My Precipitous First Birth!

On Thursday, February 10, 2022, after an otherwise normal night before, I woke up at around 3 AM to use the bathroom. I was feeling some slight contractions and at first I figured they were just the normal Braxton Hicks I had been experiencing for weeks now. I was 38.5 weeks along, by the way. However, I remember that my wonderful doula, Kristian, told me that I would feel real contractions wrapping around my back as well - and lo and behold, that was happening. It wasn’t too painful though…. yet! So I went back to bed in hopes to just go back to sleep. That didn’t happen, haha! I laid in bed, my stomach cramping and back tightening until it was hard to even breathe. So I finally woke my husband, Ben, up around 4 AM and told him what was happening.

We truly thought I was just in early labor - so we weren’t too stressed out timing wise. But then things really went from 0-100. The pain was INTENSE. We started to use the contraction timer app to time them…and the weird thing was, I thought that since I was in early labor, I would have more relief time in between contractions. Like, at least 10 minutes in between. Alas, that was not the case. My contractions started 5 minutes apart. I got in the shower in hopes that the hot water would help me - I stayed in the shower until the water turned cold. I got out and the contractions were now around 3-4 minutes apart.

The pain was REALLY tough. It was way worse than period cramps and took over my entire body. I tried and tried to remain calm and remember to keep my body relaxed and “ride the wave” of the contraction, but boy it was tough. Ben was amazing and truly held me together. He kept telling me what an amazing job I was doing, rubbing my hair back, rubbing my back, and applying pressure to my back. However, there were times when I told him I just needed him to remind me to BREATHE. The contractions literally took my breath away and it was hard to remember the breathing techniques we were taught in our childbirth class. Who would’ve thought you would need to be reminded to breathe?!

So, we finally decided to call our doctor and of course we were told the doctor on call would call us back. 30 minutes passed by and still no call back. It was around 5-5:30 AM at this point so we called our doula, Kristian. She was under the impression that I was also in early labor - we all were! I honestly thought that my pain tolerance was just incredibly low so I was thinking holy cow, if this is early labor, I don’t want to know what the contractions will be like when they are worse!

Kristian was SO amazing - she reminded me to just breathe through the contractions and also to let each one go after it was gone. That mindset helped me SO much. I was thankful for her support, her calm tone, and her encouragement through the phone. I seriously needed that encouragement more than anything in that moment! She recommended I sit on a heating pad on my back to try and help the contractions be spaced further apart. I did that for about 5 minutes and after trying to call the doctor again, she finally called us back. Kristian was still on speaker phone at this point - so we all decided that since my contractions were so close together at this point (2-3 minutes apart) and since we live about 30 minutes from the hospital, that I had better go in to be checked, just in case.

Time for the Hospital!

So, off we went! Ben packed the hospital bags in the car and I sat writhing in pain on the couch. I could barely even put real clothes on! It was 6:25 AM at this point, so I had “labored” at home for 2-3 hours. I tried to listen to my perfectly curated worship playlist that I had created for labor on the way to the hospital, but I couldn’t even do that! I found myself only being able to focus on getting through each contraction - which by the way, each one at this point was about 1 minute and 30 seconds long and only 2 minutes apart so I was having NO relief. I’m honestly surprised that I didn’t break Ben’s hand on the way to the hospital - I was holding it so hard! Ha!

That was truly the longest car ride of my life but praise the Lord, Benjamin remained strong, calm and got us there safely. Thank you Lord! I remember praying that I would just be dilated enough so that they would admit me to the hospital and this 30 minute drive wouldn’t have been for nothing! We pulled up to the valet parking at the hospital which I was SO thankful for. I opened the door but immediately had a contraction so I had to wait it out for a few minutes. Ben also reminded me later that I asked him to say a prayer for us. I was so scared!

After the contraction was over, I could finally breathe and I got out of the car. The minute I stepped out of the car, MY WATER BROKE. I told Ben….”uhhh, either my water just broke or I’m peeing on myself.”

So the amazing valet man rushed to get a wheelchair and literally sprinted with me back to registration. The registration process (which I had done ahead of time as well) was excruciating. The 5 minutes felt like it was an eternity. I was having contractions all throughout so it was hard to concentrate. Finally a nurse came to get me to bring me to triage to check me. For some reason, they didn’t let Ben go back with me at that point. The kind nurse told me to take off my clothes and put on the hospital gown so she could check the baby’s heart rate. I was in so much pain I literally couldn’t even take off my clothes so I had to get her to help me. I pulled down my pants and there was so much fluid and BLOOD. I was so scared! She said that some pink discharge was normal but this was straight up blood so I was terrified.

