The story of our second daughter’s birth

And then there were three.

Our littlest lady made her debut on a sunny October 23, 2023, following a fabulous but slightly interesting labor and delivery.

With her being my third baby, I knew I had no desire to go past 39 weeks. The two oldest both came on their own at 39 weeks and three days, so I was not only personally trying every remedy to speed things along myself, but was also advocating for an induction. Since I was dilated, GBS-negative, and low-risk, I was granted one scheduled for the day she was born at 8 a.m.

After a lengthy check-in, our nurse, Ashley, explained how the Pitocin administration worked and what to expect since I’ve never been induced before. The approach was to administer two units every 30 minutes to put me into active labor. After the first dose around 9 a.m., I started to feel the familiar cramping feeling.

With Dante, while I was in active labor, the CSE block (epidural) I received slowed things down and resulted in me laboring longer than I wanted. Because of this, I communicated to Ashley my caution with getting an epidural so soon. Not only did she take fabulous care of us the entire time, she also was incredible at encouraging me to keep going down the natural route.

Vince, the world’s best doula, got me on my feet, walking around the room and swaying to some Enrique Iglesias and Journey. Around 1:40 p.m., my water broke. By 2:30, my contractions were coming on so fast, and would not let up, that I thought I was for sure about to give birth and told Ashley I could do this without an epidural. However, when the midwife checked my cervix and told me I was only 5 cm dilated, I felt discouraged, and asked for the anesthesiologist. As always, the epidural half-worked, giving me relief on only the right half of my body.

By 3:40, Ashley came in to tell me we needed to try and move me in an upwards-leaning-against-the-bed-on-all-fourths position as the umbilical cord was being compressed. The second I flipped over, I felt like vomiting and told her I have a strong urge to push.

And, at 4:02 p.m., after nine pushes within 10 minutes, our sweet Vienna Louise was born to “Waymaker” by Michael Smith. We gave her the middle name “Louise” to honor Vince’s late paternal grandmother, Nana Louisa, whom we both admired and deeply loved.

Despite not being further along in dilation, I do believe I got the epidural almost too late for my body. I say this because with Leoni and Dante, the epidural gave me the pain relief I needed but still allowed me to feel every contraction and the two of them making their descent during delivery. I felt the pushing and breathing part was easy. On my third and last baby, because the epidural didn’t really work, I felt every single sensation, which took the wind out of my pipes when it came time to push. I legitimately felt like I was being ripped open, but I couldn’t have pushed her out fast if it wasn’t for Vince’s encouragement and coaching.

And, as with the first two, God’s presence was undeniable... Allowing me to remain strong and my breath steady through labor; committed through the delivery; and joyful through meeting our little love.

Psalm 37:4