McChord Field spouse Marie Olson had been planning all along to have a drug-free labor when it was time to give birth to her second child.

She got her wish, but not exactly the way she planned it.

Olson gave birth to son David Matthew on Aug. 4 in the master bedroom of her home on McChord Field with the help of her husband, Maj. Matt Olson, and a doula.

While giving birth to her daughter Elizabeth three years ago, Marie was in labor for a combined 49 hours before she finally arrived.

On the day of David's birth, the couple went to Madigan Army Medical Center earlier in the afternoon because Marie hadn't felt the baby move for three to four hours.

"We wanted to get him checked," she said.

After doctors gave her the okay to go home, it took the couple about 40 minutes to get out of the hospital's parking lot due to the many detours from construction projects. As soon as they got home, Marie started getting contractions. That's when they called the doula to come help her get comfortable and relax.

But things started getting serious.

"I had heard labors with second children were faster," Marie said with a laugh. (The contractions) never let up."

The thought of getting in the car and driving back to the hospital and through the detours didn't sit well with the expectant mother. After sitting in the bath for a while to relax, Marie decided to move back to the bed.

"Once I got out of the tub, I said to myself, ‘He's coming,'" she said. "I felt like I needed to push."

Matt and the doula sprang into action. The doula handed Matt a towel and prepared him for the big moment.

"There was that split second when the doula told me to get ready," said Matt, an officer in the 627th Civil Engineering Squadron. "I was like, ‘Wait, I'm doing this?'"

Matt, who'd stood by Marie's side when she was delivering Elizabeth, was now taking a bit more active role in the delivery.

"It was a complete 180 (degree turn)," he said.

But Matt had the towel ready and David slid right into his hands.

"I was saying to myself, ‘Just don't mess this up and don't drop him,'" the major said with a laugh.

Matt quickly swaddled the baby and put him on Marie's chest. He then ran downstairs to grab some twine to tie off the umbilical chord. Through it all, Matt's grandparents had been downstairs the whole time and never knew what was going on.

"It all happened so fast," Matt said.

The McChord Fire Department and ambulance arrived about 10 minutes after the baby was born, causing a stir in the base neighborhood. The news quickly spread that the couple had given birth.

"We have a good story to tell David when he gets older," Marie said.