It was so hard to even lay down on the bed but I finally did. She got me hooked up and after what felt like FOREVER, heard our baby’s heartbeat. I was literally screaming and yelling in pain at this point. I was so embarrassed, too - every time after I screamed I would apologize, haha. Once again, I truly thought that I just had an incredibly low pain tolerance and would hardly even be dilated once they checked me.

Boy was I wrong!

Ben was finally able to come back to the room (for me it felt like 30 minutes but it had really only been a few minutes) and there were so many people in the room with us! Nurses, midwives…all the people. My mind was spinning, the pain was just AWFUL and most of the time my eyes were just shut to try and get through the pain.

Dilated HOW MUCH?!

The midwife ended up checking my cervix to see how dilated I was and that was PAINFUL. My eyes were closed so tightly throughout each contraction and I was yelling and Ben was there rubbing my hair back making sure I was okay and then a lady pulled down my mask to swab my nose for covid. There were SO MANY THINGS HAPPENING.

And then I just remember hearing the number 8.

I was already dilated to 8 CM.

My heart dropped and I immediately yelled “Please let me have the epidural, please!”

And then I heard the words that I was terrified of my entire pregnancy to hear - “It’s too late for the epidural. This baby is coming SOON.”

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a low pain tolerance and my birth plan was to ALWAYS get the epidural. But here I was - God placed me in this moment to have our baby boy unmedicated.

It’s Go Time!

At this point I was in shock but still in so much pain from the contractions… and all of the sudden, I had the INTENSE urge to push. I told the nurses that, so they immediately began wheeling me on the stretcher (like urgently running) to the elevator to get me up to labor and delivery. That elevator ride felt like it took forever when in reality Ben said it was only about 2 minutes long. He stayed by my side the entire time and held my hand. He said afterward that it was like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy or something when they rushed me to the elevator, ha!

By the time we made it up to labor and delivery, they checked my cervix again and I was at 10 CM. This baby was coming and he was coming QUICK. I was yelling and screaming from the pain and then… apologizing for yelling and screaming! Ha! There were so many people in the room but I truly didn’t care. I needed to push and I needed to push NOW! The nurses and Ben were holding me down, my legs back, my hands….I kept my eyes tightly shut the entire time and began pushing because I was ready. Thankfully the doctor on call came in quickly after that.

The pushing hurt but it also gave me something to focus on - I knew I wanted to get this baby out and this was the only way to do it.

The nurses were INCREDIBLE coaches. They would tell me to take a good deep breath and then push and bare down with all of my might. They kept saying - “I promise only a couple more pushes.” And I really thought they were just saying that to hype me up. I’ve heard horror stories of first time moms having to push for like, 4 hours… so I figured that would be me.

But then I heard -

“He has dark hair! Do you want to feel his head?” And I was like OH MY WORD. So I kept pushing. And bearing down. And holding my husband’s hand. And keeping my eyes shut so tightly to concentrate.

He’s Here!

And then, I felt the most relief I had ever felt when our baby was born. I pushed him out in 10 minutes. We arrived at the hospital at 6:55 AM. Jack was born at 7:30 AM.

I was seriously in shock. They placed him on my chest immediately and there he was - our baby boy that we had been waiting for. Beautiful, dark hair, crying. On my chest. On me. Ben was crying. I was crying. Jack was crying. Wow. What a beautiful moment.

From there, everything was a blur. From stitching me up, to fundal massages, to golden hour skin to skin time….I was still in shock that I was holding my baby boy after only 3-4 hours of labor. It was the hardest, most incredible, beautiful, painful thing I have ever done in my life. But it’s true what they tell you - the minute they place your baby on your chest, it’s almost like you forget what you just went through for them.

I joked all throughout labor that it would be my worst nightmare to get to the hospital and then tell me it was too late for the epidural.

God took one of my worst fears and redeemed it. He gave me the strength and courage that I never even knew I had. He kept me and Jack safe. He helped me in every single moment.

Praise to God for His goodness. All glory goes to Him!

Also, I have to give a shout of praise to my incredible husband, Ben. He was in shock as well - it all happened so fast. But he remained calm, steadfast, supportive, encouraging, and he was there for me in every single moment. The love I have felt for him during this postpartum time has been better than anything in our relationship. It’s unconditional. And I thank God for Him everyday.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story! I’m currently pregnant (and due any day) with baby #2 and quite scared about labor and if it will be just as fast. Let’s hope I make it to the hospital in time, ha!