C and A started care with me early in their second pregnancy.  We have been friends for awhile, and I was beyond honored to get to care for C through this pregnancy and birth journey. A day before her due date, C sent a text asking if she could come over for an exam.  She was feeling pretty crampy accompanied with irregular contractions and lower back pain.  C was 3cm dilated, 60% effaced and baby at a -1 station.  C’s cervix was very posterior, so we discussed belly wrapping to help. The day after C’s due date, she called me around 540 in the morning to let me know her water had broken.  We talked for a bit, and she decided she was going to try and rest and I would come over in a couple hours to see how things were going. Soon, contractions began coming every 3 minutes and lasting long.  An hour later, C called asked me to go ahead and come. I walked in around 7am and found C pacing around her bedroom, pausing to lean over her bed or dresser during surges.  There wasn’t much time to do much between, as contractions were indeed coming every 2.5-3 minutes, lasting 60 seconds.  An amnioswab confirmed her water was broken.  We were happy to find that C was 4-5cm dilated, 90% effaced and baby at a 0 station.  Baby was in the right occiput anterior position.  C’s doula was on her way, and I began to prepare supplies for delivery. C kept mentioning that this labor was so different than her last.  Her last was all in the back, but this one was all in the front.  She asked for things to try.  I helped C and A do lift and tuck with the rebozo to see if it would provide relief, and it did for a couple contractions. C decided to try sitting on the birth ball for a couple contractions.  A was at her side, talking to her gently and supporting her through the birthing waves. It wasn’t long and C began asking when she could get in the birth pool.  The birth pool was blown up and filling in anticipation for C. C began walking through the house, and instinctually began grabbing at her hips with surges.  I did some hip squeezes through a few surges to help give her some relief.  A little after 830, C’s doula walked in. C became more settled in her bed room again and began gently moaning through the surges, as A and her doula supported through each wave.  Soon the birth pool was ready and C got into the warm, inviting birth pool at 925. C moved around on her knees in the pool.  She asked if she could have counterpressure while in the pool and her doula began providing counterpressure on her back during surges. The pressure was changing, and C asked if I could do an exam in the pool.  At 945, I found C to be 8-9cm dilated!  Things were moving along perfectly. C stood up in the birth pool, and after a couple more waves, decided the birth pool wasn’t feeling right for delivery.  A little after 10am, we helped C out of the birth pool and she resumed her laboring in her bedroom.  I set out a shower curtain for her to labor on, as she felt most comfortable standing. C got into a lunge position and asked her doula if there was anything she could do for the pubic pain.  Her doula began providing some pressure and massage on C’s pubic bone, which gave C some much needed relief. At 1016 C began feeling very pushy at the peak of contractions.  At 1020, C asked to be checked.  I found her to be 9cm with a thick lip on the left side of her cervix.  I encouraged C to lunge into her left side to help the thick lip go away. Contractions were coming every 2.5 minutes, lasting a minute long.  C continued to labor beautifully, gently speaking affirmations over herself.  She would say, “I can do this.  I am doing this. ” with which we would agree and affirm her. At 1030, C moves to the toilet to try to empty her bladder and move to a different position for a couple waves.  C lets out a yell and I head towards the bathroom to find her squatting on top of the toilet seat.  The pressure change had intensified and C was moving the instinctual urges of her body. C soon moved back out from the bathroom, and back to squatting and lunging on her bedroom floor.  At 1040, C began to spontaneously push.  We were amazed at the positions her body was urging her to get into.  At one point, she was leaning into her husband with her feet on me and her doula.  The position left me wondering how I would catch her baby in that position! At 1052, C decided to move to her bed.  We got her into a semi reclining position.  Three minutes later we could see the head starting to sit on the perineum. The assistant hopped in to listen to the baby at 1057.  The heart rate was running in the 90s.  I gently encouraged C that we needed to get her sweet baby out. The head began to crown at 11.  Soon the head began to be birthed, and C’s doula, birth assistant and myself all looked in awe.  This baby girl was coming out in a straight occiput posterior position!  A beautiful, but much harder variation of normal position to birth. The baby had a loop of the cord around her neck that unlooped, and out came the rest of the sweet baby into her mama’s waiting arms at 1101am.  Big sister was at my side watching the whole process, in complete awe of seeing her baby sister being born. Welcome to the world sweet Nadia Grace!  Born earthside on August 12, 2015 at 1101am, weighing in at 7lbs, 10ozs, 19″ long.  Such a privilege to be a part of this sweet families journey.