My friend Nila contributed her story to our birth story series and encouraged me to title it, “You can do it standing up!” Read on to get the full story in her words.
I feel the need to preface this birth story with the fact that I have never owned a pair of Birkenstocks and I don’t believe in crystals. I do like prenatal yoga, doulas and midwives, and I believe that we are the luckiest women in the history of womankind to have babies in the 2000s. Limited deaths, lots of narcotic choices if desired, and trained surgeons (with clean equipment!). I know it is odd to start this way, but you need to know this about me before you read this abbreviated and somewhat legendary birth story (in a small town kind of way) about my daughter Sabine, who turned five this week.
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Five frigging days late!! (My older son was 10 days late and there was no way I was waiting another 5 days!). I was on a mission to get my labor started, so I took my 9 months pregnant self on a two-mile hike.
At about 9 pm, I decided the hike wasn’t enough, and I went out dancing. Seriously. Like booty-shaking dancing. And, it worked.
When contractions started at 1am, I was pleased with myself. I had already done this thing — endured 43 hours of a natural birth with my son, that is — and I was mentally prepared for the second labor marathon. After eating eggs and toast, and laboring at home through contractions, we called the midwife and I told her I would meet her at the hospital after the doula arrived at my house. Yaddah, Yaddah, more labor and then my husband, my doula, and I made the ten-minute drive to the hospital.
Now, it is 6 am. We park in the multi-level parking structure. It’s pretty dark outside and no one is around.
I am walking slowly from the parking lot to the hospital entrance. My water breaks.
My husband says, “That’s great honey.”
I take another step and say, “The baby is coming!.”
My husband, and our doula/friend Virginia murmur, “Sure, you are doing great.”
But remembering the 43 hours of our prior birth — they both think I am faking. I take another step and feel my daughter’s head crown.
And then I say very calmly, “Greg, you have to catch the baby.”
Greg has the wherewithal to say, “Virginia, get her pants and underpants down”. At which point, she does, while I stand in place, just yards away from the double doors of the hospital’s lobby.
Sabine flies out. Of my body.
Greg catches her. (Later he tells me he was wondering how far the cord stretches and if he should bite it off like a bear.)
The midwife, who had been parking her car, and heard some of my deep cries (was I really hollering out?) rushes to us, after calling CODE STORK on her cell (hospital code for baby being born outside of the Labor and Delivery ward). She takes my grandmother’s robe from my birth bag, wraps it around Sabine, cuts the cord with her own scissors, and puts this little lovely bundle in my arms.
I am still standing up, legs in a slight A stance.
When I finally look up thirty seconds later, I see 25 hospital staff running through the doors to us. They put me on a gurney and take me to the inaptly named “Labor and Delivery”.
All that is left to do is, you know, birth the placenta. Pretty easy, though I really do feel the pain of my uterus contracting MUCH more than the birth.
Greg, meanwhile, has been with Sabine in the NICU. They took her there because it was deemed an unclean birth (Greg swears he had clean hands!) They put her on monitors because, who else but women who have had no prenatal care and live in rural villages, give birth outside these days?
Me. That’s who.
Love your story! Happened to me too- in the passenger seat of our car right outside of Kaiser. Ooops! Luckily they didn’t take my little one to the NICU- we did however get a new car!
it’s true, I did think you were faking 🙂
well, not faking– but definitely not CROWNING!
Sabine still tops the “most exciting birth” list. I don’t tell other doula clients about it until AFTER they give birth.
That dancing was serious booty shaking-I saw it with my own eyes! :). When in doubt, shake it out….always a good mantra 🙂
What an exciting birth story. Thankfully, you had a wonderful team supporting your delivery outside. Congratulations on your new bundle of joy.
Nila, I have always loved this story — and been amazed by it. And I can “hear” Greg’s voice in my head.
If memory serves, another of our preschool parenta was in a room several floors up — having just delivered her son, albeit indoors — and heard you in the parking lot but didn’t know it was someone she knew!
What a great telling of your girl’s powerful arrival.
Thank you for sharing this amazing story, Nila, it gives me chills and makes me cry.
Aww, guys, I love everyone’s comments, and thankful for Virginia and Sara for being there for parts of this story with me. For Rachel (who made me that wonderful soup afterwards— I quickly poached the recipe and made for other post partum moms, for Rebecca for sharing her story and making me laugh and for Christy for reading. Heather and Whitney for asking me write it here forever– cannonized in the Rookie Birth Week.
@Nila, You’re such a superhero. Does Sabine know this story yet? It seems like one of those she will hear a LOT in her life.
My due date is tomorrow and I am hoping my birth story is just as exciting as this! What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing!
i know this story but never the part about greg biting the chord like a bear. oh that was a good laugh this morning ladies. thank you.
@susie and @nila I think that I feel chills and choked up when I think about this experience from Greg’s point of view more than any other! What a profound instinct fatherhood must flex.
OK, I had Nila for prenatal yoga and I have HEARD this story before. And yet here I sit, weepy at my computer, feeling as though I was right there in the lot. Amazing, amazing, amazing.
Whitney–I am thinking that you need to do
A birth story series from the perspective of the
Partner. I am sure Greg would love to contribute.
His version might read a bit different!
Kimberley thanks for your comments- nice to hear your voice again!
@Nila, I’m SURE the birth story is different for the partner. They have the presence of mind to remember details without all that pain or drugs.
This is awesome! I have always been thankful that my daughter was face up and therefore “stuck” for 2.5 hours of pushing, since I was fully dilated and feeling the need to push before we got to the hospital. I am sure she would have been born on the way if she had been face down — and I’m not sure that my husband would have been quite so calm since when I said on the way “I think I need to push” he sputtered “Well, just, just, don’t!!!”. Ha!:)
Wow, that is awesome!! I hope I have a more exciting but less traumatic birth story for #2.
Wow! Amazing story! As I was reading I was thinking, what an exciting way to make your way into this world. And then this thoughts of imagining this being us (me and my husband) and panic set in as I am quite confident that since he passed out during the C-section (yes, everyone had to stop to catch him as I began yelling “He’s going down” strapped to the O.R. table). I can’t even imagine him having to ‘catch’ our son as he is being born in a parking lot. Applause to your husband as well as you!
Hands down the best birth story EVER.
Wow, that is an amazing birth story! I had a similarly surprising in its speed type of delivery recently, but we definitely made it through the hospital doors. I can’t even imagine! Good job!
I laughed out loud at the part where the husband considers chewing the cord off like a bear – ha ha ha! That is a legendary story for sure 🙂 thanks for sharing it.