Katelyn Gannon

When I was pregnant, I loved reading about birth and hearing about other people’s experiences. Labor and delivery is something you’re not really interested in until you’re pregnant, and I wanted to know what I was in for! Once I was pregnant, I began reading all about pregnancy and talking to moms about their delivery and what to expect. I loved reading scripture and praying over every body part as it was forming.

No one can truly prepare you for birth. Zion’s birth was unlike any story I had read! SO maybe my story will help a mom know a bit what to look for if she isn’t feeling those typical cues that “hey, your baby is coming”. 🙂 Here we go…details and all!

I woke up on September 4th feeling good. I had a chill work day and thought “hey, this is a nice day to get some errands done!” I remember thinking that few are the days before Zion comes where I will have an afternoon to myself to just drive around. I grabbed some coffee and lunch, went to Hobby Lobby to get scrapbooking supplies to make Zion’s baby book (I wasn’t finding one I loved online so I’m DIY’ing – I’ll share pics when it’s complete), ran to Goodwill for used towels and bed sheets (a home birth must and thank God I did it then!) and treated myself to a Chik-Fil-A lemonade before coming home! So refreshing. I remember someone asked me at Goodwill how far along I was and I said, “38 weeks so baby has a couple more weeks.” How crazy to think he came early that next morning. I got home later afternoon and was still feeling good. It wasn’t until the evening that things started to change.

I was making stuffed bell peppers for dinner when I felt a pain surge down my thigh. I squared and thought “well, that was weird.” I had seen the chiropractor the day before to relieve some of the pressure off my hips. So when I felt that pain in my leg I thought baby must have just moved onto a nerve. I popped the bell peppers in the oven and decided to take a bath to help relax my muscles.

In the bathtub, I began to feel this pain that was radiating from my crotch down. I called my sister and we realized (thanks, Google) it was called “lightening crotch.” Saying it was not a sign a labor, it just meant baby has descended and is putting pressure on my cervix or the nerves around the cervix.

Through all this I’m thinking I’m getting closer to labor, but believing we were still a couple weeks out, at least!

I got out of the tub, ate a stuffed bell pepper, and laid down on the couch, hoping the pain would soon go away. It’s around 6:30-7pm at this point. Note: I’m a pretty optimistic person. I stayed in this state of “the pain will go away soon…” for hours. 🙂

Soon these pains that were radiating from my crotch began to shoot down both my thighs every several minutes. 

I couldn’t do anything to relieve the pain. Brett stretched out my legs and began massaging my thighs. Nothing helped. I tried inversions, and ended up throwing up. I didn’t think this was because I was in labor… but because I just ate dinner and thought my stomach was just upset.

So I stayed on the couch and experienced that pain for awhile. Brett and I both felt helpless and it was emotionally exhausting. We were doing our best to figure it out and pray throughout. I told Brett that if this wasn’t labor pain then what could it be?? What is the purpose of this pain? I didn’t think nerve pain could be so bad. He suggested that maybe this was labor, but I told him this is unlike anything I’ve read. I wasn’t experiencing back labor and my stomach wasn’t contracting. We prayed and the pain left my crotch. It now just existed in my thighs. Note: It’s normal for first time moms to labor awhile and to also deliver past due date. I was prepared to go late, as my mom did. So to be in labor 12 days early was just not on my radar.

We ended up calling our midwife, Caitlin. I think this was close to 10pm. I told Brett I need someone to know how much pain I’m in. I need a professional opinion. She was unsure why the sudden pain as I was not having normal contractions. That seemed to concern her so she told us to keep an eye on it. It was our choice if we wanted to head to the ER. Neither of us wanted to. I didn’t think I could get off the couch and walk down the stairs anyways. I told Brett, “I’m calling the chiropractor first thing in the morning!”

