For this installment of getting to know my family I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Isabella (Bella). I thought I would tell you her birth story, after all she did make the newspaper over it, yep she was famous from the minute she was born! Before I start though here are just a few pictures spread out over the years from birth through Christmas 2006.
Now let’s get to know how Bella came to be. Well aside from the obvious of how she was created (if you are not aware of how that happens, well we can explain that in another blog). So she was one of those good surprises, I had missed my birth control and oops there was the 2 little lines. However we were both excited about it.
At about 12 weeks along I had some cramping and went to the restroom and passed a huge clot. I broke down into tears and called the doctor and explained what happened and my symptoms and they said that it sounded like I was miscarrying and if that was the case nothing could be done but to come in on Monday (this was friday night) for blood work and an ultrasound. I was distraught and very inconsolable over the weekend.
Come Monday I went in and they drew my blood and said they would schedule my ultrasound. Later that day they called and said my count was still very high so according to that I was still pregnant. I was so happy but scared to get too excited until after the ultrasound. I went in for my ultrasound and they saw the little peanut and heartbeat and the doctor said, well it looks like a boy again (He was right on with Aidan at 12 weeks).
I was okay with that even though I had wanted a girl I was thinking oh well I can have “my 3 sons”. Well my pregnancy went by so fast and then we found out he was a she. I had not bought anything yet and then I was a little worried to, Â because what if they were wrong again.
Fast forward 16 weeks to Friday June 17, 2005.
My mother in law had come the night before to get Aidan and Gabriel for the weekend because I was going to be induced Tuesday and we had a wedding to go to that night and it was fathers day weekend so I thought it would be nice to have one last weekend before Baby Bella arrived alone. That morning I got up and went to the mall to get a cute shirt to wear to the wedding that evening. While I was there I started having contractions, they were no more painful than the braxton hicks contractions but they were regular.
Now in my previous labor I had my first contraction (unpainful) at 10 a.m. and was not even a 1 cm and went to having him less than 3 hours later. So I am a very very fast laborer.
So when they started coming every 10 minutes, though still not hurting, I called my nurse. Knowing my past she said to go home, drink a lot of water and get off my feet but if they didn’t calm down after an hour to come. It didn’t matter if they weren’t painful at all she wanted me in. She called the hospital to let them know to keep me if I came in since my ob would not be there.
So about 4:00 I called my husband and said we need to go to the hospital because they were not slowing down. We got there about 4:45 and they check me and I was not even a 1 cm yet. So they hooked me up to all the monitors to watch me for an hour to see if I needed to stay. Â During that hour they finally started to hurt, they were short but one right on top of the each other (which is how my previous labor was). So the nurse comes in and checks me and I am still the same and I told her “This is what happened with my last labor, I was a 2 and then went from a 2 to a 9 in less than 1.5 hours.” So she left to get the doctors opinion.
She returned quickly and said “The doctor said to go ahead and send you home, you have what is called uterine irritability. They are not lasting 45 seconds so while they may hurt they are not real contractions. You need to go home take some tylenol, drink water, take a warm shower or bath and lie down and they will subside” So thinking they obviously know more than me despite feeling like  they are wrong, I decide to listen after all they have a degree and I don’t.
*Note to everyone, listen to your body*
Thinking I can deal with it for at least a bit I decide to try to do my husbands fathers day dinner before the wedding and we head to Olive Garden. Once there we get seated and before we even get our drinks I can barely breathe when one comes. So I tell my hubby “We have got to get home so I can follow there instructions and get rid of these pains”
We arrive home about 7:15 and he runs in and starts my bath, I jump in and the contractions get a tiny bit more bearable in there. He gets me my tylenol and water which I take while in the bath. I get out and head straight to the bed. By this time they are at the  I can barely breathe and please don’t speak to me level. So he starts timing them and he goes “honey they are lasting 50 seconds each” and you barely have 20 seconds between each one (man I am having deja vu at this point).
Then I get this urge like I need to go to the bathroom, so I say “Honey I really feel like I need to go to the restroom, I think I will feel better if I do“. So I sit on the toilet and then I feel a huge amount of pressure and think OMG I THINK I FEEL HER HEAD COMING. I reach down and sure enough I feel something. So I scream franticly calmly talk to hubby and say “Honey you have got to call 911 I think I feel her head coming out“. He comes into the restroom and if I wasn’t sure before, after he looked and his eyes about bugged out of his head and he turned white as a ghost I knew I was right.
So my darling hubby is on the phone with 911 and I am trying to get dressed sitting on the toilet (I only make it to getting my tank top on). Then the 911 operator starts telling him how to deliver the baby!!!!!!!!! I had to get off the toilet because obviously we didn’t want her falling into the water. I get in the recliner with just my tank top and my dh talking me through contractions and trying to hold me off from pushing. About 2 minutes passed and 5 firemen bust through our door (you lose every ounce of embarrassment in situations like this). The main one was a God send. He was very calm and talked me through everything, he told me to push when I needed to and to breath through the contractions.
