Lucía's Birth Story
Lucía's Birth Story
Eager Longing
My "take to birth center" list was checked off. The bags were assembled for me, Jael, and the baby. The disposable underwear and comfy going home outfit were tucked in my bag, alongside teensy diapers and tiny green and yellow outfits. Snacks, Propel, my Frida Mom Kit - check.
My “tasks around the house” list was mostly complete thanks to my nesting party. The new mattress was in the crib and fitted with sheets. The baby clothes were sorted. A friend had all the details for the meal train. Activities were assembled for the big sister.
Then there was the “mental preparation for waiting” list. I suppose my waiting a day shy of 42 weeks with my first pregnancy had prepared me for the possibility that this pregnancy may be similar. I did my best to stay mentally focused. I listened to worship music and wrote down verses, went for walks and had a spa day. The days ticked by, along with my estimated due date. A persistent thought whispered that maybe my body wouldn’t, couldn’t start labor on its own. Trying to take control, I tried various remedies - evening primrose oil, walking, red raspberry leaf tea, Miles Circuit, sex, a membrane sweep. Those things did nothing to bring on labor, no matter how hard I wished and wanted them to.
My parents came up for the weekend as we walked and thrifted and ate ice cream, playing the game “Distract Elizabeth.” On Sunday, Mom and I went to a flower picking farm and to the local state park for a hike.
At some point during the last few weeks of pregnancy, I read Romans 8. Verses 18-25 say -
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Suffering. Glory. Eager longing. Revealing. Hope. Freedom. Groans. Redemption. Waiting. Patience.
These words wreaked a tug-of-war tension on my heart. I decided that I needed to listen to a Brandon Lake playlist on Spotify and the first song that came on was “Fear is Not My Future” and the lyrics “So let Him turn it in your favor, Watch Him work it for your good, He's not done with what He started, He's not done until it's good” immediately stood out. These are the words I sat with in the waiting.
Lucía’s Birth
On Monday, July 3rd I was woken up at 1:30 am with contractions. I sat on the edge of the bed, slightly swaying through them. Having a feeling this was it, I texted the birth photographer. Around 3:30 am, I woke Luis up and gave my parents a heads up that I was in labor and it was progressing. Soon I went downstairs and sat on my birth ball. The photographer arrived around 4am and we were all talking and waiting out the contractions. This time around, I had normal labor, as opposed to the back labor I had with Jael, so I was finding it hard to gauge where I was in the labor process. Luis called the birth center to give the on-call midwife a heads up and around 5:30am we headed in.
At the center, I quickly put on mascara (I wasn’t going to pay for birth photography just to hate how I look ;)) and the midwife-on-call Marissa came to greet me. “I don’t like when this happens and I haven’t met you before labor, but I’m Marissa. I know you’ve had some appointments with our student midwife Vanessa and she will be in soon with me so you will have a familiar face at least.” I greeted her and then started to settle into the birth center.
I walked around the parking lot and sat on the birth ball outside in the garden. Moving and swaying my hips seemed to give the most relief. As did the refreshingly cold washcloth I kept applying to my face and verbal encouragement from Luis and my mom. When Jael woke up at home, my dad brought her over and she sat with me on the birth ball, helped me work through contractions, and said “Okay, Mommy?” checking in. She is always my joy-bringer, and during labor was no different.
After laboring for a bit, I agreed to a cervical check, and I was almost 7 centimeters dilated! I was adamant about not having my water broken this time. As transition neared, my body became shakier and shakier. I could tell I was feeling a little pale and so I ate some watermelon (best labor snack ever for hydration, sugar, and just deliciousness!) The tiredness started to hit, and I laid down on the bed for a few minutes to try to rest in between. Contractions slowed down, and I dozed off enough to talk aloud in my sleep about yogurt and granola - “Which I am NOT hungry for at all!” I joked.
The midwife came in after I had been resting for a few minutes and said that I could rest, but that when I was ready for go time, I would need to get my contractions back to coming faster and harder. Taking a deep breath, I sat up, and that was all it needed to get me back into an intense contraction pattern. At some point, I sent Jael out with my dad because I knew I would probably get louder and more fervent as pushing loomed closer and I didn’t want to scare her.
Grab the washcloth. “Luis, talk!” He would speak encouraging things to me, or read verses I had written down, or sing. Sway, hip swing. 10, 9, 8… Deep breathing. Low moaning. Break. Repeat.
My Brandon Lake Spotify playlist played and a tropical candle aptly titled “Home by Dark” burned, setting ambiance in the birth center room.
