Morgan became a friend of mine at the age of 17 when we worked together at my first daycare job. After I left that job Morgan stayed close with my family and even nannied my baby brother after the birth of her beautiful daughter, Macy. I was absolutely delighted to hear that she and Peter were expecting their second daughter!

During Morgan’s pregnancy it had became apparent that she had a condition called Velamentous Cord Insertion (VCI). VCI is an abnormal cord insertion in which the umbilical vessels diverge as they traverse between the amnion and chorion before reaching the placenta. This means that Charlotte’s umbilical cord was tightly wound until it reached the placenta, and at the placenta it unraveled and traveled separately along the placenta and was therefore not protected. This can be incredibly dangerous for mom and baby so Morgan was watched closely during her pregnancy.

Morgan’s labor started naturally and progressed quickly. I arrived right as the doctors were placing her epidural. When I got to the hospital I was asked to wait in the waiting room where I met Morgan's and Peter’s mothers as well. The two ladies were chatting away patiently waiting on the arrival of baby Charlotte. I waited for about 45 minutes before a nurse came to get Morgan’s mother and I to join in the room. When I entered the room the space was calm. Morgan had on a smile and her nurse was gently coaching her through the next steps in labor. Almost immediately I was told that Morgan was ready to push. Focusing on every contraction, the room was silent and just four minutes after she began pushing Morgan reached down and pulled her newborn onto her chest.

Shortly after Charlotte was born she was brought to the warmer for observation. She was having a difficult time breathing and was really working for every breath. After about 10 minutes of nurses and doctors watching baby Charlotte they decided to try skin-on-skin with Morgan. She held, cuddled and loved her baby until the nurse made the decision to bring baby Charlotte up to the NICU. Peter followed his new daughter up to the NICU to make sure she was okay. After a few minutes, Macy, Morgan’s first daughter, walked into the room with open arms and jumped up to snuggle her mom.

After everything had settled down Peter took me, Macy and other family members to meet baby Charlotte in the NICU. Macy was so happy to meet her baby sister and wore a smile the entire time she was in the room. Charlotte was brought back to her mom shortly after she was brought to the NICU. Morgan, Peter, Macy and Charlotte are all doing incredible. The team at Maine Medical Center was amazing as always and it’s always such a pleasure to work with them.