Ive never posted a birth story but always enjoyed reading them while I was pregnant. I’m gonna start by saying this is my third pregnancy and by far the most difficult. I have a short, weak cervix and premature contractions to go with it. I was considered high risk the whole time and was watched pretty closely. I think we ended the pregnancy with 20 ultrasounds. I always joked that he was gonna come out glowing 😂 At 25 weeks I had significant cervical change and was told I should start bed rest. I declined but at the next weeks ultrasound I didn’t have much of a choice. At 29 weeks I felt terrible and felt tons of pressure to find out he had dropped and was told he was only about an inch and a half from coming out. At this point I was having contractions (more than usual for me) and was two centimeters dilated. I was then sent to labor and delivery (at a bigger hospital, 45 minutes away, with a NICU) where I was monitored for the better part of a week. They did all the usual stuff, mag sulfate, steroids, indomethacin, procardia and after a few days the contractions were back to normal for me. They discharged us after my baby passed his NSTs (he failed two which lengthened our stay). After that I was told I had to be very careful and only get up when absolutely necessary (difficult with two children).

Fast forward to the first week of December, I had barely had any contractions all week (unusual for me) and started joking that I didn’t think he was ever coming out and that he was gonna end up surprising everyone by being a 41 weeker. On the morning of the 6th, I woke up at 4:54 to what I mistook as my milk allergy (I have never had any strong labor contractions with my first two children and didn’t know what labor felt like). Usually if I roll over the pain lessens and I usually can go back to sleep. As I rolled over I did feel better til the next contraction hit. I decided to get out of bed and see if sitting on the couch would help. My husband came out with me and I sent him back to bed saying I would get him if we needed to the hospital. After one more contraction I knew we needed to go and we needed to go fast.

I woke my husband back up and he started loading the kids up in the car. At this point I was having contractions with barely any time in between. As we start driving, I felt a strong contraction coming on and as we crossed the railroad tracks a half mile from our house my water broke (burst may be a more appropriate word). I think my husband was more aware of what was happing than I was even though my OB told me at 3 different appointments that a car birth might happen. He called 911 and started driving as fast as he could. He asked if an ambulance could intercept us but they said we would have to stop which he knew wasn’t a good idea. He knew the baby was coming and knew it would be faster if we continued to drive to the hospital ourselves. There was more traffic than I expected for the morning in a small town. Most people let up pass them without a problem. Only one tried speeding up to prevent us from passing but eventually gave up. As we were getting close to the hospital (probably 5 minutes) I remember 911 asking if any part of the baby was out and my husband telling them he was crowning. I wasn’t physically pushing and he was coming out which I was unaware of until my husband told the dispatcher. At this point he told them he was gonna pull over and deliver our baby but they told him to continue driving because we were so close. Next thing I knew his head was completely out. I tried getting the rest of him out but my daughter’s rear facing car seat prevented me for reclining my seat and I was having trouble lifting my hips. We drove the rest of the way with his head sticking out. The dispatcher informed the hospital what was happening ahead of time so someone could get us immediately as we arrived but the hospital didn’t take us seriously. After we whipped in to the emergency bay, my husband ran out of the car and was greeted by a desk clerk with a wheelchair. He told him that a wheelchair wasn’t going to work and that he needed to get someone and a cot. During this there was an EMT crew currently unloading a patient that overheard my husband and came over to see if they could help me. She helped lift my hips and I was able to push him out without contraction. It was around this time that the er staff was coming out with a cot and supplies. They clamped the cord and let my husband cut it. After that they quickly got the baby inside to get him warmed up. It was soooo cold and I could not stop shivering. I kept asking for a blanket as they were getting ready to get me out of the car. One of the nurses ended up taking off her scrub jacket and covering me up a bit which I was very thankful for. I remember them saying that they didn’t think we were having him in the car because almost everyone saying that never is.

Oh, and my 4y/o saw the whole thing. Good thing he thought it was hilarious instead of traumatizing.

And now our little stinker is a month old!!! 🥰