Just Pics

A Tale Not So Ordinary

Warning: If you often find yourself thinking “Too much information!” when listening to others, I recommend that you skip this post’s text and glance only at the pictures.

This is the tale of a little boy with a big name, a little boy who took a nose-dive onto the front passenger seat of our Toyota Corolla and greeted the world for the first time. Nehemiah plunged onto my lap on May 24, 6 weeks ago exactly, on Interstate Highway 395 in Connecticut on our way to the hospital.

This is a tale not so ordinary. I arose that morning at 6:30, went downstairs to eat my usual bowl of Uncle Sam’s before hopping on the treadmill. Moments after preparing my bowl, loss of appetite gave way to mild nausea. No Uncle Sam’s meant no treadmill, so I considered preparing Nora’s bowl of oatmeal but suddenly felt physically unable to carry out this task. Three restroom breaks later (to put it politely), backache and contractions began. The time was now 7:00. By 7:15 contractions were in full swing, arresting and consuming me. I labored through a very short, hot shower and continued laboring by kneeling down on the bathroom floor, resting my head against the toilet seat. Our friend, Maria, arrived around 7:45 to take care of Nora. By around 8:10 Nathan had finished gathering our stuff to head to the hospital. I pleaded with him, “Call 911. Call an ambulance.” Involuntarily, my body had already begun pushing. With calm optimism and determination, Nathan responded, “No. We’re going to make it the hospital. You can do this.” He scooped me up and led me out to the car. I proceeded laboring in the car, gripping the small storage compartment against the front passenger side door. My seat remained upright, my feet on the ground. I inhaled. I exhaled. I grunted. Nathan made three phone calls to my OB’s office. The first call, from home, announced that I had gone into labor. On road 69 after feeling a pop and a warm gush, I screamed, “Something broke, Nathan.” Now the second call announced that we would be heading to labor and delivery instead of the OB office as advised by the nurse over the phone. Nathan made his third call right after the contraction that caused me to push the baby’s head out as I hoisted myself up against the back of my seat in fear of squishing the little human. At that point, I yelled, “I can feel it. I can feel it,” as Nathan sped down the highway at 70 miles per hour. Nathan felt our baby’s head, pulled my yoga maternity pants down to my knees and dialed a third time. “Hi. We’re actually going to the emergency room. I can feel the baby’s head.” Ignoring my pleas to stop the car, our fearless (and wise) driver, pressed his foot more firmly against the gas pedal, assuring me that we were just two exits away. Just before we made a right turn for our exit came another violent contraction, a ring of fire and…the inevitable…a full-bodied, warm baby attached to me by umbilical cord. The baby managed to slide through my underwear leg hole and landed on my left thigh. No crying, just a mild wriggle. Approximately 2 to 4 minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital’s emergency room. Nathan bolted from the car, running around the front to my side. He looked at the baby and announced, “It’s a boy, Zuly!” Still rattled, I asked, “It’s a boy? It’s a boy?” He lifted the baby onto my tummy, and I held our little Nehemiah for the first time. Then arrived many doctors and nurses. My OB had Nathan cut the umbilical cord. Someone cut my pants and underwear off with scissors, lifted me unto a stretcher, placed Nehemiah on my tummy, covered us with blankets and wheeled us up to labor and delivery where Nehemiah and I were cleaned up, my placenta was delivered and my third degree laceration was sewn. We were done by 10:30. We believe Nehemiah was born at approximately 8:41 that morning. My labor was precipitous, the kind of labor described by the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book as only happening in movies.

Our most harrowing car ride yet brought us a second bundle of joy. We give thanks to God for protecting all of us, especially Nehemiah.