Brett had 2 busy work days back to back so he was exhausted. He went to lay down in bed around midnight, and told me to call for him if I needed him. I remained laying down on the couch, on my side and grasping the cushion tight when I felt the surge of pain down my thigh. I tried not to yell out so Brett could sleep but it was so hard, I felt I could not do anything else. I quoted scripture, prayed, and spoke in tongues when I felt the pain come. I matched my prayers with the same intensity as the pain. I thought, surely this pain will go away by morning. If I can just fall asleep, baby will move off the nerve, I’ll wake up and things will be better.

Then we had a moment.

A moment of great intensity that I yelled out for Brett. I asked, “why are these surges intensifying?” I was sweaty and shivering at this point. When I said surges Brett realized that they could be contractions. We called Caitlin and I remember she asked Brett, “can Katelyn still feel the baby?” Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about that. The pain was so intense I wasn’t thinking if I could feel Zion or not. I wasn’t sure if I could feel him move. I then needed help standing to get to the bathroom to pee. I had lost my mucus plug! With Caitlin still on the phone, she told Brett to grab the Q-tip in our birth kit and to swab the fluid. If the Q-tip turns blue, I’m in labor. It was indeed amniotic fluid! She told us to start timing the contractions (the surges in my thighs) and to report back in 30 minutes. Caitlin began to get ready at that point!

The thought of I’m in labor really didn’t hit me at that point. The pain was so intense, I felt a bit delirious as I hadn’t gotten any sleep. Not like I was in denial; I just couldn’t fully grasp that this is it!

Some may be reading this and say, “how could you not know you were in labor?”

I had never heard of “leg labor” and I assumed a tell tale sign or labor would be my water breaking… which hadn’t happened yet.

So Brett got on his phone and started to time the contractions. Trying to communicate when they were starting and when they were tapering off, I told Brett – “you’ll know when I call out that they’re starting…” and “they just keep coming… I’m barely getting any relief.” Everything ramped up pretty quickly.

At this point, they were already at a minute apart, lasting for about a minute. I then began to feel my stomach starting to contract, all on its own.

“Brett, I need to go to the bathroom.”

I genuinely thought I needed to use the bathroom — not push out a baby. Brett helped me to the toilet and said, “Let me just see what’s going on down here.” Then in the next breath: “Holy crap! You’re crowning! You are not sitting on a toilet.”

Prior to this moment I thought I would want to deliver Zion in bed but no way was I laying down again. Brett filled the bathtub with warm water and I got in on all floors. I was ready!

Shortly after getting in the tub our midwife’s assistant arrived. She offered to check me but I refused. Since I could feel Zion’s head (he was hiding behind his sack), I knew I was already at 10 cm and could push whenever I wanted. I was just listening to my body for when. She suggested I change position so that when I birth Zion he wouldn’t hit air first, then water. But come out in the water first, then air. I remember thinking, “why is she trying to have a conversation with me right now” LOL. I told her I was about to give a big push, then maybe I’ll switch position.

I gave a big push and in a moment, Zion’s entire precious… wet.. body emerged! My midwife walked in just as I was pushing him out and called for Brett! Thankfully I had the assistant to help hold Zion because I was not expecting him to be so slippery. It was such a wild moment!

Zion arrived at 4:39 a.m., weighing 9 lbs. 4oz and 21in long. As I birthed his head, his sack broke! Zion had such a calm presence. I was in shock for probably the entire day! I couldn’t believe he was here. It’s not the way I expected his birth to go, but I thank God that he knew the strong contractions in my thighs were needed to bring Zion down and out! It was a pretty quick birth and throughout the Lord’s goodness abounded. The midwives called it “supernatural.”

“Before she goes into labor,
    she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
    she delivers a son.
⁸ Who has ever heard of such things?
    Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
    than she gives birth to her children.
⁹ Do I bring to the moment of birth
    and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
    when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
¹⁰ “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
    all you who mourn over her.
¹¹ For you will nurse and be satisfied
    at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
    and delight in her overflowing abundance.”
Isaiah 66 NIV