( CNN ) -- As I knelt on the bedroom floor , on the phone with 911 , I did n't understand what was happening at first . I thought something had gone wrong -- or at least that the paramedics would have plenty of time to arrive . When your wife is pregnant , no one tells you , `` By the way , she might skip labor , suddenly fall to the floor , and give birth . Oh , and the umbilical cord might be tangled around the baby 's neck five times . '' But that 's what happened at our house . Minutes earlier , things had been fine . My wife thought that perhaps contractions were beginning , and it was possible -- she was about three weeks from her due date . We have a son who 's 3 years older . For his birth , she labored at home for about 16 hours before we went to the hospital , and still waited eight hours for the baby . This time , she suddenly doubled over , saying she was having intense contractions and needed me to do what I had done three years earlier -- push down on her hips to help relieve the pain . But it was n't enough . She quickly got down on all fours , moaning , and managed to get out the words , `` Call an ambulance . '' I thought that meant she 'd need a stretcher to get to the hospital . Turns out , she knew that our kid had decided to come crashing into the world without all the usual fanfare . But she was hurting too much to speak . All the agony of childbirth had hit her in a single wave . I told the 911 operator about the `` glop of blood '' coming out , and followed her instructions to set up towels and help my wife lie on her back -- though actually she lay on her side . Then : `` Oh my God it 's the head . It 's the head . What do I do ? I 'm holding my baby 's head ! '' Most people who hear I delivered my son imagine a sitcom . If this were one , the camera would zoom over to the list of delivery plans that my wife had created with our doula . In a hospital room , she would use `` yoga techniques , '' massage , a `` birth ball , '' and music as pain management techniques . Best laid plans . `` OK listen , I want you to support the shoulders and hold the hips and legs firmly . And remember the baby will be slippery so do n't drop it OK ? '' the 911 operator said . I reached in , palms facing up , put my pointer fingers into the baby 's armpits , and helped guide the baby out . That 's when my heart started pounding even faster , and my adrenaline went from overdrive to supersonic . The umbilical cord was snaked around the baby 's neck , tightly . Think a turtleneck with five circles . The baby 's eyes were shut and I saw no sign of breathing . As far as I knew , no sign of life . So as the operator went on reading the standard directions : `` Wrap the baby in a clean cloth or towel ... tie a shoelace tightly around the umbilical cord ... '' I stopped following her . I focused on the neck . Did n't even look down to see what gender the baby was . `` Oh my God , the baby 's not breathing , '' I said . `` Breathe baby , breathe . '' My mind operates with briefcases of information . I opened up one filled with everything I had ever heard about real life births , including a child I know who was born not breathing for a couple of minutes . He turned out perfectly fine -- he had been getting oxygen through the umbilical cord . So I did n't want to tie it off just yet . I carefully unraveled the cord from his neck , trying not to jostle him , and placed him down on the towel . `` Let me give you CPR instructions , '' the operator offered . But then , when I stroked him gently a couple of times , the baby opened his eyes , began to move , and began to breathe -- about a minute after he was out . I used a shoelace to tie off the cord just as the paramedics arrived . I picked up our 3-year-old , who was on the other side of the room for all of this , and whom I had been reassuring throughout the whole process . `` It 's OK buddy , do n't worry , everything 's fine , this just happens , '' I kept telling him . Together we ran downstairs to let the paramedics in . We all ran back up to the bedroom . That 's when my wife looked at me and spoke her first words since collapsing 14 minutes earlier : `` It 's a boy . '' For weeks after , that first image of my beautiful son as he emerged -- eyes closed , still , so pure in his newness -- was emblazoned on the inside of my eyelids . I saw it every time I blinked . To this day , I can still see and feel just about everything about that moment . I would n't recommend this , and it 's not something we 'd choose to do . If anything had gone wrong , the minutes it could take to get to the hospital could be the difference between life and death . But for my family , it turned out to be an incredible thing . It will always have been an experience of a lifetime , one the four of us shared -- just us . Our older child already likes to tell the story of how Daddy caught his brother , who was `` covered in red paint . '' It gives me a unique connection to my son , one I 'll feel throughout our lives . Knowing that the first thing he heard upon emerging from the womb was me making sure he could breathe , that the first thing he felt was me holding him and unwrapping the cord , changes my relationship to him a little . It reinforces , in a powerful way , what just about all dads want our kids to have -- the feeling , the knowledge , that we will take care of them , protect them , provide for them . And do n't think I wo n't hold this over his head when we go through his rebellious teen phase . It 's given me a new appreciation for doctors who successfully deliver thousands of babies , and most of all for the heroics of women -- especially my wife -- in that moment , suffering through all they suffer through for the sake of bringing life into the world . I am in awe . And grateful beyond description . It 's also heightened my own awareness of the gift of life . When it 's up to you to help your kid take his first breaths , you appreciate not only his but your own in a new way . The whole adventure of life -- growing , exploring , contributing , loving , all of it -- feels more exciting and more precious . It 's easy to get caught up in the rat race , the excitement of work , and the inner drive to chase all the great things the world has to offer . We all sometimes fall into traps that make us forget to seek balance -- to try to carve out enough time for family and for just enjoying life . But in the moment I delivered my son , what matters most -- my real values and priorities -- became crystal clear . Nothing else even existed . Every time I look at him , I 'm reminded of that feeling . By being born into my arms , my son gave me the ultimate reality check . Josh will be answering your questions and discussing this story on Facebook and Twitter .
CNN 's Josh Levs delivered his son at home , just moments after his wife went into labor . ` ` My heart started pounding even faster , and my adrenaline went from overdrive to supersonic '' he said in a video posted on YouTube by the hospital.'