Happy Birthday to You

Things really started 2 calendar days before you were born. Your mother was tired of being pregnant. It wasn't anything personal, but I would imagine that pregnancy isn't the best of experiences for your body. There are countless rumors about how to put yourself into labor. Ranging from having sex, to a bumpy ride in a car, to eating Italian food, and finally to going on a long walk, we decided to put the last one to the test. Off we went to the mall, with the overcrowded stores enjoying the post-Thanksgiving sales. At 9 months pregnant, your mother wasn't walking very fast. I would imagine that we were walking at about half the normal pace of the crowd. We walked around for a half hour, maybe an hour, before your mother wanted to leave. It was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon when the contractions started.

The contractions continued all afternoon. They weren't consistent in any way, and they certainly weren't getting any closer together. Not knowing what we should do that evening, we just went to bed. Your mother slept horribly, since the contractions continued all night. She would wake me up throughout the night to have me massage her lower back, where the contractions hurt worst. At some point I started to write down the time of the contractions. The doctor told us to come in if the contractions were 5 minutes apart, for a half hour. At some points it would be only 3 minutes between contractions, but then it'd be another 20 before another happened. They were roughly getting closer together, but nothing really reliable.

We were completely ready to go to the hospital. Your mother had packed a bag almost a month earlier. We had clothes ready for you, had the car seat loaded in the car, and your bedding all set up. You were going to sleep in our room in a cradle. We had everything we could think of ready, we just didn't have you yet. The contractions continued throughout the day.

By 6:30 or 7:00 we decided to go to the Hospital. We figured that the contractions weren't stopping any time soon, and were close enough together to count. We stopped by the grocery store before we went to the hospital to pick up a couple things that would soon be necessary for a woman who just gave birth. The whole way to the hospital your mother was in quite a bit of pain. Each time a contraction came she would cringe and wince at each change. We got to the hospital, but didn't know exactly where to park. We knew you weren't going to show up right away, but still we wanted to hurry up a bit, so your mother wasn't in as much pain.

We got upstairs and one of the nurses immediately started helping us. We got put into a room (I wish I knew which number) immediately. Your mother had to change into other clothes. I got a spot on a little stool by her to hold her hand for a while. They immediately started her on a pitosin drip (which speeds things up in a fashion). When we got there, if my memory serves me correctly, she was dilated to a 2, and effaced something like 90%. We needed for her to be dilated to a 10 for things to really start happening. After a few contractions, a doctor showed up to give your mother an epidural. The wonders of medicine helped relieve the pain that she was experiencing. A nurse would stop by every 30 minutes or so to check on her, but for the most part they weren't in the room. Since there was still a lot of progress to be made, I read some of "The Hobbit" to your mother. Not much later we realized that with a relief in the pain, and not sleeping very well the night before, it would be a good chance to get some sleep. By this time I would imagine that it was somewhere near 9:30 or 10:00.

As some side thoughts here, I've got to fess up to a couple things. The whole hospital experience was totally surreal. It was weird that they just gave us a room right off. I was standing there in the room, looking around saying to myself "wow… this is really going to happen… This looks like a nice place to wait it out for a bit." Looking back at all of this I can see it as if it were some sort of TV show. During it all I saw it the same way. As we walked into the hospital I can see me standing there with a lady (your mother) who was about to have a baby. It all felt like a spectator sport, and I just happen to have a front-row seat.

"It's time to wake up." I was a little upset by the fact that we were being woken up, and didn't know why they were doing it to us. Nothing was going on in the room, it was just your mother, the nurse and I. "You're going to have a baby. It's time to start pushing." It threw me for a loop. It was all of an hour and a half earlier that we were essentially blown off, since she was only dilated to a 2. Now it was about 11:45, and she was dilated to a 9, and you were ready to come out. Despite my beliefs, they weren't taking us to another room - this was it. Right here in this room, you were going to come into the world. Talk about big changes fast.

With the fast action happening, the nurse took her position roughly over by the computer on your mother's right side. She had me stand on her left side. The nurse held one leg, and I held the other. Looking back, I don't remember if it was the leg itself, or the foot, but it doesn't really matter. In between contractions the nurse was doing some prep work to help you come out. It was quickly made obvious to us that you had a full mop of hair. The nurse kept playing with it, but I couldn't do much about it. I guess that your mom probably pushed for about 30 minutes or so, until the nurse called in the doctor.

She had actually wanted to hold off a bit, since the doctor wasn't immediately available. Despite the numerous calls to try to contact Dr. Brown (the OB that had been working with us all along), she wasn't going to show up. The doctor on call was going to help out. Dr. Rasmussen was his name. When he stepped into the room, he was surprised that things were so far along. He had stepped in earlier to check on things, and didn't think you'd be ready to come out until 9 or 10 the next morning. He came in, and had your mother push. Within a short time (I really had no concept of time, so I don't know how long it was), you were right there.

He told your mother to stop pushing, since your head was right at the exit. He did a little twist and pull, and at an early hour on that Monday morning you popped right out. Even though lots of the stuff that lead up to your birth seemed slightly disorganized, from the moment you came out it was a very well orchestrated set of actions. The doctor's work with your was essentially over. You started crying almost immediately, but they were trying to suck all this junk out of you. In between them trying to clean you off, they had me cut the umbilical cord. You were kind enough to grace us with part of your 9 month storage of poop. Unfortunately it got on you, since nobody noticed it happening.

They wrapped you up and handed you to your mother who was happier than ever. She was thrilled to be able to hold you, and look into your eyes. They weighed you, put a little beanie on you, and eventually whisked us off to another room. You and I were only there for a short while, since it was time to give you a bath. With the greatest delicacy, they poured water on you, and washed you all over. Everybody who saw you commented about how pretty you were, and they loved your hair. They put you under a little heat lamp and took your picture a few times. What seemed like a short while, ended up being another couple hours. Some 2 and a half hours after you were born we finally made our way back to your mother.

You were only in the mood to sleep after such a journey. Your mother was excited to get to hold you again. You slept for a bit on your own, but started to fuss. You ended up sleeping with me for a while on the fold-out bed they had. In these first days you were content to have your legs wrapped up, but never your arms. You'd sit with me while I played games, and talked with your mother. We had various visitors. The initial swelling and redness around your eyes went away shortly, and each visitor just loved your hair and eyes. Your mother and I couldn't have been happier with your arrival. Wondering what we did with ourselves before your birth, we love(d) having your around.

In a celebration of the anniversary of your birth, here's to you and everything that you mean to us.