My whole pregnancy I hoped for a due date baby: 12/12/24 was so mathematically pleasing. But by 37 weeks, having experienced intense prodromal labor since 35 weeks, I was so ready for my baby to come out, mathematically pleasing due date be damned.

Also during my pregnancy I was convinced I would feel perfectly fine right up until I gave birth, so when December 7th rolled around I found myself attending my friend’s annual ornament exchange party, which she had scheduled early so I could attend. At the party folks asked again and again when I was due, and I was met with more than a few “Whoa! You better not have that baby at this party!” jokes as I mingled with guests.

After a fun evening I went home, took a shower, and sat down to relax on the couch when I felt a small gush. I figured it had to be my water that had broken, so I let my husband know and called my parents — I wanted to go in to be seen.

I had wanted an unmedicated birth and had had a beautiful birth experience with my first child — my 5 year old daughter Avi — at a birth center that had since closed down. So I was a bit nervous going in because I had doubts that the hospital birth would be as pleasant.

In triage I did decline to have an IV placed — much to my nurse’s distress — and was admitted when they confirmed that my water had indeed broken. As soon as the word “induction” was tossed around as a possibility I knew I wanted to try and get labor really going on my own so I bounced on a yoga ball and did abdominal lift and tucks with each contraction. Sure enough labor really got going a few hours later and I switched from my upbeat music to my Hypnobabies tracks with headphones.

Once the contractions became too intense for me to fully bounce back from in between, we called my dad and he woke up little Avi and brought her to the hospital. They arrived at around 4:30 in the morning, Avi bleary eyed and in pajamas, excited and nervous to meet the baby.

The hardest part of this labor was my exhaustion. Since I hadn’t slept since the previous days I was desperate to take a nap and would zone out between contractions. I had to labor in the tub from about 7 centimeters on because of the intensity, but I was asked not to fill it because my water had already broken. That was tough, compared to my first birth which ended up being a water birth.

At some point in the tub I told my mom I changed my mind and I wanted an epidural. I found out later that the midwives didn’t even put in the order — they knew that meant I was close to 9cm and they wouldn’t be able to place an epidural in time anyway. I’m glad they made that choice.

At around 9 I had the urge to push. My midwife asked to check for a cervical lip before I started pushing and I declined. I felt certain everything was going well. At some point during pushing my water broke (again — apparently the first break was more of a trickle), and the midwives quietly informed me a NICU team would be in the room because there was meconium in the fluid. I pushed on all fours for a while, but after 20 minutes my midwife asked to check for a cervical lip again, and she insisted a bit so I lay on my side. While I hadn’t felt like being in that position once I was there I felt I could rest more easily between contractions and also the position change must have been what my baby needed because soon his head was visible.

I like to let my body push the baby out, so I didn’t make any concerted effort to push until the head was almost born. I was feeling so ready for it to be over so I tried pushing between birthing waves once the head was almost out but wasn’t able to birth the head that way. Instead his head eased out with a contraction and my midwife helped the baby ease out the rest of the way. My baby was born around 9:30 am.

We didn’t know the sex of the baby, but another midwife watching said “That’s a BIG BOY!” which is how we found out. It wasn’t how I imagined finding out but it was pretty funny. And he was a BIG boy at 8lbs 11 oz. No wonder the labor took so much longer than my first, which was a 3 hour active labor (what I call it when I can’t be walking around like normal anymore) compared to his 6 or so.  

My daughter had gotten a bit nervous during the pushing phase so my mom had set her up with her headphones and a movie, but they said that she kept an eye on what was happening and at some point glanced over, said “that’s the head,” and kept watching her movie.

Once the baby was on my chest, though, she was the first person I wanted to come see the baby so my husband left my side to bring her over, and her little face of pure joy at meeting her baby brother is seared into my memory as one of the most beautiful moments of Giani’s birth.

I didn’t even see the NICU team enter or leave. They were completely unobtrusive and my mom said at some point my midwife gave them a glare when they were talking, as the room was otherwise quiet and peaceful throughout my entire birth with only the sounds of my deep breathing, Hypnobabies tracks, and quiet groans while I was pushing.

My daughter cut his umbilical cord — which she ended up being a little grossed out by haha — and then we put a blanket around Giani and put him into his sister’s arms. She was instantly in love, and six months later still adores her baby brother.

My mom and husband were an incredible birth team — just as they had been for my daughter’s birth. We were also thrilled to have our wonderful birth photographer join us, whose lovely images accompany this story. Chammee’ ended up being so much more than a photographer, helping with bringing me water, towels, and anticipating my needs. We were all so grateful that she was there.

Despite being a lot more intense than my first birthing experience, I felt I was able to have a beautiful experience in a hospital setting. It was peaceful, quiet, and the midwives gave the perfect amount of unobtrusive support. They could see that we had it covered. - Adriana

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Photography: Chammee Anderson @chammeebirthphotography