By Mike Genet
The Examiner
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — On this October afternoon, things at the Riley household in Independence are normal for having a newborn. Bassinet and baby recliner in the cozy but tidy living room; various baby-related items next to the couch and in the kitchen; and little Shay Riley with open eyes cooing lightly as his mother cradles him.
“He’s actually a really easy baby,” Jacqueline said. “Not really fussy.”
Four weeks earlier, though, the scene quickly became chaotic and a bit nerve-wracking for Shay’s parents, Jacqueline and Jonathan.
Jacqueline, a first-time mother, had been scheduled for C-section on Sept. 21 because Shay was in breech position, meaning he was poised to come out feet first. Other than that, it had been smooth and unexciting pregnancy.
Four days before the scheduled procedure, though, Shay decided quite suddenly he was ready to be born, and Jacqueline gave birth in the living room only minutes after Independence firefighters and paramedics hurriedly arrived.
The emergency responders had to contend with Shay’s umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, and after he was born he was whisked away to the hospital. But by evening, mother and son were fine and Shay’s parents had quite the story they could freely share.
Two weeks ago, the parents brought Shay to Independence Fire Station 1 to meet the men and woman who helped him enter the world safely and were recognized at the City Council meeting that evening.
“They want me to bring him back when he’s able to walk and climb,” Jacqueline said. “He already has an in at the fire station.”
Jacqueline had been experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions (false, early and usually less painful contractions) but nothing abnormal, she said, before Sept. 17. When contractions picked up that day, though, she messaged Jonathan at work and said she was going to Centerpoint Medical Center. She checked in about 11 a.m., but the contractions never progressed and she didn’t appear to be any closer to labor.
“I got there just in time for her to be discharged (at 2:30 p.m.),” Jonathan said.
Back home, Jacqueline decided to try taking a nap as her discomfort continued. Then, at 4:15 p.m., her water broke.
“I went to the bathroom to get some towels, and I felt something starting to come out,” she said. Jonathan called 911, and when first responders arrived at 4:19 they found Jacqueline in the living room and immediately recognized this wouldn’t be a normal pre-birth transport. Shay’s feet and lower legs had started to appear.
“I asked if they were taking me to the hospital, and they said, “Uh, no, we’re going to have the baby right here.
“They said I sounded calm, but I don’t remember feeling that way. I’ll be honest, when my water broke and felt something coming out, my optimism was not high.”
“I get all the dogs put away because I think we’re going to the hospital,” Jonathan said. “I’m just thinking, ‘Don’t freak out,’ because that doesn’t help anything. It doesn’t help her or help them. Be out of the way, but be present.”
One of the firefighters reached in with his fingers to keep the umbilical cord off Shay’s neck. With one shoulder out, Jacqueline stopped contracting – her body perhaps thinking Shay was already out. Only when she pushed out the placenta did Shay come completely out right before.
“I didn’t even see him or hear him,” Jacqueline said. “That’s the one thing I wish (was different), but I’d much rather that he be healthy.”
As the first ambulance left the house, an EMT reported to mom and dad that the baby appeared fine. The parents arrived in other ambulance about a half-hour later, and from there everything proceeded as normal.
Jacqueline said her super-quick delivery as a first-time mother shocked many and has been inexplicable. She doesn’t blame being sent home earlier from the hospital.
“There’s no way to predict that with a first-time mother,” she said.
At least one mother in Jacqueline’s Facebook group is a bit jealous.
“She said, ‘I wish my labor was 15 minutes,’” Jacqueline said.
Coincidentally, Jacqueline’s unique delivery story came just a few months after her sister in St. Joseph, intent on having a home birth like before, tried to get down to a Kansas City hospital after the midwife became uncomfortable with how long labor had been taking and ultimately gave birth in the parking lot of a truck stop.
“I really wasn’t trying to out-do you,” Jacqueline said she told her sister. “My parents said, ‘We’re happy for the grandchildren, but not this crazy.’”
More than anything, she and her husband laud the emergency responders for their help.
Among that group: Michael Peacock, Steven Sheppard, Cole Sammons, Dave McGee, David DeFrees, Crissi Moyer, Al Bermudez and Jason Bardwell.
“They did an incredible job, didn’t they,” she tells Shay. “The EMTs, they definitely deserve as many kudo points as they can get.”
Copyright 2018 The Examiner