Baby's Birth Date: May 25, 2007
Baby's Weight: 7 pounds, 4.7 ounces
Baby's Height: 18 3/4 inches
Mechanicsburg, PA

It runs in the family... I was born at home because my mom didn't make it to the hospital! With just 30 minutes to spare, I almost had the same fate.”

“I was at week 38, and I started having irregular contractions around 10 p.m. They came every 10 minutes, then 4, then 7, then 12, then 5 then 8. They never did come with any regularity! I finally called the on-call doctor (Nurse Mid-Wife Diane Dupont) around 1 a.m., and we left for the hospital at 1:30 a.m. when my in-laws arrived to stay with our 2-year-old."

“My husband drove the 25 minutes to Harrisburg with the 4-ways on, driving 80 MPH! He dropped me off at the ER and went to park the car. I walked (yes, walked!) into the ER, onto the elevator, and down the corridor to Labor and Delivery. After casually hooking me up to the machines, the nurses realized my contractions were coming fast and furious! ‘Get Diane! She's in a lot of pain!’ they said. When Ms. Dupont checked me, I was 10 cm. ‘You can start pushing when you're ready!’ she said calmly. ‘Get me the epidural man!’ I groaned.”

"’Oh, honey, there's not time for that.’ Just then my water broke and I instantly felt the need to push, but I didn't want to. I was so scared of the pain. The 2 nurses and Ms. Dupont were so reassuring and calm. Ryan burst into the world after only a few pushes at 2:25 AM, just 25 minutes after I walked through the doors of the ER.”

“I never would have been able to have an unplanned natural childbirth without the caring nurses and Diane telling me what to do and trying to keep me calm.”