Worth the Wait

My client, who've I helped with three of her babies now, decided to have her 4th baby this past Monday night. She called right as the evening news began and I rambled out of bed, got dressed, and drove to her house within a half an hour. There she was, relaxed and smiling in the jacuzzi tub in her bathroom. I set up my supplies and watched her as she transitioned through labor and into the pushing phase. She was calm, collected and everything was going well. We were joking about the baby's name and wondering if she would deliver the baby before midnight and what the birth date would be, afterall. Finally, she began pushing and with each contraction she pushed with all her might, but the baby wasn't moving down very far each time.
I began to get concerned; this was her fourth baby and the pushing shouldn't be this difficult. I decided to reach in and feel for what was coming and I thought I felt a little set of nuckles right next to the head. In a split second decision I took the hand and pulled it toward me and the baby literally unsuctioned and the head was born! Mom gave a huge sigh of relief and I pulled that baby out on the next contraction, along with mom's tremendous efforts! Baby was 9 pounds and full of life! We sat back for a moment and all breathed a collective sigh of relief!
This birth was well worth the wait! Mom was 8 days over the expected due date and I was starting to wonder if she'd push the 2 week mark. I haven't helped a laboring mom give birth since last spring so when I went to the birth I felt my skills might be a bit rusty. Turns out, as soon as I entered the 'birth energy' I was back in the saddle, so to speak, and everything came back to me! What a wonderful way to start the new year! A beautiful water birth...there's nothing quite like them!