They brought the stretcher in and he said “We are going to put you on the stretcher and take you to the hopital” So there I am with 5 men in my house, half naked, pushing a baby out (nice visual I know). They get me on there after a push and start to wheel me out my front door. They get the top half of my body out my door onto my walk way and my lower half is still in my house when I scream “I HAVE TO PUSH RIGHT NOW” and I did and out she came. So my little Bella was literally born on my doorstep! Â She came into this world running and hasn’t stopped since.
After the delivery that went textbook (well minus being on the doorstep with a ton of neighbors outside and firemen all around) I found out my fireman who I was sure had delivered several babies because he did absolutely wonderful, this was his very first delivery. He really should look into obstetrics, he was a natural. The story was in 2 newspapers and a magazine! So Bella was a star from the beginning!
First real hard contraction 5ish p.m. Bella born at 7:55pm.!
Now of course she is just a mess who keeps me on my toes, she is the princess of the house and she lives like it! But really who could resist this face:
This post was originally published in October 2008.
Toni Patton
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Wow girl!! I know all about them sending you home and things still continuing but mine didn’t get that far!! Bella is definitely a cutie!
Thanks 🙂
Wow, that really was a fast labor. I can’t imagine delivering like that, my poor husband would probably have passed out. LOL (I’d secretly love a home birth but midwife assisted home births are illegal here)
Wow! You’re my hero. Do you have any idea how incredibly scared I would have been? I’m not sure I would have thought to get off the toilet. That you can have contractions and logical thought at the same time amazes me. What a story.
OMG, what an amazing story. I’ve heard other mom’s stories about their fast births, but I think this goes at the top of my list. No such luck for me, lol.
She’s adorable and I love the name. She will love this story when she’s older.
Awe Bella is so beautiful and her story is too! You are much stronger then I.
OH MY GOD! That’s an amazing story! Good for you; it sounds like you held together great, I would have been freaking out!
And she is absolutely adorable!
wow! what a story! she is really precious. Thanksf or sharing her story.
WOW, Toni! That is quite a story. She is a beautiful girl!
You are such a trooper. OMG she is a precious little girl. Looks like she could really be mischevious!
She is soooo beautiful!
I definately would have been scared too!
p.s. you’ve been tagged. lol
OMG I can’t believe that! That’s so crazy I would have freaked out, I can picture my BF freaking out too. What a good husband, thank God for that fireman huh? Wow good for you.
That's incredible! Good job lady!!!
My kids were all born at hospitals (thank GOD, because I'm not as calm as you) and two out of three of my labors were nearly 24 hours, but I'm an extremely fast pusher [3 pushes with our son and 2 pushes for each girl] and this last time with The Bean the doc was in c-section and the backup doc was not in the building. I had to hold in a crowning baby for FIVE MINUTES…which of course might as well have been an eternity…
And I still think that might have been easier than having a baby on my doorstep!
Happy 4th birthday to your little girl =)
Bella is such a lil cutie. What a cool and fast labor! I thought for sure they’d send me home when I had Jayden. We only went in to have my cervix checked and I ended up staying. I labored for about 12hrs, but it didn’t seem like that long.
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Thanks Sheena, i think she is a cutie too. I wonder if with mine if I had more time to adjust to the pain if I would have dealt with it better LOL.
Thank you for sharing your story. I find stories of natural birth very interesting as I was unable to have my children naturally. C-section is the only route I have been able to take. Your Bella is very precious!
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Gosh, I was flipping through my google reader and had to do a double take when I saw the first picture, at a glance she reminded me of my Kaydee.
Honestly, I think I completely blushed reading her birth story, thinking about delivering on a door step with 5 random men. lol
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I know I was like ummm well out the door with any shame. It’s usually awkward enough in a hospital and there were more women than men, but nope all men this time…a bit unnerving until I just wanted her out LOL.
Fantastic story. You got my mind off our impending blizzard! Nothing like the entire world seeing you naked! Of course, it was for a great, adorable reason!
she is sooooooooooo cute!lol,,i love the pics
thanks,shannon
shannpf1977@yahoo.com
What a story! I have heard tons of birth stories…but none took place on a porch!
I’m so glad I clicked over to read this. I can just imagine, or well not, I can’t really. My last labor was really quick too. When it comes to our bodies and especially labor, I think we know more than the doctors a lot of times. I’m glad everything worked out and you’ll always have a story to tell Bella about her arrival!
This is a precious post! And your baby! Look at those curls! What a blessing! And glad you’re okay! It can be scary – especially when things feel out of your control! But I agree with you – we should all trust our guts and listen to our bodies!