Scarlett Elizabeth's Birth Story

Birth Story of Scarlett Elizabeth Owens

On the morning of October 22nd, I had finally overcome my feelings of anxiousness and decided to just let the baby girl come whenever she wanted. It was two days past my 40-week mark and I had spent the last full week doing all I could to naturally and safely induce labor: walked, ate spicy foods, had the OB strip my membranes (which is what put me into labor with Eden, my first daughter), walked, did lunges, bounced on my yoga ball, watched a good crying movie, chased my preschooler and toddler around, and walked. Still, apart from a handful of Braxton Hicks contractions and pressure, nothing was going on down there. 

Even though time was running out for my mom who had flown into town from her mission in Salt Lake City and had to fly back at the end of the week, that Tuesday morning I actually wanted to hold off going into labor until the next day because my doula had had a death in the family and was out of town Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. I had received an e-mail from her with a list of my back up doulas should I need to use them while she was away. I hoped I wouldn't have to because I had fought tooth and nail to hire our doula, Anna Morgan. With all I had done the last week, surely the baby may stay in one more day.

I had decided to get a pedicure that morning since my mom could handle my girls at home. It was a glorious pampering that I hadn't indulged in since I was very pregnant with Eden. It had been nearly four years! Then I went grocery shopping and took my minivan in for an oil change. When I got home, we all ate lunch and everyone took a nap. While I tried napping, I started having contractions anywhere from 10-15 minutes apart, but not super consistent, and not very strong. I called the on-call doula, Patsy, just to let her know, and also just to introduce myself just in case I would be using her that night. I had developed a headache, so my mom took the girls for a walk while I got dinner on the table and tried to take it easy. That evening I didn't really have any contractions. Scott and I watched the Apple Keynote, and then we were in bed by 9:30. 

I started listening to some soothing hypnobabies tracks, hoping it would help my headache go away.  It worked. I fell asleep really quickly, but woke up at 10 PM when my water broke. I was still in denial, though, saying to myself, "well, it could still be quite a few hours before baby comes," so I took a quick shower. It was calming and soothed my back-labor contractions that were starting to kick in again around 10 minutes apart. I called Patsy and told her she should probably come to my house right then since it would take her 30 minutes at least. I called the on-call OB and told her I'd be coming in soon, but that it would be great if she could contact my OB, Dr. Heidemann, since she had delivered both Eden and Chloe and I knew she had just arrived back in the country that afternoon from a European vacation and wouldn't want to miss this baby's birth. Then I woke up my husband and told him my water had broken, but he didn't necessarily have to get out if bed right that second. 

I should have told him to get out of bed right that second.

Fifteen minutes later my contractions were three to five minutes apart, and although I was listening to my hypnobabies tracks, I was having an extremely hard time "catching the wave"  and felt super flustered with how quickly everything was progressing. I had to tell Scott a few more time to get out of bed and eventually pulled the blankets completely off if him and said, "We have to go. Now. Right now." Patsy arrived just long enough to suggest I take a potty break before heading up to the hospital. I did, and could barely get out of there because my body had started heading into transition. I got in the car and breathed through the contractions as best I could, but by the time we hit downtown Nashville, my uterus was pushing. If there had been ANY traffic, I would have had that baby on the side if I-24.

We hit a stop light just before the hospital that seemed so long I screamed at Scott to run it. He didn't, but it finally changed and we zoomed to Centenial Women's main entrance with me yelling. The hospital door was locked, and if there had not been people coming out at that moment, I may have had the baby on the sidewalk.

The ER entrance had people that smelled like cigarettes. I prayed I wouldn't have my baby right there. So was everyone else-- especially the front desk lady who had grabbed a wheel chair and was saying, "Oh, no... No, ma'am... No way, you are NOT having that baby in the hallway!" Like I'd be able to help it!

Someone else grabbed a gernie and I climbed up in my hands and knees, which was infinitaley more comfortable than hanging on Scott. He had left the car running with the doors open outside the hospital and ran off to park it. They wheeled me backed into the ER and I honestly was in such a blur as to what was going on around me. I couldn't see anyone's faces due to my position and I didn't care that all the nurses were helping me get my clothes off.  Less than a minute later, the gernie was being pushed into an elevator and rushed up to the delivery room. I crawled over to the delivery table. They had thrown a blanket over my back and legs. Patsy was somehow there beside me, though I have no idea how she got there. Then the baby started crowning and while I obviously couldn't speak, I knew I had to do something so that my baby wouldn't fall and be injured. So I reached down with my left hand and caught her head! When I got a breath, I groaned "Crowning!!" Patsy lifted the blanket and told me that she will never forget the image of me cradling my own baby's head while the hospital staff was sill buzzing around trying to get ready to deliver. Scott was across the room on the phone with registration and missed the whole thing. The on call doctor, probably a laborist who is always just available at the hospital, was an older soft-spoken man who quickly helped me hold the baby as I turned over and then one more push later, our newest baby girl had fully made her entrance into the world. The time was 12:10 AM on October 23rd, 2013. My first words were, "DON'T clamp that cord!" I had wanted a delayed cord clamping with Chloe, but didn't get it, and I would be darned if I let that happen again. I actually said it multiple times and the sweet old man said, "No one's clamping it." Then when it stopped pulsing he still made sure that for my liking it was the right time for Scott to cut it. (Side note: with Chloe whose cord was cut immediately, it took 3.5 weeks for her embelical chord stump to fall off-- a sign if an immune system deficiency. Eden's was over a week. Scarlett's fell off when she was 4 days old). About twenty minutes later my OB walked in. The on-call OB I had talked to on the phone never even made it in. 

Baby weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 oz., my biggest baby, and I didn't tear at all.

I was still wearing my shirt from home... And there was blood all over my hand... And my body was shaking harder than it may have if I was naked in Russia in January... But I was brimming with joy and felt like I had once again conquered the world! 

We named her Scarlett Elizabeth Owens. She's beautiful and we are thrilled that we have been blessed to be her stewards in this life. I love her so much already.