If I could sum up Dakota’s birth in three words, they would be “God is good.” We had so many prayers on our hearts leading up to Dakota being born and God went above and beyond in answering them all. Just thinking about His provision has my heart bursting with gratitude.

Okay, let’s get into the birth. As with Sadie and Mordecai’s births, it’s a little wild in its own unique way haha. Like, we could also title this “My kids almost watched me give birth in a parking lot,” so let’s do this! 😂

Sunday February 23rd, 2025

I was 39 weeks and 2 days and since my previous two births had happened at 40 weeks and 6 days and 40 weeks and 5 days, I wasn’t expecting to go into labor when I did. In fact, we had an induction scheduled at the birth center for February 25th, when I would be 39 weeks and 4 days due to having gestational diabetes.

I woke up around 5:05 am on Sunday 2/23 feeling a squeeze in my stomach. It wasn’t really strong enough to call it a contraction, but I filed it away in the back of my head. I went about my morning and started to get ready for church. Every now and then, I’d feel a squeeze, but I just didn’t believe it was a contraction.

I updated Jimmy and told him I still wanted to go to church and have the kids have a normal Sunday just in case this wasn’t the real deal. He was like “Okay, then! Just let your mom know you’re having some possible light contractions because she’s our go-to for watching the kids if you go into labor.”

I texted my mom to tell her I didn’t think this was the real deal but wanted to see if she would be available if today was the day. I was so in denial that I even scheduled a grocery delivery for that afternoon. So, we drove to church and stopped at Starbucks on the way.

If you know our family, you know we’re kind of obsessed with Starbucks. We have our favorite store and know all the baristas. The drive-thru line was long, so I ran inside to order. I saw a barista I don’t think I’d ever seen before and guess what name was embroidered on her apron? Dakota! That’s the name we had picked out for our little gal! This poor barista was probably wondering why I was gawking at her. It was just too crazy!

We went to church and Jimmy and I taught Sadie’s Sunday school class. I had a few light squeezes here and there but nothing that made me think I was in labor, you know? We stopped at McDonald’s on the way home from church and then went home to eat lunch.

We put Mordecai down for his nap and our grocery delivery arrived, so we put it away. At this point, I had this feeling in my gut that I was resisting labor. I went into our bedroom and started folding laundry. Jimmy came in to check on me and I cried and said something like “I know if I call the midwives and tell them I might be in labor then this is it and I know what’s to come and it’s hard.” 

He was really understanding and told me it was up to me. I called the midwives to update them at 1:50 pm and said I wasn’t sure if this was it, but that I would let them know. They told me to hydrate and let them know if I wanted to come to the birth center.

Guys, as soon as I acknowledged this was possibly real, my contractions kicked into high gear. I got on my hands and knees on a yoga mat in our bedroom and asked Sadie to keep me company while Jimmy was in the kitchen tying up loose ends with the dishes from lunch.

We called my mom to come and pick up the kids from our house at 2:19 pm and the contractions got even harder. I called the birth center at 2:25 pm to let them know we would be leaving soon to head in.

The above picture was taken at 2:32 pm. Jimmy was in the other room getting things ready and I asked Sadie to bring me something to take to the birth center and she brought me all of her Pokemon cards, my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog character, and she drew me a picture. She was so sweet and excited that Dakota was going to be born but I started to get totally overwhelmed by her. It was so weird, I desperately wanted her with me, but I also was going through hard labor and wanted her to be quiet, lol. I had Jimmy sit with me and Sadie and pray over the birth.

Mordecai woke up from his nap and Jimmy asked if he should get him or not and I just couldn’t think at that point. I wanted to see him but also wanted to not be bothered, you know? I was especially emotional about Mordecai not being the baby anymore. Jimmy also asked what to do with Niva and I just had no brain power haha. I was like “Uhhh? I don’t know?!”

I had a whopper of a contraction that I could actually feel like opening my cervix and I got scared. I texted my mom and asked her for her ETA and she said it was 3:18 pm and that she and my dad were in traffic due to the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game in Pittsburgh.

