Surprise! The Arrival of Orion David Pooley

At 38 weeks, I was having weekly check ups with my OB/Gyn. On Tuesday, March 18th, I was about 2 cm dilated at my appointment. I was checked twice because my doctor had a student intern following him that day. I didn't think much of this measurement since I was dilated a few centimeters with Oliver for a few weeks without much happening. I was nauseaus after my appointment, and I chalked it up to all the poking around they had done.

My blood pressure was up slightly so my doctor asked for a protein urine test, which came back +1 so they had me do blood test too. Those results were supposed to be available the next morning.

My evening went normally. I crashed in bed around 7 or 8.

I was up and down early in the night per usual to pee, get a drink of water, and toss and turn. But I was awake from about 2 am on, just uncomfortable and unable to go back to sleep. I thought I might be having contractions but didn't feel like my whole abdomen was hard just parts of it at a time so i was trying to talk my self out of anything really happening. I had been having occasional braxton hicks contractions for a few months so I was trying to keep myself from getting wound up.


I rolled over and felt a pop and gush, and KNEW that was my water breaking. I don't think I've ever gotten out of bed so fast to get to the bathroom. This was about 2:50 am.

I took a few moments to breathe, and yelled at Ethan from the bathroom to wake him up. He was a bit dubious but did get up right away. I stand up a few times but each time there was another gush. I started feeling contractions but they were fairly small and I was able to breathe through them. That only lasted about 15 minutes. Then they were hard enough I had to lean over on the counter, rocking, and huffing. They got so intense, so fast, I asked Ethan to time them - already 45 sec long and a minute and a half apart. We thought it might be a fluke when we first timed them as we didn't know if they were regular or not. But they never let up.

Ethan stayed near me but started gathering things. He tried to calm me and remind me it might be hours. He told me he wanted to put all the furniture back in the baby's room before we left. I remember shooting him a death stare. He put off calling his mom right away since we both weren't sure how long this was going to be. But I kept asking him to call. I wanted to LEAVE. He also called ahead to the hospital to let them know we were coming in.

I had heard of some women getting sick while in labor but never had that with Oliver. This time I threw up twice before we left the house.

By 3:30 am, Maida arrived at the house to stay with Oliver; we collected things and left for hospital between my contractions. No small feat since I couldn't walk during them, and had to lean over on something during them.

Since it was after hours, we went in through ER door. The man at the desk called up to make sure they knew we were on our way and I waited for Ethan to park the car. I had a contraction while leaning on the desk, waiting for Ethan. Then again a few feet away, on a chair. Partway through the lobby I had to get on my knees and lean on a bench for another contraction. The receptionist at the main desk, came over to ask if we wanted a wheelchair. I didn't really want to sit but I couldn't walk fast enough to make progress. She got one for us and I was able to sit down between contractions, just long enough to get to the elevator and up to our floor. But had to stand in the elevator for the next one. I couldn't sit back down, so I walked off elevator the elevator on my own power.

We talked to the nurses at the nurses station to check in - standard questions of name, birth date, doctor. I answered a few but couldn't talk for the last question and Ethan had to answer for me. We walked down hall to a room but I was still hoping to labor in the tub a bit so we went to a second room. On the way there I had to stop for yet another contraction and felt a strong need to push with that one; this seemed important so I told the nurse I needed to push. She assured me they would check my progress as soon as we got in the room.

I barely made it to the room before another one. Laying down in the bed felt awful during the contraction but she needed to check me. I hated her doing that because I didn't want to be on my back and still wanted to push. It felt awful.

She called for help right away, which was a bit alarming. When the other nurses got in the room, they asked her where my progress was at and she said she couldn't feel a cervix at all. I didn't hear that part, but Ethan told me later. There were about 7 or 8 people in the room at that point, preparing the incubator, pulling out gloves and things, rearranging my bed, trying to get an IV in me.

[I had tested Group B strep positive a week or so before and was supposed to get antibiotics by IV during labor; there was no time for this.]




That's when every contraction started burning and I wanted to push with every one. All the nurses and Ethan were trying to get me to breathe, and not scream high (yes, I admit to screaming my heart out). I remembering turning to the nurse on my left between contractions and asking if I could at least have analgesics. She nicely told me there wasn't really time and it wouldn't help me at this point anyway. They had an ER doc in the room but I didn't know he was an ER doctor at the time; we didn't have time to get anyone's name.



My doctor barely made it. Once he arrived, I think I had two contractions and Orion was born. I was relieved to push with the contractions instead of trying to hold off, and then even more relieved to have him born and be 'done'. My doctor didn't get to tie his gown, but did get his gloves on.

When they held him up, he promptly peed on everyone. They laid him on my chest and I started to get ready to nurse him. They stopped me because they hadn't even cut the cord yet.

I still can't believe it happened that way

So from probable first contractions to birth was maybe 2.5 hours (2 am-ish to 4:32 am).

The next day we saw my chart said 'precip birth' (precipitous birth) since my official check in time was 4:15, only 17 minutes before he was born. When my doctor came in later on rounds, he told us that Orion would have come out even faster but he had a hand next to his face; he also had one loop of cord around his neck that they slipped off as soon as he came out.

And that's how I had an unplanned, natural birth. :)