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A birth Story with a Surprise but a Great Happy ending!!..
Alexandria Royall wanted her first baby to be born naturally - drug free, without any epidural or scary needles.
And the Glouster resident got what she wanted - sort of. It wasn't exactly how she had imagined it, though. Her newborn daughter, Gabriella, was born in the toilet.
Royall was by herself on Jan. 6. The labor pains she had felt all day she confused with false labor pains, also known as Braxton Hicks contractions.
Royall was on the toilet when her baby started to emerge. In shock, Royall stood up and Gabriella fell into the basin.
"I thought, 'Oh my god, this is some kind of dream,'" Royall remembered. "I had to keep asking myself, 'Is this really real?'"
The cries of her newborn were enough to make Royall realize this was reality. She called her boyfriend, who was away from the phone working on a car with his father and didn't get the message until an hour later. When he arrived, he saw blood and the placenta on the carpet and feared the worse, Royall said. But the baby was healthy.
Doctors said things could have indeed gone worse, Royall said. The umbilical cord ripped as the baby was born, and Royall said doctors told her she and the baby could have easily bled to death. But luckily for her, the cord ripped in the right spot and no substantial bleeding took place.
Royall confused those labor pains with false labor pains because they didn't seem to follow any pattern as described in a book she read to prepare for the birth. Royall said she was very tired the whole day. Another birth had taken place in the house that morning - her dog, Dot, gave birth to eight puppies at 5 a.m., an ordeal that exhausted Royall. She didn't have anybody to time her contractions, which made it difficult to tell the false labor pains from the real thing, she explained.
"I thought the pain was that bad only because I was tired," Royall said. "I didn't think the pains were following any kind of pattern. I thought I had to use the bathroom."
Royall was also very concerned about her baby's head, which hit the basin of the toilet as she was born. Doctors felt Gabriella's skull and reassured her that the infant's skull was fine. The baby had some breathing difficulty, however, and was sent to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus for observation.
Gabriella is now home and healthy.
"She's a good, healthy baby," Royall proudly said as she cradled Gabriella in her arms. "It's good to be a mother. I am glad I finally get to see her, but I don't sleep much these days. I only get to sleep when she sleeps."
Was she scared giving birth all alone?
"I couldn't panic," Royall said. "I was by myself. There wasn't anybody to panic to. It wasn't too big of a deal, not as much as everybody is making it out to be. I had to do it. I was supposed to.
"I'm just glad she's OK," Royall added.
And the Glouster resident got what she wanted - sort of. It wasn't exactly how she had imagined it, though. Her newborn daughter, Gabriella, was born in the toilet.
Royall was by herself on Jan. 6. The labor pains she had felt all day she confused with false labor pains, also known as Braxton Hicks contractions.
Royall was on the toilet when her baby started to emerge. In shock, Royall stood up and Gabriella fell into the basin.
"I thought, 'Oh my god, this is some kind of dream,'" Royall remembered. "I had to keep asking myself, 'Is this really real?'"
The cries of her newborn were enough to make Royall realize this was reality. She called her boyfriend, who was away from the phone working on a car with his father and didn't get the message until an hour later. When he arrived, he saw blood and the placenta on the carpet and feared the worse, Royall said. But the baby was healthy.
Doctors said things could have indeed gone worse, Royall said. The umbilical cord ripped as the baby was born, and Royall said doctors told her she and the baby could have easily bled to death. But luckily for her, the cord ripped in the right spot and no substantial bleeding took place.
Royall confused those labor pains with false labor pains because they didn't seem to follow any pattern as described in a book she read to prepare for the birth. Royall said she was very tired the whole day. Another birth had taken place in the house that morning - her dog, Dot, gave birth to eight puppies at 5 a.m., an ordeal that exhausted Royall. She didn't have anybody to time her contractions, which made it difficult to tell the false labor pains from the real thing, she explained.
"I thought the pain was that bad only because I was tired," Royall said. "I didn't think the pains were following any kind of pattern. I thought I had to use the bathroom."
Royall was also very concerned about her baby's head, which hit the basin of the toilet as she was born. Doctors felt Gabriella's skull and reassured her that the infant's skull was fine. The baby had some breathing difficulty, however, and was sent to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus for observation.
Gabriella is now home and healthy.
"She's a good, healthy baby," Royall proudly said as she cradled Gabriella in her arms. "It's good to be a mother. I am glad I finally get to see her, but I don't sleep much these days. I only get to sleep when she sleeps."
Was she scared giving birth all alone?
"I couldn't panic," Royall said. "I was by myself. There wasn't anybody to panic to. It wasn't too big of a deal, not as much as everybody is making it out to be. I had to do it. I was supposed to.
"I'm just glad she's OK," Royall added.
Sheila- Oh yeah, me too. I wasn't about to go anywhere with all that mess running down my legs, the only problem is it kept coming and coming after I would get out of the shower! My sister and sister-in-law kept trying to get me to hurry the heck up and I was like Ohhhh NO.. I am not going anywhere like this!! hehehe
hehehehe and Shey was the prettiest girl at the delivery room!!!!
lol ;)
lol ;)
Silly me when my water broke I got up and took a shower and dried my hair LOL...thankfully I had 6 hours before she was born :O)
Well I always have had a history of my water breaking at home, so living out in the boonies does kind of scare me! My husband is working 2 hours away now so he has an apartment there that he stays at while working, but has cut his days down so he isn't gone so long. But let me tell you, he put all of our neighbors on speed dial and informed them that if I call at 3:30 am they need to wake the heck up and drive me to the hospital! He is planning on taking off a couple weeks and not going back for a few after I have the baby but you never know when you have a history like mine when the baby is actually going to decide to come! All I can do is pray and wait! hehe
Years ago, I worked in a medical office with a teenage intern who managed to hide her pregnancy through the whole 9 months! One day she was having severe GI pains, and all the nurses were trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She eventually locked herself in the bathroom and went into labor before anyone figured it out. The nurses finally got the door open and delivered the baby over the toilet!
It goes to show you the power of denial and pre-disposed ideas. She worked with medical doctors and nurses every day, who were so convinced that she was this nice, Catholic girl, that they completely overlooked the signs of her pregnancy (as did her family!)
It goes to show you the power of denial and pre-disposed ideas. She worked with medical doctors and nurses every day, who were so convinced that she was this nice, Catholic girl, that they completely overlooked the signs of her pregnancy (as did her family!)
my oh my... I have heard of that happening . on my first child, my water broke. and I went in right away and ugh.... soooo many hours later they ended up having to induce... for the safty of the baby.
I always said if I ever have another one, Im not going in so fast... perhaps now.... I will, smile and with the help of the eperdural! going as a weeeeenie these days!!! I want to fill NOTHIN lol
I always said if I ever have another one, Im not going in so fast... perhaps now.... I will, smile and with the help of the eperdural! going as a weeeeenie these days!!! I want to fill NOTHIN lol
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