Jimmy and I decided they should just meet us at the birth center (since they were almost to downtown Pittsburgh anyways–we live on opposite sides of the city) so we could leave our house ASAP and just get me there.

While I was folding laundry earlier and then while Sadie was hanging out with me, I had a Christian hypnobirth soundtrack playing on my phone that was super soothing and helpful. It said things like “God designed my body to birth this baby” and “Every wave (contraction) beings me closer to my baby.” When we were leaving the house, I asked Jimmy to give me his AirPods so I could tune out the kids and still listen to the hypnobirthing affirmations. I also asked him if I could ride in the trunk and he said no 😂

We got in the car both kids were talking and making noise. We sternly asked Sadie to not talk at all and since Mordecai is only two, it’s a lot harder for him to listen so we gave him Jimmy’s phone so he could watch Blippi. I put Jimmy’s AirPods in and guess what audio started playing? Blippi hahahah. I was about to lose my mind! I got on my knees on the floor of the front passenger side and put my head on the seat.

We got the audio somewhat figured out and Jimmy started speeding to the birth center as I was getting contraction after contraction and my body started pushing. I think the only thing keeping Dakota in me was my clothes and the fact that I couldn’t quite stretch out how I needed to.

We hit a big pot hole (Mordecai said “uh oh!”) and Jimmy had his four-ways on while he rode down the side berm of the Parkway. We got some beeps and I even asked him to slow down (I think because I felt so out of control being rocked in a speeding car while a baby was trying to leave my body haha). He said he was going somewhere between 70-80 mph when we weren’t in traffic.

I asked him if we were close at one point and he said “We’re on the bridge,” which is about two minutes from the birth center. I was literally growling at this point. The contractions were so hard and Dakota just wanted to come out.

My parents made it to the birth center just before us, at 3:21 pm, and said there were a few parking spots. When we parked, my parents didn’t see me (I was on the floor LOL) so my dad opened my door. He gave me a kiss and said “God, please protect them.” or something similar and I threw a water bottle at him to hold. Why? I don’t know! It must have felt important to me in the moment, lol. I was so thankful for the sweet prayer from my dad.

My dad got Mordecai out of the car and said “Whose phone is this?” I said “Jimmy’s!” and then had a huge contraction and screamed “Someone ring the doorbell!!!” (you have to ring a doorbell to be buzzed into the birth center) as I had a contraction in the parking lot. Sadie was out of the car at this point and super freaked out to see me bent over with a contraction.

My dad ran up to the door and rang the doorbell no less than 20 times and once the intercom buzzed he said “My daughter is Allie Zottola and she’s going to have a baby in the parking lot if you don’t open the door!”

The door was unlocked and we walked in the hallway of the birth center and didn’t see any of the nurses or midwives. I was desperate at this point! I yelled “Is anyone here? Hello?” as I had a contraction in the hallway. Jimmy found our room–the room we had Sadie and Mordecai in–and opened the door. I wasn’t sure if we were allowed in, but Jimmy was like “It doesn’t matter at this point.” 

I got on the bed on my hands and knees and asked Jimmy to take my shoes, socks, pants, and underwear off. I ripped my shirt off and had a contraction as I tried to tie my hair in a bun. Finally a midwife was behind me. She said “Are you having some pressure?” in a really calm voice. Jimmy said “The baby is coming now.”

They had me shift so they could take the comforter off the bed and put down pads and lifting my hands and knees for this felt like the hardest thing I’d ever done 😂 They also asked me to move off the edge of the bed and I was like “Whyyyyyyyy?” during a contraction and they said so Dakota didn’t fall off the bed when she came out.

The midwife said “I’m going to try and get a heartbeat for two minutes with the doppler on your belly.” I don’t think they got a chance to listen for two minutes. Another midwife came behind her and said “Oh good! I can see baby’s head!” 

