I met Riki through a mutual friend in the horse community and she reached out to me when she was early in her pregnancy. We had our first meeting at a horse show, where we chatted about my role as a doula while we watched the jumper class. Horses and babies, two of my most favourite things! Soon after I met with her and her husband, Ben. I liked them both immediately! Great senses of humor, laid back and pretty open to whatever experience lay ahead. Riki was a very easy client throughout her pregnancy. Very low maintenance, her pregnancy was easy peasy, no real issues or concerns. Riki rode well into her 6 month and had no complaints!
As we got closer to her due date, we started to chat more, I would check in for weekly updates and the updates were always the same, all is well, she felt good. In her last couple of weeks of pregnancy there were some mild concerns that babies growth was slowing down and by Friday, Aug 30th, 2019 the decision was made to induce Riki’s labour. The doctor felt her placenta was getting tired and it was time to meet this baby! She was added to the induction list and sent home to wait for the call to come in. They got the call the following morning and headed up to the hospital.
At around noon on August 31st the doctors started the induction process with a Cook’s Catheter to get her body ready. She was told they would be back in 24 hours to see where things were at. Riki and Ben spent the day and night at the hospital anxiously waiting for the next stage. At noon on September 1st the doctor came back and removed the catheter, affectionately referred to as Olaf for its uncanny resemblance to the the snowman from Frozen. Not much was happening in terms of labour starting, some mild cramps but really nothing noteworthy. Baby Davies was very comfortable right were he was and really showed no interest in vacating anytime soon.
Around 5pm, Riki was moved over to Labour and Delivery so that the oxytocin could be administered to get her contractions going. We got all settled into her room in LDR, got her IV’s started at 6:08pm and then we waited. For the hunter jumper folks out there, labour induction is a lot like horse showing….just a long series of hurry up and wait! So we waited and we walked. We waited and we talked. We waited and we laughed. We laughed a lot. Riki had fantastic nurses and Ben had a lot of questions, most of which were pretty entertaining!!
Her oxytocin was increased every 90 minutes or so and at 9pm her membranes were ruptured to see if that would kick things into gear. Finally around 930pm while we were walking laps around the hospital her contractions started, and they didn’t really ease her into it, they came on strong! Riki handled the changes with amazing strength and grace, rolling with each one with Ben’s incredible help and support. She powered through them for a few hours, really hoping that she was making some major progress. When she was checked it turned out there wasn’t much change and it was suggested she try and epidural to allow her to get some relief and rest and by 2am on September 2nd she was all tucked into bed, feeling much more comfortable and ready to get some sleep while she waited for baby. Ben got himself all set up on a cot and I snuck away for a couple hours of sleep as well.
Shortly after 8am, the doctor came to check her again. She had dilated to 8 cms which was fantastic news. The epidural was doing its job, Riki was feeling pretty good and mildly rested and by 1135am she was ready to start pushing her baby out. We prepped her for what to expect, gave her the long speech about how it can take awhile to get the hang of pushing, especially for a first time mom. We explained that sometimes it can be challenging for someone with an epidural to feel what is happening and not to get discouraged if it took a little while to push him down. Really a wasted speech on my part. Riki was a powerhouse pusher and on her first push there was a big drop in babe’s heart rate. It is always a little bit scary when we see a drop in the heart rate but after we moved Riki around a bit, the heart rate came right back up again and Riki was able to start pushing again. The nurses theory was that Riki pushed so hard and moved babe so far on her first push, that it shocked him a little bit.
Amazingly, after just 42 mins of pushing, she pushed her beautiful baby boy out into the world. He came out healthy as can be, screaming and right into the arms of his mom and dad. It was a long, long weekend for Riki and Ben but the prize at the end is always worth the wait. In an instant you become parents and you can’t imagine what your life was like before baby. I never get tired of that moment. I struggle to hold back the tears every single time, mostly cause it would be weird for the doula to be crying more than the parents….
Riki and Ben have an amazing bond, they are best friends as well as husband and wife. Ben was present and attentive for every second of Riki’s labour, hands on and had the hip squeeze down to an art form. It was truly an honor to be able to share in this experience with them.
Welcome to the world little man – you are going to have the most wonderful life:)
Sean David Benjamin - September 2nd, 2019
7lbs 1oz
*side note – LOVE the name, especially the spelling*
Thanks for sharing these amazing moments with us. So happy this little guy has arrived safely into the world. Lots of love ♡
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