Bristol's Birth Story

Bristol's Birth Story

Bristol Charlotte Kemper was born 6 days after the due date I was given on August 15th.  It was a Friday.  She weighed 9lbs and was 22.5" long.

I was very emotional or "fragile" as Cindy called it (love that term) for the whole pregnancy.  With my first three I was well prepared to let them come weeks after their due date.  When I had prodromal labor at 39 weeks and thought "oh maybe she'll be my first EARLY one?!", I was setting myself up to be a wreck.  And I was a wreck for the following two weeks.  I was so ready to be done, crying multiple times a day.  My sister from Kansas visited for eight days and had to leave the day before Bristol was born.  I asked for my membranes to be swiped.  We did that twice with no results.  I was dilated 3-4 cm at the first swipe and 6cm at the second swipe five days before she came.  I had never been dilated that much before labor!  I had three separate times where I had prodromal labor and each time I really thought it *could* be it.  But after the first time seemed so real I didn't trust myself anymore.  This was my fourth baby.  And my first time with false labor!  Everything I knew went out the window with the false labor.  And I considered myself to be pretty well versed in birth having already had three all natural, awesome labor and deliveries with no interventions, in birth centers with midwives.

My water broke at Target.  The kids and I had walked around finding a gift for a friend's birthday party we were heading to.  I had already paid for the gift and had just purchased a coffee from Starbucks.  But I never took a sip.  Instead, Jer drank it later. ;) I squatted down to put my wallet away when all of the sudden I felt a small pop, immediately felt liquid streaming down and thought to myself that it had to be my water.  There was no mistaking that for peeing myself.  Thankfully, I didn't have contractions until hours later!  I called Jer slightly panicked and he said to drive home.  So I did.  My water came out in gushes until I had her.  Apparently I had a lot of water.  I soaked through three different pairs of pants and dripped all over while walking and sitting for the 3-4 hours before I went into labor.

We were supposed to have her at a birth center in Kirkland called the "Puget Sound birth center" but the three rooms were full with birthing mama's.  At that point my options were a home birth or transfer to the hospital.  I wasn't a fan of either so I ended up asking if we could go to a birth center in Seattle called "The Center for Birth" that I had researched back when I was first pregnant.  They just started accepting Microsoft insurance August 1st so it worked perfectly for us to fill out paperwork since they had room.  They ended up filling up as well by the time we were done having our baby and a woman came in and delivered in one of their appointment rooms!  Because of all that, we drove to meet our midwife first so she could start my antibiotic IV because I was GBS (group B Strep) positive.  We were on 520 (freeway bridge that leads to Seattle) and on the way to where it connects to 405 we saw a sign that said it was closed for bridge traffic from 2:30-3pm.  Our clock said 2:25pm.  So we decided to go north over the Lake Washington instead.  (we live in Redmond). It was a little crazy since we had no clue when I would have her since my water broke but I wasn't contracting.  So we got to the midwifes office and I had a couple contractions but they weren't close.  More than five minutes. I assumed it was from being in a jolting car ride for 45 minutes.  Instead of starting the IV at the Midwife Seattle office, we decided to head to the birth center to get settled in.  Cindy left to get her stuff at home while I laid down on the couch in the waiting area and slept for about about an hour or so (according to Jer).  Jer ran next door to get food and he let me sleep a little longer while he ate because I was OUT.  I woke up with drool on my face.  We left the midwife's office and arrived at the birth center in Seattle at just after 5pm.  I had been having some contractions in the car on the 20 min drive from our midwifes office but when I got to the birth center I was only dilated to a 6 like I had been for a week.  That was slightly discouraging.  I got into the tub right away when we got inside but only stayed in there for a little bit.  I was so tired that I just wanted to lay on the bed and work through the contractions instead of holding myself up during contractions in the tub.  I was shaking in the tub but when I mentioned it to the midwife she said that it was normal.  I think after about 20 mins in the tub and maybe 30 on the bed, I started pushing at the end of my contractions but didn't tell them because I wasn't quite sure. It was happening quicker than I thought it would!  Looking back, the shaking was probably because I was in transition pretty quickly after arriving.  Maybe the tub helped that along?  After a couple of those contractions, pushing took over and I whispered to them that I was pushing.  I think they were surprised, like I was.  They quietly dropped whatever they were doing and started getting their stuff ready to deliver her.  She was born about 10 minutes and five or so pushes later.  She came out sideways and turned as she was coming out so that after I delivered her head, she was staring up at Jer and the midwives!  Cracks me up.  Apparently she also started to cry before I delivered her head but I didn't remember that.  Initially her coloring was not changing as fast as they liked and she seemed gray for longer than maybe she should have.  But thens she pinked up and all was well.  She wanted to nurse almost immediately and everything was wonderful.  She was born at 6:19pm and we were home by 9:30pm!

