My Fourth Birth Story

By Claire C. McKiernan

          From the moment our kids knew I was having another baby, Christina, our six-year-old, was begging for a baby sister. I had failed her twice before, so here was my big opportunity to make her dreams come true. As we hadn’t known the gender of any of our previous babies, she would have to wait for the baby’s birthday. I assured her that even if it was another brother, she would love him just fine. We took the kids to see room #3, the Peach Room, at the WBWC, where they had all been born. Christina requested a bed birth, like her, not a tub birth, like Tom and Pete. I told her I planned on having a water birth, but we would see. Happily, all the kids were very excited about having a new baby in the family.

On February 4, 2010, I had my 40-week appointment with Leigh Ann, and while I was on the exam table, she told me I was having a contraction. She asked if I had noticed when my belly became very hard and then gradually softened again. I had noticed this, but I, the experienced preggie that I was, had not realized what was happening. I couldn’t even feel it happening; I only noticed it if I had my hand on my belly when it became hard. Of course, once it was pointed out to me, I became super-aware of these mild contractions. On the ride home, my hands never left my belly, and I happily pointed out contractions to my husband every 5-15 minutes. 

          That evening the contractions subsided for about two hours, but resumed when I went to bed. At 4:30 the next morning, I woke up with a noticeably stronger contraction. This continued every five minutes, and I realized this was going to be the baby’s birthday! Amazingly, this was also my estimated due date, and only 5% of babies arrive on their due date. What a cooperative kid!

At 6:30 a.m., I phoned the WBWC and spoke to Allison. She told me that since this was my fourth time around, it could be irregular and to judge my progress by the strength of the contractions and not the length or time between contractions. She would be getting off duty at 8 a.m., and Jewell would be taking the next shift.

          By this time the kids were waking up, and Christina, who had turned seven-years-old a month earlier, was getting ready for school. I looked nervously out the window. It was snowing and sleeting. At least with this pregnancy we only had a half-hour’s drive to the WBWC. We had moved after the third baby and were now next door to my parents’-- a huge help after having the first three children in the space of four years!

The weather outside didn’t look friendly, and school was cancelled. I told Mike that we might be better off leaving early rather than late. By the time we loaded everyone in the car to be dropped off with my dad, it was close to 8 a.m. My contractions were getting strong and fast. I sat in the car while Mike unloaded the kids, and then I felt a “pop!”

Uh-oh.

We had made it all of 400 feet or so along our trip before my water broke. Fortunately, I was sitting on a water-proof crib mattress protector for just that reason. Finally, with Mike behind the wheel and my mom in the backseat, we were on our way. Each contraction was preceded by a gush of warm water that I could feel flowing over my thighs. I concentrated deeply while Mike tried to keep from sliding off the icy roads, and my mom prayed silently in the back.

This ride was taking too long, and I wondered if I was going to make it. I mentally prepared by envisioning giving birth in the car or trying to figure out which of the homes we passed might have someone willing to let me in.

In Chapel Hill it was only raining. I relaxed, slightly, and told myself: we only have about 10 minutes to go; if I have the urge to push, I can somehow wait until we get there.

I got out of the car in the cold pouring rain, with considerable help from my husband. While we inched toward the door, my mom ran ahead to open the birthing room door. It was locked and no one answered, so she ran upstairs to alert the staff (who had thankfully started work for the day). Maureen met us downstairs, closely followed by Jewell.  I was in the birth center at 8:53am.

As Maureen helped to peel off my wet jeans, she noticed meconium running down my leg and told me she didn’t want me having a water birth. At this point I didn’t care. I begged her to stay with me and somehow got on the bed, on my side, propped up with pillows. I had four hard, fast, contractions, followed by a small urge to push. Immediately following that, I had a tremendous urge to push. Three pushing contractions later, at 9:08 a.m., I gave birth to our fourth baby.

I heard Maureen say something about putting “him” on my chest, but when I looked, I announced, “It’s a girl!”

Maureen said, “Oh, is it? I didn’t even look!” For some reason, she had been under the impression I was having a boy. It had been seven years since I held a baby girl in my arms, and I was ecstatic to find that we had just “evened out” the family. Rosemary Claire weighed 10 lbs, matching her big brother Peter, three years earlier.

 “Hey guys, you have a baby sister!” I joyfully announced via speaker phone.

Above the din we could hear Christina shouting, “My prayers worked! They really worked!”

She had finally gotten her baby sister, born on the same bed as her, in the same room as all of our children. We couldn’t be happier.