“For those who haven’t heard, Mila’s entrance into our lives was pretty extra. She decided she didn’t want to wait until we made it to the hospital, so I DELIVERED HER IN MY CAR. My partner Drew and I still aren’t convinced it really happened, but here’s the story.
Saturday night our crew had our luau bingo where I walked a ton, drank lots of pineapple juice, and danced the night away. That night, around midnight, I started having mild contractions, but they were about 30 minutes to an hour apart (no biggie), so I went to sleep, waking up throughout the night with an occasional contraction. The next morning I woke up with contractions still about 30 minutes apart, so I thought it was a good idea to drink a tablespoon of castor oil to clean me out and help get this show on the road. I was 39 weeks and ready to have this baby.
As the morning went on, the contractions started getting more frequent but still not super close. Around 11 a.m., they were about 5-10 minutes apart, but it was Father’s Day and of course we needed to eat lunch with Drew and dad before going to the hospital. Plus, the contractions were still mild and I was under the impression I didn’t need to head to the hospital until they were 2-3 minutes apart. WRONG.
Thank Lord Jesus we decided to pick up lunch to-go from Walk On’s instead of eating there (that would have been quite a show). On the way to pick up the food, I wanted to stop at our house to look at our newly painted shed and at our local Rouses for some very important cookies for dad. Contractions still 5-7 minutes apart at this point. After finally getting our food and heading home, the contractions (still 5 minutes apart) started getting more intense, so I told Drew it was probably time to head to the hospital, but said he could eat his burger at home first. No rush, right?
Well, once we got home I had to make a quick dash to the bathroom (thank you castor oil) and the contractions were suddenly like 30 seconds apart. I somehow managed to get off the toilet and make my way to the couch as Drew casually loads the car up with our hospital bags. At this point, I start noticing some pretty intense pressure down there, so mom helps me make my way to the car and Drew goes back inside to start eating his burger. Still no real sense of urgency. I get into the car and the pressure got real real and I knew we gots to go.
Crying through the contractions at this point, I tell dad we have to go NOW so he screams at Drew. The panic sets in, Drew flings his fries all over the ground, and he runs to the car. We’re off. Somehow on the way to the hospital, I manage to record a teary eyed video for the baby telling him/her we’re on the way to the hospital and can’t wait to meet him/her. Then another contraction hits. The pressure was SO INTENSE. We’re stopped behind a car at the red light. I’m screaming at Drew to run it. He’s soiling himself (not really, but maybe). He swerves around the car and into the hospital parking lot. My parents live 2 minutes from the hospital.
In my completely uncalm and irrational state of mind, I scream at Drew to go to L&D at the back of the hospital. He runs in and right back out. It’s Sunday. No one’s there. Another contraction. SO MUCH PRESSURE. I have my butt raised above the seat with an arched back trying to hold this baby in. My water breaks. Drew’s screeching through the hospital parking lot to get to the ER. I’m screaming that the baby’s coming out. Drew probably dies but comes back to life. I pull my pants down. He yells to pull them back up. Too late. Here’s baby’s head.
We pull up to the ER 17 years later. Have to finish pushing baby out. Baby squirts out onto the seat under me. Drew is now inside the ER screaming for someone to come out. Baby is blue. Not crying. Cord is laid across baby’s neck. I move the cord and pat baby’s back. Finally a cry. A crowd of medical people open the car door. Nurse tells me baby’s okay (my soul re-enters my body) and it’s a girl. I look for Drew. He’s still dead. I tell him we’re okay and we have a girl (our long awaited gender reveal). They wrap the baby in Drew’s shirt. Cord is clamped. Off to L&D we go where the on-call doc delivered my placenta. All is well.
My poor husband, y’all. He got us there safe and sound, but I’m pretty sure his heart quit working 6 times on the way. This experience overall was 9/10. I didn’t have to be hooked up to any monitors while having contractions, no epidural to recover from, no catheter, no vaginal tears, cheaper bill, and we were out of the hospital in 24 hours. I docked a point because of vaginal juices to my brand new car seat (thanks mom and Kyleigh for cleaning it) and because poor Drew. We are thanking God we had a healthy baby with no complications.
Here are some lessons learned. If your contractions are 5 minutes apart and it’s your second baby, get to the hospital. Castor oil is the real deal. The front passenger seat in the Chevy Tahoe is suitable for catching newborns. When a baby is ready to come out, there is NO stopping it, no matter how much you try to hold it in with your hands. I never understood how people accidentally have their baby in McDonald’s or Chick-fil-A, but now I get it. God is good. Oh, and if anyone has access to the security footage from Lake Area Hospital parking lot, please let me know!”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Bethany Verret and originally appeared here. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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