Merritt's Birth Story

Merritt Matthias is here!  He was born at 4:13am on Thursday, August 2, 2012.  He weighed 8 lbs 8.5oz.

Active labor was less than three hours.  Which is insane to me.  I was in the tub soaking for a couple of hours Wednesday evening.  I got out of the tub and pretty sure I laid down at 10:38pm.  I was having contractions, but wasn't thinking it was anything major.  In the back of my mind I wondered if it might be labor.  I had Jere time some contractions before we went to sleep and they were pretty consistent but not long and not anything major.  So I slept until 1:28am at which point I was feeling more uncomfortable and woke up because of it.  I started the bath water and got in for a few minutes and afterwards yelled to Jere to wake up and help me time them.  It took several times of yelling for him before he even woke up and I realized that I was pretty grumpy.  I remember thinking that might be a sign that this was labor and that it was actually further along than I was anticipating.  (I had already shook him awake before heading to the bathroom)  At that point I think contractions were about 50 seconds long and 2-3 minutes apart.  The general rule is to have contractions be longer than a minute less than five minutes apart for an hour but I knew I didn't want to time them for another hour before figuring out if we should head to the birth center.  I told Jere we needed to call the midwife because we hadn't done that yet.  We also needed to call Jana to let her know that I was in labor so that she could come stay with Brighton and Ensley.

I remember being really annoyed with Jere because I told him we need to call the midwife and told him that the paper with numbers was in my purse.  He looked in my purse like three different times saying he couldn't find it but I was watching him shuffle the paper around while searching through my purse!  (it was the ONLY paper in there)  I couldn't really talk through my contractions so the little time I had to direct him, I was very short and super annoyed.  I remember thinking that was probably a sign that I was progressing well but didn't want to assume it because Ensley's labor was so long. 

It felt like I was only in the tub for about 10 minutes before feeling too hot and wanting to get out.  I had dried off and was shaking and figured it was about time to throw up, which is pretty standard when I'm in labor.  I was a little surprised that I was shaking because it seemed like that should happen during transition but I figured it was because I was hot and probably going to throw up.  I sat on the toilet and emptied my bowels.  Then threw up.  Jere was on the phone with the midwife at that point.  The midwife wanted to talk to me but Jere told her she'd have to wait.  I had set the trashcan on the ground and was trying to aim correctly but it was splattering every where.  Jere cleaned it all up for me while I was on the phone, sitting on the toilet still.  I had several contractions on the toilet, while on the phone with the midwife and I think it gave her a good idea of what was going on.  At that point I think it was about 2am because she said it sounded like things were moving pretty quickly and that we should probably head to the birth center.  I remember him telling her that we couldn't be there for another hour because our friend had to drive 30 minutes to come stay with the kids and we had a 20 minute drive to the birth center after she got to our house.  Jere called Jana to come on over.  I put a dress and underwear on and went to lay on the bed.  Jere woke up Rachel and told her we were going to be leaving soon.  She sat on the bed putting pressure on my back and I tried to stay loose during contractions and not tense up.  The whole time I really tried to keep my mouth open and breath intentionally because a couple times I caught myself with my mouth closed, breathing through my nose.  At those moments I knew I was tense.  The wonderful birth class I had at the Birth and Women's Center in Topeka prepared me SO well for all the births I've had.

