Joseph's Birth Story

The due date was fast approaching and I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of our newest addition.  In the early morning hours on Tuesday the 19th (the due date) I had regular contractions and thought that I might be in labor.  However after several hours of clock watching and trips to the bathroom, the contractions were getting consistently farther apart and completely ceased after about 5 hours when I relieved myself.  That’s the last time I’ll eat two bowls of red chili and push a stroller uphill for a mile the day before I’m due! 

The day after came . . .

. . . and went.

Apparently I have a hard time waiting.

Two days after the due date, Thursday, I try to continue business as usual and keep my mind off of the fact that the baby is late.  My last midwife appointment was that morning and I had to ask Debbie, “So, the baby is going to come out, right?!”  And I was totally serious and somewhat discouraged as I asked her that question.  She looked at me and said, “You know, of all the expectant mothers we’ve had . . . they ALL have their babies.”  I just needed to hear that.  This was the first time I’ve ever reached and exceeded my baby’s due date.

That afternoon, I begin making dinner and notice an uncomfortable contraction at 5:18.  We sit down to eat dinner and at 6:18 I start timing my contractions as they are regular and I’m not really interested in eating.

After dinner, about 6:45, dinner is over and we decide to go outside to walk around and see if I’m in labor.  The whole family comes to cheer me on.  The neighbors across the street are outside and they begin talking with Jeramy about building an entertainment center.  So, we all go in their house and I’m still having regular contractions.  I’m distracted by the conversation, but I’m still pretty uncomfortable and tired of walking around.

We got back to our house at 7:30p.m. and I continue pacing the floor for another 30 minutes to see if the contractions intensify.  I call the midwife at 8p.m. and tell her what’s going on.  She could hear the uncertainty in my voice as to whether or not I was in labor.  I wanted to be sure of my labor before I had her come. 

I laid down for 30 minutes and my contractions were very erratic in frequency and intensity and I was almost completely convinced that it was NOT labor.  Jeramy called my Mom to tell her that there was some “activity”.  Mom decided to come over and sit for a while to see if anything was going to happen.  But I thought it would be a waste of her time. 

I got up from the sofa and as I walked to the toilet, I could not walk through my contraction.  If we were planning a hospital birth, that was the indicator to begin packing up to leave.  But, I decided to sit on the toilet for 30 more minutes to determine if I was in labor and then I called the midwife again to give her an update.  It was now 9p.m.  She and I agreed that I would call around 10 or 10:30 to let her know if my contractions stop or if they continue and I want them to come. 

Every time I moved, the contractions would reset themselves and change character.  And because of this, I was thrown off, thinking it was just flatulence, as it was before.  I know the character of real labor contractions and what I was enduring was far from it, so I considered that it wasn’t yet that serious.

After another 10 minutes, I thought it would be nice to get in the shower.  After washing off, I just stood there letting the water massage my lower back.  It was very therapeutic.  During each contraction I would tilt my hips and squat slightly, hoping that if I was truly in labor, my water might break.  But that never happened.  While I was in the shower, Mom popped in to ask about the girls’ shoes and decided to take them to her house.  By God’s providence she arrived just in time. 

Ten minutes before 10p.m. I get out and put on my robe.  Jeramy was laying on the bed, staying awake to see what would happen.  I kneel down next to him on the floor.  Then I have two really painful contractions about 3 minutes apart, that I endure with moaning.  This is it!  Then I feel something really peculiar and rush to get to the toilet.  My water breaks with a little cupful into the toilet bowl.  I call the midwife at 10:15p.m. and tell her that the pain is getting more intense, my water broke and I want her to come now.  I told her I thought she might have 10 minutes to get dressed and get to the house.  I tell Jeramy to get the birthing pool ready.  And no sooner had I said these words with great difficulty, I felt the need to push!  I called the midwife back and said, “Debbie, the baby is coming NOW!!”  I screamed for Jeramy, who had just barely reached the kitchen with the pool, to come catch the baby!  I threw the phone onto the counter and stood up.  I couldn’t have the baby in the toilet!  I couldn’t stand up either, so I just instinctively got down on my knees leaning on the bathtub.  Then Jeramy ran into the bathroom and yelled, “NO!!  You can’t do this to me!  Don’t push!  You have to wait until the midwife gets here!  You have to wait 10 minutes!”  I told him that I couldn’t wait and he must get down on the floor and catch the baby! 

With my right elbow on the tub and my left hand reached down between my legs, I felt the head coming out and screamed again for Jeramy to catch the baby.  He got behind me and as I pushed the baby out, I guided the head back so he could catch him.

After the baby came out, I was in shock for a minute as I realized what had just happened.  The midwife was still on the phone and Jeramy was freaking out.  Debbie spend several minutes calming Jeramy down.  Then I realized that we had a boy!  Jeramy did not want me to move or push anymore, so we just hung out in the bathroom, all of us covered in water and blood until the midwives arrived about 20 minutes after the birth.  They cleaned all our mess up, did all their checks and left around 1 or 1:30a.m.

All in all, it was the best birth ever!  We named our baby Joseph Wade.  We’ve had his name picked out for the last 5 years.