Mollie Grace's Birth (Part 2)

Picking up from my first post about Mollie Grace's birth...

About 10 minutes into the 45 minute drive to the hospital (although I think Brandon managed to make it a 30 minute drive), I realized that there was not going to be enough time for me to get that epidural.  But I still had no idea that the baby would be born in the van.

Brandon had been on the phone with the doctor and was told to call them back if I felt pushy.  When he told me that, I thought, "I'm already feeling that way!"  But I didn't tell Brandon that yet because I knew we weren't even halfway to the hospital and I didn't want to scare him.  Plus, I think I was still in denial that the baby was coming so fast.  Within a few minutes, I screamed, "I FEEL PUSHY!"
Thankfully, because I had read up so much on natural childbirth, I learned a lot about how to deliver a baby without a doctor (though that was NEVER my intention!).  I learned that often a woman feels great relief when it is time to push and that she typically doesn't feel the urge to push unless it is the appropriate time (meaning, she is dilated to 10 cm).  I also learned that if you deliver the baby when there is no one to cut the umbilical cord, it is okay for the umbilical cord to remain attached to both mom and baby for a little while.

So, I did what any sane woman would do, I started pushing that baby out of me! I went slowly and tentatively at first. From my reading on natural childbirth, I knew to try to take it slowly. It really did feel like such a great relief to be pushing.  So much so that Brandon kept asking if I was okay because my yelling/groaning had quieted down significantly. I told him I was okay, but didn't tell him why.

I had my eyes closed to focus on the ordeal going on within me, but I could tell that we were no longer on the expressway and getting close to the hospital because of the frequent starting and stopping of Brandon's driving. The hospital is pretty much right off of the expressway.

This is where my memory gets blurry.  I know I was seriously pushing at this point.  I also was thinking about getting to the hospital and how there was no way I would be able to get out of the van in my current state.  Luckily, the baby was going to resolve that dilemma for me and not give me that opportunity.

Brandon pulled into the hospital parking lot, trying to find the door that the doctor's office had told him to go to, where people would be waiting for us.  He couldn't find anyone and, at one point, hopped out of the van trying to look for anyone.  Somewhere in that time frame, I pushed one last time and Mollie Grace was born.  I grabbed her as she was coming out.

Because my water had broken before leaving the house, I had towels with me.  I found one and wiped her down and wrapped her up in it.

At some point, I looked for Brandon and I could see my sweet husband running around trying to find anyone to help us. I wanted to yell to him that the baby was here, but I didn't had the energy.  Plus, I figured he would come back soon enough and find out.

He ran around the van and opened the door (either to tell me something or to check on me, I guess) and he had this look of utter shock and disbelief as he sees me in the back of the van holding a baby. (He later told me that I looked so calm and relieved!) We don't find out the gender of our babies ahead of time.  It was dark and the umbilical cord made it a little confusing for me to decipher the gender.  So apparently, I got Brandon out of his shock by only saying, "Well!  What is it?  A boy or a girl?!"  He climbed in and checked and said, "Girl!".

Right around then, about 10-20 people come running from the emergency room with a stretcher. (The hospital we go to is a teaching hospital, so for every one standard role like a doctor or a nurse, you have several medical students or residents with them.)  You could see the excitement on their face and then a touch of disappointment when they saw the baby had already been born. 

Just at that moment, I see my doctor walking in front of our van, going into the hospital.  It was providential that he was right there at that moment. He was coming to deliver my baby (or so he thought).  We called him over to the van.  He wanted me to get out of the van with the baby still attached to the umbilical cord, but I was shaking and too weak to do so.  So, the doctor climbed into the van, clamped the umbilical cord, and had Brandon climb back in the van and cut the umbilical cord with a razor from the emergency kit that someone had brought out from the hospital.  At this point, about 10 more people have shown up to help (or possibly just watch).  Brandon thought the crowd of onlookers was one of the best parts.  It was crazy how many people were there.  They took the baby and put her in a bassinet and then they loaded me up on a stretcher and wheeled us both into a delivery room. And it was pretty much standard issue stuff from there on out. 

Also, I did later learn from Brandon that adding to the stress of him trying to get us to the hospital on time was the fact that our empty light on our van was on.  We have a little feature on our van that tells us how many miles of driving we have left before we totally run out of gas.  Apparently we pulled into the hospital with 2 miles to go. 

Once we were released from the hospital a couple of days later, we loaded up the van in the same spot where all the excitement happened a few days before.  So I snapped a quick photo on the day we were released.  For memories and such.

A few answers to the most common questions....

1. Yes, it hurt.
2. Yes, I delivered her myself.  No one assisted.
3. Labor was an hour and a half from start to finish.
4. No discount that I know of, though that would be nice.  I think I should get a cut or a commission, if you will, at the very least.
5. Placenta was delivered in hospital.
6. My sweet in-laws took the van to be detailed a few days later.
7. My dad brought a small portable container of gasoline to the hospital to get our van to the nearest gas station.
8. Yes, my dad taught me to always keep my car with a full tank.  Yes, I see the irony in this.
9. No, I have no idea what we will do the next time I am pregnant, Lord willing. Move closer to the hospital?