Jana arrived and we got up from the bed to move downstairs.  I think I might have used the downstairs bathroom before sitting down on the couch to work through contractions.  I could tell Jana was bringing her stuff in but everyone was being very quiet and I didn't want to open my eyes.  It was time to walk to the Jeep.  It felt like I wouldn't make it there without having a contraction so I hurried as quickly as I could and leaned over the front seat as soon as I got there.  After it was done, I climbed in and found parts of the door and floor to push against, bracing for contractions on the drive to the birth center.  I kept thinking it was going to be difficult driving for such a long way without pressure being put on my back.  We got down the road and pulled up to the stop light at East Lake Sammamish Rd. where Jere was getting in the left hand turn lane to take the lake road instead of Sahalee Rd.  I remember thinking "E. Lake Sammamish instead of Sahalee?! Are you sure that's not slower?"  Of course I didn't say anything because I couldn't, and I didn't want to try to debate it.  I just decided to lay the seat back as far as I could with Rachel behind me and turn around so I could lean on the seat.  I never wore my seat belt while driving there and while I knew it wasn't safe, I felt completely safe because Jere is such a good driver.  I remember thinking that he was driving fast (while still abiding the law, I'm sure) but so smoothly.  I was very thankful for that because I had been dreading a jarring drive while in labor.  It takes some talent to drive the way he did because there are so many hills and curves and turns around here.  It's a good thing the drive was at night with no traffic!  

We arrived at the birth center a little after 3am.  Although the midwife had said to go through the front entrance and not use the side door, we pulled up and went in the side door to the first birth suite.  Initially the midwife had said she was already there with another mom who was in the first birth suite but I think they moved that laboring mom to the second birth suite and put me in there instead.  The difference between the suites is that the first birth suite has a regular large corner tub which is easier to fill with water.  The second birth suite has a home birth tub that is enormous and takes a long time to fill with water.  I don't think the other laboring mom was using the corner tub so they moved her over for ease of filling it for me.  

As I walked in through the side entrance, I headed straight for the bed, leaned over and had a contraction.  Then I climbed on the bed and laid there having a couple more.  They asked if I wanted to get in the tub and I did so I walked over and climbed in.  They set towels for me to lean on in front of me on the side of the tub and under my arms.  Then they prepped me for antibiotics because I was Group B Strep positive.  I wasn't positive with my first two births so it was a new unknown and I had been pretty nervous prior to labor about how it was all going to happen.  They put the needle in my left arm first but for some reason that wasn't working.  So they tried a second time in the back of my wrist.  It worked for a few minutes but all the sudden it was burning and stinging really bad and I was yelling to tell them so.  I guess that second time, the seal on my vein wasn't good so it was bubbling up under my skin.  They waited a minute and then tried a third time to finish up the antibiotics and it was then that I felt like the contractions were further apart.  I remember looking up feeling like I had a break and saying "are my contractions slowing down?!".  The midwife told me it was probably because they were messing with me but that they were almost done.  

On a side note, Jere was putting pressure on my back that whole time and he was such a trooper.  I didn't realize it at the time but he was having a really difficult time keeping it together.   He told me later as he was recovering from the experience that his whole right side was numb from pushing on my back so hard.  Anytime he let up, I yelled at him to keep pushing.  He said he was grossed out because his hand was in the tub water and he was RIGHT next to the midwives who were putting needles in my arm over and over.  Anyone who knows him, knows how much he can't handle blood and needles.  After I was on the bed, I noticed he was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed and his head leaned back.  I asked him what was wrong and it was then that he said he had been trying not to pass out!