I sat on a birthing stool for a few minutes, and my water broke a little bit. Clear! That was a good sign - no meconium. Meconium (poop in the amniotic sac) warrants a transfer to the hospital to have the NICU on standby in case the baby has inhaled some and isn’t breathing well.
First stage of labor, done.
After a few minutes, the birthing stool suddenly became unbearable as I inched closer to pushing. I switched to hands and knees leaning over a birth ball on the bed. Pushing is such a weird and uncomfortable feeling that I wanted to just keep going until it was done, but I willed myself to relax my body in between contractions. Yelling and squeezing Luis’s hands and squatting down with everything in me, I pushed with contractions for 16 minutes. At 11:15am, Lucia came into the world. Looking quickly down, I announced “We have another girl!! I was right!!” I scooped her to my chest as they started to complete her vital readings.
Second stage of labor, done.
The midwives started to realize I was losing more blood than they wanted to see (I found out later when reading my clinical notes, about double than the average blood loss). Calmly but efficiently jumping into action, they grabbed a shot of Pitocin and stuck it in my leg. “We need you to lay down, let’s get you into a comfortable position.” Faster than a blink, I could feel the placenta coming. 4 minutes. It slipped out as I laid down, cradling Lucia, as they got the bleeding under control. I remember thinking, “There is so much going on, I haven’t even gotten to gaze at her face yet.”
Third stage of labor, done.
My newborn was tucked against my chest, both of us bloody and battle-worn. “This is my body, broken for you. (1 Cor. 11:24)” The words rattled in my head as my legs were splayed open for the midwife to stitch up my wounds. At that moment, I thought even more so about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross paving the way to our presence with him in heaven. There is something wholly humbling and powerful about sacrificing your body for another person’s presence.
The bleeding slowed down, and the nurse came over to me and told me that they were going to suction Lucia in a few minutes because there had in fact been meconium in the sac she was in. The first sac had been a smaller, fluid-only bag. She had come out crying, which was a great sign, but they still wanted her vitals to be a little bit stronger. As one midwife team worked to stitch me up, another midwife and the nurse suctioned Lucia. After a few minutes, she was placed back on my chest for more skin-to-skin. True to her ultrasounds, she was a hungry sucker and she quickly latched to breastfeed.
The chaos calmed and my dad brought Jael into the room. She had said, “Sister!” from the beginning of the pregnancy and it was incredible to watch her meet Lucia. I don’t think I truly knew delight until that moment. Jael’s whole entire face lit up as she said “Hi!” and patted mine and Lucia’s faces. True to form, she brought a sticker in to give her new sister, just as she had loved showering my pregnant belly with stickers. “Nakey like Mommy!” she said, evaluating the scene. Her romper was quickly stripped off and she climbed in to add to our skin-to-skin party. We all took turns holding the baby, and after a bit the nurse helped me get up and showered. My parents took Jael home as Luis and I chatted with the nurse and student midwife a bit before we headed home. By 3:30pm, we were back in our home relaxing and enjoying the girls.
Interceding on Our Behalf
At one point post-birth, I looked at Vanessa and said, “Vanessa, so many things I could have been transferred for today, huh? I’m so glad I got to stay at the birth center.” She replied, “What matters is that you are through it now.”
I thought back to Romans 8 and how my mind had stuck on the phrase “we do not know what to pray for…but the Spirit himself intercedes for us” in verses 26-28.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Out of the list of wants I had created in my mind, only two out of the six or seven things on my list happened. But the Holy Spirit knew far beyond my limited knowledge about what I would need during this birth. Lucia’s lungs were protected from meconium and the cord was only loosely around her neck. Her heart rate was great until all of a sudden it started to decelerate and drop, but she came out during the next contraction. I was protected from blood loss and got to have her in the peaceful birth center setting. The staff was capable and caring, meeting all the needs and challenges that came up. The Spirit wove details together that I didn’t know to pray for.
It was a beautiful birth experience. Our photographer Christy captured raw and stunning pictures of the process and of our family (included in this story). I am still in awe at how being a doula made me more aware of myself and my body throughout the process and that I was able to advocate for what I wanted and needed. Momentary suffering for eternal gain - that is what it is to birth and raise children for the Glory of God.
Lucia Ariella means “Light and Lion of God,” and Isaiah 60:1-3 is my prayer for her as she grows and walks righteously through life.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
What a wonderful story and great pictures! I was captivated
I didn’t have a birth photographer, but for whatever reason I was adamant my hair would be short and in pig tails, now I have to go back and look at my pictures to see if there was mascara involved...
So sweet!! I love all the photos, they capture such joy! Side note: I didn’t have makeup on for my first two births, and I look at the pictures now and think, A little swipe of lip color at least would have made such a difference! Lol!!