Here is another story:

Emily’s Story:  ”I couldn’t sleep on Tuesday night so I stayed up reading. My contractions started at about 1:00 a.m. and were every 10 minutes for about 40 minutes.  The surges were not that bad. Then they changed to every 7 min and were harder to handle. I didn’t wake up Zach, my husband, until 2:15 a.m. when I couldn’t handle the contractions on my own anymore. The contractions quickly progressed to every 3 minutes all of a sudden. Then, back-to-back. After every contraction I felt 
like I had to be on the toilet. I had a few intense contractions on the toilet and then told Zach I couldn’t go anywhere. I said I had to push and my waters broke. My mom arrived and Zach called 911. I stood up my body took over.  I felt the ring of fire and the baby’s head started appearing. Then there was a short break with the next contraction she was born at 2:46 a.m. The EMS (paramedics) came shortly afterwards.”  

​Zach’s Story (Emily’s Husband):  “We both went to bed feeling a bit frustrated that things weren’t in motion, after trying all the usual tricks to get the baby moving. I had a sense that things would either happen the next day or not until the next week. I fell into a deep sleep and was awakened with a start at 2:15 a.m. Emily told me in a rather calm, almost casual way, that the contractions were starting to get too strong for her to handle on her own. I dutifully got into action with some butterflies in my stomach. I got dressed – Emily stopped me between contractions to ask why I was wearing jeans (thinking that I was going to be uncomfortable during an all-night labor at the hospital). I responded, “…because I want to,” and then I proceeded to load up the car with the bags and birth ball. I also called her mother at 2:20 a.m. to come over to watch Harper, our son. I helped Emily through a few contractions with pressure on the lower back and some hip squeezes.  Her mother arrived by 2:40 a.m. and I was thankful so that we could get going. I was preparing the car for the ride to hospital, and heard Emily inside moaning much louder. Her mother called me in, and I found Emily in our bathroom – while I didn’t want to know the answer to this question I asked anyway: “Can we make it to the hospital?” She said “No.” I momentarily had an ‘OMG’ moment, and then dialed 911 for the first time in my life. I said, “My wife’s having a baby and isn’t going to make it to the hospital.  They proceeded to ask my home address at least three times. I saw the head at this point, and her mother grabbed the phone from me and coached me from the 911 instructions. They asked if I could see the head and were there any limbs you could feel. I reached up and felt the head and something thin right next to it, which I first thought was the umbilical cord, but realized quickly it was my daughter’s hand. That made me feel slightly relieved, and then things got a bit fuzzy, I didn’t hear what my mother in law was saying, and I prepared to catch the baby. And all of a sudden she was out. Next, I waited for her small body to take a first breath and cry.  After holding my breath for a moment, she cried, and then we scrambled for a towel. Emily will say I was reluctant to use the closest towels – our nice hand towels – and my mother in law ran for a much larger duck towel in the other room, while I scrambled to find a suction device that was supposed to be in the bags in the car – it wasn’t! We found one in my son’s room that we used. While I was outside the EMTs arrived, along with an ambulance. The first question they asked me, “Did you plan it this way?” I was too buzzed at this point to deal with that incredibly rude question, so I said, “Of course not. Things moved very fast, and we didn’t want to have the baby in a car.” After that, no less than 4 burly dudes were in our very small laundry room and second bathroom all while Emily held our new daughter, Wilhelmina, completely calm and completely coherent. They gave Wilhelmina and Emily some oxygen, and then prepared to cut the cord – which I then did. I then held her close, almost still in shock that it happened so fast while they got Emily up and walked her outside to get onto a stretcher. I looked at the clock and realized that so much had happened between 2:46 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. and then we were in the ambulance by 3:15 a.m. Once in the ambulance, I leaned over and looked at my beautiful daughter and awe-inspiring wife and gave them both a kiss as we rushed off into the night. I then frantically called family on the east coast and got a quick Instagram pic up to Facebook to tell everyone of Wilhelmina’s birth.  It was quite an event – Emily’s mother continues to remark how calm we both were. I’m happy we had her at home!” Send me a Tweet and let me know what you think ; )

Disclaimer: This blog is not meant as medical advice. This blog post is not intended as a ‘how-to’ have a planned unassisted birth. Please seek the advice and support of a qualified medical doctor or licensed midwife regarding the delivery of your baby.

Graphics by EngageWithIt.com

[Originally published May 8, 2013]


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