Up until that point, it felt like the contractions had been pretty long with very little time in between so any break was noticeable.  After they were done with the IV, I got back to the business of focusing on laboring and all the sudden I felt my water break.  It was two bursts into the water and I knew right away what had happened.  I was pretty excited by that because I felt like it meant I was progressing a lot faster than I had hoped.  Shortly after my water broke, I was wondering if I was feeling pushy even though my body wasn't pushing yet.  I remember thinking through several contractions that I might  be able to push but wanted to wait for my body to do it first.  I felt disconnected and in my own little world. It seemed obvious that pushing was going to happen soon, but the first time I started grunting and pushing was several contractions after I 'sensed' it would start and I hadn't said anything about feeling pushy.  The midwives were all the sudden rushing to get arm length gloves and making comments about having a baby really soon.  Which made me happy.  The whole time I was in labor, I felt prepared to have it be a long time.  I had been on my knees leaning on the side of the tub but when I started pushing I scooted back to the middle of the tub staying on my left knee while my right leg was in a crouch position braced on the side of the tub.  I was pushing on the side of the tub with my right hand and squeezing Rachel's hand with my left.  At that point I was pushing with every contraction and it seemed to be happening quicker than I remembered it going before.  I didn't have much time to prepare myself mentally before each push.  He was staying right where he needed to be and not going back in at all.  While this was a good thing, it burned like crazy the whole time I was pushing.  The first major push I had intense pressure in my booty which was uncomfortable but not too bad.  I remember reaching down and feeling his head after the second major push and feeling the whole top of his head.  His hair waving in the water.  Pretty sure I said "he has hair!".  It burned worse than I had experienced before and I was yelling at whoever to get me a washcloth so could put counter pressure on his head.  That really helped.  I think I pushed two more times and all the sudden his head was out and I wasn't in pain anymore.  Amazing.  I sat there waiting for the next contraction thinking about how I was almost done.  It was an odd feeling knowing his body was still there but that I didn't feel a thing.  The midwives had been doing some stuff - maybe loosening up the cord so I hadn't been holding his head but on the next contraction I reached down and held his head as he came out.  Both midwives were supporting his body while I grabbed him.  It all happened so fast but I think I pulled him up and they helped me sit back in the tub so he could rest on my chest.  I was a little worried that he wasn't breathing because he didn't make any noise but a couple seconds later he made a little choking sound and was breathing.  He never cried.  

For me, it's always been the best feeling in the world to be done and relieved, holding my baby.  I sat back and exclaimed how happy I was!  I've always said that it's hard work and IT IS!  This time there was a lot more burning while pushing which was painful but it also went so fast and I think that's why.  I understand the give and take there.  The total time between arriving and having him was 1 hour and 1 minute, according to the midwife.  My midwife said she thought active labor was from when I woke up at 1:28am until 4:13am.  Three hours.  Talk about quick! 

Birth Story

I asked my sister Rachel to write her version of my labor and delivery and I am so thankful that she was there and can remember all the details. I want to write my own version but I need to take the time to sit, think back and reflect on what actually happened! Obviously this is a birth story so read at your own risk.

Brighton's birth information:
Born @ 4:33am
Weighed 7lbs 4.5oz
20" long

Birth Story

By Rachel Whitten

I was lying in bed, having just turned out the reading lamp. The house was quiet—Colter and Greta were asleep, and Brent was in Leavenworth on a stakeout. Even though I was tired, I was excited. Reagan’s water had broken sometime earlier, and that meant my nephew would most likely come soon. I tried to sleep, knowing I would need all my energy to devote to helping Reagan get through labor and deliver the precious baby we had all anticipated for a long time.

But sleep did not find me that night. Jere called me at 1:00, just a few minutes after I had turned off the light. His voice was calm, but filled with excitement. Reagan was having regular contractions, and they were going to meet the midwife, who was driving in from Lawrence, at the birth center at 2:00. That meant I had an hour to pack up Colter and drop him off at my dad and stepmom’s house, and join Reagan and Jere at their house.

Colter woke up easily and quietly listened as I explained what was going on. It wasn’t until we were halfway to Grandma Micki’s house that he broke down with worry about whether she would have cereal for him in the morning. I assured him that he would be well taken care of.

After tucking Colter into bed at my dad’s house, paranoia got the best of me. Even though I wanted to speed over to Reagan and Jere’s, I took a page from my husband’s book and drove back by my own house, and double checked the alarm system was on, and the garage door was shut. I did not want anything else on my mind as I assisted Reagan.

