen Koenig

Molly Page of Page Photography LLC