Candiace Dillard Bassett Paused Labor for 10 Minutes to Put on Makeup: ‘My Son Isn't Meeting Me Looking Haggard’ (Exclusive)

Candiace Dillard Bassett had a moment in the delivery room that would have made for a hilarious Real Housewives of Potomac scene.

The former Bravo star, 37, tells PEOPLE that while giving birth to son Jett Marshall Lee Bassett in the early hours of Thursday, Oct. 3, she took a 10-minute break to ensure she was looking her best.

"My epidural had kicked in, I was 10 cm. dilated and my doctor comes and goes, 'Okay, we're ready for you to push,' " Candiace recalls. "And I said, 'Well... if we're going to get started, I would like to put my makeup because I need to give birth looking like something. I know we're going to be taking pictures right after and I need to look right!' My son isn't meeting me looking haggard like I just gave birth! And I can't be putting on makeup with my baby in my hands.'"

"So yes, between contractions and pushes while I was in labor, I was doing my makeup," Candiace laughs. "I have pictures of it, too. My doula was there, holding up a mirror and a ring light while I was get my face right. I had pin curls in, so I was taking those out. And my doctor was so supportive. She was like, 'Yes, let's do it!'"

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Only one person wasn't as supportive of the endeavor: her husband, Chris Bassett.

"Oh, Chris was just sitting there looking at me like, 'This chick is so bougie.' He was just shaking his head," Candiace teases. "But make no mistake, if I could have had glam in there, I would have! It had to be this way."

Candiace went on to welcome Jett at 1:14 in the morning. She had been induced days earlier, and doctors used Cytotec, a cervical softener, as well as a cervical balloon to help dilate her.

"It took a while for my body to get there, but once contractions started, we were like a well-oiled machine," Candiace says. "I would have a contraction, and I would vocalize through them — sort of humming to get through them. And Chris would start massaging my feed and the doula would start massaging my back and the nurse would let me squeeze her hand. It was like clockwork, every five minutes, everyone would get into position and after it was done, they'd all go back to what they were doing."

Delivery was easy, she tells PEOPLE. "I was terrified when it was time to push but after the first one, everyone was like, 'Oh my God, his head is already out!' And they brought my hands down so I could feel his head, and I started crying because it was like, 'That's my son!' And then I pushed a second time and Chris was like, 'He's almost out!' So again, they brought my hands down because I wanted to pull him out, and I pushed like, one more time he was there. I really was two and a half, three pushes. That's it."

"I think it helped that I was upright," she says. "Because the way labor beds are set up, they're two pieces so you can move the bottom piece down so you're kind of sitting on a throne. So I was in that position and used this thing, it's called a birth bar, to hold onto so I could bear down. And the whole setup really worked because gravity kind of did its thing and made it easier for him to come out."

The moment Jett was placed on her chest was "magical," Candiace says.

"I just couldn't believe he was finally here," the "Drive Back" singer says. "I did what's called the golden hour, where they laid him on you for one hour before they bathe him and all of that. And we did a delayed cord clamping. So essentially you wait until all of the blood in the umbilical cord is in his body versus cutting it right away and losing that really rich blood. So we did that and it was really special. I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."

And yes, RHOP fans will be happy to hear, Candiace did have a "cryangle" in the delivery room.

"My doula folded one for me! There was definitely one present," she teases. 'But honestly, I was so emotional, I don't think I even cared about the makeup at that point. Tears were rolling down my face and I was just so in love with this little man."

This is Candiace's first child with Chris. The baby boy joins Owen, 22, Mateo, 14, and Naia, 10 — Chris' three kids from two previous relationships.

For more on Candiace Dillard Bassett, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.