A few short hours before Kelci went into labor, we met at a local coffee shop. I instantly knew I would love her and became so excited for her birth. She wasn't even quite to her due date yet and as a first time mom I thought surely it'll be a little while yet until babe arrives. But Kelci knew something was happening inside her. She had a feeling Israel was ready to come out.
And Mama knew! A couple hours later I get the text that they are heading to hospital. I was so excited to be attending my first birth as a videographer! So many butterflies in my stomach as I drove to the hospital to meet them; I gave my self a pep talk on the way, parked, found her room, opened the door and here we go!
Immediately I could tell that this was the real deal. I was so excited for her! I set my bags down and introduced myself quietly to her birth team. Set up my camera and began filming this beautiful process.
She moved and worked baby down in many different positions always very focused on her task. Things ramped up when she went to use the bathroom and I think all of us were wondering if baby would be born soon. She hopped into the shower and had some pretty intense contractions there and began to feel the urge to push. Her midwife asked to wait so she could check to see if she was ready for pushing. A quick check only revealed that her bag of waters was bulging but she couldn't tell how dilated she was because she was squatting in the shower.
After moving to the bed, the midwife checked again and she wasn't ready for pushing yet. The midwife offered to break her water but Kelci wanted to let her body do what she knew it was able. Very shortly after, her water did break by itself! She moved and swayed, and tried various positions to help her son down. All the while fighting back the urge to push.
When it finally came time to pushing, Israel had her work to bring him down. This mama pushed for a couple of hours and was a rock star. She thought for a moment that her pushing was ineffective but we assured her that with each contraction he really was making his way down. After so much work he was finally getting close but his heart rate was also dropping pretty low during contractions. The baby team was called in and everyone in the room encouraged Kelci to push with everything she had. And she did, a warrior mama. He had a nuchal cord but came out and was laid on her chest. Because of his low heart rate the baby team was anxious to hear him cry so they cut his cord shortly after and took him to the warmer. Well, he had a lot to say about that as he let out a cry right as they clamped the cord and really yelled when they took him away.
He had just a quick rub down and check and was shortly brought back to his mama's arms. Kelci was so amazing. She worked so hard for her son. Kelci, Prince and Israel are now home and learning all the fun things about being a new family.
Justine is a birth photographer/filmmaker and doula in the greater Knoxville area, serving Maryville, Greenback, Madisonville, Loudon, Lenoir City, Oak Ridge, Fountain City, Townsend, Sevierville, Strawberry Plains, Gatlinburg, etc. Justine is passionate about physiological birth the way God designed it and thus specializes in home and natural births. Interested in hiring Justine for your birth, click here to get in touch.
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