After that I sped down Gage, almost hoping to get caught by a police officer so I could maybe talk him into a lights and siren escort. Thankfully, no one slowed me down and I made it to their house in good time. Walking in through the front door and into the low lit living room, Jere met me and whispered how regular Reagan’s contractions were. We sat on the ottoman in front of the couch on which Reagan laid on her side. She looked beautiful, her eyes shut in concentration, and her curly hair strewn about as she cradled her stomach with her arm. Before too long, a contraction gripped her and she requested that Jere put his arm on her leg and press. After that contraction was over, Jere said he was going to lie down, which meant I took over. After a few contractions, it was apparent that they not only very close together, but gaining in intensity. Reagan made more sounds of discomfort as they progressed.

It occurred to me that this was the real deal. Even having gone through labor myself, I had been foolish enough to forget its all consuming power. When a woman is in actual unmedicated labor, no one can sit around and read, even though I had brought my book thinking I could do so. On top of that, I was not going to be able to enjoy my sister’s company as she went through this, but rather grit my teeth as she faced contraction upon contraction.

That was another thing that occurred to me, watching her lie there on her side, I realized I did not want to see her in pain. It was a little too late for that, but worst-case scenarios ran through my mind as they did when I was younger and she would get sick with colds or the flu. I was thinking about this as Jere walked out from taking a nap and glanced at Reagan. He did not seem frightened at all, and I knew he loved Reagan as much as I did. With that in mind, I resolved myself to do whatever it took to lessen her pain.

Eventually, Reagan opened her eyes and looked at me for the first time since I got there. As she sat up she said “I need some water.” In my haste to get her water she needed, I grabbed my own water bottle, which was sitting right next to me and stuck the straw in her mouth. That water bottle became very handy throughout the delivery, as it could not be spilled and the straw was easy for Reagan to drink through.

After a while, Reagan got up to go to the bathroom. I kind of stood in the doorway, trying to gauge what she wanted me to do. I knew as labor progressed, her sense of modestly would lessen, but I didn’t know if that was already in effect. As I stood there, Jere’s mom arrived at the house. I asked Reagan if she wanted me to shut the door and leave her be, and she immediately made it clear I should do no such thing. She finished doing her business, and walked out to the living room where I helped her put her shorts back on. It was then that Jere said it was time to leave, and Reagan made her way out to the car. I smiled a joyful smile at Mary as we walked through the door, eager to share my excitement with someone. Smiling so big felt disloyal to Reagan, who was suffering such pain, but I couldn’t help it. I promised Mary I would send her text message updates.

I hesitated outside, and asked if they wanted me to take my own car to the birth center, thinking they might want to ride home alone with the baby. Reagan again made it clear that would not be ok.

We made it to the birth center, and Reagan strode purposefully inside as the midwife, Emily, held the door open for her. As soon as she entered the room she had another contraction, and hunched over the bed frame, trying to breathe through it.

Emily listened to the baby’s heartbeat on the Doppler and announced quietly that he sounded good. Reagan was lying on the bed by that point, and Jere came in from parking the car, having unloaded Reagan’s bag and other essentials in the waiting room. Emily was patiently checking Reagan’s vital signs between contractions, which wasn’t easy because they were perhaps a minute apart. Eventually she checked Reagan’s cervix, which we were delighted to learn was completely effaced and dilated to six centimeters. As Reagan lay on the bed Emily asked me in a whisper if I was Rachel. I smiled and nodded to her yes, because to speak felt disloyal to Reagan, even though I’m sure she couldn’t hear us and wouldn’t mind if she did.

Emily had filled the bath tub before we got there, and Reagan got in after we asked her if she would like that. I helped her into the bath tub and helped her put her sports bra on. The warm water did seem to help her. Mostly she hunched on the side of the tub on her knees, which left her back exposed. She liked it when Jere or I pushed on her lower back. We took turns doing that, meanwhile the other was at her head, holding her hand and stroking her hair. A couple of times I was doing it the wrong way or too hard and she would let me know. Eventually she only wanted Jere to press her back because his hand was bigger and therefore more effective. After every contraction I would offer her cranberry juice, or water, and she normally took one or the other. She labored in the tub for about an hour, switching positions every so often, and asking for more hot water occasionally. We would whisper encouragement to her, saying that she could do it and she was doing great. Once when Jere was holding her hand at her head, he asked her what that one song was from our childhood. He mentioned something about a telephone pole, and immediately I knew what he was talking about.

