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A mom has relived the dramatic moment when, just over an hour after collecting her three-year-old daughter from daycare, she lay down on her bedroom floor and delivered her baby sister.
When heavily pregnant Serena Nicholls, 24, felt a few twinges of pain as she walked five minutes up the road to pick up Hailie, three, on April 8, she thought little of it.
But things moved at lightning speed and, luckily, her kids' dad, recruitment worker Mike Rolls, 26, and his sister Kerrylee were on hand to help when Serena returned home to their house in Newbury, Berkshire, England and realized her baby was coming – fast!
While they were on the phone to paramedics and trying to keep her calm, she felt the urge to push and out popped Callie, who is now a bouncing seven-month-old baby.
Recalling the remarkable moment, Serena said: “Mike was on the phone to paramedics, and Kerrylee was there too, getting towels and helping me lie down on my bedroom floor.
“While Mike was talking to the emergency operator, who was telling him what to do, I reached down and realized I could feel Callie's head."
She continued: “I then got this rush of adrenaline and a huge urge to push and thought, 'This is it.' With one push, her head was out and with another, her body, then I reached down, picked her up and scooped her into my arms.
“When I look back now and think that I delivered my own baby, I feel so proud of myself. It was such an empowering moment, and best of all, Hailie was able to meet her sister just seconds after she was born.
“She'd been in the other room, but came in as soon as she heard a cry. It was such a heartwarming moment."
Serena, who is currently on maternity leave from her job at Benefit cosmetics company, is no stranger to a dramatic birth, as Hailie's arrival into the world was equally action-packed.
On the evening of February 13, 2016, she started feeling pains and suspected they were the beginning of labor, so went to Reading's Royal Berkshire Hospital, just to be on the safe side.
On examining her, midwives found her to be 1cm dilated, meaning it was too early for her labor to be considered established – which, according to the NHS, happens after women reach 3cm dilated.
Advised to go home and try to rest, Serena said: “Being a hormonal, pregnant woman, I barely got any rest. I was tossing and turning.
“I was in a little pain, but it wasn't unbearable, and I kept thinking, 'Surely it will get worse, and that's when I'll know it's time to go back to hospital.'
“It was my first baby, so I had no idea what to expect. Little did I know, I was actually right in the middle of labor and would be giving birth very soon."
In the early hours of the next morning – February 14 – she was struck by a sudden urge to push.
“I thought I just needed the toilet, but as soon as I stood up out of bed, my waters went," she said.
Raising the alarm, Serena shouted for her mom, Madalyn, 54, who she was living with at the time.
But panic set in when they realized Hailie was breech, meaning she had not moved into a head-down position, but was feet first instead.
Serena recalled: “Mum phoned 999 and the operator was trying to keep her calm, telling her what to do.
“I was crouched over on the floor in the bathroom, and could feel her feet coming out of me first. Mum then got onto the floor with me and, with the help of her partner at the time, delivered Hailie."
“She was born at 2:32am – just 20 minutes after my waters had broken. The paramedics arrived about 10 minutes after her delivery and came running up the stairs with gas and air.
“Then they saw me sitting there with a baby in my arms and said, 'Guess you won't need this.'"
As precaution, because Hailie had been born breech, both mum and baby were taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital to be checked over.
Thankfully, they were both completely fine, and were discharged two days later.
“When I think how dangerous breech deliveries can be, I know how lucky I was," added Serena.
And when she fell pregnant with Callie in late 2018, Serena was sure that, once again, she wanted a home birth.
She continued: “People kept telling me that labor is quicker the second time round, so for one thing, I wasn't sure if I'd make it to hospital in time – but I also wanted to be at home where I could feel calm and relaxed."
In the days leading up to Callie's due date – April 8, which is also Mike's birthday – Serena had been feeling the odd twinge.
As the sensation was not especially painful, she assumed it was Braxton Hicks contractions, which are also known as false labor pains and occur when the womb contracts and relaxes.
According to the baby charity Tommy's, they are completely normal, and usually felt in the second or third trimester.
But as the day progressed, the contraction-like feelings grew painful, so Serena had an at-home visit from her midwife where, at 2cm dilated, she was not found to be in established labor.
“My midwife said to me as she was leaving, 'Try not to have a baby tonight,' as she wouldn't be on call," she laughed.
“As it was Mike's birthday too, he had his family round that afternoon, and at about 5:30pm, I headed out to get Hailie from nursery," she continued.
“On the walk, I had to keep stopping as the pains were getting worse. I said to myself, 'As soon as I get in, I'm going to time them to see how close together they are.'
“When I did, they were just two minutes apart, which meant I was almost ready to push."
In a bid to calm herself down, Serena ran a bath, phoning the hospital as she climbed in.
She continued: “They told me that they would have a midwife with me within 30 minutes – but then, in the bath as I was on the phone to them, my waters broke. I knew then that 30 minutes wasn't soon enough. I grabbed a towel and went through to the lounge to get Mike and his sister.
“They were amazing, helping me through to the bedroom and getting towels for me to lie down on. Mike was straight on the phone to the paramedics too, who I could hear telling him what to do."
At 6:53pm that evening, Callie was born, with Serena delivering her and pulling her straight up into her arms.
Moments later, hearing the newborn's cry, Hailie came through to meet her sister.
“She had been in another room so she didn't see me in distress or pain – she just saw her sister," recalled Serena. “It was an amazing moment. She said, 'It's a baby.' It was so sweet."
She added: “I can't describe what it feels like to hear that first cry. It's a relief that you know the baby is okay and also there's this huge rush of love."
Just like with Hailie, the paramedics arrived minutes after the birth, checking Callie and Serena over at home.
Thankfully, they were perfectly healthy and the family are now looking forward to their first Christmas as a four.
Serena, who said that she drank raspberry leaf tea with Hailie and took capsules with Callie, which are thought to bring tone the uterus muscles to help them work more efficiently during labour, concluded: “Whenever I tell this story, people say I'm brave, but I think I was just lucky. You do hear stories of births going very wrong, so I feel incredibly fortunate.
“I also didn't have much of a choice. I was just following what my body told me, and when it urged me to push, I pushed. Every birth is different and home births aren't for everyone, but mine were unforgettable – plus my mum, Mike and Kerrylee were amazing at keeping me calm.
“The girls have such a lovely bond now, too. They are like two peas in a pod."