Kelly's Birth Story

I knew my third child would probably come fast, but my midwives assured me that I would make it to the birthing center when the time came. The day before my due date, I was only one centimeter and the baby was still so high so I figured I would be overdue again (my second child was two weeks overdue before they induced me). They scheduled an appointment for the following week and I went home.

The next morning I woke at 4:30 AM with some contractions, but they weren't painful or regular so my husband left for physical training at 5:30 AM (he's in the military). By then, my contractions had stopped completely but at 6 AM, they began again and were painful. My husband called at 6:15 to check in and I told him he should come home. After I hung up, I paged my midwife, and when she called back 10 minutes later, my contractions were about two minutes apart and really painful, and my husband wasn’t home yet. When he walked in the door at 6:45 AM, I knew I wasn’t making the 55-minute drive to the birthing center.

While talking with my midwife, I felt the overwhelming urge to push so we decided she would fax my records to the civilian hospital, which was only a mile away. My husband got our children ready and took them next door while I made my way to the van. He drove the mile-stretch to the hospital like a racecar driver!

We reached the emergency room doors and I had another urge to push. I couldn't stand through it and fell to my knees. My husband and the smallest woman I had ever seen got me in a wheel chair and she took me up to labor and delivery while my husband moved the car. When I got in bed, the nurse checked me and I was complete but my water was still intact. My water broke during the next contraction and my husband walked in. On the next contraction the nurse delivered our beautiful daughter, Kelly.

I had been at the hospital less than five minutes.