An Unmedicated Birth at Truman Medical Center - The Birth of Cooper
Wow! This was such a beautiful, such a FAST birth!! On Sunday, January 6 I was woken up around 4:30 AM by a call from Andy (baby Cooper’s daddy). He let me know that Shari had been having a weird feeling in her abdomen for awhile, and they were heading to the hospital just to check things out. Shari wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, and didn’t feel like she was in labor, but just wanted to check to be sure everything is ok.
I received a text from Andy just 40 minutes later, letting me know that now contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and she was dilated to a 5, and her comfort level was not great.
It was at that point that I jumped out of bed, brushed teeth, got dressed, grabbed my bag and hauled butt out the door by. This was Andy and Shari’s second baby, and I just had a feeling this baby was going to come. Thankfully it was 5:20 AM on a Sunday morning so there was no traffic!!
When I arrived at Truman Medical Center (5:50 AM), it was clear that Shari was nearing from Transition. She was working so hard through her contractions, but in between, she still had a smile on her face and I could really see the joy and excitement she was feeling as she was so close to meeting her new baby boy.
She found a rhythm and a ritual to help her get through her contractions. The inner doula in me was so proud. At the beginning of each contraction, she would begin to recite the ABC’s quietly, and grab a handful of ice.
As her vocals began to heighten, I could tell that things were getting more intense. She decided to get into bed around 6:45 to see if it was close to pushing time. What an amazing support team she had surrounding her… multiple nurses, her midwife, and her husband Andy, all by her side as she learned she was 10cm dilated and so close to meeting her baby.
At 6:55, Shari began to push.
At 7:01 AM… Cooper was born.
Cooper was here. 9lbs & 19.5”.
He was pink, and perfect, and so so loved.