I was so relieved when they said they could see Dakota’s head! I could definitely feel it, but to have confirmation was a huge boost. I had another contraction and the midwife asked if I wanted my water broken. I told her that it felt like a lot of pressure and she said breaking it would probably relieve some of the pressure so I was on board.

As she broke my bag of water, she said “I see baby’s first curl!” and I was having a contraction and said “WOOO” in a slightly terrifying growl-voice hahah. Her head came out, and then I felt her shoulders come out and then relief! She was out in the world! It was 3:33 pm.

I was so relieved that I literally didn’t look at her for a second. Jimmy and I locked eyes and smiled so hard and the first thing he said to me was “You’re a freak!” 😂

The first thing I told Jimmy to do was call my parents and tell them to come back so they and the kids could meet baby Dakota.

The midwife said “Do you want to sit back on the pillow and hold her and we’ll pass her to you?” Since I birthed her on my hands and knees, it was weird to maneuver her between my legs and lie on the bed but that first moment I held her was everything.

My parents made it about a mile down the road and turned right back! It was so special for the kids and my mom and dad to meet her when she was about ten minutes old. I think the midwives were surprised (my placenta hadn’t even come out!) but I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is our family! I wanted to be together!! My dad said a prayer of thanks and we all soaked baby girl in.

We also cracked up at the timeline of my mom and Jimmy’s texts.

It was pure sweetness for the kids to meet Dakota. Sadie was instantly obsessed with her and oohed and ahhed over every detail “She has eyelashes! Look at her neck! Her feet are so cute!” Mordecai was very shy with her and didn’t interact too much with her. He was more interested in the rocking chair in the room and climbing on and off the bed. I had to feed Dakota within an hour of birth (to regulate her blood sugar) and Sadie very impatiently waited to hold her, haha.

As with each of our kids, Jimmy wasn’t too keen on cutting the cord, so I did it! Eventually, my placenta came out and we sent that out for cord blood banking. I had a marginal cord insertion (where the cord attaches to the side of the placenta), just like with Mordecai’s placenta. So interesting!

Dakota was weighed and she was 5lbs 4oz, which surprised us. She didn’t seem that tiny! It turned out when we went to the pediatrician the next day that she weighed 6lbs 9oz. The birth center ended up changing her birth weight to 6lbs 4oz. What a weird situation haha. She was 20 inches long!

Eventually the kids were ready to go to my mom and dad’s house, so off they went! Jimmy and I spent the rest of the evening just loving on Dakota! She had two blood sugar checks. Anything above 40 was good and she was 68 both times, I think. Yay!

We also enjoyed a dinner provided by the birth center. It was nice to be pampered and eat breakfast for dinner in bed!

We knew from her ultrasound around 36 weeks that she had hair, but we were shocked at how much hair she had. She literally had a little mullet going on. So cute! We laughed at my shoes kicked off in the corner of the room and the bag that I had packed with bathing suits for us to get in the birthing tub. We prayed a prayer of thanks to God for blessing us with Dakota, a safe birth, and healthy mama.

I felt really great after her birth–the best I’ve felt out of all three births, thankfully! It was so cool to have each of our kids in the same room and on the same bed. That little room at the birthing center has seen our family grow from just the two of us, to three, then four, and now five!

We eventually packed up and did our discharge paperwork and then headed home! I think we were home by 11:00 pm or so and ready to snuggle in bed!

My thoughts on the birth are just gratitude and joy and thankfulness! Jimmy and I both agreed I would have had Dakota sooner in the day if I hadn’t been in total denial that I was starting labor. Isn’t it crazy how much your mind can control your body?

I am so happy that Dakota was healthy and her blood sugar was stable! I’m also happy we made it to the birth center in time. We definitely cut it close! I’m so thankful my parents were able to be there to take the kids… and then to bring them right back to meet their sister. That was so special and joyful!

We are so thankful to God for answered prayers. We constantly prayed for Dakota to be healthy at birth and she was! That was our biggest prayer and to see that answered was just amazing! Thank you for reading Dakota’s birth story!