When we lived in West Virginia, our house was on a mountain, and we used to go to the Shenandoah River, which was in our neighborhood, but at the bottom of a long, gravel road hill. When it was time to go home, we would have to climb that hill, and often, exhausted from swimming, we would get so tired and the hill seemed eternally long. A family friend made up a cadence for us to say as we climbed that hill. It went “Put. One. Foot. In. Front. Of. The. Other. Stop. At. The Telephone. Pole.” Jere started to say that, and Reagan told him to be quiet. But I whispered the rest of the cadence to him. Unfortunately, there were no telephone poles in the birth center, and the contractions would not have given Reagan a rest even if there had been, so the song wasn’t much help.

Reagan had invited the doula who taught the birth classes at the center, Kelly, to assist with the birth. Emily called Kelly, and Kelly arrived less than five minutes later, bright eyed and smiling even though it was around 3:30 in the morning.

Soon after Kelly arrived, Emily checked Reagan’s cervix, which had progressed to eight centimeters. Emily told Reagan to let her know if she felt like she had to poop, which meant the baby was moving down. Finally Reagan said she felt like she had to push. Emily asked Reagan if she’d like to get out of the tub, and Reagan said she would. She climbed out and we toweled her off and put a fresh nightgown on her. Emily asked if she’d like to use the birthing chair, so Reagan sat on that and leaned up against the bed. I sat beside her on the birthing ball, pressing my hand into her back. I whisper asked Emily if Reagan was completely dilated, and she said she thought Reagan probably was, because Reagan had the urge and was pushing with every contraction. So we sat like that for a while. Jere was lying across the bed at Reagan’s head, holding her hand and whispering encouragement. I was to Reagan’s right, pressing her back and holding her hand. Emily was to Reagan’s rear, using a mirror to monitor the birth canal during contractions, and Kelly was to Reagan’s left, whispering encouragement and patting her back.

Eventually the baby started crowning with each contraction. Emily tried to show me, but I was at a bad angle, and what I thought was the baby crowning actually turned out to be Reagan’s anus, which was straining with each push, proof of how hard she was working. I never actually saw the baby crown while Reagan was using the birthing chair.

Soon, however, Emily told Reagan the baby was making his way further down, and asked if she might like to lay down in the bed and try pushing. So I helped lift Reagan’s legs up and she climbed into bed. She was lying on her right side, and I was on that side holding her leg so give her some leverage against which to push. Soon after though, Jere and Kelly and I switched around, so I ended up on Reagan’s left side, holding her other leg to give her leverage. We were all whispering encouragement. Meanwhile, the nurse that Emily had called was moving around the room, turning on the warming lamp for the baby, and getting out blankets and other necessities for the baby that was not there yet, but would be soon. It made me more excited and anxious to see the baby that would be using all those things, and who was the reason we were all there. The nurse also placed plastic liners under Reagan’s bottom and over my leg so I wouldn’t get messy when the baby came out. I realized then I would have not minded getting all bloody and mucousy, but there was no reason to, so I stayed under the protective plastic. Emily told Reagan that one the baby’s head was out, she might ask Reagan to stop pushing, which would feel unnatural, but it would keep her from tearing.

Reagan was pushing regularly, and working very hard. I could see the baby’s head now, and a couple of times, Reagan reached down and touched him. Reagan couldn’t believe all this work was actually getting her somewhere. But the baby was coming indeed, albeit with only a little progress with each contraction. Reagan was working so hard. I suggested to Reagan that she roll over to the other side and see how that helped things. She did and it pushed the baby’s head out a little more, which was encouraging. However, when the nurse checked the baby’s heart rate with the Doppler, as she had been doing regularly, she found the heart rate had dropped considerably. We rolled Reagan back to the other side, and the baby’s heart rate rose happily. He did not like that side and he let us know!

