Rowan's AirBnB Birth | Pensacola Home Birth

Alexis + Tyler really wanted a home birth. Unable to find a home birth midwife in their home town of Santa Rosa Beach and unwilling to give up on their dream birth, they looked further out. After meeting with Tina + Kerry of Stand and Delivery Midwifery here in Pensacola, they opted to rent a house here for the month surrounding Alexis’s due date so they would be able to deliver at ‘home’.

So of course, Rowan picked the day before their rental term ended for his birthday, nearly two weeks overdue. Alexis texted around 8:30am to tell me they were in labor and about 3cm. I thought it would probably be a while yet, but I loaded my car and got all ready to go before sitting back down to work.

But labor progressed more quickly than anyone expected. Just a short while later Tyler called back to say things were getting REAL and he thought it was time for everyone to come. I could hear Alexis working through contractions in the background and it definitely sounded like she was well into active labor. By the time the midwives arrived, with me right on their heels, Alexis was 8cm. Just a short while later she was complete. But with no urge to push, and the tub not warm enough yet she opted for a nap…at 10cm dilated.

When the tub was sufficiently warmed, Alexis got in and labor seemed to pick right back up at her request. But Rowan’s shoulders were stuck and he needed some hands-on help from Kerry to break free. Watching Kerry pull him out was just about one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. Her hands were so gentle.

Lucky for Rowan, Tyler is a chiropractor and was able to give him a quick adjustment after his difficult journey earthside. Noticing he was having a hard time aligning his head to breastfeed, dad swooped right in and fixed the problem.

This was definitely one of the most eventful births I’ve ever attended.

Would you believe that I’ve never had a home birth baby born at night? Crazy right? Natural light is always the dream for me as a birth photographer, so it’s really an incredible blessing. But more often than not babies are born at night. Any guesses as to how long my streak will continue?