Car birth

This is my second child. My son’s birth began with my water breaking at work. I worked for another 2.5 hours and then went home to prepare. I didn’t start getting contractions until 12 hours following my water breaking. We went to the hospital and it was another 14.5 hours of labor until birth. My cervix swelled and I had to breathe through the urge to push for 2 hours. He was born with his hand up by his ear, but as perfect as can be. My little love is almost 2 now and is an amazing big brother.

With my daughter, we elected to utilize a local birth center for all prenatal care and her birth. At 40 weeks, I ended my long work day with some heavier contractions, but irregular in frequency. I went to the midwife at 40 weeks and 1 day for a check-up. I had some pink tinge discharge and slight contractions that were irregular. They performed an exam and said she wasn’t coming that day and to go home and do my regular activity.

I decided to stay home and hang out with my son and do some other items around the house. I took my three dogs for a walk (border collie, golden retriever and Great Dane) and ran some errands. That night, I didn’t sleep other than in between contractions. I timed them all night and they were between 10 -20 minutes between each, so still sporadic.

I woke up and fed my dogs and was feeling more heavy contractions that would force me to stop what I was doing. I called the midwife and told her what was going on and she said I probably had another hour or two to labor at home. Given what I had gone through with my son and the longer labor, I figured the contractions I was having were not as intense as they were. I also didn’t tell my midwife that my pain threshold is fairly high so what I was able to breathe through was probably a sign of what should have taken us in immediately to the center.

My husband was out running a quick errand to pickup our dog food from our local Co-op (per my direction) and my mother in law had stayed overnight (JIC) and my nanny had just arrived for my son (also JIC). I went upstairs to take a shower and was definitely feeling heavier contractions through that process. I proceeded with my usual routine and was blow drying my hair when my water suddenly broke. It startled me, but I finished with my hair and sent my husband a text that my water broke (and that I was sorry because it happened on his bathroom rug). I got dressed and went downstairs and called the midwife.

She indicated she was about 20-30 minutes out and to head to the birth center. My husband was in the garage unloading the dog food and I was in our sitting room on all fours working through contractions at this point. I asked my MIL to get my husband and he helped me out to the car in between contractions.

We hit every light on the way to the center and I had about 4-5 contractions during that time. The center was only about 12 minutes from home. At the light just prior to the center, I felt an urge to push, which I breathed through, but told my husband she was coming soon. He pulled into the birth center to an empty parking lot and rushed out his door to open the birth center door - locked.

He ran to my side and opened the door to me saying, pull down my pants (skirt and depends), I am crowning- she is coming now! He immediately obliged and said he saw her head and thought, oh shit. He didn’t have time to clean his hands before we left for the center so he had to think quick and placed his hands under the towel I was sitting on (I had put a towel on the seat weeks prior to ensure we were prepared if my water broke early).

I pushed twice and she was out. Her father delivered her in the front seat of our escalade in the parking lot of the birth center. He put her on my chest immediately and called 911. The midwife showed up as he was making the call and immediately ran over and checked our daughter. We cancelled the call and I walked in the center half naked, holding my daughter with the cord hanging and attached to my placenta still inside me.

We stayed at the birth center for four hours for all the normal protocol routine and then went home. Our beautiful baby girl was born at 9:12am 2/17/18 in the front seat of our car in the parking lot of the birth center, delivered by her father. She was 7lbs 1oz, 19” long.

I had no tearing and my bleeding has been minimal. I have had tons of energy and she is doing amazing. She is already on a schedule and has put on a pound and grown a half inch since dropping about 6% of her initial birth weight in the first couple days.