My son and his family live 35 minutes from us. The hospital they had chosen for the birth of their third baby was also a half-hour away. It was five days to due date, and my daughter-in-law was dilated 3 cm. She was uncomfortable but had no regular contractions. Her husband had a 24-hour paramedic shift, far from the home front. We all agreed it was prudent for La Familia to stay at Grandpa and Grandma’s house—15 minutes from the hospital. Who would have guess the baby would desire Grandma’s carpet.
I said goodnight to the mother-to-be at 10 pm. Close to midnight I heard her weakly calling my name from the basement stairs: “Cindy, my water has broken.”
I peered down at her from the stairs’ railing: “Okay, I’ll hurry and get dressed.”
My husband and I had a quick conversation about who would go to the hospital and who would stay home with the other children. No one was eager to get into the car.
I found my daughter-in-law at the top of the stairs, lying on the floor. She had crawled up!
“Ouch, ouch, ow.”
“Can you get up?” I said, hoping.
“I don’t think so. I think the baby is coming?”
“Could we help you into the car or should I call 911?”
Long pause.
“Call 911,” she said, resignedly.
I got on the phone with the dispatcher and explained the situation. She asked the tortuous questions. “Who was I? Where was the mother-to-be? How far along?” And finally the liberating statement that for a second made me feel good: “The ambulance is on the way.”
But then the 911 lady ruined my relief: “Has the baby crowned?”
“I don’t know.” I muttered dumbfounded. “Just a minute.”
My daughter-in-law and I quickly removed her pants. Surveying her, I reported into the phone, “No.”
I realized it might be good to get a blanket. With phone in hand, I ran to grab the comforter from the master bedroom. My husband had already gotten an orange sofa pillow. I was totally unaware of him.
As I tucked the comforter awkwardly under her I freaked out into the phone: “She is crowning! I see the head!”
My daughter-in-law pleaded. “I want to push. Where is the ambulance?”
“Don’t push!” I said firmly. “The ambulance is almost here.”
The dispatcher said something like I should gently press my fingers on the crown to keep the baby in. I had no idea how to do that! I tried halfheartedly, but decided I did not want to hurt the baby’s head.
I did want to run to the kitchen sink and sterilize my hands if I needed to catch the baby. But I couldn’t leave. I was sitting on the floor with my legs apart and hands open under my daughter-in-law’s legs.
“Hold on!” I pleaded. “I see the ambulance lights!”
At this point, husband was outside moving a car and flagging the fire truck and ambulance, the C Shift team of Colorado Springs’ Fire Station 16. God bless them!
My daughter-in-law raised her head toward the window, “I see the lights. Oh, this hurts!”
A smiling firefighter–Sue Richardson–led the emergency team of six through our front door. She looked like an angel! Gladly, I hopped up to let her take my spot on the floor.
“We are so glad to see you!”
In one second Firefighter Richardson announced, “Okay, we are going to deliver a baby here. Get me the equipment.”
Quickly, I set down the phone (never saying good-bye) and moved behind my daughter-in-law’s head, holding her hand. “You are doing great! It’s going to be all right.”
During this chaos, cats Sergeant Major and Speckles, at different times, swaggered into the crowd. “Could you remove the cat, please,” an irritated someone requested twice. Husband immediately was on it.
Sue put on blue gloves and laid out some flimsy, sterilized, paper. Assisting her were firefighters Andy Chavez, Steve Jankowski and Vance Clear, as well as AMR paramedics Brittany Via and Sean Keating.
“Okay, push,” Sue said.
My daughter-in-law grimaced and did one push and relaxed.
“Good,” said Sue. “Okay, again.”
“This time she pushed a little harder and at 12:09 a.m., out came a slippery,
perfectly formed baby: 20 inches long and over seven pounds.
“She’s beautiful! You did great!” I cried, marveling at new life and our unusual circumstances. Who knows! This little girl could be the next U.S. president born at home!
Sue and Brittany clamped the umbilical chord and wrapped our new family member in a blanket. The baby made some gasping sounds. Brittany and Sean used a syringe to clear the mouth and check vitals. Quickly, there was a small, solid cry. Already, a little mouth was rooting to nurse and her hand was moving to her face. Hearing my voice as I peered at her, she even tried to open her eyes, but then the camera flashed. She really was a beauty, but her face was so purple. Later, I learned the bruising resulted from coming out of the birth canal so fast—not uncommon. But at the time I nervously wanted to rush her to the hospital. The calm crew was just doing their routine; checking for vital signs and reassuring us.
Mom held baby for a moment and phoned “Daddy” with the good news. We learned he had graduated as a paramedic with Brittany and Sean, just nine months earlier. Sean even texted him to tell him he was on this call.
Before we could head to the hospital the placenta also had to arrive—it took about 20 minutes. They called it at 12:29 a.m. During the wait, my husband and I took turns holding our granddaughter and snapping photos.
I went to the bathroom, knowing I might not get a chance at the hospital. Here was a quiet moment. I recalled holding my other two grandchildren for the first time and being able to pray a blessing over each of them. This birth was different. There just wasn’t enough time to piece together any sensible words. An official grandmother’s blessing would have to wait. “Lord, all I can think of is the song, ‘I’m a little teapot, short and stout, here is my handle, here is my spout.’”
Crazy? Yes! I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Later, my daughter-in-law told her mom by phone: “Yeah, Cindy was like super woman.” That was the best compliment. One never knows how one will respond in an emergency.
At the hospital, all went well. I was a little sad the nurse had to ask admission questions like, “Has anyone in your household threatened you physically or verbally? Are you suicidal or depressed? Do you smoke, drink or take drugs? What form of birth control do you plan to use?” It seemed wrong that harsher possibilities were already tainting an atmosphere of joy for this new life.
Baby and Mom were given matching ID bracelets, and Baby Boyll received her first jewelry, a bright green ankle bracelet, coded to a computerized lock down if someone tried to whisk her away. The nurse reassured that this had not happened in the many years she had been there.
Next, I was able to watch my granddaughter receive her first bath in the nurse’s nursery. “They don’t like baths,” warned Nurse Kathleen. She checked all the vitals as baby lay sleeping peacefully on her back under a heat lamp. Also, under heat lights were two little boys, snoozing away. These three newborns were as fresh as they could be! I marveled that they looked so similar with their diapered baby bodies and clamped belly buttons. Yet, they were quite different in head shape, hair, fingers, feet, DNA. What bundles of potentiality!
Our baby protested her washcloth scrub on the face, under her armpits, all over. Her baby hair was given its first shampoo. She was screaming robustly. And then the nurse put her in a pink tub of warm water to rinse her off. Immediately baby was quiet—ah, familiar, warm wetness. 
The nurse bundled her in sleeper and blanket, and crowned her head with a pink crocheted cap. After this work out, the little one snoozed in her crib on wheels. We rolled her back to room 3037.
I told my daughter-in-law to get some rest if she could. She had done great. Then I drove home at 5 am as the sun began to shine. It was a brand new day, and a beautiful new person lived in the world. Life was extra good!