Emily was trying to stretch the vaginal opening, but the baby was kind of having a hard time coming through. He would go back in a little after each contraction, but he was staying out more and more in between. We kept telling Reagan this, and encouraging her to use each contraction to its full potential. I was holding Reagan’s foot, to give her something to push against, and without knowing it, I was squeezing her foot. During one contraction she cried out “Rachel! Don’t squeeze me!” I was embarrassed for causing her pain instead of helping her. The next contraction she was holding Kelly’s hand and the other hand was grabbing Kelly’s shirt and pulling, to which Kelly smiled and kept saying words of encouragement. Finally with one big push, his head was out. It was surreal to see it down there, just kind of sitting there, before Emily pulled out one shoulder, and then the other, and then he was out. Time seemed to slow down at this point. Emily unwrapped the cord that was once around the baby’s neck, and put him on top of Reagan. It was 4:33 in the morning, only two and a half hours after we had come into the birth center.

At his point tears were traveling down my face, as I watched momma, baby and daddy meet each other for the first time. Reagan was calm and was talking to him immediately. The baby was talking too, getting all the mucous and water out of his lungs with healthy cries. Once he finished crying on one side, they switched him to his other to make sure all of it was out. Reagan was talking to him the whole time, and looking at him with amazement and love. Eventually they wrapped him in a blanket and he settled down and started taking in his surroundings. I sat on the bed with them the whole time, just watching. Reagan asked me if I would like to know his name, and Jere told me. Brighton Justus --A beautiful, strong, masculine name that fits him perfectly. It was worth the wait.

Momma and baby tried nursing, which was tricky because Brighton was moving his mouth the opposite way he should have been. Meanwhile, I watched Emily give Reagan one stitch to her lower vaginal opening, which made a big difference and straightened things out down there. Having wanted to be a midwife when I was younger, I was really fascinated by watch the whole process from labor to birth to delivery of the afterbirth. It was quite a learning experience.

After a while, the midwife and the nurse left, and daddy and momma and baby all took a nap together on the bed. After a few minutes trying to read in the rocking chair, I tip toed out into the waiting room, found a blanket, curled up on the couch and went to sleep.

An hour later I woke up when a new midwife helped Reagan into the bathroom to use the toilet. I lay on the couch for a minute and then went into the room again. My memory from here gets kind of sketchy, but I know Reagan tried nursing again, the baby got weighed, (7 lbs 4 oz, 20” long) and Reagan and Brighton took a bath together. I was a little nervous about that because I remember the first time I gave Colter a bath, and how slippery he was, but Reagan had no problems with that. I helped wash his head with a brush, and when he was all clean, Reagan handed him to me. Holding him like that, nervous I would drop him; I knew I would do anything for that tiny baby, and that I loved him like my own.

I put a diaper on him and helped get him dressed. At that point, we started packing up to head home. I helped them do that, and we said goodbye to all the midwives, the doula, and the nurses who had helped us. We put baby Brighton in the backseat and I sat next to him for the short ride home.

Both Brighton’s grandmas were at Jere and Reagan’s house, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their grandson. They had been keeping busy by doing laundry and other cleaning work. I helped get Brighton out the car seat, and handed him to my mom. After that, Grandma Mary held him and both grandmas sat next to each other on the couch, marveling at the precious addition to the family.

Reagan, Jere and I all had sticky buns and orange juice, which made us feel a lot better. Reagan was feeling fine, up and walking around like she hadn’t had a baby just three hours before. Mary told me she had wanted to slap me because I hadn’t sent her any updates, but I told her I had been helping Reagan the whole time, not in the waiting room like she thought. All was forgiven then, and even though I didn’t want to, I had to get Colter and go home to bed, thinking I had to work that night. I gave Brighton a kiss, and left. I called Vicki on the way to pick up Colter, and she informed me that Colter had eaten two pieces of cinnamon toast, and declared that it was better than the cinnamon toast I made him at home. So his fears about starving were completely unfounded. I went home, found someone to work my shift for me, and went to sleep, thanking God for keeping Reagan and the baby safe, and excited about the future of our family that will now include a sweet little guy named Brighton.