Makayla's Birth Story

I had been to my doctor's appointment Wednesday morning on the 14th, and found out I was 1 cm. dilated and 50% thinned out. I was having light contractions, but thought nothing of them as I'd had my labor stopped nine times since my 23rd week of gestation, and contractions were a daily thing for me.

Around 8 p.m. I decided to go to the hospital to see if I was dilating, since my contractions had gone on all day and felt "crampy." The nurse checked me and there was no change from that morning. I told her these felt different and asked if she could keep me another hour. She said she'd keep me a half hour and then, if there was no change, she'd send me home. Well, nothing happened, the hospital was full that night and needed the bed for someone who was going to deliver. The nurse decided I wasn't in “true labor” and sent me home.

My mother had taken me to the hospital and on the way home we debated whether or not to turn around and go back, but since my contractions only felt crampy I decided we should go home. I thought they'd just go away. Back at the house I told my husband to go to bed since it may be a long night. I then walked over to my mom's, who lives next door. We stayed up and talked for a while, then they went to bed and I laid on their couch.

About an hour later, I started feeling a lot of pressure. I walked home and put my make-up on, then called my mom to come over. Just as she was walking in the door I had a pushing contraction, but was still not sure if this was "true Labor." I said, "Something is really wrong with me!"

My mom looked at me and said, "You’re okay. You’re just having your baby." I went upstairs and woke my husband and told him I needed to go to the hospital. My mom was going to drive me and he was going to get my things and be right behind us, but we never made it.

We had just pulled out of our driveway and past my mother's house when I had another contraction and felt my baby's head coming down. I asked my mom to go back and call 911, because the baby's head was coming! Back at her house, I ran straight to the bathroom. For some crazy reason I sat on the toilet. I reached my hand down and felt the baby's head. My mom dialed 911 but never even spoke to the person on the line. She just kept holding the receiver and telling me, "You have to get off the pot! You can't have your baby on the pot!" I couldn’t move, the pain was too much. Then my water broke and I laid on the floor and pushed. The baby was out in two pushes!

Finally, my mother turned to the person on the phone and said, "My daughter's just had her baby and we can't get her to breathe!"

Twenty minutes later, the ambulance arrived and took us to the hospital. Makayla was four and a half weeks early; she weighed six pounds, one ounce, and was seventeen inches long. She was in respiratory distress and had fluid in her lungs (from her quick delivery) that developed into pneumonia. Her weight dropped to five pounds, two ounces.

Makayla stayed in Children's Hospital for eight days. She is now two years old, and doing wonderful!